suzzi
Posts 50

TB are you still in Dubai or in HK now?

suzzi
Posts 50

sara65 - Yes, I see the stupid banner aswell!! Hey TB would love to meet up with ya. We looking to be there sometime in December. However, will be over for a week to look at schools and areas, first week in November. Send me your email and will contact you. Interesting about the Jap. schools, I don't honestly mind as long as its the British system, but then again just can't really be too fussy I guess! We gona be staying Kowloon whilst we over there for the week and then travel to DB and CWB and few other places. So if you free for a coffee in november let me know!.

sara65
Posts 200

Can see it now. Thanks.

sara65
Posts 200

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sara65
Posts 200

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sara65
Posts 200

Thank you so much for info taniabryeand mejane - shame we can't read it because of annoying banner thing hanging down!! Will try bumping a few times to move the info down a couple of boxes.

mejane
Posts 604

Singapore is much nicer for a family. We all loved it there. Have lived twice in HK for a total of 7 yrs. The ESF schools are fine. We lived on the Island which has the best range of schools and facilities for expats.
HK is a very expensive, places like Oliver's Deli are disgustingly overpriced . When things are imported they will always cost more than at place of origin.
There is pollution. There are few factories in HK itself, but a lot over the border in Guandong, Shenzen etc and it all belts down into HK. A friend who has been a GP there for 20yrs says there is a higher than average incidence of repiratory complaints, not helped by the humidity.
It does have distinct seasons (unlike Singapore) but on the whole I would say for quality of life for children Singapore was better. Because Singapore is a newer city than HK its infrastrucure is superior to HK.
But all places have pros and cons and a lot of it is down to personal preference. We enjoyed both of them for different reasons. My all time favourite place is still Tokyo however!

trysh
Posts 63

Singapore is way much better than Hongkong! Friendly in everything especially money wise.

tanyabrye
Posts 9

sara65 school places are pretty easy, just dont gO for ESF! They have HUUUUUGE waiting lists. Here is a really brilliant piece of advice you might not get anywhere else, get them into a Japanes International school or something like that, they are all totally english speaking and are some of the best! Don't let the Japanese bit put you off, these schools are full of Brits, Kiwis, Yanks etc because they are soooooo gooooood. They either do IB or follow the Brit system.

You might have to travel 20 - 30 mins to school, but depends on where you live. DB you wont get in to the local places I doubt and might have to go over to Central. Gold Coast is simply gorg! But no local schools I know, travel time but its great if you got a car.

Listen sara65 Dubai v HK, seriously I don't know how you gals stood it so long! Give me back my REAL LIFE! back soon now.

suzzi Great news hun! same advice as before, this is HK - LOOK AT ALL SCHOOLS! Forget just those with a Brit name in it, HK has the best schools out there, look at all names and you will be very suprised.

suzzi let's hook up when you get out here.

suzzi
Posts 50

HK it is for us then! Which area, schools, so much to do now!! Any tips on schools anyone out there?

sara65
Posts 200

tanyabrye, if you log on here again - what will you do about getting school places sorted out for your kids? Do you think there is any chance of getting a place at a British-curriculum school mid-year? Do you know if there are waitlists at most schools? If my husband is offered a job, it would be working at the old airport site - Kai Tak? What areas would you recommend living in if he had to commute there every day? Would areas like DB, Clearwater Bay or the Gold Coast be feasible? Thanks in advance for any info/advice and hope you continue to enjoy HK life on your return. You are a great advertisement for HK! I have been dragging my feet a bit with regard to poss moving there (not a great one for change!) but reading your posts has really made me think - let's go for it if DH gets a good offer!

suzzi
Posts 50

tanyabrye
Posts 9

Dubai Mall big range lol....you call that a big range....lol no comment.

Not doing a comparison honesty gal, just saying my preference and helping someone out on some hints and tips for the place.

Pollution in HK, yes outside a factory awful, but unless you live outside a factory. Compare with NY and NY would be a lot worse.

Dubai is pretty much like nothing I have ever seen....but each to their own honestly, just point out which supermarkets are over there, not seeking to compare.

Oh hum...back to reality we go...

scotinthelakes
Posts 82

Marks and Spencer have a big range of frozen food in Dubai Mall - I did not look for kids meals but saw some - have you checked whether it is here?

scotinthelakes
Posts 82

It is always easier to be an expat in a non-English speaking country as you automatically have something in common with your fellow foreigners - you don't speak the language! Moving to a place like Dubai (similar to moving to the UK or Australia) is always harder as there is no instant connection that draws people together. For all your ravings about HK vs Dubai, I know loads of people that hate HK because of the pollution. I am sure it is not as bad as I have heard but since the Economist recently had an article on how horrendous it was, surely there is legitimate concern there.

suzzi
Posts 50

Bangers n Mash...wow!! seriously? I haven't seen that since back in the UK! That is fantastic - could eat one now myself! Proper tesco in BKK wow I am shocked. Thats great thanks again for the info TB.

tanyabrye
Posts 9

Oliver's Delicatessen, City Super, Marks and Spencer, Wellcome and Park N Shop are the one's off the top of my head!

Western food can be found in all but last week we went to the new Marks & Sparks and it was full of your favorites! Bangers and mash with onion gravy meals for the nippers!

Sing has Carrefour of course and Cold Storage (far better IMHO than Carrefour) and BKK Tesco yes really Tesco's and yet it really is Tesco's a proper real Tesco's!

kyya
Posts 6

oh TB i am so jealous ... you are moving back to HKG!!
btw, we used to live in the Gold Coast, in Tower 23...it was the best place we lived!! The country park is just across the road. Enjoy.

suzzi
Posts 50

Looks fab! Well I guess it will have to be an apt in HK, no worries, I guess anything wld be nice if we were to be there. What are the supermarkets like in HK? Do they have most of the western foods available?

tanyabrye
Posts 9

Our new place is almost the same as this one - oooohhhh I love the weather.

http://www.hongkonghomes.com/property_search/search.php?sch_type=1&keywords=S1689412&page=1&rec_per_page=5&sort_by=3&action=1&mode=1&max_page=0#history_0

tanyabrye
Posts 9

In DB we had a villa but hey it was a bit windy willis (ie it was a bit small) and in CWB we had an apt which was a bit bigger.

If you have never been to CWB then I suggest it and if you have ever been to any of the ahem 'country clubs and golf courses' here for brunch or food, you aint seen nothing until you have been down here. http://www.cwbgolf.org/public/index.aspx was our fave and I am aching to be back.

Side note that one though dearie!

We are going back to an apt up on the new Gold Coast, about 1,400sqft (big in HK standards) this time round but honestly hun apartment living in HK is not like anywhere else there is so much to do that all the time is family time and you might wanna garden now but in HK you and the nippers will have so much to do outside that you will never get in the garden. DB as an example has so many gardens and is so green that you and the nippers will never be indoors.

Y'all gotta remember they simply DO NOT BUILD them big in HK, everything is smaller.

Comparing though BKK you would get a huge house because you just can and Sing you would get a little house no worries. HK different ball game though dearie cos you get an amazing life for you DH and the nippers, just my 2 cents is that almost everyone in HK lives in an apt. but there are houses definately yes but you just arent gonna want one. I was the same when I moved over but your life is just too busy to care.

BKK we had a lovely big house before the kids, because its just so darn cheap.

Shippers I can't tell you too much about from here to over there, we are dumping everything and going with our suitcases. HK is darn cheap to furnish the place if you know where to look and we know where to look so we are just going.

Best advise hun is to just be lucky you are in HK at all and not worry about the house or apt tizwaz. We would live in a camper van if we meant we were living over there...what do they say on HK, live it love it?

TB...one suitcase at a time.

suzzi
Posts 50

Hey TB, not packing again I cant stand packing so Good luck!

So in HK, so did you stay in a villa or apt as really would like a villa, wherever we go. Been in apts for almost 4 years now and my kid wants a house/villa now aswell with a garden. So any reliable shipping companies you can recommend aswell please....?

It's the same for me I want the change but mainly for my kid. Want a better life i.e. proper friends, and being more normal day to day. Thats just me, so am looking forward to where ever we go I guess out of the 3.

tanyabrye
Posts 9

...still busy packing the suitcase lol gal!

HK Defo 1st (but I would say that love it)
BKK Defo 2nd
Sing 3rd

HK weather is so nice take last week when we were out there, it rained it was sunny it was cold it was warm it was great.

one day i had my long coat on, the next i had my jean shorts, it was lovely and the air is great.

BKK is hotter you know that but not as hot as here! And it's so great there, people are friendly but HK people are brainy lol!

suzzi
Posts 50

tanyabrye
Posts 9

Well gals....DH and I have been back over to HK for a week!

We are moving back November for lots and lots of reasons but main one is (and sorry ladies that love Dubai so much) this place is not reality at all 'for us!' My 2 wee ones hate it and have made no friends, I have made no friends either and hun this place is just not a real place to be. I am not knockin' anyone that loves it honest its my personal opinion and i'm just comparing it to HK and Sing on a personal level.

....so we're off! and I can't wait to get back, we should never have left and DH, DS and the other DS need to get back to the 'real' world.

If you wanna go to the mall out of the 40 degree heatwave, sit and have coffee and be an expat wife doing not a great deal then I can see why some peeps love it but its not for me. I have to get out and about and I missed so much taking the nippers out every day to do something new as HK has such a buzz (gimme a call if you get over here I will show you the sights and sounds!)

In my expat past I have done Sing and HK, Bangkok, Dublin and NY and NY is also a COOOL place to be but Bangkok is great also, we didnt have kids back then but we know so many friends out there who we visit even now and again and the place is super kid friendly and it too was a great place, but hey gal you can't beat HK.

I'm ranting on 'cos I'm just so xcited to be getting back, if you need any tips on Sing or HK let me know. We are leaving here in about 2 weeks going to Bangkok for 2 weeks to see friends and then straight back to HK, no doubt we will get to BKK (Bangkok) and wanna stay there and forget HK. Our friends rent a 6 bed huge place for what a 2 bed in discovery gardens costs here! In NY its a lot more expensive obviously and Dublin was a bit boring!

Like everywhere in this lovely world some places are good for some, and some for others. Gal get to HK or even Sing and to the poster that mentioned pollution, yes you choke on the exchaust fumes in central if your stood in the middle of road smelling in the fumes, but same said of every city in the world the rest of the place is green, lovely and no pollution at all.

This is TB signing off prob for the last time as I start packing weeks in advance!

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Wow, LC, sounds like you're having a blast! So how does it compare to Dubai, do you think you will prefer it there?

Cinders
Posts 87

Just back from Singapore yesterday with a view to move there and have to say it was not for me. It is very,very busy and humid! Some beautiful villa's with pools and nice gardens BUT its like any other place in the world, the better the location the higher the cost. Never been to Hong Kong but dh has and he has said much the same as other posters, the air quality is shockingly bad so would not be the best location for young children. Good Luck.

lambchop
Posts 893

Hi Suzzi,

We moved from Dubai to SINg about 8 weeks ago! I agree with the comments on cost of living. It is a fab place and we are loving it but things are def more expensive. For example, we are paying 90,000Dhs for one child at school. And for the price of a 3-4 bed villa in Umm Suquim we have a 3+ penthouse apt with rooftop in the east (although it is SMALL).

We just got our first utilities bill and it was 300 Dhs for 2 weeks - gives you an idea.

But we are out bike riding / blading by the sea every weekend and finding plenty of great things to do that don't include visiting shopping malls!! And then there is the food... After Dubai, it is so great to rediscover simple pleasures, and our daughter is loving the new lifestyle.

Our family has an apt in HK so we visit there a lot and really love it, but IMHO it is not a place for kids - the pollution is just too bad.

Good luck with your decision. As another poster said, it will probably come down to package as both places are quite expensive and you will have your own preference as to how you want to live.

Let me know if you want more info on Singapore - HTH.

glenleigh
Posts 53

Lots of free standing villas/semi-detached houses with large or small gardens (and some with pools) in Singapore. Depends on your budget. Villas in and around the Orchard Road, Bukit Timah & Holland Road are very expensive. If you're more flexible on location, there are less expensive ones to be found. We had a lovely house with an amazing two-level garden around the Jalan Jelita area. Another unusual and atmospheric option is shophouses that have been converted into residential villas. Some are stunning and full of character.

Villas are rare in Hong Kong. Discovery Bay is probably your most affordable option. On Hong Kong Island, they are outrageously expensive and probably a semi detached. Good luck.

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Does everyone live in apts in both HK and Singapore, are there no villas/houses with gardens?