What to buy from U.K? Relocating to Hong Kong by July-Aug

[Frostedwindowpanes]

We will be relocating from London to Hong Kong by July-ish with our three children, ages 9, 7 and 5. I know HK has a reputation for being expensive but I've only realised it after we visited last week and had a look at some of the shops and price tags of different things!

If you've moved to HK from U.K, what sort of things should I put on my shopping list that makes sense to buy from here for sure? Should I be bringing duvets for winter? In which case I need th duvet covers? What does one put on the beds in the summer? A fitted sheet, pillow covers and duvet covers without the duvets? Sorry if thats a silly Q.

Also furniture,do you think its best to get some stuff from here? Not sure. Will I find Douwe Egberts coffee there? 😬

All advice is greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

[ShanghaiDiva]

You can get anything and everything in HK, at a price! I live in Mainland China, but go there a few times a year.
No idea re bedding, but we did take ours to China. It depends how much stuff the company is prepared to allow you to ship and how it's getting there -sea or air frieight and also how long it will take to clear customs.
Obviously, there are hundreds of shops in HK, but you may want or consider stocking up on shoes if you take a large size or have very wide feet. You can get good quality kids shoes - geox etc - in HK and there are a couple of outlet places, but may still be cheaper in UK. I use the outlet shops as they are cheaper than mainland China.
Books are pretty expensive too, selection is decent, but several English book stores have disappeared. Book depository ships for free from the UK and prices are usually around the same as the cover price.
DVDs etc are really expensive in hmv, but am sure there are shops and markets with more reasonably priced material, with a slightly dubious origin.

[Johnnycomelately1]

If you're on FB, join British Mums in Hong Kong. It's the least psycho women's group.

Duvets:
Summer: Tog 4 duvet plus air con
Winter: Tog 4 duvet plus hot water bottle

Most western food brands available here at a price. The thing is, you can ship a tonne of stuff with you but then you need to store it and HK apartments are tiny. I'd rather spend a bit more on basics than have half my living space taken up with my year's supply of Jaffa cakes or cat litter .

I don't buy many kids books- they bring home a different one from school every day so.....

I would ship my furniture but bear in mind proportions of HK apartments.

When I go back in the summer I get kids shoes and bras. That's it.

Oh yeah, and bring a Lakeland heated clothes drier. Will save you a fortune on tumble drying.

[Comeymemo]

Welcome to HK! My kids are 9 and 7, feel free to PM me if you have any questions or want to get together.

You will want duvets, duvet covers all year round. Most people have the A/C on in summer (starting around now!) to keep the mossies away, so you need bedding to keep you warm.

What to bring:

• heating blankets - the type you fit under your sheet. Incredibly cheap on Amazon and saved us this winter when it was bloody cold!
  
• space heaters - I took two to my job and we have a few at home. It gets very damp and cold in the winter, especially this year. Again very cheap on Amazon.
  
• tights, bras, trainers, sports leggings, especially if you are not petite with small feet
  

-children’s shoes

• swimsuits for you/rash suits for the kids
  
• pots, pans, dinnerware- I struggle to find middle of the range stuff. At times it seems the only choices are Ikea or Fissler.
  
• your fave toothpaste, flavours are different here. And beauty products, especially if you are fair/blonde. No Aveda Malva shampoo here!
  
• mosquito repellent and sunscreen (several bottles - our school requires each child to keep a can at school)
  
• your herbs and spices. Harissa, cardamom are weirdly hard to find #firstworldproblem
  
• anything you like to buy from M&S. The markup in HK is huge. But they deliver from the UK for a flat fee (as does John Lewis).
  
• you fake Xmas tree, if you don’t want to pay a huge amount for a real (though splendid) one.
  
• furniture: we bought a great mattress from JL just before we left. It was delivered straight to the shipping company, so marked for export, and we saved the VAT (20%). Definitely worth exploring if you need to buy expensive items!
  

We also had to get rid of a lot of furniture when we arrived, because our flat has a lot of built in storage, unlike our old home in the U.K. It was super easy though, we listed it on an expat website and by the evening everything had gone.

Good luck with the move!

[Merryhobnobs]

I used to stock up on deodrant and make up when I was home as I didn't like the ones available out there. I got my bedding from ikea in Causewaybay. I have been back in Scotland a few years now but will have a think.

[Comeymemo]

Oh, and also tampons, kindles for the kids to save on books, Bond books if you are planning to extend your kids.
And DH says post-shave balm.

[LollyLarkin]

Don’t waste shipping/luggage space on bedding, buy it from IKEA! In the summer you will be likely running the AC most of the time so will actually need a quite snuggly duvet but I would wait until you get there.

Don’t buy any furniture until you’re there either, or have definite dimensions of your apartment. The apartments are much smaller than what you’ll be used to in the UK so you will likely find that just a few millimetres will come between you and your dream sofa/wardrobe/bed. You can get stuff custom made but there are also loads of selling groups on facebook, furniture is usually cheap on them because apartment sizes dictate what people can fit (we literally had to chop up and throw away a pricey 6-month old wardrobe when we left because we couldn’t even give it away )

You can get so many British foodstuffs from Fusion, Park and Shop and M&S that I wouldn’t worry too much about those either. Marmite, Yorkshire Tea, nice organic peanut butter, cereals are all readily available. You can buy some Waitrose products in Fusion. You’ll pay more than you’re used to but I don’t think it’s worth bringing stuff like that.

I would bring clothes and cosmetics. You can buy most of the brands in HK but they really are noticeably more expensive. Good body lotion, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant (for a hot, humid climate they have a rubbish selection!), san-pro (again, awful choices, very pad-heavy selection), vitamins.

Park and Shop have an online shopping option so you can always have a look on there to get an idea of what’s available and prices.

[LollyLarkin]

Sorry, should correct my last post. It’s Park ‘n’ Shop! www.parknshop.com/en/#ath

[LollyLarkin]

Oh, and yesyesyes to Johnnycomelately1’s suggestion of a Lakeland heated airer. My best purchase ever!

[LollyLarkin]

Sorry to clutter up the thread with my ramblings but another thing I used to do was go into Next Kids in Causeway Bay to work out the sizing for my son and then order from the UK website for much cheaper!

[Frostedwindowpanes]

Amazing tips! I am so grateful for these. Thankyou eveyone. I think I'm going to print out this page. In the meantime, virtual grouphug for all of you !!!

[Laptopwieldingharpy]

you can find everything in HK. and what you don't, you can just order.
I order quite a lot from Australia too. As seasons are reversed, there is always a sale on for what you need!

There are LOTS of great furniture options ( designer shops/warehouses for vintage/ decent quality china made designer copies /IKEA/etc....) and regular sales throughout the year.

school sorted?

[Frostedwindowpanes]

Aha! I didn't realise there are sales all year around, thanks to being able order in from other parts of the world.

Schools - youngest has been accepted at GSIS. Older two siting assessments soon. Fingers crossed that's that, and all kids are at one place and it's one school run 🙂