Moving from UK to HK

K

kthomson

New member
I am moving out to HK with my husband and 10:thanks month old baby in a few weeks time. I have a few questions that I hoped could be answered.

I am currently feeding him Aptamil formula and wondered if I can buy this out in HK?

Are there any items that I should consider bringing that I might not be able to get out in HK? I guess it will be hard to get things like weetabix & porridge?

We are also unsure of where to live. I really like taking my son to swimming lessons, music classes, etc and also like being able to easily catch up with friends for coffee. Our initial thoughts were to live somewhere like Stanley or Repulse Bay but our relocation consultant has recomended Bamboo Grove which I beleive is mid-levels east. She recommended this area as she thinks there will be alot of other mothers with young babies? We have only spent a day looking around HK so have no idea which area will be most suitable for us. Is it difficult to get around with a pram there?

Finally, what will the weather be like late feb/early march as I don't know what sort of clothes my baby will need?

Sorry, so many questions!!!!!

Thanks,
Kathryn
 
Aptamil is not avaliable in HK, might be a good idea to take a few cartons to HK because formula milk is relatively expensive in HK.

Weetabix and porridge are avaliable in the two main HK supermarkets, Park n Shop and Wellcome along with many other well known UK brands. Also, Park n Shop have some sort of relationship with Waitrose and they stock numerous Waitrose branded products!

Here's a link to Wellcome supermarket http://www.wellcome.com.hk/jsp/sys/Sf_render.jsp?hf_s_id=WD11&hf_srv_id=Pv_fcu_home&hs_resol=1024

and here's a link to Park n Shop.

http://www1.parknshop.com/WebShop/Home.do
 
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Parknshop is no longer stocking Waitrose. Saw a sign at our local store a few months ago.
 
bamboo grove is very convenient, but air quality is not as good, as it is in the middle of town. there are also a lot of westerner families with small children. i heard they have a nice clubhouse , but that you'd have to confirm with your agent. 5-10 mins drive to most areas on HK Island.
Repulse bay & stanley have nicer living environment, quiet & better air, but farther away from town (like 20-30mins by car) there are also public transport, taxi (abundant & rather not expensive compare to UK), buses & mini-buses to & from Stanley & Repulse Bay. however, it is more expensive.

we are currently having a cold front (havn't been for the past 10 yrs), it's been 10-15 degrees C. at the end of Feb/early march it should be warmer, usually between 15-20C. by March/april, spring'd be here & it's be 18-22C. very humid & foggy. mind you, we don't have central heating & indoors (malls & restaurants) the air-cons are year round on full blasts (like 15-17C). always bring cotton long-sleeve cardigans & cotton blankets for little ones & also a long sleeve light cardi for yourself even if it's peak summer in HK (like 30-35C)
 
ours PNS still stocks waitrose too! even the pizzas and thank goodness, specially the coffee (if you like your coffee bring lots as it's better quality and less expensive in london).. don't worry about bringing weetabix/porridge - plenty to be bought here and i made that mistake in shipping loads out from london.. and now have extra stocks which i'm offering free to people as my dear son has lost interest in both!! as for bamboo grove i think it's okay but most buildings will have mums/babies to hang out with - and the western side (Pok Fu Lam) has worked very well for us -- lovely walks with prams too so i'd recommend you look a bit further than bamboo grove. hope that helps!
 
Once Chinese New Year is over the weather will start to warm up. It won't be baking hot, at the time you are coming but hopefully warmer-certainly warmer than the UK at this time. I would go for cotton layers, so you can dress them up or down depending on how warm it is. I agree you can buy lots of things here, but when I first came out from the UK I needed to spend some time orientating myself and my 18 month old, and clothes shopping wasn't high on my list of things I needed to do. You will also find that outside of the markets, clothes can be quite expensive and there is certainly nothing to match places like Tescos for kids clothes.

Prams can be difficult, especially in Central. I would recommend an umbrella style push chair or at least a light one-another option is a sling, then you don't have to worry about all those steps. Once you've been here for a while you might want to visit somewhere like Sogo (a department store in Causeway Bay) to check out the lighter pushchairs they sell out here.

You may also want to think about Discovery Bay as an option for a place to live; great for kids and loads of families here. Just be aware of the relocation experts, as they tend to think that Westerners want to live in the mid levels, because of its central location, I know ours did and despite explaining to him that I have a fear of heights, he kept wanting to show us apartments on the 30th floor.

Good luck with the move. Hong Kong is a fantastic place to live. I have never regretted our move from the UK and would have to be dragged back kicking and screaming, if ever at all.

Jools
 
Repulse Bay is great. Lots of buildings with lots of families, a little group of shops with two pre-schools (it won't be long!) and a coffee shop. 20 minutes into town outside of peak hour. If you are party animals, then stay in town (mid levels), otherwise Southside has everything you need / want.

Think about joining a club for facilities / lessons for your toddler, if its covered in your husband's package.

Kids clothes is all I would suggest, as other than trawling through the markets, I actually find the range here quite limited. Ironic given most of the stuff you will buy at home has come from China, but they seem to miss HK on the way through!

The supermarkets are really expat friendly, particularly Southside, (Stanley, Repulse Bay etc) and there are good baby shops (Mothercare, Bumps to Babes) for other supplies.

Don't stress..... Its much easier than you expect.
 
Hi Kathryn
I have just moved to HK from the UK with a 5 month old. I was using Aptamil and still am - I found it on Park and Shop online. This is the only place I have found it mind you! I did bring a couple of cartons of Aptamil formula over with us just in case! We live in Cyberport, Bel-Air and there are a lot of babies/toddlers here.
With regards to pishchairs - we bought our Mamas and Papas pushchair with us and I found it was far too heavy to get in and out of taxis and around Central so we have just bought a lightweight Maclaren pushchair. A lot of Mums use a baby carrier to get around but I find them uncomfortable.
Hope this helps. If you want to meet in Central when you are settled for a coffee then PM me!
 
Sorry, tried to edit my post but geobaby site went down as soon as I realised my mistake. Aptamil is avaliable in Hong Kong but I am not sure if it's exactly the same as the product sold in the UK. Therefore, I recomend you bring plently over from the UK.
 
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i find it amazing that people tell you that clothes for kids are expensive.

i LOVE shopping in the markets for kids clothes. i think that kids, especially babies, grow so fast it's completely absurd to spend $100s on on clothes they'll only wear once or twice. if it is something special you need, then it might cost a little more. but for us, i don't feel guilty throwing some clothes away if they've seen better days if i've only spent $10 on it.

my personal opinion though.

as for where to live, you have to come and see. go into a serviced suite for as long as you can so that you can decide what is best for YOUR family. every one has different priorities/budgets. we can all suggest what we think are good options, but if you read them all, you'll find that much of HK can be suggested.

good luck!
PS> Rani, i think you are thinking about President's Choice products from Canada. PnS no longer carries them, but they still have Waitrose.
 
Aptamil can be found at Wellcome online as well as Park n shop.

Wellcome

Parknshop

Formula milk in HK are still sold in tins, (similar to paint tins) and not the easy to open plastic cartons sold in the UK!
 
Baby clothes are cheap in HK markets but Asda/TKmaxx/Matalan/Tesco/Primark in the UK all stock similar priced clothes that are much better in quality.

BTW, if you drink tea, tea bags are very expensive in HK, especially PG tips. Tesco were selling bogof packs of PG before xmas and we stocked up ready for our next trip to HK!
 
The other thing with market shopping is you're not guaranteed what stock they will have. I have trapsed over to Stanley from Discovery Bay, on more than one occasion, and found that they don't have what I'm after. Yes the markets are cheap, but on a personal note trawling around markets with kids in tow is not my idea of a good day out-but as I say that's just me-you may love it.

When I was home this Summer, I was able to pick up t-shirts in Tescos much cheaper than even the markets here. So as I say you may want to stock up on cotton layers before you arrive, if nothing else to tide you over until you can get to the markets.
 
Hi Jools

We moved here from the UK last April, with my son who was 18 months then and we love it. He is over 2 now and I am expecting No 2 in 9 weeks (help!).

You can buy Aptimal here - I have seen it in the Wellcome by us (The Belcher's). Also you can get Weetabix and porridge anywhere.

Personally I wouldn't want to live in Mid-Levels with a little one as getting around with a buggy would be a nightmare, so many steps. We live in Belcher's in Pokfulam and love it - many many kids and close enough to Central but far enough away if you know what I mean. Definitely invest in a Maclaren type buggy here - you must be able to fold it up quickly in and out of taxis and buses.

It is quite cold here at the moment, but come March it will warm up - we came in April and my son only wore shorts & t-shirts from when we arrived until November.

Hope that helps.

Jo
 
carang said:
PS> Rani, i think you are thinking about President's Choice products from Canada. PnS no longer carries them, but they still have Waitrose.
Click to expand...

You're right I was thinking of President's Choice. Missing those yummy chocolate chip cookies they do.
 
Hi and good luck joining us all in HK. My best tip - read this website ! all the questions you need answering are on here and there are always lots of friendly keyboards ready to help.
I live in Repulse Bay with my toddler and am very settled, although it seems that the whole of the Southside and Pok Fu Lam is bursting with expat kids. I am cynical about relocation agents - ours was rubbish - it turned out that she just wanted to get us in to the place with the highest rent and not negotiate it, as she then got a cut. Just be aware.
I would go into serviced apartments if you can when you first get here (de Ricou in Repulse Bay is full of new people with kids).
As for bringing stuff out, don't stress, there are bound to be lots of things that you find are more expensive here and you wish you had bought in the UK - but you will torment yourself if you try to bring everything. Just remember it's a different lifestyle here and you have to adapt, you can't expect the same life as the UK. Generally good supermarket quality food is much more expensive here, as are children's clothes (I miss Tesco), but if you bear in mind the tax and transport are less you don't mind so much about the cost of food. Be flexible and enjoy it. Good luck
 
Thank you so much, everybody, for your comments. This website is fantastic and is certainly helping to reduce some of the stress from our move! My husband and I are very excited about the move and are looking forward to our new life in Hong Kong. I hope that I get to meet some of you when I get out there. K xx
 
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