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Schools / Family locations to live / general info please!

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  1. #21

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Gold Coast Marina
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    17,934
    Quote Originally Posted by bryant.english:
    Those would be the 40k+ beach houses then?
    Yep. But there are others cheaper.

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  2. #22

    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Tuen Mun
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    6,191

    Go on then?

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  3. #23

    OP - don't move into a building that doesn't allow dogs, all it will take is for someone to complain about you and then you will get into trouble. Totally different 'game' if you own the flat of course, but even then why the possible hassle when there are enough other places that allow dogs?


  4. #24

    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Currently in uk but soon moving to HK
    Posts
    19

    I think I'm liking the house boat side of things from the space point of view. However the animals are going to be an issue. I can't possibly give them up to make things easier either. My cat may well be better off staying here as he's already 13 and I'm not sure he'll like the move much. My dogs, a bichon and a chihuahua would definitely be coming as they are young enough to adjust (6 and 6 months).
    With housing etc, do agents charge extra when it comes to housing expats? Can you rent houseboats? Is it cheaper per month to rent or pay mortgage? Say a 3 bed property?
    How did you all make this decision to leave everything you know and love behind? We would be moving for hubby's career, I'm worried that I'll be bored. I run my own business here but wouldn't be able to do it in HK. What would I do with all my time? Especially if we had help as suggested.
    All these decisions are keeping me awake at night!


  5. #25

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
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    17,934

    You can rent houseboats yes, but we purchased ours. Buying a houseboat is much less of a risk than buying real property here (the outlay is much smaller but there are ongoing monthly costs; boats depreciate rather than appreciate like flats so you know what you are getting into whereas the property market is possibly a bubble right now or possibly a great investment depending on who you talk to!).
    However, the market for houseboats is a fraction of that for flats. If you arrive, you will find perhaps 0-3 available at any one time, so the choice is much more limited. As I said, there are a huge number of dogs in the GC marina - I walked past 3 on the jetty just walking home last night and another two were looking down from boats. There is also a large pilot community - I would say at least a third to a half of the boats here are owned or rented by pilots from cathay and other airlines. Many also have children.
    As for running your own business - why can't you run one here? Plenty of people do. With a dependent visa you have no restrictions on working and setting up a company is trivial. If you don't want to work, I would not worry about what to do with your time. HK is one of the best places I know for getting out and about and meeting people and doing stuff. It's one of the reasons we like it here (my husband does not work, so he hikes and runs for example).


  6. #26

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    8,561

    (1) there is no reason why you can't run your own business in hk. many of us do. it might not be exactly the same as at "home" but that doesn't mean you can't do it.

    (2) many of us wanted an adventure! when i first came over here, i was 22 and fresh out of uni. after a year, i went home on a holiday. i had experienced and done so much and i was eager to share....but upon returning home, i found that my friends and family seemed to be sitting on the same bar, on the same barstool, having the same conversation and drinking the same beer as when i left.

    (3) i think the decision is more difficult when you have kids to consider, but my aunt and uncle made the decision when their kids were in grade 9. that was 14 years ago. i asked them recently if they ever had regrets about moving.... all four of them gave an instantaneous and resounding NO!

    (4) lots of people on boats have pets. cats will stay away from the water and dogs can swim anyway....


  7. #27

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,934
    Quote Originally Posted by carang:

    (4) lots of people on boats have pets. cats will stay away from the water and dogs can swim anyway....
    Cara - in five years I have never seen a pet, or a child, in the water. (Except the kids in bathing suits deliberately swimming). I know know where folks get this idea that animals or kids "fall off" the boat!

  8. #28

    And how much is the cost of running a boat, the fees to be part of the marina as well as other costs?
    What is the op's budget actually I didn't see it anywhere...
    And where do people walk their dogs around that area? I know there is hiking and a beach but these aren't walks most people would take a small toy type dog on a daily basis and the marina area itself doesn't allow dogs right?


  9. #29

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
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    8,561

    moving, i never said that they would fall in... but if they DID fall in, the dogs would be able to swim.

    i know people in DB who live on a boat, actually, a few of our boarding clients live on boats in DB.


  10. #30

    Carang, not all dogs can swim easily, certain top heavy breeds find it difficult, as do dogs with snub noses, none of my 3 dogs have been able to swim without a life vest !


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