Advice to a couple potentially moving to Hong Kong in July...

[merchantms]

Hong Kong is a very urbanized place, even outside of Central. So it's a bit different from London in that sense where so much is jammed into Zone 1.

Given your price range, concern about noise, and interest in being near MTR, I think you might want to consider Olympic in Kowloon. Short trip to Central via MTR and walking distance to Mong Kok which is a very urban area full of shopping and restaurants.

I would not recommend Discovery Bay for a late 30s couple with no kids unless you are really sporty, outdoorsy types. It is a very family-oriented type of place. Also if your husband really loves Asia as mentioned, there's not much of a "feel" of Hong Kong out there. It's more like a suburban resort complex in Florida.

[Claire ex-ax]

"I’ve looked on other forums before and seen people told off for either not starting a new thread or posting in the same thread when they shouldn’t… I’m not too clued up on forum etiquette!"

Just realised that I've basically said the same thing here, doh! Guess I just don't want to get told off for doing the wrong thing - so, is it new question, new thread?

Thanks!

Best to start a new one. People will ignore the "where to live" question after a while, i.e. when they tire of arguing.

[hullexile]

"I’ve looked on other forums before and seen people told off for either not starting a new thread or posting in the same thread when they shouldn’t… I’m not too clued up on forum etiquette!"

Just realised that I've basically said the same thing here, doh! Guess I just don't want to get told off for doing the wrong thing - so, is it new question, new thread?

Thanks!

I would start a new thread

As someone else said, also look east along the MTR Island Line. We lived in Heng Fa Chuen and it was very easy to get into town.

[HK_Katherine]

left field suggestion... the additional space you want is basically "hobby" or craft space? Perhaps consider getting something tiny close to work and something else smallish in the NT just for this? Possible something not designated as living or office space, but some of the industrial buildings in Li Chi Kok and similar might be suitable? They are cheap because they are zoned industrial (office buildings are not!).

[ray98]

Well if he is working for a certain former Rangers youth football player, he said it himself: "Rents in Hong Kong are frightening".

I recommended Disco Bay because it's more expatty and will help you settle in, rents are comparably cheaper, and just an approx 30+min boat ride and 15 minute walk to LKF (no MTR involved), so total commute should be well within 90 mins inc. waiting time, etc. but guess it's best to look around for yourself as suggested by other posters.

[bibbju]

I recommended Disco Bay because it's more expatty and will help you settle in, rents are comparably cheaper, and just an approx 30+min boat ride and 15 minute walk to LKF (no MTR involved), so total commute should be well within 90 mins inc. waiting time, etc. but guess it's best to look around for yourself as suggested by other posters.

Actually the DB ferry is only 25 mins, and the walk from LKF to the pier only 10 mins unless you walk at HK local speed. What I most like about the ferry (unlike the MTR or buses) is that you can take drinks (and food) onboard so a beer/glass of wine on the way home, or coffee on the way to work plus a guaranteed seat and free wifi makes for a very relaxing journey.

Alternatively, there are quiet places to live within easy reach of LKF but you need to search them out. I lived on Lyndhurst Terrace for 2 years so just a couple of mins walk from LKF. I was on the 13th floor and facing away from LKF so there was no drunken noise disturbance at all. My upstairs neighbours singing karaoke and their kid having piano lessons on Sun mornings though was an issue! (back to the HK buildings generally having poor/no insulation).

[Skyhook]

I don't get it.... so because I am tired of these 'where should i live threads' and the arguing between everyone on commute times etc... I cant stay in HK any longer? I do know where it is, thanks. I do look forward to the day i will be leaving, doesn't mean I'm not enjoying my time here...

I think, you need to be a HK expat 'Asiaphile', to even begin, to understand this weird reaction.

It almost resembles a mild case of Stockholms syndrome, but in a geographic sense after prolonged exposure...

I've never seen expats telling other expats where the airport was/is, while mutually being foreign to a country/city, as if one is speaking on behalf of the locals. Weird as !

You are not the only one that thinks this uniquely HK phenomenon is pretty strange..

[Cho-man]

As I’m new to this whole posting thing… if I have some questions about teaching do I start a new thread? I’ve looked on other forums before and seen people told off for either not starting a new thread or posting in the same thread when they shouldn’t… I’m not too clued up on forum etiquette!

Thanks again for all your help; it’s going to make a huge difference to us when we get over there

If you want to focus mainly on that topic, you can start a new thread on it (as other posters who have not seen this thread may also post there-hence you get more responses). But you can remain on this thread if you like. You're a newbie, so I think the regulars here will cut you some slack anyway.

Another thing I am curious to know, does your husband work 12 hour shifts Monday to Friday or Monday to Saturday? Those are pretty long hours (but yeah, I'm told the restaurant business can be known for that). If that is the case, maybe you should consider moving somewhere not too far from your husband's place of work, purely out of consideration for your husband. So he don't have to endure a lengthy commute on top of an already long and grueling day at work.

So I recommend you prioritize commute time as your leading factor in deciding where to live.

[giginium]

If you set yourself up right you might find that your salary will quickly overtake your husband's!

Just brainstorming as well, if you are also a chef perhaps there is something that you can do with this skill set as well!

[giginium]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks again for all your replies!

I think we are going to be coming over early June for 5 days to give us a feel for the place so that will be good.

With regards to my asthma, I’ve had it since I was 5 so it’s very well controlled and ironically it was when I went to live in Devon that it got worse (attributed to the pollen), and I was just recently in Paris when their pollution was at an all-time high and didn’t really experience any negative breathing issues so fingers crossed I will be fine – anyway, I can always wear one of those rather attractive face masks when it gets really bad, even if it will make me look like someone from Star Wars!

Weather – I think we’ll be good. We go to Orlando a lot and have been at many different times and I heard that the humidity is similar to that in Hong Kong (forgive me if that’s not true…). My asthma actually gets bad in the winter here due to the cold and always improves over there. I really hate the cold so am quite looking forward to some heat!

We like being so close to the city centre here, we can be in Leicester Square in 20 mins by tube. My husband gets the bus to work as it’s much cheaper but this results in it taking 1 ½ hr each way (sometimes 2 during rush hour!), more than anything we want to cut this down. Particularly because he currently works either 5am – 5 pm or 7am to 7pm but he will be working later over there so we would want to be able to spend some time together, even if it will be quite late!

He’s nervous about pushing the company for too much money as he wants to have a good working relationship with them once he gets over there. I think he’s concerned that the wage they are offering him is quite good for the restaurant industry. Over here he is already on a very good wage, more so because of who he works for and it already works out a better wage in Hong Kong as he won’t have to pay the 40% tax he pays here. But at the same time we realise that we don’t want to get into financial difficulties because we didn’t have the right package…

We won’t want a car as we really like the convenience of public transport, we like to go out and be close to amenities and things to do but certainly wouldn’t want to live around loads of drunk people, so I’m thinking places like Kennedy Town or some of the places mentioned in Kowloon might be a good fit. I want to have about 6 areas to look at when we pop over to get an idea what feels right.

I did like the look online at properties in Discovery Bay but just feel that transport is limited and a boat ride plus MTR will just be too long.

As I’m new to this whole posting thing… if I have some questions about teaching do I start a new thread? I’ve looked on other forums before and seen people told off for either not starting a new thread or posting in the same thread when they shouldn’t… I’m not too clued up on forum etiquette!

Thanks again for all your help; it’s going to make a huge difference to us when we get over there

I have a slightly different perspective when it comes to arguing for the package.

Your husband must have some valuable skills / specific skills that he can offer to the company of they are willing to re-locate him. It would be fair to negotiate as much as you can for a fair package that you both are happy with when you come here.

The other option the company would have is to hire someone here to fill the position. Either they cannot find someone appropriate here or it would cost more to relocate your hubby. Perhaps you can think about benchmarking against other similar opportunities in hk for reference.