Like Tree12Likes

Olympic or Tung Chung, where is the best place with kids?

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    9

    Olympic or Tung Chung, where is the best place with kids?

    Hi,

    I've been visiting this site quite a lot since my husband got offered a job, primarily to search and discover the good kid-friendly areas as we have a 1- and 3-year old. I had narrowed it down to DB or Park Island but now my husband has found that his office will be based near Olympic MTR.
    I have read that there are a lot of apartments to rent around there, and within our budget of $30k. But I am wondering if I would find enough playgroups or young kids for my littlies to make friends and play with. My friend has suggested to live in Tung Chung which is on the same line but my concern is the noise... It seems very close to the airport.
    Olympic or Tung Chung? Or should I still consider DB or PI?
    And which apartment buildings are good for kids (I have heard some have indoor playrooms which would be wonderful!)
    Thanks so much in advance


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    tung chung, hong kong
    Posts
    338

    I cant comment on Olympic but I do live at Tung Chung.

    My children are older but I have a lot of friends with young children.
    There is quite a range of playgroups and kindergartens to choose from - english speaking and cantonese.
    The clubhouses all have areas indoor and outdoor for children. Also indoor and outdoor pools, bowling lanes, tennis, squash etc.
    Tung Chung offers a great outdoor life. A lot of 'park' areas, play equipment, skateboard park, bike paths, pools, hiking and walking trails......

    You do hear the planes but I dont feel it interupts my day or night.
    Around Olympic it would be different noises.

    Have you thought about schools? A lot of schools are very difficult to get in to so start planning ahead.
    School buses do come to Tung Chung to take kids to schools out of the area or the MTR (train) is a relatively short walk to get to.

    Come to Hong Kong and have a good look at the areas you are interested in. Stay in a serviced apartment for a while and visit Olympic and Tung CHung at different times of the day/night so you can get a feel for what goes on and what feel right for you and your family.

    Every family is looking for what suits them. Take some time.

    Good luck.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    9

    Thanks, Tung Chung. I'm swaying towards living there. Especially as my son does love to run, so some space would be very handy. And yes, I've heard about how difficult it is to get school places!! We're from Australia so looking at hopefully getting my kids into that. And maybe a kindergarten if we're lucky. I'm happy to put my son (3) into a local kindergarten. Would you know of any that you could recommend in the Tung Chung? Or any kindergarten you may know and recommend?
    Thanks again.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    1,259

    I would say both are similar in terms of apartment compounds, playgroups, etc.

    It comes down to a question of priorities. Does your husband prefer being on his work doorstep (some don't like this)? Do you prefer to be in walking distance of Mong Kok, 10 mins MTR from central, etc? If so then Olympic is for you. Lot's of parks and playgrounds in the vicinity but I wouldn't get too excited about the outdoor life as for 8 months of the year the heat is very tough on kids and you will be longing for that indoor playground and pool.

    One note of caution: the better of the kindergartens near Olympic (Learning Habitat, Victoria, PIPS)are heavily subscribed so get you application in early. Plenty of smaller playgroups though.

    Also, thinking ahead, Olympic better located for AIS, although that is a couple of year's away.

    If Olympic works for you, I suggest Island Harbourview. Great facilities, great location and loads of potential friends for kids.

    Watercooler likes this.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    9

    Thanks, Shenwen. This was what I was wondering but none of my friends were able to tell me if there were playgrounds, etc around Olympic.
    Personally, I am guessing that my husband will be working long hours and not needing to travel far would be great. Means a bit more family time for us (we are already separated as he's in HK right now, but thrown in the deep end and just staying in a serviced apartment until we arrive in a months time.)
    I have heard but not experienced the HK summer... That will be interesting!
    Thanks again!
    I'm sure that when we do arrive, I'll take a look at both places and see what is best for us, but please keep posting your opinions about both locations! I'd love to hear your comments.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    5,110

    Shenwen makes a good point on schools. Olympic is more populated and demand for school space is tougher. However, there are not many school choices around Tung Chung, so your kids will most likely have to commute to Kowloon or HK if you choose Tung Chung as your home.

    On the plus side, Tung Chung does have a better overall environment with nice parks (and playgrounds) for your kids and generally a less dense and more relaxed atomsphere than Olympic. You will get accustomed to the plane noise quite quickly and it won't bother you much.

    Last edited by Watercooler; 08-03-2013 at 11:29 AM.

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    South of Sweden
    Posts
    4,028

    Much better quality of family life in TC if you have children that love pace, parks and running around. 15 minutes drive by bus or taxi over "the hill" to south Lantau, you have hiking tracks, places to picnic and beaches to swim. Further along south Lantau rd, you have restaurants that have good food and are family friendly. Buses leave regularly from Tung Chung to Tai O, Ngong Ping ( good days trips), Mui Wo destinations and stops along the way.


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934

    Have you considered the Gold Coast? The shuttle bus now runs directly to Olympic (takes about 20 minutes) in the morning in and the evening peak out. It has much better outdoors that Tung Chung (there is even a grass field for playing football on - something darn rare in HK), a playgroup right next door, right next to the hills and better beaches than Tung Chung and is not as full of mainland shoppers as Tung Chung! (if you really want mainland shoppers, you can find them in Tuen Mun up the road). It's almost certainly cheaper too - for your 30k budget you could get a beach house with it's own little yard if you go for a ground floor one, overlooking the marina.


  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ex Sai Kunger Sunny Qld for now
    Posts
    8,318

    In my opinion, sort your schools out first, and live close to school. Sacrificing work commute for the sake of a short/convenient school commute for your kids sake will make life a lot easier for wife and kids.

    My view is that if the home life is happy and content in a foreign land, then even if hubby has to travel 30 minutes longer to work, he'll be able to focus on his work without the added pressure of any family upset.

    One of the reasons we moved back to Sai kung was because of the horrible schooling situation in Tuen Mun / Gold Coast, as I wasn't willing to force my children to travel on a school bus to schools miles and miles away.

    Now our children go to school in the same neighbourhood as their fellow students, like normal, back home. Incidently by moving back here it has increased my work commute to 55 minutes easy drive, as opposed to my 23 minutes when we lived in Siu Lam ( next to the gold coast ). A tiny price to pay for the happiness and well being of my family, not to mention much cleaner air/environment and much larger living space.

    Best decision we made to be quite honest...

    If I was Jane, I'd look at housing that is located close to Kowloon Tong, Beacon Hill, Yau Yat Chuen, as it is close to Festival Walk, the MTR/KCR and a large percentage of HK's international schools reside in the area. Get hubby to work out how to get to Olympic from there, and life should work out well. Lots of mothers groups hang out at the coffee shops in Festival Walk during the mornings etc, so you will meet people in the same situation as you, quite fast.

    Last edited by Skyhook; 08-03-2013 at 12:20 PM.
    Football16 likes this.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934
    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    In my opinion, sort your schools out first, and live close to school. Sacrificing work commute for the sake of a short/convenient school commute for your kids sake will make life a lot easier for wife and kids.

    My view is that if the home life is happy and content in a foreign land, then even if hubby has to travel 30 minutes longer to work, he'll be able to focus on his work without the added pressure of any family upset.

    One of the reasons we moved back to Sai kung was because of the horrible schooling situation in Tuen Mun / Gold Coast, as I wasn't willing to force my children to travel on a school bus to schools miles and miles away.

    Now our children go to school in the same neighbourhood as their fellow students, like normal, back home. Incidently by moving back here it has increased my work commute to 55 minutes easy drive, as opposed to my 23 minutes when we lived in Siu Lam ( next to the gold coast ). A tiny price to pay for the happiness and well being of my family, not to mention much cleaner air/environment and much larger living space.

    Best decision we made to be quite honest...
    Harrow has now opened in Gold Coast. Was speaking to a German guy a few days ago about how happy his child is there - for him it was pure serendipity that it opened just when he needed it.

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast