Moving to Lamma Island

[Georgersaurus]

Hi,

I currently live on Hong Kong Island but I was thinking of moving to Lamma for 3 reasons.

1. Cheaper housing. 2. More outdoors activity (hiking, cycling) 3.Generally less crowded.

I have a few worries and don't want to commit to moving until I have a better idea of what living on Lamma is like so I was hoping someone would look at my list below and let me know how big a problem these things are on Lamma.

• Grocery shopping. Where and how do Lamma dwellers do their shopping? Is internet grocery shopping possible?
• Internet speed. I've heard people say that the internet is very slow on Lamma.
• Is there a doctor on the island?
• For people that live or have lived there, what are the best and worst things you thought about living there?

Thanks for any help!

[Adore]

I lived on Lamma Island (Yung Shue Wan) in 2013. I can't answer all your questions, but this was my experience...

Grocery shopping... Several shops sell fruits and vegetables at about the same prices as wet markets. Frozen meats and foods are also available if you cook at home. There are no chain grocery stores or pharmacies (that I saw in 2013). Anything I couldn't find on Lamma I just brought over and you'll see a lot of people doing this.

Restaurants... Local restaurants were (relatively) expensive. Western meals were really out of my budget. If it were possible, I would eat dinner elsewhere before taking the ferry home. But I'm somewhat cheap and was intentionally trying to save money.

Housing... My rent was $6k a month. I also saw a room with kitchen for $7k a month. I lived in the middle of a village where my window view was of the wall of the building next door. I'm sure that rent today is higher.

Transportation... The money I saved on rent ended up going to transportation. Taking the ferry every day cost a lot more than I expected, and the ferry rate is higher on weekends. I love taking ferries. The rocking of the sea is soothing to me and I would get a good 15 minute nap every morning. My commute to Central MTR was an hour (15 min from apartment to Yung Shue Wan pier, 30 min ferry ride with boarding and disembarking and 15 min walk to Central MTR). The downside is that after 8:30 PM, the ferry departs from Central every hour. There were a lot of evenings where I just missed the ferry and had to sit there for an hour waiting.

Internet... I encounted a few dead zones with my SmarTone 3G, but no more so than some random places in Hong Kong or Kowloon.

Outdoors and crowds... I spent less time outdoors on Lamma itself than I expected. At first, when the novelty was new, I was walking the town and family trail almost every day. Then the mosquitos really got to me (they even got into my apartment through the fan vents) as well as all the dog poop on the ground. There were also a lot of stray dogs and not all of them friendly. But I loved the (relatively) fresh air and went to the beach almost every weekend.

Conclusions... I wouldn't live on Lamma again. The money I had saved on rent just ended up being spent on the more expensive ferry transportation and more expensive local restaurants. It also quickly became rather inconvenient when making trips to Hong Kong/Kowloon because I was reliant on the ferry schedule. And I don't miss the mosquitos at all (though I had the same problem when I stayed in a village house in Yuen Long). There are definitely a lot of benefits of living on Lamma, but ultimately it depends on your lifestyle.

[black_bird]

(Never mind.)

[justjoe86]

I have just left lamma after a year there. We loved it but are moving for work reasons.

I'd advise being as near the pier as possible. We were in Po Wah Yuen just a 3 min walk and that helped.

If you have a busy work schedule, it probably isn't worth it. I found that I didn't get to enjoy lamma as I'd like to because I work Mon-Sat and usually had something else to do on Sunday. If you have enough time to actually enjoy the island and relax then it is perfect.

It is a great place for kids. If you have kids I can give more info on that.

Yes there is a local govt doctor that is never busy and because it is govt, extremely cheap. (I mean less than $50 a visit). He is probably better than a lot of the typical clinics in HK but there's no hospital so anything serious and you'd better get outta there (by helicopter if a real emergency).

Yes internet is fairly slow but enough for most things except steaming HD video. My 4g phone was faster than my broadband so could look into unlimited 4g. Shopping is fine too and some imported things even cheaper than I've seen anywhere else, maybe because it is an "expat area" with much lower rent than HK island.

What did I love most? Just relaxing in a waterfront cafe/ restaurant or going to a quiet beach either in the day or for the sunset.

[Eunicetai]

Where do you go to work actually? Because for your three reasons:1. Cheaper housing. 2. More outdoors activity (hiking, cycling) 3.Generally less crowded., besides Lamma, you can have some other choices, like village houses in NT.