jabes87

Hi Everyone,

I'm 26 and have a job offer for 6 months, potentially longer in HK and I was wondering if people could review the different areas someone from the UK would live in.

I will be working in Central, the travel doesn't really bother me as my current commute is 2 hours each way to work in UK.

My budget is around 24k a month ideally cheaper but I hear everywhere is so expensive. I need the accommodation to be fully furnished and ideally Id like to live in a well known expat community to meet people.

Also Will there be an issue that I can only commit to a 6 month contract in terms of rent?

Thanks in advance

Jack

bakedbean

Hello Jack. Just to say Welcome to the forum

ex reg

On the 6 months rent issue it will narrow your choices and increase the rent of the property you decide upon.
26 years old, well it must be somewhere on the island.

But if you've sense then Sai Kung is very good and Sha Tin also.
The rents there should be lower.

Silver Sands and that area is very nice but the rents will be higher.

You might try the small islands to the west of HK island. They rent boats there as well at a lower rate iirc.

All of the above is based on us living there 14 years ago but the only difference will be the rents are now lower.

penguinsix

Personally I'd avoid furnished because it's frequently rather crappy furniture. You can get free furniture off the expat messageboards in Hong Kong with people like 'you get it out of here, you can have it' so you just ring a man with a van and get it delivered to your flat.

As for neighborhoods, if you are anticipating an active social life with your colleagues from Central, you may want to be on the island itself or just over the harbor. There are some places in Sheung Wan and Kennedy Town that will be within your budget and not too far out. If you want to hunt around, you can probably find something in Midlevels and commute to work by escalator (and have a plethora of drinking/dining activities nearby).

The MTR is excellent and fast so places in Kowloon really aren't that far away commute-wise. You can save money the further you go from Central though your time commuting and entertainment options will vary. But really everything is quite close and convenient.

Have they sorted a visa for you or do you not need one?

hong_konger

Jack,
If you only have an offer for 6 months then I would seriously suggest that you consider a serviced apartment. I would suggest the Hung Hom Metropolis which is on Kowloon but very close to Central or one of the many new serviced apartments in the Wanchai area which is on the Island and very close to Central. You should be able to get a decent apartment within your budget.

For regular apartment rentals they are usually unfurnished and you usually have to sign up for 2 years with a break clause only after 12 months. With 2 months notice that would require a minimum 14 months stay. If you break the lease earlier you could lose the 2 months deposit !

As a 26 yr old I would not consider Sai Kung or Shatin. You want to be close to the action and close to work !! In anycase Sai Kung rentals are now super high and not much different to the City.

PJS1424

We are a family of 5 and at fairly short notice work have switched our relocation from Singapore to Hong Kong. In Singapore we were planning on living across the border in Malaysia where we could afford a family sized house. Where in Hong Kong / Shenzhen would you recommend for family living? My eldest is 4 so international schools would obviously be a factor. I'm rather desperate not to live in a miniature box and happy to commute a bit to achieve this but is that at all possible in HK?

penguinsix

School first--housing second.

We can recommend areas all over HK, but if you want to goto school at say Harrow then you probably don't want to live in Stanley with the kids spending 2 hours a day commuting. Same is true if you want to attend HKIS in Tai Tam which would be very inconvenient if you lived in Sai Kung. Do you have a school in mind? Have you given some serious thought to the international school situation in Hong Kong?

Nearly every single international school is packed full, with waiting lists extending for months. Many families opt NOT to move to Hong Kong due to the school situation.

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/a...ational-school

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...9eb6537b520.e1

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a8f07...44feabdc0.html

Many of the international schools start at age 4 (i.e. they started a couple months ago with 4-year-olds entering). That means most of the spots for 5-year-olds will be taken by returning students. ESF, the quasi-public English language school system, starts primary at age 5 so you may have some chance there next year.

You don't have to send your kid to school at age 4 (in fact, I doubt you'd find a school with an opening at this late date). You can still apply and get on the waitlist, such that if a position opens between now and next Fall you can get in and be secured for the new school year 2014/15. At age 4, there are many private kindergartens where they can go a half-day if you want, and those are located all over the island (Woodlands, Tutor Time, etc)

Applications for 2014/15 are underway (and you may even be late at some places). Get your applications in immediately to the schools you want for next year and then do what you can this year for the kid.

So, if you have a school in mind, then you should focus your housing around that area. If not, you might want a short term place with a move planned for next year when a school place opens up.

You might also check out Geoexpat.com where there are frequent discussions about which schools still have openings.

PJS1424

Penguinsix,

Many thanks. I'm afraid I've had no chance to give schools a thought. We were told by work we were moving to Singapore (which would have been great) and I have sorted out a place there for my son to begin in January. Now, out of the blue it is changed to HK. Looks increasingly like I will be telling work to stuff it and give the recruitment consultants a call.

penguinsix

You can ask your employer if they have a debenture--i.e. a deposit with one of the schools that will guarantee your first child a place at the top of the line. If so, get child #1 into the school and then the other kids will have sibling priority (usually, though some schools don't give priority to debenture kids to get parents and companies to buy more debentures).

You will find a place in an international school if you look hard enough, it just might not be your 1-2-3 choice of a school or location, and it might take 3-6-9 months.

If you are interested, you need to be applying TODAY for some of these schools. I mean **TODAY** (literally) before the deadlines start to close on September 30
http://www.esf.edu.hk/node/87

hong_konger

Schooling in HK has become such a major pain in the behind. It never used to be like this and I am glad my kids have finished school, although they are going to have to go through the same rigmarole with their kids eventually.