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Moving to HK from Tokyo, question on accomodation

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  1. #1

    Moving to HK from Tokyo, question on accomodation

    Hi there,

    There is a work opportunity and possibly for us to move to HK later this year, and I was hoping to pick all your brains in terms of advice on rent / where to live, etc. A few points to start:

    - I'm actually cantonese and am 100% fluent in Chinese, but I haven't lived in HK at all since I was a wee-lad. However, I will be moving back with my GF who is Japanese and speaks English, but unfortunately no chinese.
    - I will be working in central, and the day will start quite early (6:30-7am). My GF will likely have a job in central as well, though hopefully with a later start.
    - We are not really that into the club-scenes / drinking places in LKF etc, and care more about newer buildings/spaces and exercising then bar-crawling.
    - I am looking to budget around $25k-30k in rent/month, and would expect to buy a permanent place to live after a year or 2 assuming work remains stable (and hopefully not at the current outrageous prices!)

    At first, I was thinking that the places above Kowloon station was perfect as it has some beautiful views over at the Victoria harbour, though I realize that my budget probably won't be to accommodate a decent unit there for the 2 of us. Furthermore, I was worried that the morning commute would be tricky given my early start and the fact that taxis charges can add up with the tunnel charges. Lastly, I read that a lot of the Japanese community seems to reside on the island side, and I figured that might help the GF transition into the city.

    As such, I suppose mid-levels is really the best/only logical choice for me? We actually quite dislike the rambunctious expat scene (living in Roppongi for all these years have really turned us off from it I guess), but considering the 1) commute 2) presence of Japanese community 3) rent costs... are there any other areas / considerations that you guys can recommend in light of the above?

    Many thanks in advance for your advice!

    Last edited by codecadet; 19-04-2010 at 02:18 PM.

  2. #2

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    Hi, I'm in a similar boat (working in Central, early start, Japanese missus, no big desire to go clubbing) and I just moved to Kowloon station area. I think you probably could find something around 25k, probably in Sorrento/Harbourview. We pay 32k for 1080 sq feet + balcony in the Harbourside, but looked at some less expensive ones in the other buildings.

    The commute is less than 15 minutes door-to-door for me on the MTR - no need to bother with taxi's as they are not quicker. If you do catch one it will set you back about 100 HKD in the morning, so not the end of the world.

    Areas in Hong Kong where Japanese congregate are Taikoo Shing and Hung Hom.. you could look at those (we did). However, the commute from Hung Hom is not so convenient as from Kowloon station. You can get plenty of Japanese food in the Elements supermarket - 360 - indeed my missus complains the selection there makes her feel like she isn't really living in a foreign country....


  3. #3

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    The two big Japanese areas here are Tai Koo on the Island Side and Hung Hom on the Kowloon side.

    But really you will find Japanese people all over the place. I lived in Discovery bay for a while and my J wife met many J friends there as well.

    On top of Kowloon station is nice, but expensive. If you go one station back to Olympic, you will find some more reasonably priced apartments.

    Even in Olympic there is a bit of a Japanese community and a bunch of J ladies from around there met in Victoria Towers (in TST) quite recently. Tell you wife to logon to mixi and she should be able to find lots of information.

    BTW, if you are not married, she cannot come as your dependent. She will need to get a visa on her own accord.


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Geoff:
    You can get plenty of Japanese food in the Elements supermarket - 360 - indeed my missus complains the selection there makes her feel like she isn't really living in a foreign country....
    I was reading somewhere that HK is the biggest importer and consumer of Japanese products anywhere in the world. There is basically so much Japanese food and products everywhere.

  5. #5

    Thanks Geoff/bdw - appreciate the quick and very informational responses! We will take a look more at Olympic and Kowloon Tong as you suggested. The MTR option definitely doesn't sounds bad at all, especially considering that it'll probably be relatively empty in the morning.

    Bdw - appreciate the headsup on the dependent situation too. Yes actually the engagement is under planning (haha) and should happen at some point, but I didn't want to jinx myself by jumping the gun!

    Much appreciated guys.


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by codecadet:
    As such, I suppose mid-levels is really the best/only logical choice for me?
    As far as I know, there are hardly any Japanese living in mid levels. They are all in Taikoo.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by codecadet:
    The MTR option definitely doesn't sounds bad at all, especially considering that it'll probably be relatively empty in the morning.
    Yeah, it's pretty empty. Even if you can't get a seat you're not going to be jammed in someone's armpits, there is plenty of room to stand up for the 3 or 4 minutes it takes to get to Central!

    I concur with bdw about Olympic, we also looked there but we were after a slightly bigger place to accommodate the in-laws and friends and there was a better selection at Kowloon. I wouldn't have minded living in Olympic at all though, especially as it's quite a bit cheaper.

    Also as bdw said, mixi is a goldmine for Japanese wives... there are quite a few blogs too.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by codecadet:
    Bdw - appreciate the headsup on the dependent situation too. Yes actually the engagement is under planning (haha) and should happen at some point, but I didn't want to jinx myself by jumping the gun!
    Japanese are able to visit visa-free for up to 3 months at a time, and can go to Macau or Shenzhen to reset the 3 month counter, but she can probably only do that a few times before immigration catches on. That might buy you a bit of time to avoid marriage

    Also an interesting piece of information, Japanese can visit Shenzhen visa-free. Everyone else (including Aussies, brits, americans, etc) need a visa to visit Shenzhen.
    codecadet likes this.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    I was reading somewhere that HK is the biggest importer and consumer of Japanese products anywhere in the world. There is basically so much Japanese food and products everywhere.
    Quite frequently, it is cheaper than Japan too!
    codecadet likes this.

  10. #10

    Man you guys are the *best* - thanks so much for the points above. Really helps to alleviate a lot of the concerns I had earlier with living in Kowloon.

    For the issue of resetting the 3month counter, I think the GF would more than happy to suggest Japan just to see her folks... but I think that would actually have the opposite effect of delaying marriage, haha...

    And thanks for the post on Mixi... I think she already has an account from her college days which she hasn't touched in an eternity, but will have her log on and start doing some research as well.

    Thank you again


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