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Moving to HK in one week!

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
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    10

    Moving to HK in one week!

    Hello all.

    We are landing in HK on the 15th and looking forward to it.

    What are your 5 top hints/tips / pieces of advice / recommendations you would give a first timer?

    Anything goes - recommendations for places to visit, administrative things I should know about, restaurants, how to meet people and make friends.

    Thanks everyone.


  2. #2

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Tuen Mun
    Posts
    2,074

    Get out your comfortable shoes, buy a local street directory, and start exploring on foot - around your workplace, neighbourhoods you think you might like to live in, and the country parks

    Champioh likes this.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    3

    Welcome to Hong Kong if you have the habit of walking it good as you will need to walk alot in hong kong

    Champioh likes this.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10

    Thanks all - am excited about exploring - exactly what I plan to do early on. Walking is absolutely fine - looking forward to it.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    3

    Great then you will enjoy hong kong


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    36

    Welcome to Hong Kong. Here are some things that took me a while to figure out, which I wished I knew right away:

    1. Find a place to live so that you'll have a permanent address. You'll need this to get everything else;
    2. Get your family's immigration status sorted out right away - namely get your HKID cards, as all legal residents are entitled to the benefits listed below;
    3. For senior citizen family members, get them a senior citizen card, which will entitle them to a host of benefits, including a special Octopus card which automatically charges them half price for the MTR, bus and tram;
    4. For pregnant women and pre-school age children, register at your nearest Maternal and Child Health Clinic, which will entitle them to free ante-natal check-ups, scans, tests, vaccinations, etc.;
    5. For pre-school age children, obtain the Pre-Primary Education Voucher, which will heavily subsidize pre-school fees at qualifying local schools;
    6. Shop local - local supermarkets, wet markets, butchers, pharmacies, etc. Prices are much cheaper than at the chain stores for everything from diaper to detergents. A good local supermarket is Kai Bo Supermarket. Prizemart also sells many foreign products in bulk. Also, note that if you order from the chain supermarkets on-line, the prices are their "weekend" prices, which is higher than their weekday prices; and
    7. Carry your own bag. Hong Kong chain supermarkets and chain pharmacies are not only more expensive, but will charge you by the plastic bag your use, so bring your own.

    The weather is great right now, so take advantage of it and walk everywhere! My favorite neighborhoods on the Island is North Point and Sai Ying Pun, which is far less gentrified/expensive than Mid-levels and Wanchai.

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  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205
    Quote Originally Posted by lizping:
    Also, note that if you order from the chain supermarkets on-line, the prices are their "weekend" prices, which is higher than their weekday prices
    That's an interesting assertion. I'm obviously aware that the some prices in my local Wellcome move up and down, but it doesn't seem to me that it's as simple as weekday / weekend. And it isn't a large proportion of the prices by any means, certainly in my local branch (which happens to be Wellcome at Robinson/Seymour). Maybe being in the mid-levels they charge us "weekend prices" all the time, because they do generally seem to match the online prices whenever I shop there.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    14,624
    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    That's an interesting assertion. I'm obviously aware that the some prices in my local Wellcome move up and down, but it doesn't seem to me that it's as simple as weekday / weekend. And it isn't a large proportion of the prices by any means, certainly in my local branch (which happens to be Wellcome at Robinson/Seymour). Maybe being in the mid-levels they charge us "weekend prices" all the time, because they do generally seem to match the online prices whenever I shop there.
    I did not check in details but indeed regularly noticed that PnS and Wellcome charge on average more in some parts of town as compare to other parts (usually slightly cheaper in NT)

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    Yes - that I'm aware of, but I haven't been able to work out the pattern of price changes within the same store. My perception in my local Wellcome though is that there is much less variation from day to day than there used to be. I would say that 90% of the items I buy haven't fluctuated recently.


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