# Best place to live in HK?



## Mike K

Hi guys, I'm moving over to HK to help with the rollout of a US startup in Asia. Will be on my own for first month then with family. If I was single I would be in the SOHO district, but I'm looking more for a suitable place for wife and 2 boys.

Office is in the Wanchai district. 

Relo is paid for and my budget for housing is $4000 a month (which may sound like a lot but trust me in HK is does not go far). 

Anyone with a similar situation who has been through this would appreciate it if you could guide me to some districts or estates to consider. Discovery Bay has already been mentioned to me, which I will check out, but some have described it as boring so any views on that also please.


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## Mike K

I've also been recommended SaiKung but that is simply too remote.


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## Mike K

Thanks for the reply. I am actually now over in Hong Kong looking at options.

Wanchai has some seedy parts to it kind of like a red light district, but also some nicer areas and lots of dining options. It will not be suitable for kids though, but if I was on my own I would consider it.

Checked out mid levels. Crazy prices there, and not good value for money for a family.

Yes went to Kowloon yesterday. Seems also very crowded and many Chinese from China shopping there.

I plan to take a look at Stanley and Sai Kung tomorrow but just based on a map they are much too remote.

Would be nice to make touch with other exapts settled in HK already. Feel free to ping me. I'm excited about moving but just want to get the housing sorted.


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## hurtmesome

Mike K said:


> Hi guys, I'm moving over to HK to help with the rollout of a US startup in Asia. Will be on my own for first month then with family. If I was single I would be in the SOHO district, but I'm looking more for a suitable place for wife and 2 boys.
> 
> Office is in the Wanchai district.
> 
> Relo is paid for and my budget for housing is $4000 a month (which may sound like a lot but trust me in HK is does not go far).
> 
> Anyone with a similar situation who has been through this would appreciate it if you could guide me to some districts or estates to consider. Discovery Bay has already been mentioned to me, which I will check out, but some have described it as boring so any views on that also please.


I did some checking for our own move, in my opinion, Quarry bay ticks most boxes.
We have looked into south of the island, like Stanley/repulse bay. But the commute through the tunnel blew us off. 
Because of our little girl we wanted as green as possible as our budget would allow, with a reasonable commute to central.


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## Mike K

hurtmesome on paper Quarry Bay seems pretty good I agree, but have you checked it out in person? I visited it and its really pretty crowded and concrete city. Having said that I do know some other expats who like living there. Location wise and transport its good though.

I found a place called Park Island that I am now seriously considering as place I consider very suitable for an expat family moving to HK. Are you familiar with it? The atmosphere was more like a holiday resort than a typical apartment building in HK, with amazing pools and facilities. And much cheaper than Discovery Bay. Have you been to either Park Island or Discovery Bay? Any thoughts on those? On a separate note, I went for a hike around the Peak yesterday evening - that was truly stunning and I can't wait to show it to my family when they arrive.


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## hurtmesome

Hey Mike, know what u mean. One factor I hadn't mentioned earlier is the Victoria Shanghai kindergarten. If we mean to stay in HK, then the little one needs proper education. Now it doesn't matter is you take the local, ESF or international schools, all of the are highly sought after. With attending the kindergarten we hope the toddler can enroll for the VSA. Considering where they have kindergarten branches, Qbay comes top of the list.

Not been to park island, it that good?


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## Mike K

Yeah, I know. I have yet to consider education in HK as mine are still young. I'll prob be here just 2 years, but who knows...

Here is a good site for information about Park Island http://parkislandhongkong.blogspot.com/ Park Island, Ma Wan, Hong Kong. 

Lots of good pix etc on there by a resident who lives on Park Island. 

The facilities are just stunning there, which makes me wonder why its not better known. They have a ferry service that takes around 20 mins, and by taxi its 15 mins or so from Central. So for kids Park Island looks perfect. Very green, lots of pools and play rooms and a nice community feel. Discovery Bay felt a lot more sterile and soulless.


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## Mike K

Also quite a bit of information about Park Island in Wikipedia if you do a search.

PS - I started a related thread on any advice for best coffee in HK. Do let me know if you can help there too as that was one treat I always enjoyed to start my day in San Fran.


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## Mike K

Hey went over to Lamma Island yesterday. What a funny place. Very chilled out. Can't see myself living there but definitely worth a visit if you have not been there before!


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## fdc

Hi Mike, we'll be moving over to HK shortly, having never actually been there before, so this thread's been interesting. Park Island sounds great, do you know how frequent the connections are though? I'll be commuting to the CUHK university, whilst the other half will be commuting to HK island.


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## fdc

fdc said:


> Hi Mike, we'll be moving over to HK shortly, having never actually been there before, so this thread's been interesting. Park Island sounds great, do you know how frequent the connections are though? I'll be commuting to the CUHK university, whilst the other half will be commuting to HK island.


To answer my own question... It looks like the Park Island Transport Company run regular ferries to Central, and regular buses to Tseun Wan. So it looks pretty well connected.


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## Mike K

fdc said:


> To answer my own question... It looks like the Park Island Transport Company run regular ferries to Central, and regular buses to Tseun Wan. So it looks pretty well connected.


I asked the same thing. Peak hours the ferry seems to go every 15 mins, and off peak every half an hour or so. There also are cafes and seats etc you can wait at for the ferry so quite nice.

Park Island also has taxi access so for late nights I am planning to take the cab home. Price for that is higher but worth it expecially as the savings on the rent are so big. 

Park Island is like a resort. I'm looking forward to moving and will post up some pics when I move in.


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## fdc

Who did you end up renting through if you don't mind me asking?


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## Mike K

Made an offer for a 2 bedroom place on Park Island. Won't tell you exact unit as don't want to jinx it  Offered 14.5K a month. Has balcony and ocean view and is nicely renno and partially furnished. Owner pays all other fees like Government costs and management fees and we pay for electricity. Well say in one brm (kids in bed/crib with us and use second room for home office, with my other office in Sheungwan.


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## fdc

Mike K said:


> Made an offer for a 2 bedroom place on Park Island. Won't tell you exact unit as don't want to jinx it  Offered 14.5K a month. Has balcony and ocean view and is nicely renno and partially furnished. Owner pays all other fees like Government costs and management fees and we pay for electricity. Well say in one brm (kids in bed/crib with us and use second room for home office, with my other office in Sheungwan.


Sounds like a bargain, congrats!


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## hurtmesome

Mike K said:


> Made an offer for a 2 bedroom place on Park Island. Won't tell you exact unit as don't want to jinx it  Offered 14.5K a month. Has balcony and ocean view and is nicely renno and partially furnished. Owner pays all other fees like Government costs and management fees and we pay for electricity. Well say in one brm (kids in bed/crib with us and use second room for home office, with my other office in Sheungwan.


Sounds like a good deal indeed. Do let me/us know how it all worked out!
I'll congratulate u when u signed


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## mg555

Mike K said:


> Hi guys, I'm moving over to HK to help with the rollout of a US startup in Asia. Will be on my own for first month then with family. If I was single I would be in the SOHO district, but I'm looking more for a suitable place for wife and 2 boys.
> 
> Office is in the Wanchai district.
> 
> Relo is paid for and my budget for housing is $4000 a month (which may sound like a lot but trust me in HK is does not go far).
> 
> Anyone with a similar situation who has been through this would appreciate it if you could guide me to some districts or estates to consider. Discovery Bay has already been mentioned to me, which I will check out, but some have described it as boring so any views on that also please.


There have a list of some hong kong real estate,"century21-hk.com","hksothebysrealty.com","centanet.com"


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## mg555

Mike K said:


> Hi guys, I'm moving over to HK to help with the rollout of a US startup in Asia. Will be on my own for first month then with family. If I was single I would be in the SOHO district, but I'm looking more for a suitable place for wife and 2 boys.
> 
> Office is in the Wanchai district.
> 
> Relo is paid for and my budget for housing is $4000 a month (which may sound like a lot but trust me in HK is does not go far).
> 
> Anyone with a similar situation who has been through this would appreciate it if you could guide me to some districts or estates to consider. Discovery Bay has already been mentioned to me, which I will check out, but some have described it as boring so any views on that also please.


And midland realty


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## mg555

You can rent a pretty nice apartment with $4000 US per month.You can find an apartment in anywhere with good quality in hk.


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## Mike K

To the person who asked who I used, I used Midland Realty. There are quite a few agencies around so its more about getting a good agent than the actual agency you use. If you want me to recommend the specific agent I used let me know and I can pass the details to you. 

Lease signed yesterday so I am set. Moving in 3 weeks and just in a serviced apartment now. I actually came in well under budget and will be keeping the savings in cash.


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## Mike K

In case anyone is interested here is some good information about Park Island in Hong Kong Park Island, Ma Wan, Hong Kong

You can just go to the site and will see many photos of Park Island. Too many to post here but you will get the idea. I'll snap some pix of my place once moved in and looking nice


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## mg555

Mike K said:


> To the person who asked who I used, I used Midland Realty. There are quite a few agencies around so its more about getting a good agent than the actual agency you use. If you want me to recommend the specific agent I used let me know and I can pass the details to you.
> 
> Lease signed yesterday so I am set. Moving in 3 weeks and just in a serviced apartment now. I actually came in well under budget and will be keeping the savings in cash.


That's great!Actually the living quality isn't as better as US,i mean the air pollution and too crowded,but I hope that you will enjoy your stay in hong kong.
If you have any question,[email protected]
Have a nice weekend!


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## Mike K

Thanks Megan. Do you live here too?

The air quality is good on Park Island. Actually I did not notice any pollution in HK. In Beijing in China I really noticed it.

I actually think the quality of living in HK is pretty good. US has a lot of lazy people, bums, homeless. I didn't see those in HK so far.


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## mg555

Yes,hong kong's living quality and air are much better than China.I am glad to hear that you like hk


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## milsmith

Discovery Bay is not a bad choice, the kids will love it.


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## SumLai

happy valley


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## Mike K

Hi all a quick update. Living on Park Island is awesome. I am really happy I moved there. Its probably the best value for money for living in HK if you want a nice quality apartment and facilities for a good price and if you like peace and quite living. 

If you have not been and are considering to move I can highly suggest it. I posted earlier a good link for information on park island called the Park Island blog for expats Park Island, Ma Wan, Hong Kong. 

There is also a community webforum called The Ma Wan network on facebook which is very useful which I hope it is OK to post here called http://www.facebook.com/groups/MaWan.

Any questions just ask me and I will be happy to help.


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## Miki23

mg555 said:


> Yes,hong kong's living quality and air are much better than China.I am glad to hear that you like hk


And which part of Hong Kong has the cleanest air to live in?


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## karenmin

Discovery Bay or Tung Chung would be a good place for a xpat. The rent is also reasonable


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## heroinemarch

Hi Mike, if you dont mind may I ask how have been you doing there? How's about the start up?


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## Mike K

Hey man, sorry for the late reply. All is going great. I still don't have an official visa, and some of our newly hired developers are in Manila. No need for any financing but actually had a few offers just in the startup VC scene in HK. We will wait to launch before any further funding as good for now. The whole Occupy Umbrella protest movement was not of any effect to us but interesting to see the concerns about China cracking down on HK. Its not all you see in the media though.


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## Mike K

As for living on Park Island, yeah its damn good. There some some really funny expats that live there and some hot chicks too. But its more couple and young families that live there. Really cute kids all playing there. Pools on park island are fxxxing awesome there and u could not get any better anywhere in HK. For nights out in HK island, you can just cab it back which is around $130 or you can do a all nighter and catch the 6am ferry. Park island has 2 gyms on it that u can use. Nice beach and you can go to a bar called cafe Roma. FFor an expat living in HK Park Island is the best choice I can think of unless u want to live in a much smaller crappy place in Sheung Wan which might be more convenient but does not compare in size or quality to Park Island. If I would invest in HK property Park Island would be my choice but that time is in the future


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