I'm looking for some current opinion on Laguna Verde, and Kowloon accomodation in general.
Situation recap --
Gwailohs.
Not in our 20's, but not dead yet.
No kids.
Possible cat (she's getting old, not sure it's worth putting her through the trip, and she can stay with the outlaws in the US).
Have lived in HK before, and have traveled extensively, so we're not lost in translation.
Spouse probably won't work initially, but probably will at some point.
I work in Shatin.
Most of our current HK friends live on the island, and we like many restaurants/clubs there, so we expect much of social life will be there.
"Much of social life" is much less than 10 years ago, we're more homebodies now.
I'd like "easy" transpo access, which for me means 0.5K or less walk to the MTR, or a good shuttle or green minibus available.
We have a list of "musts" -- 3 bedrooms, a roof or a decent balcony, a "western-ish" kitchen (i.e. has an oven, not just a 2 burner hob).
We're been round and round the question of "where". Living on the island has many advantages, but means I suck it up for an hour commute each way, each day (I'm not driving a car, it's HKG fercryinoutloud!) Living near Shatin has its attractions -- cooler, calmer, greener -- but makes having dinner with friends into a bit of an expedition (we're in Ma On Shan now, so this is observation, not specualtion). Sai Kung or Gold Coast are decadent and beautiful, but I perceive (right or wrong?) commute/isolation issues. We're not suburbanite-type people.
The reasonable mind says split the difference -- Kowloon somewhere. I mention LV specifically becuase there's a flat available there right now that meets our musts. We've been studying KTong/Beacon Hill area too. What do the wise GeoExpats say?