Moved to Hong Kong | Is Sai Kung a good place to stay?

[navjotbindra]

Hi All,

I moved to Hong Kong last month. We are a young couple with no kids and pets. I am staying in my company apartment for the time being, but will have to find a place for myself soon.

My budget is around 14,000 HKD which I know is low, however I have heard that there are places like Sai Kung where I may find something that fits my budget. I visited Sai Kung last weekend and found it to be very pleasant and refreshing. However, I have a few questions:

1. How big an apartment can I find for my budget (HKD 14K)?
2. How long is the commute from Sai Kung to Quarry Bay, and is it absolutely necessary to own a car?
3. Are there medical facilities available around Sai Kung?
4. I may be sounding a bit paranoid, however is it safe to stay here? I heard a few cases of burglaries in the area.
5. Sai Kung is huge! Where in Sai Kung should I stay in case I do not plan to buy a car?
6. Apart from the distance from the main island, any other drawbacks of staying in Sai Kung?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best,
Navjot

[Claire ex-ax]

If budget is an issue, why spend extra on running a car? Some years ago I heard of an expat who had a cheap ($8K or so) rental out in the sticks of Sai Kung, but the cost of driving to Central, what with petrol, insurance, tunnel fees, parking costs, was higher than the rent.

Why not put the money for a car towards the rent of a place where you don't need a car?

[imparanoic]

If budget is an issue, why spend extra on running a car? Some years ago I heard of an expat who had a cheap ($8K or so) rental out in the sticks of Sai Kung, but the cost of driving to Central, what with petrol, insurance, tunnel fees, parking costs, was higher than the rent.

Why not put the money for a car towards the rent of a place where you don't need a car?

living in NT, a car is great advantage ( esp, especially considering a lot of the minibus are packed, in Sai kung, having a car, easy 5- 10 minutes ( depends what part of sk) reach of hang hau and TKO) 15-20 minutes to kwun tong and Kowloon bay

the best thing is that sk to quarry bay is not too bad, even in rush hour, you can get from quarry bay to east Kowloon via the eastern tunnel in less than 15 mins ( by contrast, cross harbor at 40mins, western 5 mins)

[wtbhotia]

living in NT, a car is great advantage ( esp, especially considering a lot of the minibus are packed, in Sai kung, having a car, easy 5- 10 minutes ( depends what part of sk) reach of hang hau and TKO) 15-20 minutes to kwun tong and Kowloon bay

the road situation in Sai Kung is VERY BAD at the moment and has been on-going for quite some time now. Your looking at minimum 30 mins to get to Hang Hau on average, Road Works, constant traffic accidents, even a very minor fender bender they dont move their vehicles and wait for the police can have tail backs of a few KM as the road is only single lane and not much chance of overtaking spots, add to the mix of Mini Buses and Buses stopping every few 100 meters and the cars behind have to stop.

Soon road works to expand the road will probably start, this will cause an even bigger nightmare.

DONT MOVE TO SAI KUNG

[Char Siu King]

If you live in QB, why not look at an area like Chai Wan? On your budget you should find something decent in an older building or even North Point (might be a stretch on your budget though). The commute to and from SK would make your life miserable. I actually find nothing 'refreshing' about SK, especially during the spring/summer when it's PACKED on weekends.

[ray98]

Sai Kung town centre - probably tantamount to torture as a commute.

My end of SK area - fandabbydozy. You have both scheduled KMB 99 bus and minibus to the MTR network within 5-10 mins, or driving to QB is around 30 mins, or if you like a kip with your commute the 682 gets you to QB in around an hour from Ma On Shan. Excellent supermarkets in MOS and wet market. Excellent 50m public swimming pool in MOS and a slide and kiddies pool too....full disclosure - I own village houses for rent in the area

[navjotbindra]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I saw a few in Sai Kung, but I guess the commute is too much and I did get stuck in one of the famous traffic jams. I also saw a few houses in Lohas Park (The Beaumount), which I really liked. It fits my budget as well. Any catch there? There is a landfill nearby, but is it that bad?

[wtbhotia]

U r better of at LOHAS park, MTR right there, no hassle of changing transportation etc but still close enough to the parks and beaches of Clear Water Bay etc

Land fill is close by and some will say depnding on wind direction during summer it can get stinky but I havent actually meet or seen some on write this even in TKO facebook group etc, the only bad thing about Lohas park to me is the constant stream of rubbish trucks, dump trucks going back and forth and Lohas Park area will continue to grow and have other building sites in the near future.

[navjotbindra]

U r better of at LOHAS park, MTR right there, no hassle of changing transportation etc but still close enough to the parks and beaches of Clear Water Bay etc

Land fill is close by and some will say depnding on wind direction during summer it can get stinky but I havent actually meet or seen some on write this even in TKO facebook group etc, the only bad thing about Lohas park to me is the constant stream of rubbish trucks, dump trucks going back and forth and Lohas Park area will continue to grow and have other building sites in the near future.

Thanks! Almost finalized an apartment in Lohas

[Apjace]

Thanks! Almost finalized an apartment in Lohas

Navjot, how's the the feedback with 1 year at Lohas? Looking for acco myself at present, and need to find something reasonably spacious which won't scare my wife back home. Don't think I will get it on a similar budget at Laguna Verde/Whampoa where I would need to commute to, for work .