Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Hi there

Hope everyone is well.

So I have been lucky enough to have been offered and now accepted a great job in HK.

My girlfriend and I will be going over near the end of May and I will be starting work in the 2nd week of June. So we roughly have 2 weeks to find a property to rent.

I have scoured online and found limited information and also you can never tell if this is an agent trying to promote their turf etc.

Anyway, it would be great if anyone with some good knowledge of HK could help us. It would be greatly appreciated.

We are looking for around a 2 bed+ with a minimum of 600sq.ft useable floor space. We are outdoorsy people and like to keep fit. We don't want to bang in the middle of everything yet as long as it's commutable (working in Wanchai when not going to airport to travel) then this is fine. I'd like no more than 45 mins commute realistically. We work in London but live out at present as we like being able to get away from the madness of city life but also enjoy being able to have it when we want. So being somewhere being a bit more quiet would be great. We have no kids but we would consider getting a dog out there possibly. We love to hike and general be out and about.
We would love to be near the coast and have sea views if possible. New-ish would be great and some facilities such as pool and gym would also be a massive plus.

I know we are hoping for a lot here but you never know eh. Some local amenities such as supermarkets and some restaurants would be a good thing to have in walking distance too.

Our budget is around $25k - $35k HK pcm. Is what we are hoping realistic?
Any suggestions of areas to start looking?

What I have read so far points towards the likes of Discovery Bay or possibly Kennedy Town. Although DB sounds amazing I have been told by someone who is out there that it is a bit clique especially if we don't have kids and it is so important to me that my partner feels involved and not isolated. She will be looking for work in the fashion industry but has no role just yet.

Anyway, any help or advise would be greatly appreciated and apologies for the novel of a thread!

Cheers

R

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Have you look into properties in the Sai Kung area?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sai_Kung_District

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Hi HKG3

Thank you for your response. In all honesty, no I hadn't considered it at all. I had no idea about it to be honest. It looks beautiful and you seem to get a lot more for your money there too. How is it for commuting? Is there a sizeable expat community there for my girlfriend to mingle and socialise with? Also are there Western amenities such as restaurants and supermarkets for the typical expat?

Thank you!

R

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Commuting - You can go to Po Lam to catch the MTR to Wanchai.

Amenities - I managed to find this article on some restaurants in Sai Kung. Why not have a wee read?

https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/re...ts-in-sai-kung

Supermarkets - High end expat supermarkets like "Market Place by Jasons" can be find in Hong Kong. There is one in Sai Kung within Marina Cove.

https://www.marketplacebyjasons.com/...l?currLoc=R_NT

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Thanks again. I have heard that it's quite a journey to get into work to Wanchai from there. Could that be the case?
Both Sai Kung and Clear Water Bay sound lovely but I suppose it needs to be commutable within 45 mins max at peak time. Could this be done?

Thanks

R

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

You can try to use the link below -

HKeTransport - Route Search

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Thanks again. Looks like both those areas will take around an hour or more. Oh well. The search goes on.

R

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

How about Tung Chung? Close to the airport and have direct rail link to Hong Kong Island.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tung_Chung

However, a bit week on amenities and shopping. Even the local cinema closed last September.

Last picture show as Tung Chung cinema closes - The Standard

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Siversand is great.
Sai Kung is great.
Fo Tan is great.

Lived in all when working in the far west of the NTs.
Took about an hour to drive to work.

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Repulse Bay and Stanley would put you closer to nature on the South Side of Hong Kong island, but you'll have to hunt for a reasonable property. You could also consider Pok Fu Lam.

I would note that nature isn't that far. You can be at a beach or a country park in 15-20 minutes from many places on the island and Kowloon. If you are spending 5x days commuting to work and 2x days commuting to hike, you might want to look at reducing the time spent on the work commute to save more time overall during the week.

spacious.hk
gohome.com.hk

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

We too are looking to move from UK to Hong Kong in June and seeking help. We have already been out for a short familiarisation visit around HK Island/Kowloon and in the New Territories we had a brief look around Sai Kung and Clearwater Bay.

In our case, particularly as we are "have house will travel" and move our entire household wherever we go - this is our 7th international move in 24 years - Kowloon, although central and a shorter commute to Quarry Bay, is not an option as the apartments are too small for what we have and our budget of HKD45k/month won't stretch to the cost of the minimum 1800 sq ft that we need to give us a good three bedrooms and storage.

Sai Kung and Clearwater Bay are therefore our options. As far as I have been told Sai Kung is where all the bars, larger shops and restaurants are, but can be a much longer commute due to traffic and a large stretch of single lane in each direction road. to get to the main island you either drive, with toll tunnels and parking charges at the other end - unless parking is provided - or you get a bus/ be driven to the MTR station at Hang Hau and from there to HK Island.

Clearwater Bay I am told does not have bars or restaurants and it is mostly meeting up with other ex-pat friends for barbecues etc.
The commute is reported to be shorter, either by car or by taking transport to Tseung Kwan O MTR and from there to HK Island.

We too are looking for guidance on where to stay on that side where we are not "out in the sticks", are close to a good ex-pat community, and in reasonable proximity to shops, beach etc. so we can walk, have a nice meal from time to time and generally chill with friends.
My wife is a qualified holistic therapist and so being able to get that going again would be a great boost to filling her day while I am at work.

Any assistance is much appreciated on our side also.

Thanks.

Archie

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Not sure you've prioritized your requirements sufficiently.
Except for 1800 sq ft which in HK is considered 'massive' and unlikely. Cetainly for your budget.

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Hi. We did a whirlwind tour of HK Island, Kowloon Station and around CWB and Sai Kung with various agencies and for sure in Kowloon Station, HK Island area we won't find anything but there were places - village and town houses - in Sai Kung and CWB area which met the space and budget needs, but were not exactly where we would like to be. Thanks anyway.

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

Take a look at park island as well.
Much cheaper than 25k and with Beach, 3 club houses swimming pools etc and a sizable expat community

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Island

ferries to central and buses to kwai Fong, Tsing yi and Tseun wan

Re: Where to live in Hong Kong? Please help!
 

It’s been a while since I lived in Hong Kong but it was definitely THE benchmark city to live in.

I was working there during the construction of the new airport at Chek lap Kok and lived in Tuen Mun for the entire duration (6 years, 1995~2001).

I’m the sort of person that likes to do the local thing, rather than end up in a location with lots of other expats. But we had a real mixed bunch of people in the local area at the time. Living in Tuen Mun also encouraged the use of Cantonese.

For me, Tuen Mun (Ferry) was a great location, as it was 15 minutes to work at the airport or 50~60 minutes to central.

I’m sure there will be much better and faster options these days.

Rentals were very affordable, at something like 25% of the going rate some of my friends were paying in the likes of Wan Chai (HK$24k) for 400sqft flats! I had a whopping 720sqft flat which had three bedrooms (@ HK$5500 per month)!

Some people didn’t like the idea of living in Tuen Mun but for me, it was a practical and affordable option with everything you actually needed.

Not spending so much on accommodation meant I could fritter money on personal transport and I bought a motorcycle. Driving/Riding in HK looks a bit hectic but in my experience it was fine. That also gave a lot of freedom to explore the countryside and meet up with like-minded bikers.

It didn’t take long to ride from Tuen Mun and be parked up in the motorcycle bays outside of the Wanch on a Sunday!

All in all, it was a great experience and I have to admit I feel quite wistful whenever I see Hong Kong on the TV.