Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Ma On Shan? Some recommendations for a young family

[fraxbo]

Wow. That Villa Athena looks very tempting. About how much longer is it to Central than Tai Wai/Sha Tin? I guess about 15 mins? I think I could deal with it for leisure purposes if the place is as nice as it looks in ads and on Google Earth.

[MovingIn07]

Wow. That Villa Athena looks very tempting. About how much longer is it to Central than Tai Wai/Sha Tin? I guess about 15 mins? I think I could deal with it for leisure purposes if the place is as nice as it looks in ads and on Google Earth.

By MTR, probably a fair bit longer. You'd need to make two changes of MTR which can take time in the rush hour. But there are direct buses to Ma On Shan - not sure how long they take. It does look like a nice place to live.

[fraxbo]

Hmm. Interesting. Right now my commute, door to door, from Jordan (just north of Kowloon Park) to the campus of the school at which I am a professor, which has a shuttle from Tai Wai, takes 25-30 mins. From the campus to Central it takes 35 mins. Taking off the 5 minute shuttle ride that means it is about 30 mins by train to Central from there. So the Ma On Shan line is that long/slow? I don't know that I'd want to take an hour long ride any time we went to Central for a restaurant, bar, or other activity. 45 minutes would be fine. An hour is a long way though.

[MovingIn07]

In my experience, what you do if you live an hour away is find activites/restaurants etc that are closer to home. That's mostly what I do. I agree - a night out in Central and having to take the bus home is a chore. For work, the resident bus keeps the journey under an hour; but no, I would not be "nipping into Central for lunch" on a weekend. Luckily I find I have everything I need around me. So I guess the question is not just "how long from Ma on Shan to Central" but also "if I lived there, would I need to keep going into Central or is there stuff closer by (like the restaurants in Sai Kung, for example, which are a 10 minute taxi ride away, or a longer bus ride)"

[jaykay]

The main problem with Ma On Shan which is shares with Tseung Kwan O is that it is a soulless place to live. In saying that there are other ways to get to Central other than the MTR and 3 train changes which are quicker and others mentioned if you want restaurants and bars more western orientated there are places much closer than Central.

[fraxbo]

Well, I quite understand the concept of not having to go all the way to the center to do everything, which is part of my concern. I don't want my location to discourage us from going into other areas of town just because it is so far away. It isn't specifically western restaurants and bars in which I am interested. In fact this whole month I have visited Lan Kwai Fong and Soho only twice. I have been primarily eating out for Asian cuisines right around here on Shanghai and Temple streets. I am quite sure that I will/would find options for Asian cuisine in Ma On Shan, Shatin, or Tai Wai if I were to live there. I also primarily cook anyway. The only reasons I haven't are that a) my equipment has not reached HK yet, and b) it is more economical to go out than to cook while my family has not joined me yet.

That said, there are any number of things to do on the island or in TST having to do with culture or leisure that are simply not available out in the NT, or are few and far between. As a rather specific example: I am into sports and the softball league in which I will be participating plays at HKIS, the 5k race series in which I run has the first race at the reservoir as well, and the soccer/football game in which I am involved with some westerners is also on the island. I can still attend these for sure if I live in Ma On Shan, but then it either means a whole day out for the family, or not seeing my wife and kids for 4-6 hours on a Saturday or Sunday because it takes two hours for the commute alone. Tai Wai, according to my experience, halves that commute time. While we might have relatively more time together during a normal week than other HK families because I am a professor and have the schedule of an academic, I don't want to give up that amount of time with my family on free days.

I will do several dry runs of the commute to Ma On Shan from here over the next week on my way to work to see if it would be feasible. Otherwise I think I will give up on that gorgeous harbor view and nearby beach and focus on life surrounded by the mountains of Tai Wai and Sha Tin. You've given me some good pointers though.

[MovingIn07]

Sounds like you already know the trade-offs you are going to have to make! That's most of the battle. I don't know anyone who does not make some tradeoff between money, space and travel.

I would say that trail running though occurs all over HK (at least, the races the trail runners I know take part in certainly do) and Ma On Shan is really close to Sai Kung (if you have not been there yet, go, it's hiking heaven and also good for eating).

[fraxbo]

not that any of you are necessarily invested in this drama, but I guess the information can be of use to people in the future: I did two dry runs today "on the way" to and from work. Villa Athena to Shanghai and Austin Sts. door to door was 42 mins to (mid-day), 35 mins back (rush hour, though now that I say that is 5-6 really rush hour here, or is it later?). If one adds 10 mins to central we're talking 45-52 mins. It isn't bad, but I should add the beach is significantly less appealing in real life, an the shopping center (at least Ma On Shan Plaza, I didn't go to Sunshine) is not necessarily useful for more than supermarket and quick restaurant needs. I'll have to visit again and actually look at the buildings. At this point though I would be a lot less reticent about "giving up" the beach and public park to be a bit closer to the city.

[cometqq]

I looked at Villa Athena a couple of weeks ago. They have a shuttle bus that can take you to University (the KCR station). My problem with Villa Athena is that it's very old. The few flats I looked at have all kinds of problems that immediately turned me off (e.g. very noisy AC, no drier, musty smell etc.) But it doesn't mean you cannot find a good one there.

I am not excited about Ma On Shan. It is just not good enough for me to tolerate the long commute to work (I work in Kowloon Tong area).

[jacky_se]

I looked at Villa Athena a couple of weeks ago. They have a shuttle bus that can take you to University (the KCR station). My problem with Villa Athena is that it's very old. The few flats I looked at have all kinds of problems that immediately turned me off (e.g. very noisy AC, no drier, musty smell etc.) But it doesn't mean you cannot find a good one there.

Old? It's about 14 years old. Very noisy AC and no drier? Wow! That's definitely a reason for not renting or buying a flat! Musty smell? Try opening the windows.

Bye the way, I don't think they have a shuttle bus to University KCR. Instead, they have one to Shatin KCR, and to Sunshine City. Perhaps you looked at a different building?

I am not excited about Ma On Shan. It is just not good enough for me to tolerate the long commute to work (I work in Kowloon Tong area).

Long commute to work? Yes, 25 minutes by bus to Kowloon Tong. Better live in Kowloon Tong, with all the noise and pollution, rather than in front of the beach with a 100% sea view and cleaner air, right?

Are you Hong Konger by any chance? Why don't Hong Kongers want to travel a bit to wherever they need to go? If you travel 45 minutes from Kownloon Tong you pay 1/2 as much for your accommodation. I am really puzzled as to why anybody would want to live in Kownloon Tong! I think about 80% of so of Hong Kongers live within 5 minutes walk from a MTR station, or something like that. I heard some amazing statistics some time ago. But commuting seems to be a no-no for Hong Kongers.

Villa Athena is the best-kept secret in Ma On Shan. Did you also see the club house? It kicks ass.