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1 bedroom w/in 20 mins of Central - Kowloon, Olympic, Midlevels or Happy Valley?

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  1. #1

    1 bedroom w/in 20 mins of Central - Kowloon, Olympic, Midlevels or Happy Valley?

    Hi everyone, I'm moving to HK end of Jan next year for a new job and would like some advice on where to live. Here are some key factors:

    • office at the Landmark in Central. Would like no more than a 25 minute door-to-door commute to work (highly prefer MTR over buses or tram)


    • need a 1 bdr with at least 550 net square feet (but ideally 650+), in a newer building with decent amenities (gym strongly preferred, don't care about pool or clubhouse)
    • low noise in the evenings/early mornings (so i can get decent sleep) is VERY important to me
    • budget is approx 25-30K
    • within walking distance on weekends to variety of restaurants, markets, shops, etc.
    • would like to be reasonably close to LKF and other popular expat places

    I've done some research on these forums and elsewhere, but have narrowed down my choices to Kowloon, Olympic, Midlevels or Happy Valley (but I'm open to hearing other suggestions). What would you recommend and why? Thanks in advance!
    Last edited by creampuff; 04-11-2011 at 02:33 AM.

  2. #2

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    Why only 25 minute commute? Very restrictive.

    Olympic is doable, Happy Valley I'd rule out due to terrible traffic and no MTR.


  3. #3

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    Happy Valley because I'm biased and I love it there.
    Its a lovely green valley in the middle of the concrete jungle (all other choices are concrete jungles).
    No MTR but frequent buses and taxis. $30-45 will get you to Central on a taxi. Around the same amount to LKF.


  4. #4

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    No comment on location - others are better close to central - but your dislike of buses is unreasonable. There are huge numbers of bus services which are very fast and will connect a much, much larger number of places (ie get on the bus direct from the door, arrive closer to your door) than the MTR, which is going to involve a walk at either end, a longish walk through the MTR and then hell (at rush hour) to get on the train. Obviously there are exceptions (and Olympic is clearly an MTR destination) but Belle Aire, for example in Cyberport, also fits many of your criteria (except for the bus bit) but they have regular buses outside and also (I think) resident shuttles which are very fast.

    Are you here? A good strategy is to start from your office, get on a bus (or MTR) and get off 20 mins later and look around, on foot, in person and see what you see.


  5. #5

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    No MTR from the Midlevels or Happy Valley - transport by bus, tram or taxi to Central. If taking the MTR is important consider areas like Shung Wan or North Point also.

    For noise, parts of Midlevels can be loud and others quiet, depends where you are looking. Good idea to have a walk around at night to see if there are any loud bars/ restaurants nearby. Upper Happy Valley is nice and quiet at night, but if you are on a lower floor on Blue Pool Road you can get noise from busses that pass by.

    Rarely make it to Kowloon so will leave comments on those areas to others.

    Have you thought about a serviced apartment for the first month so you have time to look around?


  6. #6

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    don't go to Olympic this weekend. You'll get crushed.


  7. #7

    thanks for the advice so far. the reason i only want a 20-25 min commute is because I'll likely be working long hrs, and don't want to tack on extra time each day commuting.

    i was leaning towards olympic too -- but is it somewhat isolated from where most young professionals live/hang out? my sense (from reading other ppl's posts) is a lot of families live there for the extra space. nothing wrong with that, but just want to get ppl's opinion who live there.

    Assuming i am ok with taking the bus/tram to work --what are my chances of finding a decent place in HV that meets my budget and size requirements? And how often/late do buses generally run Central-->HV because I likely won't be coming home until prob after 9 or 10 most nights.

    i'm also surprised not more ppl are recommending the midlevels. is it because the apts there are smaller and more expensive? how are the restaurants/convenience stores/shops within walking distance to the midlevels like? thanks and plz keep the advice coming


  8. #8

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    For HV - your budget is fine.
    Bus&Tram run till around midnight. Chances are you will end up taking a taxi after a long day's work but public transport is there if you want it.
    Midlevels : until you get here and see it you wont be able to appreciate it. Just like DB, some people love midlevels and many hate it. I hate them both.

    I reiterate recommendation for HV. My second choice would be TinHau but there are fewer choices for modern/clubhouses in TinHau.


  9. #9

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    You can search Hong Kong Homes to get a decent idea of what is available in different areas in your price range.

    Hong Kong Property and Apartment, for Rent and for Sale - Hong Kong Realty

    Busses and MTR run regularly until around midnight. After that the MTR stops and busses run less frequently. There are plenty of cabs out late.

    Midlevels will have the highest concentration of restaurants/ bars/ shops that are targeted towards expat customers (they're everywhere in that area) which one reason why so many young expats end up there. If I was not here with a family I would live there, no doubt.

    All the areas you've listed have plenty of restaurants, grocery shops, convenience stores, etc. Happy Valley has a nice mix of Western and local influences in its shops and restaurants.


  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by creampuff:
    And how often/late do buses generally run Central-->HV because I likely won't be coming home until prob after 9 or 10 most nights.
    That's peak hour for buses here. Most buses will run until round midnight; many places then have a night service; red public light buses run all night too.

    I suspect if you are not familiar with HK you also do not really understand what HC means when he talks about taxis.... from Landmark to HV in a cab would be circa 40HKD or about 5 USD. Hugely more expensive than a bus (which would be about 5 HKD) but nothing compared to your apartment rent on a monthly basis. Taxis are everywhere in HK - at all times of day and night.

    Re the comment about slow and noisy - that guy is an anti-bus fanatic so you can ignore him. SOME buses are slow and noisy, but most folks dart around in the small minibuses (for midlevels, HV etc) which seat 16, no standing and are barely slower than a cab.
    Last edited by MovingIn07; 04-11-2011 at 10:00 PM.

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