Areas to live in HK advice please?

[z754103]

The Arch is the most expensive- 720 sqf costs (two thirds of 1100) 30k and their approx. 1100 sqf flat costs minimum 40k to 44k. I would opt out of Cullinan as it is of a smaller scale and has less facilities. ....

Great analysis and explanation!

Just one update. The Cullinan is actually the newest and most expensive. It is also seen as having the best quality facilities and construction (the developer does some of the best regarded high end properties in HK). I did check out the place just for kicks once, and the flats did have by far the best quality finishing, bathrooms, kitchens, etc, among all the Kowloon Station apartments. (It was a little hard to walk away after seeing those :-))

However, you do get much less square footage for your money there, so you may wish to heed the OP's advice. Unless budget is not a problem, or you'd rather have less living space in exchange for more luxurious facilities.

[benenden00]

Great analysis and explanation!

Just one update. The Cullinan is actually the newest and most expensive. It is also seen as having the best quality facilities and construction (the developer does some of the best regarded high end properties in HK). I did check out the place just for kicks once, and the flats did have by far the best quality finishing, bathrooms, kitchens, etc, among all the Kowloon Station apartments. (It was a little hard to walk away after seeing those :-))

However, you do get much less square footage for your money there, so you may wish to heed the OP's advice. Unless budget is not a problem, or you'd rather have less living space in exchange for more luxurious facilities.

Hi z754103 :-) thanks for the update.
I checked with my husband who has friends in Cullinan (the only place I didn't have a chance to visit) and you are right- it's even more expensive than The Arch where I used to live :-) The Arch and Cullinan are built by the same developer, Sun Hung Kai, well known to be one of the best developers in HK.

What I meant by 'of a smaller scale' was that Cullinan is one single building (whereas the arch has 4 towers, harbourside 3 towers and so on) and hence has the least no. of units in Kowloon station area. It might have best quality facilities but not necessarily the biggest and the best facilities. I personally think the arch has better quality than harbourside, sorrento and waterfronts but for the OP with a baby, I would recommend harbourside more than the arch as the only drawback of the arch is that its kids play room is just too small.

Let me correct my own mistake- Ritz Carlton is actually in ICC building, not in Elements mall, but they are connected together, so I got confused a little. ICC is a major landmark in Kowloon- similar to IFC in Central.

I have a picture of ICC and part of Hotel W+ Harbourview building. Will post it after this as it is on my mobile phone )

[bibbju]

On Tuesday morning please start the clock as you leave your front door.

1.) You'll walk downstairs/take the lift and on out to walk to the bus stop.
15-20 minutes
2.) Get onto the ferry and off you go to Central
25 minutes
3.) You get off the ferry and walk to The Landmark, up to your desk
10-15 minutes

I don't think you're lying on purpose....but I don't believe you. Try timing yourself honestly on Tuesday morning....door to door, DB - Central cannot be done in under an hour unless you live on the pier at one end and work on the pier at the other....

Why do you always insist you're right even when you don't know the full facts and the person you say is wrong does?!

I live exactly 4 mins walk from the pier (obviously faster if I need to leg it!). I look out of my window and see the ferry coming in and that means time to leave. My journey door to door takes 40-45 mins (dependent on how many people are milling around aimlessly in Central).

[benenden00]

pic 1) ICC on the left and Harbour View + W on the right
pic 2) (left) W (right) Cullinan
pic 3) night view from the Kowloon station area
pic 4) Civic Square
pic 5) The Arch clubhouse- reading lounge
pic 6) The Arch gym- a great view!

I hope these pics give you a feel for the area. Good nite!

[vbraddon28]

Thank you so much for all your responses particularly those of you who have gone to the trouble of including a lot of detail. DB certainly has some appeal with regards to an expat community so we can hopefully meet lots of new people for play dates etc but I do worry about it being a bit 'stepford wives' as someone had mentioned. Kowloon Station was not somewhere we had looked into but certainly sounds like it has some great benefits for us.

A couple of questions - can you usually negotiate on rental price? In the UK it would be usual to put in a slightly lower offer? With some of the buildings you do seem to get some great facilities are these usually all included in the rental or are there additional fees for these facilities? Thanks once again.

[Mat]

Yes you need to negotiate the rent.

Facilities are usually not included (with exception...for example at my place the gym is free and usually the kidies thing to play are free) …but the fee is small for other stuffs like tennis...swimming pool..


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[TheBrit]

Thank you so much for all your responses particularly those of you who have gone to the trouble of including a lot of detail. DB certainly has some appeal with regards to an expat community so we can hopefully meet lots of new people for play dates etc but I do worry about it being a bit 'stepford wives' as someone had mentioned. Kowloon Station was not somewhere we had looked into but certainly sounds like it has some great benefits for us.

You specifically mentioned not wanting to feel isolated, which is why I think Discovery Bay is completely wrong for you - it's very isolated. The good points is there are great facilities there, so you might not have to leave often - but if you do actually want to visit other parts of Hong Kong, the journey is tedious.

A couple of questions - can you usually negotiate on rental price? In the UK it would be usual to put in a slightly lower offer? With some of the buildings you do seem to get some great facilities are these usually all included in the rental or are there additional fees for these facilities? Thanks once again.

You can offer what you like - one good resource is here - gives recent rental prices which will give you a very good gauge, especially in larger buildings with more units/transcations

http://hk.centadata.com/ephome.aspx

Just as an aside - you might want to be quite aggressive on what rent you offer - the Cullinan (discussed in this thread) has just had a lot of new units put on the market for 30% less than the current price to buy a used apartment there - if you are a non-permanent resident. Obviously this has strong implications for what people think their properties are worth and read-across to the rental market.

http://finance.thestandard.com.hk/en...asp?aid=138222

For facilities - either free or a small nominal fee. Effectively free when compared to the obscene rents here

[Trance Omega]

I looked at a few in the cullinan a year ago and although flats were nice, it was the absence of any balcony that killed it for me. We ended up going to the imperial cullinan where you get more for your money and some decent balcony space.


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[shenwen]

#Olympic is as convenient as or more practical than Kowloon station in many ways, but for frequent flyers lincluding your husband, it can be time-consuming and less convenient. No direct access to the airport- travel to Kowloon station and then from there you travel to the airport.
(by taxi from Olympic, 180-200HKD vs. by airport express from Kowloon, 90HKD)
.

or you could get a taxi from Olympic to Kowloon (HK$20, 5 minute journey) or the MTR (<HK$10, 2 miniutes). Agree with main thrust if your post but saying living in Olympic would be more time consuming is something of an exaggeration.

On DB, it is a funny place. I have friends who love it, and some who tolerate it having moved there for the kids and now find it difficult to move. Personally it would be some kind of hell for me.

[Trance Omega]

Agree. I have a couple of times just jumped in a cab and 5 mins later at Kowloon station and costs around 25 dollars (2 pounds).


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