Midlevels

[MandM!]

thanks. that is so helpful. how long of a walk would it be from one of the nice residential buildings in the olympic area to mong kok station where i can pick up the MTR . i assume i could also get buses directly to mong kok from olympic.

sorry for so many queries but can you also tell me if whampoa garden area is in the vicinity of hung hom station. a friend told me that whampoa garden is a nice area as well. i am coming from the US so i need some open areas at first, then living in HK i can get used to more congested cramped areas. thanks much in advance

You don't want crammed and you want open space and consider Mongkok? The most densely populated area in the world :-D

You're in for a surprise. If you want space you need money.

[chingleutsch]

wonderful thanks , what is the east rail line (is it MTR as well) and does whampoa garden, hung hom area have expats...i would like areas that are fairly expat oriented. thanks again

Eastrail line runs from Hung Hom up to the mainland China border (and beyond) and is part of the MTR system. A couple of branch lines run off it - most relevant to you would be the one to Wu Kai Sha. ALL Eastrail trains stop at Kowloon Tong - it is the major line transfer station.

Even in the most densely "expatted" areas in Hong Kong, expats make only a very small percentage of the population - I suspect that even in Midlevels it would be under 10% (not counting the domestic helpers ...as they are technically expats including them would push the percentage w-a-a-a-y up). Areas like Tiu King Ling (Ocean Shores), Shatin district (specially the village housing) and other New Territories areas are also well sprinkled with non-local professionals these days (it was very different 30 years ago), and with the standards of public transport you have to be seriously intentional if you want to avoid places where you can shop and eat "western."

Editing to add - unlike many other countries it is not a "thing" here to make friends with and hang out with the neighbours. It is much more common to establish friendships through a combination of work and outside interest groups: "meetup" groups for all sorts of interests are active.

[HK_Katherine]

hello, how frequent are trains in the east rail line?

East rail is just another MTR line. Trains usually 2-3 mins intervals. 1 in peak hours.

[z754103]

Re-reading this, Kowloon Tong is nice! Why not live there?

I've come across pleasant flats sub 30000 range. Or do you need more space or facilities than those types of flats provide?

[batush]

i can't live in small spaces....need at least 700 sq foot but ideally 800 plus...i know in HK that's a laugh for a single person, but i have been used to big spaces all my life, so it will take me some time to adjust. thanks so much, kind regards.

i have decided on--based on the helpful info i got here--kowloon tong, or hung hom, or olympic (workplace being kowloon tong) or shatin. hope that means i am on the right track

[RMDNC]

BTW elite (as measured in terms of wealth) locals live in KT. If you work there and can afford it why would you commute from the mid levels?

[batush]

of course i do have KT as a target area.

why call me "elite"--did i say anything to warrant that? peace

[Golem]

I think he's just trying to say that KT is a very nice posh area so it doesn't make much sense to go live in Mid Level if you work there and you can afford it unless your priority is to go out every night.

[chingleutsch]

Whatever M&M says, any single person who can afford to even think of spending 40K per month on rent is thoroughly elite ...

One issue you will find is that a space of 700 ' sq here will almost certainly be divided up into at least 3 bedrooms. 2 bedroom places start at about the 275' sq mark. As long as you don't mind your "lots of space" being divided up into a number of tiny rooms, rather than just one or two larger ones. I guess you have already figured out the difference between the "saleable" and "gross" areas in advertising? Note that older buildings with fewer facilities give a much better percentage of actually usable floor space.

[RMDNC]

of course i do have KT as a target area.

why call me "elite"--did i say anything to warrant that? peace

No one was complementing you. My point was KT is a prestigous desired address by local Chinese. This was in case you thought otherwise or didn't know as many new arrivals think anything beyond HK Island is 'hood. I've met expats who have never left the Island other than to go to the airport and they have lived here for years.