Hong Kong living

[jollyboy]

I have a provisional job offer in Hong Kong. I am currently based in the Middle East and I am trying to get the lay of the land before making a decision on this move. Can anyone help with websites or info on the following:

1. Cost of Living
2. Best areas to live (Island versus NT's)
3. Best to rent or buy?
4. Good rental agencies
5. ANOther info

Appreciate any help anyone can give

Cheers
JB
:8

[Blown Seal]

Try these two websites, they have a fair amount of info for you to peruse:


http://www.geoexpat.com/


http://www.asiaxpat.com/

[jollyboy]

Thanks for that, good info there.

Good place to live? ups, downs? wondering how different/same it would be to the ME?

Cheers

JB:ok:

[Mr Hankey]

If you and your partner are openminded and prepared to be interested in HK you'll enjoy it.

If your partner (or you!), can't live without big shopping malls and needs to live in Suburbia don't go.

If you can't live in a place where the air and water pollution is amongst the worst in the world, forget it!

1/ Cost of living? Expensive, but HK has dropped massively in this regard, today in the paper it said it has dropped from 5th to 55th most expensive city for expats in the world.

2/Best areas? What do you like? If you want to pretend you're not in HK go to Discovery Bay. There is no best place to live....check it out for yourself.

3/ Rent/Buy? Home prices have risen 70% in the last 3 years. If your coming for 10 years or more and are getting a housing alowance, buy. You will not get accomodation equal to your home country or the Mid East. A large appartment here is considered 1500 sq/ft though you can get bigger. Most HK people live in less than 1000.

4/Agencies? Renting in HK is very lopsided to owners, and they'll shaft you if they can. Look on asiaexpat or geoexpat for agencies.

If you're not working for CX or KA I probably wouldn't come, you need money to live OK in HK.


Good Luck!

[xabi200]

Hi,

I am in the same situation as jolly boy.

I did a search and it looks like that Lantau island is not that expensive,I have seen house (not flat) with sea view for rent from 5500 HK$ and for sale around 2 250 000 Hk$.Which is cheaper then northern spain where I live right now.
It looks like it is 20 mn drive form airport and plenty activiteies to do like hiking,paragliding,wind surfing/kite surfing even some surfing.

What do you guy think about lantau island?

Any suggestion about lantau island?

Thanks.

[HotDog]

Lantau is fine but you are isolated from the buzz of downtown Hong Kong. You can not drive a private car from Disco Bay to Chek Lap Kok but there is a bus service and also lantau Taxis. You can take a ferry ride across the harbour to Hong Kong Central or catch the Airport Express train or busses from the airport. Lantau is a nice place. Suggest you check it out before you make a commitment.

[alohajec]

xabi / jolly -

yes, Lantau is convenient for work and easy on the pocket-book, it's relatively easily accessible by taxi and public transportation and worth considering since many CX staff live in the area. but from your post it seems like you enjoy nature and outdoor activities. you may have heard about the air quality (or lack thereof) in the Tung Chung area. i believe it's been rated as having the worst air quality / pollution in Hong Kong, followed by Causeway Bay on the Island. this is common and largely thanks to unlucky winds that blow down from mainland china where the air-quality control measures at the many factories are little to non-existent.

not quite sure what part of Lantau Island you're looking at, but check it out and talk to people who live there and find out what they feel about it. admittedly, regardless of where you live in HKG don't expect to see the breathable blue skies of Northern Spain (or Honolulu) for that matter!

Aloha!

[Slapshot]

You may want to check this thread out...

Good luck...

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=139212

[DexyDogg]

Slapshot, that is an interesting thread that you participated in. Definitely worth a read although it does sound a little tainted at times.

A friendly question: besides the pollution, did you like Hong Kong at all or did you just find that the overall lifestyle there was not for you? I understand that your family played a large part in the decision to leave, but I am interested if there are any things that you might miss about the place.

On the topic of places to live...

Anyone ever live on or look into living on Lamma Island? If so, is commuting via the ferry ever a big issue?

[tamalai]

lets face it you can't possibly live in Hong kong unless your paid A scale plus, People die on a daily basis from pollution, the kids are so bored that juvenile crime is so rampant one hardly dare go out at night, and anyway if you did go out there is nothing to do in Hong kong anyway ..............Right???

Wrong.............Hong kong is a great place, yes it has a few problems, but where doesn't, the people who whinge about Hong Kong will whinge wherever they are, it really is a case of "Glass half full ??? or "half empty"

Here at Cx we are still pretty well looked after, and it's about as secure as your going to get in an aviation career, you can still buy a flat in Hong Kong and make a few bucks over 10 years, you don't need a car, public transport is totally excellent as are schools, and most public facilities...................ok, so Disco bay don't let your kids play whatever...............but if you will live in "fantasy land" what do you expect ???

Hong kong like anywhere else will be as good or as bad as you care to make it.......................................

[BusyB]

tamalai,

Lets just give guys the info they ask for if you're replying. Yes, we can take the p**s but you really are behaving like a t**s*r unnecessarily.

[xabi200]

Hi all,

Thank you for your replies.

On lantau island I was thinking about living in cheung sha,tong fuk,pui o or mui wo.

I don't think I will be able to afford discovery bay, beside, luxury, is not really my cup of tea,neither is the buzz of hong kong island.


Anybody out there lives on Lantau?
Could you confirm about mountain biking,paragliding,windsurfing aand occasional surfing in cheung sha.

Cheers.

[Mark Six]

Xabi, I guarantee that $5500 a month will not get you a house on Lantau, It will get ONE floor of a 3 storey village house (700 square feet). Nothing wrong with that if you're single and the tenants on the other 2 floors are domesticated. Avoid the middle floor. Top floor with roof is probably best and usually costs a little more.

[xabi200]

Hi Mark six,

Thanks for your help.

You are right about village house that what I saw,5500$ was the cheaper then it goes up. I saw couple top floor with roof which are better coz of the roof.
That would suit us fine. I just think that those house look and feel more human size than the huge sky scrappers appartments buildings.

How bout the outdoors activities I mentioned are they at easy reach?

Is going to work at the airport from south lantau OK commute?

Cheers.

[Slapshot]

"Slapshot, that is an interesting thread that you participated in. Definitely worth a read although it does sound a little tainted at times.

A friendly question: besides the pollution, did you like Hong Kong at all or did you just find that the overall lifestyle there was not for you? I understand that your family played a large part in the decision to leave, but I am interested if there are any things that you might miss about the place."

If you go there with an open mind and look for the negatives as well as the positives you will be able to make an informed decision...

Me and my Wife went there with the intention of staying for the whole career. Retire at 55 - 60 with a wad of cash/investments and live the life... My Wife got a job part time, I was flying for KA, life was good...

Then children came along. School Fees, extracurricular activities, wanting to go out and play sports without having to pay someone for the privilege...

The money we thought was good when we signed on, just wasn't cutting it. We were not putting enough aside to provide for our future, and still have the lifestyle we thought we deserved as expat's in an exotic land... We wanted more then to "get by"...

Is there anything I miss about the place? Yes. The palm trees, the walk to the ferry in the heat of the morning. The friends I made quaffing ale by the 7-Eleven in DB... Getting together as the "Few amongst the Many" for a North American back yard barbecue and laughing into the night...

I think I am much happier now, lifestyle is much better, I enjoy my flying career, and the family is happy now that I made the decision to come to where I am now...

Good luck.

[DexyDogg]

Slapshot,

A quality response. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer.

Cheers!

[radiohead]

xabi - south Lantau does have easy access to some of the best outdoor activities in HK, though that doesn't make them 'world class'. However, there are mountain bike trails on Chi Ma Wan, not far from Pui O, and some good hillwalking; paragliders often use launch sites on the slopes of Sunset Peak when the wind's in the right direction, and try to land on the beach at Cheung Sha, where there is at least one good restaurant. Surfing? You might be lucky...

Commuting is not too bad, despite the restriction on private car useage - there are lots of buses, and it only takes about 30 minutes from Cheung Sha to Tung Chung, near the airport. Taxis, though sometimes difficult to get hold of at peak times, are reasonable too.

Mark Six is right about the village houses. If you're lucky, you'll get a nice roof-top with good neighbours. However, if they, or their dogs, are not domesticated, you'll certainly need lots of earplugs. Expect to pay significantly more than $5500 for the top-floor with roof top flats, though.

Good luck.

[xabi200]

Thanks radiohead.

What is this car restriction business???

Cheers.

[christep]

If you are resident on Lantau you can apply for a permit to drive your own car on the roads there using the form here:
http://www.td.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/Content_121/td348.pdf

[xabi200]

Thanks for the answer and the link to the form,while living on Lantau is that permit just a formality or can it be refuse?