confused - where to move with my 2yr old with Eng lang ed in mind

[wishkiez]

Hi

This is about where to live in HK at reasonable rent and with good MTR link and UK based (or English as mother tongue) education for toddler & primary.

Currently in Wanchai (2bed, 650sq ft): daddy mummy, 2yr old plus helper

1) Budget max $20k/month
2) Need three bed (master should fit at least a queen size bed) and decent sized bathroom (to fit a broad 6ft plus)
3) Really want indoor children's play room facility for rainy days, and when my busy hubby have the odd 30-60min he can play without home destruction
4) Really want at least one nice view of green or sea or something where we can look out of and not feel clastrophobic
4) Access needs: easy access to MTR Island line - we go to Sheung Wan daily, CWB every other day and Tai koo once a week

I am now looking at TKO and its area - as I've seen fairly new-ish developments on near MTR stations with clubhouse facilities and nice views. Not been there yet though.

Your experiences, suggestions, opinion please. It;ll be most appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[charade]

Hehe, when I was reading your post, I thought of TKO because I live there. I live in Tiu Keng Leng is right above the MTR and I think it's really good value for money and great for my kids.

You should be able to find a three-bedroom (950 sq ft-ish) in that budget in my estate. We can fit a queen bed in our master bedroom. I have two babies and two helpers and I'm surprised we can fit us all in - till baby 2 came we were using one of the rooms as closet but we found we can actually fit a single bunk bed in there. You may have to pay a little more for a better view – we have a great view from 2 bedrooms but a less green one from the living room, but should come within 20K.

Our estate has a beautiful indoor playroom as well as a park with some grassy area so kids can run around. As you said, I love the indoor playroom during rainy days and they have lots of baby toys so I basically bought very few toys. Also, there are these wide walking/cycling paths and the roads aren’t heavy with traffic so we can do nice walks and I like to take my son to one area where people walk their dogs. The clubhouse has a huge outdoor and decent indoor pool, which we sadly don’t make much use of, in addition to tons of other facilities.

It is connected to the MTR and takes about 30 minutes to get to Central. Taikoo and Causeway Bay are obviously closer. We tend to go to Sai Kung a lot on weekends and there’s a direct minibus to Megabox now (there’s a bus interchange under).

It also connected to a mall so shopping in both ParkNShop/Wellcome and the wet market is easy for my helper, even when it rains.

I have just applied to some international kindys for my son, there seem to be decent options in the area and there’s ESF in Clearwater Bay. In addition, for primary, there are some DSS English-medium schools that I intend to explore when my son is that age.

When we didn’t have kids, we wanted to live in an area with “character” but now that I have two babies, I love the convenience and facilities for kids in this estate. Plus when I was pregnant it was a lifesaver to get a seat in the MTR.

You may also have heard about the infamous smell that TKO is afflicted with due to the proximity of landfills but in the three years I haven’t noticed this more than a couple of times.

PM if you want more details.