family living ok in midlevels?

O

Overlook

New member
hi--this forum is great - lots of wonderful information.

i'm moving to hk in august and am wondering how convenient it is to live in midlevels with 2 small children under 18 months. i'm worried about being very mobile with strollers and since i'll be on my own (without hubby for a while), i'm a little concerned about maneuvering the steps, escalator by myself without a helper. do you recommend midlevels for family living? what are the pros, cons? i'll be working in wanchai so will it be convenient to commute there?

tks!
 
You might also want to look at Happy Valley. Very family friendly, open spaces and not as crowded as Mid Levels. You'll spend the same amount of time, if not less, travelling to Wanchai and will have easy access to Causeway Bay / Times Square.
 
Welcome to HK,

we moved to HK in December 04 and have been living in a serviced apartment until August this year, of which we decided to move to midlevels. As for suitability for family living, apart from narrow footpaths, battling the escalator and combined with hills, toddlers and a pram,phew... bear in mind, I think it all depends on what part of midlevels. As long as you choose a complex that is family friendly it will certainly lessen the need to get out and about with two littlies, ie pool, play areas, etc... Also most complexes have a shuttle bus provided so you don't need to worry about juggling footpaths with a pram and toddler - they go into central etc.. We chose midlevels central, May Rd, as it's close to HK Park and Botanical gardens and an easy ride into central, star ferry etc. Wanchai is a great spot with food and everything else you could need markets handy, there is a complex a friend lived in called Bamboo Grove which was brilliant in terms of family facilities, guess it also depends on your budget. Look at www.hongkonghomes.com and you can get a feel for where blocks are located, what facilities they offer and how close they are to what you need in life. If you want to chat further don't hesitate to email me.
 
tks for the replies

Happy Valley does seem to be a possibility, but it seems their apts are older and facilities less abundant. What do you think?

I guess I should ask what family complexes in HK - Midlevels, Happy Valley, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay - are rated tops for facilities, convenience, cleanliness, etc. etc. My budget is not terribly extravagent, but I'm willing to pay a little more to have my children be in a nice, clean environment with lots of activities to keep them busy and SAFE while I work!

I've checked out hongkonghomes.com and gohomes.com and while they're very helpful, you can only glean so much from their websites. I'd much rather have some personal recommendations.

Thanks again!
 
>> I'd much rather have some personal recommendations.

Depending on your budget, you can always look at Baguio Villas in Pokfulam. 20 minutes into Central by mini-bus, nice playgrounds, swimming pool and spacious flats. Average 1530 (and these are large flats given that the useable area is around 1350) square foot flats run around HK$26K.

Good expat community (very much multinational) mixed in with locals.

We lived in Mid Levels for a while .. been there done that and happy we don't have to live there anymore. Found it just a bit too crowded for the kid. Besides... Pokfulam turned out to be much better value for money.

Best thing to do would be to get to HK, live in serviced apartment for a couple of weeks or a month and have a good estate agent take you around.

We would recommend working with Sallmans or Knight Frank ( check their listings on GeoExpat.Com ) and perhaps Centaline.
 
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Agree with shri- baguio villas much better than midlevels- stayed at Robinson Heights a few years back and although there were alot of young kids there, overall it felt abit casutrophobic for my taste. In the end we moved to sai kung which is fantastic for the kids and for my sanity- but abit of a trek for my husband to go to work- but then again, theres always pros and cons whereever you go
 
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