Hong Kong or Singapore? Advice please??

[giddybiddy]

DH has announced a move to Asia might be imminent though exactly where not sure. He may be able to influence location but not sure where we should express a preference for.... Have three DDs all primary school age so schools are of paramount import. I have completely succumbed to being an expat wife so my work centers around making family life work where ever we are. Any advice on life style, schools, location would be really welcomed. Many thanks!

Thk you seem to have a crystal ball, that's where I was today and I think dh

Against all expectations It really is not crowded. Facilities are just fantastic. Basically a club on your doorstep and kids can come and go as they please and I can lock myself in my tower or escape on the hiking trails!

Slim-yes go for it - it's a great place. Hv many friends living there because it's close to school and its Bradbury catchment too:)
Good luck

Slim-yes go for it - it's a great place. Hv many friends living there because it's close to school and its Bradbury catchment too:)
Good luck

Dinner date with dh. So nice to be in a grown up city without the kids for a couple of days!
So park view it is hopefully.
Was at brad bury today. We do not have confirmed place yet but ds in the top 10 and the registrar advised that most of these 10 kids do not have a confirmed address so may well go further up the list when we sign the lease.
Have come to terms with the idea of harbor for a couple of month until we get in. Being in park view will certainly save the day as will compensate for lack of facilities. Ds is so sporty and dd such a gossip at the tender age of 2, they would be bored senseless in a house.
Was great having someone to talk to. We must meet when I come back.
Joy! My helper just called and they have a power black out in the house in sinagpore! So much for a romantic dinner......
Giddy, so sorry to have shamelessly hijacked you post, but all useful info I hope.

Please don't apologise, it has been so useful. DH I hope is starting to move this forward so we can make some decisions and come for a look!! So glad things are beginning to work out for you.

Hi slim,
Hope you arrived back more settled ( and with power)
Hv been away for business & missed MN!
MN me when you get over here ... Giddy hopefully youll be joining us too!!

Hi!

this last week was akin to the myth of sysiphus.
HK schools & housing/Sg work and power cuts & kids playing up/ absentee husband all check.

Today glimmer of hope, I must have done something right because suddenly have hope from all sides. So not going to jinx it and will keep quiet until all actually signed!

so now its full gear logistics for the next 3 weeks. Should hopefully be in HK for christmas.

Giddy, hope things are progressing smoothly, get them to pay for a relocation agent if you can. Was just too optimistic this time as have done this many times and already in Asia. Was wrong. You need all the help you can get.

x

Hi

Just started with the school applications and hoping to talk to relocation agent in next few days.... Will keep you all posted!! Now starting to worry that kids won't pass assessments, going to have to get test papers from Amazon for practise!! Hoping to come over in the Spring if all continues in this direction.....

Glad there is glimmer of hope for you slim, let us know how it goes.

Hi Giddy,

Don't get too stressed out by assessments. You have to remember that they are primarily filtering out children who are not proficient in English and any potential special needs. Anything like dyslexia etc must be specified on applications to make sure they provide supporrt.

But its always worth reviewing a few basics and some examiners (GSIS) are real dragons.
Ask your teachers to give you copies of the national standard assessment papers for their year group and the next.Photocopy them and do them over and over again.

If you children are already in a public/prep school in the UK chances are they are already working ahead of the expected framework for their age.

And as I said before applying for 4 children in one go will always work in your favor (pure greed).

speak soon!

PS: property prices have reached new ridiculous highs but are expected to settle after the spring........will believe it when I see it. Do your maths. Schools may also depend on your housing budget and location where you will be.
If I was a stay at home mother of 4, I would seriously have considered Sai Kung in the new territories.
Southside of HK island, tai tam & redhill are also better value for houses and a fantastic area to live with low rise full seaviews. For ESF that would be Quarry bay catchment. HKIS good too for that area.

yipee! offer accepted, parkview it is then!

Whoo hoo Congrats!!!
Still hv fingers x for your school:)

Have started to look at property prices, it is extraordinary!! I have 3 kids so will need 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, I am ok about being in an apartment though. Location is the most important factor for me, though a pool would be nice!!!

I had a look at Sai Kung, you certainly get a lot more for your money, but then just not sure what my Secondary School option would be.... it is all too confusing from far away.

I am going to have to concentrate on school applications for now and then try and work out where I should live. I will put down an ESF application for Bradbury and South Island School in the meantime I guess. I think MuffinTum said that you could move your application over once you are actually there!

I will get DH to focus on finding out what our housing budget will be.....

Great news Slim, so pleased it is coming together!

Giddy- a house starts at around HK$150k per month and goes up to around $400k per month.
Sai Kung is not ideal. It's far out so It's a lifestyle choice.
Shouson Hill would be a great location if you can stretch to a house . Stanley would be a better option than Sai Kung as a SAHM.
Although there is an ESF school in Sai Kung & Australian International school.
If your DH is based on Kowloon side then it's ideal. Houses are mostly 2100 sq ft spread over 3 floors with low ceilings as they are village houses . Maybe not an issue for you but for my DH at 6'3 he felt it was a dollhouse!
As a previous poster mentioned DIscovery Bay is excellent value for money. Larger houses for around HK$120K. ESF school and most houses back onto the beach. This would cost you double on the island.
DB is again a lifestyle choice as it requires ferry trips into central but personally given the choice over Sai Kung I would definitely opt for DB!
Most good apartment developments have pools. Definitely try and ensure DH package includes a club membership- with 4 children it would be a huge advantage!

Giddy- meant to add - Clearwater bay ( sai Kung) would be the best area in sai Kung . Houses start around $70k .
The reason I wouldn't opt for it as a SAHM is I think you wouldn't have such a wide opportunity to meet people being based out there. It's quite a small pool of a certain type of person IYKWIM. You would spend a lot of your time driving into Hong Kong for childrens activities and probably dinners and it can be a good hour drive in traffic!

I think Stanley or Repulse Bay area sound a good place to start. DH is on HK island for work and we are happy with an apartment. What would I need to budget for that do you think??
I want to be close to people particularly if DH is going to be traveling a lot!

Hi Giddy,
A house in Repulse Bay for the size you need would be around 200k.
Best value in Repulse Bay for a house would be Burnside. Luxury end would be houses on SouthBay road which are fantastic but downside is they are currently $220K per month.
Stanley house around 130- 150k
Shouson Hill house 130k upwards
Apartments in Stanley only tend to go up to around 2500sqft which may be too small for you. It's a real swizz and the gross Sqft stated is never accurate. A good guide would be to take off 500 sq ft from the stated size.( there is ever on going pressure for the government to regulate this but it won't happen)
3-4 bed apartments are currently around 90- 130k on the southside.
There are some good options on the Peak for the same price which would be worth considering although you are right to consider Southside as 1st choice as SAHM. You will find it very easy to meet others with travelling
husbands and children!!!
I definately think the minimum should be $100k depending on your husbands job. Currently senior bankers( not top dogs) are getting $150K allowance. Top dogs up to $300K. Pilots 100K
The prices are constantly going up due to hot
money flowing in from China and they are
predicted to keep rising next year. Last 2
years up 30%.
Property prices tend to be fixed to the current rate of housing allowance. Many properties are company owned so no big need to rent out. There is no such thing as a bargain or good deal here so if you find somewhere you like don't deliberate, it is however a numbers game as price and standard are often not related, you pay for location and size!! I'm sure slim has seen some eye rollers!!!

Giddy sorry realise it's 3 children 4 beds not otherway round;)
There's a great English girl Claire & Australian lady Victoria at Habitat Property who many of use have used as they specialise in finding properties for expats. Possibly worth contacting them for input too. Chinese agents tend to be obsessed with the view!

Hi Giddy

Do give DB a look, even only to discount it. As THK says, its a 25 minute ferry ride sraight into Central (pier 3 @ IFC). Can also be in Kowloon (for shoppping, markets and restaurants) in 25 minutes by catching the MTR from Sunny Bay.
DB is a closed residential area. there are about 15000 people here. No cars allowed. buses, taxis and golf carts! It has a beach, two lovely clubhouses and a great range of accomodation. 2 schools, both great and community focused.There are two plazas offering shopping and restaurants.You can walk to everywhere, makes family life very easy. Lots going on and a very inclusive community.It gets bad press from others becasue it is not the "real hong kong". It is however amazing family living and it takes 30 mins max to get hk side or kowloon side for HK fix!Lantau itself is also a beautiful island and very local. Its a personal thing but worth a look. I am glad for instance that we did not end up South side as Stanley is a massive tourist trap and I cant see how living there every day would be easy. But each to their own!Pm me for more details if needs be!

there you go Giddy, great info.
Agree with Muffin, also much prefer DB to stanley but we were keen on being on HK island for various reasons and DH did not even want to consider.
Stanley is really not very nice, houses I saw are of poor quality/ facilities not well maintained (except the $200,000+ ones on south bay road of course). Would stop at headland road/Chum hong Kok if were looking in that direction and skip stanley altogether to go further on to Tai Tam/redhill.
There are some very good options for compound townhouses around deepwater/shouson hill road. Everything I saw was a minimum of $150,000 though.

Agree there are some very nice blocks towards the peak, along magazine gap road/stubbs on the way to wan chai gap road leading back towards the beaches and deepwater/repulse (that's mid levels EAST)
We did shortlist a few. Just make sure that if you are looking in that midlevels area, you specify that you only want to see units with fairly open views ( and they do exist) as it can be pretty built up.
Now that I have seen the full spectrum, I certainly would not discount midlevels altogether because the nice blocks are very professionally managed and often in better condition. There usually more decently renovated units to see in that area than southside.

Hi Slim
Stanley Court is OK ?!!!
Banyan villas smallish but well maintained?
Personally I find Redhill too sprawling & "estatey" but you're right in that it is good value for a Southside house. For me it would be Parkview over Redhill.
Giddy - Lots of Bankers / lawyers are based in Central Mid Levels ie: Old Peak Road /Po Shan Road/Tregunter Path for proximity to Central . Ive just moved from Peak Road and have been very happy living so centrally as I do work.
Mid levels West such as Conduit road can be a nighmare for traffic ,pushchairs uphill & road side pollution and general noise. In built up areas there is constant renovation and as a SAHM you would be driven nuts by pile driving, drilling and road works.

• read through Habitat Propertys website is a very accurate reflection of property and life here. ( no, I don't work for them :))

The Peak area was our first choice on the island. Some great buildings and also Peak ESF was our first choice of all the schools we viewed HK side (ESF and international). Would definately think of a move there when the kids are a bit older. Think if you focus on the school and get that, then everything else falls into place. Know lots of people in lots of different areas and they are all happy!

Muffin -totally agree. Hong Kong suits such a diverse range of people from many different backgrounds and professions that the Southside area isnt the only place to live. Friends bought in Pui O so we often head out that way for walks at the weekend.
However, if it is only a 2 year contract and $$ permits Southside area would definately be an easy place for a newbie SAHM to settle, meet similar families and for her children to meet friends.
My DD loves the golf carts on DB - do you have one??

Thats what I love about here, it is small and local feeling notwithstanding the millions of people you share it with!
Do not have a golf cart (they rent for over $8000 a month!)but have legs and loving not having a car, its fab. Also means I have the ability to always have a couple of glasses of wine with lunch !

Haha - my type of lady :)

looking forward to meeting you!
how old are your DC
My DS is going on 7 and DD 2 1/2