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Where to live for 40 - 50K HKD?

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  1. #21

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Gold Coast Marina
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    Quote Originally Posted by calcalc:
    I would recommend the Olypmic area in Western Kowloon, where only 2 MTR (railway) stations to Central within 10 minutes.
    It's a relatively new area with 3 big shopping malls, cafe, yoga/gym, etc. Walking to Mongkok (one of the popular place) is ~15minutes. It's close to Tsim Sha Tsui as well.
    Olympic? It's a modern, sterile concrete jungle with plenty of facilities I'd agree, but none of the attributes the OP is looking for!

    Except for the commute, I'd suggest Sai Kung. It's the closest I have seen to somewhere with "character" here in HK and has great access to greenery and hiking. But Happy Valley also sounds like a good option for you, or perhaps Soho? A friend of mine lives in Soho and loves the access to cafes etc, just a little further to walk to the greenery.

    To the OP - I really miss GRASS too! There is a patch in the gold coast which is a rarity, and once on a hike recently I walked through a field that was being cut and smelt cut grass for the first time in months and it made me so nostalgic! Yes, grass for lounging about on is a distinct rarity here.

  2. #22

    40-50k? Definitely Soho. Bit more character than mid-levels, but nothing close to the character of UWS, or Tribeca, or even Lower East Side. Forget about places like Sai Kun unless you want to live in the middle of nowhere in the countryside, which by the sounds of things is not what you're after. There are no parks like Central Park or Hyde Park, only some sterile attempts at parks where people walk around with umbrellas to keep their skin pale. There are good beaches though and amazing hiking/walking. Mom and pop stores are most definitely nothing like the ones in NYC, e.g. privately owned general stores. The ones here seem to sell cigarettes and porn mags and that’s about it. The heat is about the same as NYC during a July heat wave but a bit more humid. HK is a great place to live when you make good money but certainly nothing like NYC once you get beyond the surface.


  3. #23

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Sai Kung
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    1,327
    Quote Originally Posted by Satay Sue:
    Genuinely curious - I have heard of complaints of noise from those who live near the Zoo. Some of those monkeys apparently make a heck of a racket in the early hours of the morning?
    We used to live across from HKZBG in 2007-2008 on MacDonnell Road (麥當勞道) on a 27th floor of a building called Lodge on the Park (which has since been demolished and a new one is now under construction in its place). I have to say, the sound from the monkeys and birds carried incredibly (in fact we didn't hear most of the traffic from Cotton Tree Drive at all but could hear the monkeys and birds as if they were in the next room). Depending on the changes in weather, etc, it would get more/less intense. Having said that we did not mind it at all as it actually often felt like you were away on holiday in a tropical jungle instead of listening to the sounds of the city (car horns, road work, etc.)

  4. #24

    Wow, lots of good advice...thanks all! I will also check out Soho and perhaps let go of my attachment to greenery in the city proper. Or at least prepare myself not to go bonkers looking for a park to lounge in. I'm sure the beaches and the mountains will more than make up for that!

    Climber07, jungle noises sound fantastic! I wouldn't mind hearing that instead of city noise.

    NYC is experiencing a major heatwave and it's about 100 Farenheit today. I love telling my colleagues and friends that this is what a typical summer day feels like in HK!


  5. #25

    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    Kent, England
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    Jungle noises = weird, VERY loud screeches which go on and on! Make sure you check first, they make the sounds most of the morning (well they have on the few occasions I've been there). As a light sleeper I wouldn't be able to live there...


  6. #26

    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    45

    I moved to the midlevels from the UWS about two months ago. We were on 73rd and Amsterdam so I was very used to the convenience of being near the park and being right on the subway. We happen to live right on the escalator which makes getting around a bit more convenient but its nothing like living on the UWS. You dont have the same experience of having everything you need right downstairs or a quick subway ride away.

    Our apartment was pre-war and full of character and I was hoping to find that here as well but had to give that up. All that said, I think living on the escalator in the midlevels or somewhere in Soho will be your best bet.

    Enjoy some Tasti Delight for me!


  7. #27

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
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    1,693

    I'm looking in similar locations with the same budget. But I will be living alone, so I have even more of the same problem of trying to find a spaceous apt rather than one with many small rooms. I visited HK for the first time a couple of weeks ago, looked at apt for three days.

    My favourite area so far is the mid-levels, preferably close to the escaltor between Robinsson and Caine. Can you guys recommend any specific buildings in that rather small area?

    Things like buildings with good pool areas, nice balconies, thicker walls so less noise from neighbours, or other specifics that would make a specific building something to wait for something nice to come out on the market..