If you want a palace, check in the New Territories. Tai po, Gold Coast, Lantau all have nice family places.
You will get a nice large modern house (2100sqft) in Clearwater Bay with garden and maybe a pool for your money, but you then have a commute to Central and have to travel for "cafe culture'". Plenty of people do this commute - the closer you are to Hang Hau and the MTR the better for time obviously. Hong Kong is about compromises. Decide what is most important, visit all the areas and look at a few houses.
This is a facebook group for Eastern New Territories - it will give you an idea of the village houses you can get. https://www.facebook.com/groups/saikungrealestate/
Quality standards are lower here. It's just a fact. Welcome to Hong Kong.
Websites aren't accurate and don't have the full range of available properties. In my estate in Pok Fu Lam there are at least 10 3-4 beds $50-80K budget range that will be on the market in the next few months. But I doubt they're all listed online.
$70k is a massive budget, but sadly it's become somewhat the norm. I know some (senior?) Cathay pilots get around this range, and thus DB's rent, in my opinion, has been artificially inflated (hopefully going down now due to changes in their housing allowance policy?).
It's helpful if you say what you would like, and then we can give suggestions for where to find that at different budget ranges.
Cafe culture, I think, really does exists in Sheung Wan, in the pedestrian areas like Po Hing Fong St., Tai Ping Shan St., Pound Ln. The coffee is sh*t if you ask me, but they certainly make the surroundings very "cool". The thing is, you don't really want to sit outside like you do in Europe due to the mosquitoes and worse sandflies!
I think looking at properties above Bonham Rd. above Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun. $70k can get a you a nice spacious area. You'll have a mix of local and Western places to visit and the area has a very nice characteristics with a mix of old school HK eateries, temples, antique shops, and trendy new places and coffee shops. Then up higher than you, within walking distance is Hatton Rd., a fully wheel-accessible pedestrian path that goes up to The Peak, where there are some nice gardens and playgrounds (right?). Caine Rd. is full of kindergartens, but I'm know nothing about that.
HK is a very vertical city, so in these areas I mentioned expect it to be very 3-dimensional. There is, though, a new Sai Ying Pun escalator to help you get up the hill.
If I were you, I really would look into Discovery Bay, but that's perhaps because I've had the city experience and now appreciate more space and a quieter, more natural environment!
Happy Valley is good. I also worked in Central but stayed in Happy Valley. Not too far. It’s vety quiet. Error if you are right next to the race track. Then it can get a bit noisy. But away from the track it’s very quiet. Streets are nice. Pacific Coffee there. Etc. Also in the Cyberport area. But then that’s farther away from Central. But it’s nice too. More quiet. Things to do. See. Near the water. 70,000 is good for the housing. HK is expensive in that area.
So much money for rent. I guess that third maid needs her own room too.Original Post Deleted