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Moving to Hong Kong in November

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  1. #1

    Moving to Hong Kong in November

    Hi Everyone!

    My husband has accepted a role in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong and we will be moving over in November.

    We have started to look into various areas to live, but can anybody let us know what it is like in the areas that they live? Looking at around 30/40 min commute.

    We're in the process of opening a bank account there.

    Any tips or advice on making the big move would be gratefully received!

    Thanks in Advance!


    Samantha


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    6,317

    Welcome to Hong Kong.

    We know nothing about you. Your salary, your budget on housing, your lifestyle, your family size, etc. Typically you will end up spending more on housing than you anticipated. Working in Kowloon Bay allows you to conveniently live in Kowloon side, but for you, it might be hard to make friends and go out as it is a much more local area, but good news is you can get a little more space for money there. Again depends on the lifestyle that you want. Do you want to live near a bunch of expats with western food options or can you eat noodles and local food daily with limited english staff/menu.

    Looking online now before you come is a waste of time. That is put there to get suckers to contact, then a whole boat load of fun comes later.

    Last edited by MandM!; 25-08-2015 at 11:15 PM.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    2,112

    Agreed, we need a bit more info first before we can provide really meaningful advice. A 30/40 minute commute will limit you to Kowloon side, 'close' NT eg Tiu Keng Leng / Tseung Kwan O and maybe a few select places Island side. All quite different areas so we need to know a bit more about your preferences first.


  4. #4

    Hi

    Thanks for the quick responses!

    It's just the 2 of us, we will have a budget of around 30k for rent each month.

    We would like to be somewhere where we can have some drinks\meals out etc. would like to meet locals and expats too. Will is quite keen to be bang in the middle of everything, but I am not so sure, so wondered if there was somewhere with a happy medium?

    We will have 2 months once there to look around and get a feel for places.

    Regarding the commute, my husband says he would look up to an hour.
    He has been to HK a few times with work over that last few years, but has always stayed in hotels, so doesn't know what the areas are like to actually live in.

    Sam


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    6,317

    Since your new, best bet to grown your feet is on HK side. Sheung wan area has a lot of restaurants and would be a good pick. But better location means smaller. Up the escalator a bit you can find a 2 bed 450 Sq ft for upper 20s.

    Then you could go outwards, sai ying pun and Kennedy town. But check the mtr first, actually use it. Some take forever to get in or out and that daily can be an annoyance.

    Once you get some roots then you could easily venture to other areas that are quiet and with less people. But I wouldn't jump into those places as a newbie.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Posts
    542

    Options :
    1. Sheung Wan / Kennedy Town, near to Central and good place for expats. You may get relatively smaller house for your budget.
    2. Kowloon station, its also near Central but Kowloon side. Little less expensive than option 1.
    3. Olympic, it is little far in comparison to option 1/2.You can fine relatively bigger place. Equal number of expat and local people.
    4. Clearwater Bay, it is little far but you can find a bigger house and out of the hustle of the city crowd.
    5. Discovery Bay, it is more than 35-40 minutes but you will a bigger house, mostly expats living here, relatively clean air and all activities (dine, drink, games, socializing are within 1 km inside Discovery bay)


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    4,188
    Quote Originally Posted by MandM!:
    Since your new, best bet to grown your feet is on HK side. Sheung wan area has a lot of restaurants and would be a good pick. But better location means smaller. Up the escalator a bit you can find a 2 bed 450 Sq ft for upper 20s.

    Then you could go outwards, sai ying pun and Kennedy town. But check the mtr first, actually use it. Some take forever to get in or out and that daily can be an annoyance.
    I would not want to commute from Sheung Wan/SYP/KT to Kowloon Bay every day. Long journey with two changes along very crowded lines.

    Hung Hom and Kowloon Tong might be areas worth looking at. Although Kowloon is generally more local than Hong Kong Island, those two are fairly international pockets with good quality housing. But then you compromise on the desire to be "in the middle of everything" assuming your husband means Central/Soho/Mid-Levels areas by that.
    imparanoic likes this.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Clear Water Bay (In Da Jungle)
    Posts
    9,968

    I live in Clear Water Bay and work in Kowloon Bay (KB).

    I drive so it takes me during rush hour around 20 mins if NO accidents. Public transport will take 30 ish minutes, Mini bus to either Kwun Tong or Mini Bus to nearest MTR station and then to KB.

    If your husband is MAD and likes Pain and Suffering then living on HK island and taking the MTR daily will be lovely for him LOL.

    imparanoic likes this.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    11,711
    Quote Originally Posted by merchantms:
    I would not want to commute from Sheung Wan/SYP/KT to Kowloon Bay every day. Long journey with two changes along very crowded lines.

    Hung Hom and Kowloon Tong might be areas worth looking at. Although Kowloon is generally more local than Hong Kong Island, those two are fairly international pockets with good quality housing. But then you compromise on the desire to be "in the middle of everything" assuming your husband means Central/Soho/Mid-Levels areas by that.
    the fact the op office may be near megabox in kowloon bay as oppose to near the mtr station, 35-45 minutes plus either a 15-20 minute wait for the limited and mostly packed shuttle bus ( to megabox ) or a nice sweaty 15 minutes walk from mtr station, not nice at all

  10. #10

    WOW, Thank so much for all the replies!
    I will show my husband all this when he gets home today. We will do some research while still in the UK then do as suggested when there and go the MTR and time travels etc and have a good look around!

    On another note, I won't be working to start with, any suggestions on best ways of meeting people whilst there?

    Sam x


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