Dying in Serviced Apartment

[PDLM]

It would be a bit of a stretch to get there in 15 minutes though (even in a private car), particularly if you live beyond core Sai Kung.

[Skyhook]

It would be hard to find somewhere in HK which does NOT meet those criteria. There are direct buses from Sai Kung to Diamond Hill, for example, a very large shopping centre with cinema, many restaurants and even a Marks and Spencer!

Why would anybody go to Diamond Hill ? New Town Plaza in Shatin or Festival Walk are where everybody goes for their/our cinema / shopping mall fix. . One of the greatest things about the Sai Kung district is the El fresco cafe structure in the square, the little strip shops , the lanes of the old part of SK town where the independent bespoke cafes are hidden, which is why places like Sai Kung are just so normal, familiar to me. SO much more depth .

A great many long term expat/foreigners have lived in this area for more than a decade, you'll find a hive of activity on the weekends, in Sai Kung Town , soon learning where everybody goes for their early morning breakfast, brunch or all day lunch, and which social clique you best fit in with...

Bear in mind also, lots of those long term foreign residents have opened up their own businesses in the Sai Kung DIstrict, be they cafe's, pubs, restaurants, gyms, kindy's, childrens art groups, bakeries, mechanics etc etc etc etc, that cater for us non Chinese folks . I love these cottage industries that give a real human vibe to this place, minus the bi nine sterility of the usual mall stores that typically smother most of Hong Kong's land scape , a bit like a retail ground hog day...

Sai Kung still has its community spirit, and its own unique vibe, it might be a little strong for some that aren't used to bucking the plastic sheeple trend of convenience, it's a little more Bohemian out here, people that if they say they are going to catch up for a coffee/beer/wine with you, they actually turn up.... Unlike those HK Island city folk that if anything requires any effort, they all bail out with excuses.

Get used to being told how far away you live from everywhere, it really is a bizarre behaviouralHK/EXPAT trait, that I have not experienced really anywhere else. Maybe it's a New Yorker thinking, maybe it is a London thinking, but back in Aus and other parts of Europe that I have lived, I never heard people place so much focus on being close to work in the city...Quality of life being the norm I suppose, where you work is incidental to where you live, if your life is only about being 5 minutes from work and boozing up in really cheesy little bars, then o.k, VIVA LE PLASTIQUE !




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[nassaugirl]

I love nature but struggle with being isolated or remote. I do like to be within walking distance of a nice coffee shop, a restaurant or two and within a 15 minute drive at most of things like cinema, shopping centre, supermarket, etc.

I'm thinking if we already had a strong network here Sai Kung might be perfect. Without it I might be climbing the walls.

OK so start on HK island and see whether or not you get sick of it!

[Kate from Oz]

Skyhook, living in Brisbane there is so much space and it can be a travel to anything regardless. So I know what you mean.

We lived in a number of locations, one of which was 20 minutes travel to the city but had such a strong community feel to it (something I really like), forget 6 degrees of separation, there it was more like 1 or two.

Walking distance to the local pub, shopping centre catered for just about anything and lots of really nice cafe's and restaurants that were walking distance to our house. Lot's of walking trails and a very nice well thought out development. Lots of ambience.

The last place we lived in Brisbane was a gorgeous home, nice suburb as well but there was just nothing within walking distance worth visiting. No community feel to it whatsoever. Although it also had the nice walking trails, parks and nature feel it just lacked that something special in regards to feeling like you never had to step outside of your own suburb to have most things at your finger tips.

We've now settled on and secured a permanent apartment. We're going to give Mid-levels a go and have signed on to a 2 year lease with a break clause (our side only) after 12 months.

I think for the first 12 months at least this is going to be the most user friendly place for us. After that we will likely revisit Sai Kung.

A lot of my husbands work colleagues are out there and sing it's praises. What I've seen of it I really like also. I just think initially on the Island we'll have faster access to some of the things that will help us settle in here.

[Kate from Oz]

Just to add...we're getting the impression that Sai Kung could have that community feel we like. So is definitely an option for us down the track.

[MovingIn07]

Get used to being told how far away you live from everywhere, it really is a bizarre behaviouralHK/EXPAT trait, that I have not experienced really anywhere else. Maybe it's a New Yorker thinking, maybe it is a London thinking, but back in Aus and other parts of Europe that I have lived, I never heard people place so much focus on being close to work in the city...Quality of life being the norm I suppose, where you work is incidental to where you live, if your life is only about being 5 minutes from work and boozing up in really cheesy little bars, then o.k, VIVA LE PLASTIQUE !

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I'm with you there! In the UK i used to DRIVE 45 minutes to work each day; my husband had a 2 hour train journey EACH WAY and worked in an office where he was not the furthest away .... come here and if you are more than 2km from work people say things like "gosh you live a long way out"! It's laughable.

I only quoted Diamond Hill as an example Skyhook - my point was that you really have to work hard in HK to be far from other people/shops/cafes etc.