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Kids in Mid-Levels

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  1. #11

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    13,099
    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Try that in summer and you'll be a dripping soggy mess by the time you arrive! 20 mins is a very fast walk from the north west corner of Happy Valley to the eastern extreme of Central.
    *smile*
    Thats why I inserted the 'if you wish' there; its perfectly doable but you will get soaked in the summer. The point is, Happy Valley to central is a very easy commute with excellent multiple choices.
    *smile*

  2. #12

    Thanks very much for all the replies to date. On the schools issue, this seems like one of the very few downsides to what is otherwise the very exciting prospect of moving to HK. It seems almost insanely difficult to get kids into international schools over there, and this is causing no small amount of terror chez nous. Our (still developing) plan is for me to transition across over the next couple of months with wife and kids following in the new year, assuming we have found school places by then. I will need to find a place to live and Mid Levels seems like a good place to start as (1) it's handy for the office in Central; (2) I have heard that it's good for kids (all views welcome on this); and (3) I'm hoping that the schools we will be applying to are all accessible from Mid Levels - please correct me if that is wrong.

    We have applied to Kellett, ESF, GSIS and FIS. We're also considering HKA. All appear to be pretty long shots but fingers crossed. Any other suggestions more than welcome.

    A couple of questions on some of the responses above:

    - what makes Happy Valley so good for kids?

    - is the Belchers block more Pokfulam than Mid Levels? Presumably also a pretty easy commute to Central from Pokfulam? My office is in Queens Road Central.

    Thanks very much indeed.


  3. #13

    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Midlevels / USA (MD) / London
    Posts
    2,219

    Hi

    Kellett school has about a three year wait list. HKA is moving to Sai Kung soon which will be quite a hike from Hong Kong Island for a young kid. ESF depends on where you live.

    You might also consider the Canadian school, HKIS Hong Kong International School, SIS Singapore International and CIS Chinese International. Those are some of the bigger named schools. Is your company willing to pay for a debenture to move you up the wait lists? Some schools also give certain passports priority as well, such as Singapore International. HKIS gives priority to kids who have spent two years in an American school system so if coming from the USA you might move up the wait list that way too.

    Note: schools are generally not in the Midlevels. It's a bus ride to most of them but schools buses are all over Midlevels in the morning.

    Midlevels can be a broad term to describe everything from areas near the escalator over to the edges of Happy Valley. With your budget you can afford most places though you might want to find a place with better amenities (shuttle bus, pool, kids playroom) rather than larger size. We live on May Road and many of the buildings here are filled with kids. You could search for buildings on Old Peak Road, May Road, and Tregunter Path for example.

    Have you considered the South side at all? That's closer to HKIS, Canadian, Singapore schools. GSIS is on the Peak and French is near Happy Valley and the gap (both accessible from the South Side as well). Longer commute for you though.

    There are other internationals in Kowloon and NT such as American International, Australian, Norwegian and next year the newest and most expensive school, the Harrow School of Hong Kong.

    Last edited by penguinsix; 21-08-2011 at 07:31 AM. Reason: Typos abound from my iPad.

  4. #14

    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    88

    Queen's Court and Branksome Crest both have great facilities (kids and otherwise) and are located in Central Midlevels (Old Peak Rd and Tregunter). Queen's Court has better outdoor facilities with a great jungle gym while Branksome Crest has a nicer/larger indoor playroom. Both have great pools. With older kids, i would lean towards Queen's Court (a serviced apt complex - so no owner-occupied duplex flats- and the maintenance is top notch ( they have a great spa which is almost like a mini 5-star hotel facility).