any advice appreciated

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

    any advice appreciated

    hello. i will soon be relocating to hk from japan for business and was looking for some advice on apartments. i'll be working out of my apartment or else making direct visits to local companies so easy access to transportation is a must which is why i was looking at anything west of lai king station and at lantau in particular. also, i'm single with no kids so looking for a clean and comfortably sized studio or 1 bedroom apartment in a friendly neighborhood, but not too expensive. my company is fairly new and small so my housing allowance is not all that spectacular. i'll probably often come home late so i don't want any place that will be difficult to get back to ie no shuttle buses/ferries, etc. i'm a fairly quiet guy, but i don't want any apartment nazi's complaining about noise so thick walls would be nice. theatres and a video store in the area would be a definite plus. also, this may sound a bit funny, but i don't really want to stay in any expatcentric areas mostly to encourage my (probably misguided) attempt to learn some of the language.

    anyways, i heard a lot of posts recommending seacrest view, park island, carribean bay, etc. they all sound great. instead, for any residents out there, could you let me know what you do not like about your place or something you wish you knew before you moved in? of course recommendations for other areas or apartments would be much appreciated. anyways, much thanks to anyone who can help.

    sannomiya


  2. #2

    sorry. one more thing. i'm pretty sure this won't be a problem, but high-speed internet is a must. thank you again!


  3. #3

    what do you hate the most about your apartment complex.

    y'know....after reading the post i put up yesterday, i realized it sounded really pretentious. apologies to all. long story short, i'm looking at some apartments on lantau (caribbean, seacrest, park island, etc) so to go about it a different way, for all you guys out there living west of kai fung, what do you hate the most about your apartment or wish you knew before you moved in?

    sannomiya


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Park Island
    Posts
    2,057

    I live on Park Island. I love the serenity, the peacefulness, the space, the lack of people jostling and fighting for space and yes, the facilities......

    But what I do wish for at times....Being able to catch a cab back when I've got too much things. There're times that after shopping at Ikea, I want to be able to catch a cab back. As hubby and me travel sometimes, it can be a hassle trying to get onto the bus with suitcases.

    Despite the transportation issues, I still love Park Island. The air is much cleaner, and a lot less noise and it's nice being away and it's close enough for me to hang out at Lan Kwai Fong whenever I want to.


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    238

    For a single guy, I would think you'd rather live somewhere with MTR access on HK island or Kowloon, rather than on the outlying islands. Have you looked at the Tin Hau or Fortress Hill area? These are more local areas, with apartments less expensive than mid-levels or happy valley and very accessible by subway or bus.


  6. #6

    to sunniefaith-
    thanks for the info on park island. i liked the idea of the no vehicle policy to keep things clean, but it looks like it can just as well become a hassle.

    to grandcider-
    actually, i'd love to live it up on the island and kowloon. i'm (barely) still in my 20's, but most of the offices i need to visit are on kowloon side. spread out everywhere. i'm pretty sure i could get a place closer to kowloon, but i have a very limited housing allowance so i wanted to stretch out my hkd and i heard the housing was nice and inexpensive on lantau. also, the tung chung line only takes 20 minutes to central so says the internet.


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Park Island
    Posts
    2,057

    Yes, living on the outlying islands, you can get more for your money. I'm paying about 8.4K for a fully furnish 700 square feet apartment. If you're not buying loads of things all the time, you should be fine with the shuttle buses and ferries. It doesn't take too long to get everywhere.


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    408
    Quote Originally Posted by Sannomiya:
    what do you hate the most about your apartment

    Coming from Japan, you'll appreciate the noise in Hong Kong. Especially the noise from your neighbors who start redecorating their apartment after midnight, sometimes with the hammer-drill.

  9. #9

    thanks expat,

    actually, all the neighborhoods in japan i lived in were pretty quiet since it was out of the city. my commute was about an hour and a half which was a killer . i actually wouldn't mind some noise if it cut an hour out of my commute though. so is the midnight redecorating pretty common place or just an indication of having pretty thin walls? was this in caribbean? btw, are there any furniture rental agencies in the area?


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Park Island
    Posts
    120

    Park Island here...

    Haven't had too much of a problem going home late at night, as long as you know when and where to go, you're fine. If you do decide to rent here PM me and I'll give you the details.

    I love it here, and my office is at Tsuen Wan.


Closed Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast