Moving to Hong Kong - which neighbourhoods for a young family?

[thedarlings]

We've just found out we're moving to Hong Kong in January 2020 with our two children (three-years and four-months-old). We're excited but completely clueless! Any advice on which neighbourhoods are best for small children? ie have playgrounds, parks, children's activities. We're open to all suggestions (doesn't have to be on Hong Kong Island - don't think we can afford it anyway...). Thank you!!

Tseung Kwan O might be worth a look. There are parks, playground, and children's activities such as swimming classes, numerous toddler sports clubs, and story sessions. Your 3 year old could be registered for the international kindergarten, which she attends up to age 6 (they will help her learn the native language so she is confident speaking it.) After she has finished kindergarten, she will move on to school, and the one i linked runs through to high school. The invictus school (the one i linked). this will also enable you to meet people too.

all the best with your move!

Thank you so much @sleepismysuperpower1 Especially for including hyperlinks! Tseung Kwan O looks like a really good option, I'll start looking in the area

Depends on your budget really and whether you plan on driving there. These are the starter links we get provided from work whenever anyone thinks about moving to HK.

As it is polluted there (Pollution can get worse in summer), being on high ground (like the Peak) will really help as expat kids have been known to develop allergies when moving to HK.

www.livinginhongkong.org/7-best-places-to-live-for-expats/

expatliving.hk/living-in-hong-kong-expats-guide-where-to-live/

Thanks for the links, really useful starting point

Hello OP

Lots of Brits in Sai Kung and Clearwater Bay. Lovely community.
We discounted it due to working on HK island. I didn't fancy spending my time sitting in a traffic jam into nearest MTR.

Lamma Island is also a popular choice. And Discovery Bay. Not sure rents are a whole lot cheaper tho on DB.

Island side..look at Tai Koo, Sai Wan Ho, Quarry Bay and North Point.

We are in Kennedy Town. West side. Pokfulam also popular but pricey. Depends what your budget is.

Good luck!

It really depends on your budget and work location.

Discovery Bay is popular with expats. It's connected to Hong Kong Island via ferry so it works well for an office there, but if work is somewhere in Kowloon or the NT it's not a very convenient location.

One thing to note is that due to the current political situation, the MTR (subway system) has been shutting early at 10 PM (normally 1 AM) for several weeks now. No idea how long this will last but I'd keep that in mind when looking at areas to live. We can get from work to home easily on bus/minibus/taxi and we also own a car, but if you were entirely dependent on MTR then late nights for work or social life could be an issue.

Echo what others have said re working backwards from work location(s). Tung Chung (Caribbean Coast) might be a good option. I wouldn't do the Peak (budget aside)- it's just mainland tour buses and the HSBC residential compound. Lived there for a bit and found it really annoying to have to drive into town (not on MTR) for anything more than a supermarket. No kids stuff up there at all.

Also, have you thought about schools for your oldest? Most expats use the international schools (British or IB are the most popular with Brits) but these are all fee paying and some have crazy waitlists. If you want to use the local (government) system you can (from age 6) but you need to get them into a cantonese medium pre-school from the off so they are fluent when they start school. Don't rely on getting a place in English medium gov school. They exist but are generally not the better schools.

Finally, be prepared for the eye watering costs of kids activities. Yes, that ballet/soccer class really is 25 quid a time.

HK is extremely volatile at the moment. Key battlegrounds are around universities, so Sha Tin/ Tai Po are areas I would advise against. There have also been violent protests this week in Kowloon Tong, Causeway Bay, Taikoo, Wanchai, Yuen Long and Pokfulam. I live in Pokfulam and it’s usually so peaceful - it’s very sad to see the area descending into chaos.

You should think very carefully about bringing young children to HK and making it your home. A lot of expats are actively planning their exit at the moment. There is no social life on the weekends because of the protests - every show or play we book gets cancelled. The MTR and buses are fucked. The smell of tear gas is pervasive.

Just as long as you know what you’re getting into... it’s definite more of a hardship posting than it was 3 years ago.

If you do come: Choose schools first, then decide where you want to live so you’re close to schools.

@thedarlings we are also due to be relocating to Hong Kong from January, with a three year old. I am really questioning whether we should go given the current situation, or at least whether to postpone for a month or two to see what happens. We are only signed up for a years secondment to begin with anyway. @RevolutionofOurTime from what you are saying and what our contacts out there are saying, it really might not be the best move right now. And we need to make a decision fast before we rent out our house here!

Mcgriff- in your shoes I would defer indefinitely. The situation is not close to being resolved and while it has calmed down this week, it’s unpredictable and could easily escalate further at any point. While it’s not inherently ‘unsafe’ it’s just a shitty atmosphere to live in. All conversations are so loaded, trying to work out whether someone is ‘blue’ or ‘yellow’. We are basically stuck here till 2022 but I would come back this summer if I could ( if it gets worse I may do that and leave DH to it tbh).

Ps- I’ve lived here 10 years and my dc were born here and are v happy in school so I wouldn’t leave lightly.

Another HK long-termer here (10+ years), now actively planning our exit to Singapore.

We genuinely believed that we would be here forever, kids born here and are in local (Canto) schools, but sadly I feel there's only one way this current situation is going, and it's not somewhere we feel we can remain any more.

I'd say that, unless you absolutely have to, it would probably be preferable to defer your move, or to look at other locations in the region.

Thank you @soulrunner and @QueenKong101 I appreciate the honesty! @thedarlings have you decided what you are doing yet?

@McGriff It has calmed down a lot from how things were in November, but it could ramp up again suddenly as it did then.

Personally I don't know a single person leaving, but our circles are very much the long-term expats and local Hong Kongers who would stay until things became properly dangerous.

I think a lot depends on where you live. If you're on the island then daily life is a bit more disrupted.

If you're on the island then daily life is a bit more disrupted. I live on the island and it's not too bad (not sure those south of Wong Nai Chung Gap have even noticed ). I think Kowloon Tong/ Whampoa/Hung Hom are the worst places to live from that perspective as most of the action has shifted to Kowloon.

Agree with you that it's calmed down a lot but I think it's a difference between being in a "sunk cost" situation like us, or a "new money" position like McGriff and the OP.

Re leavers, I don't think committed stayers will be swayed, but I think a lot of people who were planning to leave in 2/3 years might accelerate their schedule and won't be replaced at the same rate.

Llama island is a great place to grow up! Having partly done so - its a world away from hk island which is nice for kids

As if things weren’t bad enough for HK, the government just declared the city is at the highest level of emergency with Wuhan flu. Schools will stay closed until at least 17 Feb. Kung hei fat choy...