hoping for help from all you hk yummy mummy's

I

indi'n'zai'smum

Registered User
Hi,
I have just found out i am moving to hong kong in jan.( i am from melbourne, australia) I have never used a forum thingo before so i have very little idea how this all works, but i have SO so many questions about hk living with kids. Do i just ask questions and see who answers???? :)
well i guess to start i was wondering about furniture in hk, can i purchase reasonably priced stuff for the kid , ie beds, esp bunks or trundles - does any one know a good store where i could view stock online. Not sure whether to buy in hk or bring existing furniture.
also - totally unrelated - the whole helper thing is so bizare ( tho appealing!!) to me - it sounds a bit complicated getting one - what happens if after a few weeks u think they are not right for you????

also is jan a good time to move? should i wait until chinese new year - ??

I have a lot of random questions - and am quite overwhelmed by all the things to figure out - like where to live!!! I have lovely little 5 yr old girl - and newborn baby boy. Mum chats are always the best way to find out any thing and every thing so i hope there are some mums who have done all this and can help me with some questions from time to time!!!:thanks
 
Hi
Sounds a very familiar story, was in exactly the same boat a year ago moving from Melbourne too!

Furniture is reasonably priced here. We chose to take our beds as we are fussy about beds, but purchased dining room furniture and extra itmes based on what our living space size was. There is Ikea for more budget furnishings, to Queens Rd East for more expensive things. Also, try Horizon Plaza at Ap Lei Chau (near aberdeen off Hong Kong Island). It has pretty much everything you need here to suit all budgets and styles. We bought some lovely things from "Tree" they have a website (just look it up) and have just made a new children's range of furniture that may interest you? Indigo another shop may have a website too?

I probably wouldn't buy online, furniture making here is quick and efficient and you can see what you get before you buy.

The helper thing is a big one, it's been the biggest adjustment for me and I would strongly suggest you go without for a while and really see if you need it. Had I have done that, I would not have emplyed a full time live in helper because for me it's too much of an invasion of my personal space (we have a very open plan apartment so it doesn't work so well). As a consequence, we are thinking of putting our helper off and getting a part time person who can come and clean and iron a few days a week and do occasional baby sitting. I have met quite a few women who opted to go this way and are very happy with their decision.

As to where to live. It depends on your budget and requirements. Where will you or your partner be working? We chose Southside, mainly because when we arrived it was at the end of the year when pollution is high and I almost died! I went to the place which offered the best air quality with small children. But that may also depend on schooling for you. Most kids travel by school bus and travel 30-40 minutes per trip.

Feel free to PM me (that's personal message me!) about anything, I'd be really happy to chat or give any further info.

Best Of Luck :)

As for the time for moving, I'm not sure if there is a good or bad time! It really depends on what you have organised for your 5 year old for schooling? The quicker you get settled, the happier she will be no doubt. Our daughter was 3 and a half and we went to a serviced apartment for 3 months first in an area we were not likely to live in. So it was unsettling as we found it hard to form any real friendships when we were moving again and I decided not to put her in to kindergarten as the commute to the place she was accepted from oiur serviced apartment was too long!
 
1) helpers are a totally personal thing. the previous poster hasn't been able to adjust, but for us it is a necessity. there is just no way that i can work without having a helper. we are now in the process of hiring a second one (her husband) as there is just too much work for the three adults we have in the house. (we run a dog boarding business from our home and hubby works 24/7. as well, i run a playgroup centre, so i work about 50 hours/week.) we really could not get by without our helper. she just returned from 2 weeks away and i ended up having to stop workign for those 2 weeks as we had no one to watch our eldest daughter.

2) i would be REALLY careful bringing furniture over. you have no idea what the living space will be like and depending on your budget, it could be much smaller than you are used to.

3) i've been in hk for almost 15 years and it can be frustrating, annoying, difficult and depressing BUT it can also be one of the most rewarding experiences you ever get to have. it is a great opportunity for your entire family. it will open up new horizons and possibilities you never thought possible. whenever i consider a move back "home" i get scared as it is no longer a place that i know. i've been gone my entire working life (i moved here when i was 22) and at times the prospect of moving back to canada feels really daunting.

good luck! it seems to me you have the right attitude, which with a move like this, is half the battle won.
 
Hello
HK is a wonderful place and most of us love the lifestyle and just accept the pollution!
I think you have been given some good advice from the other two posts, especially when it somes to helpers because it is so personal. I think if you are interested in having one, look for an apartment that has a closed off kitchen space so you can achieve some privacy. I understand Sea princesses frustration with her open plan apartment, we had the same issue. And it does feel as though you have no space from people you are working with (a bit like living at the office!). I think allowing yourself some time to settle in and work our what you want first is really good advice.
As I wasn't working (unlike Carang) didn't see having a helper a necessity, but thought it might give me and my husband some flexibility to go out and have babysitting. Having said that, moving here with children and having done it all by myself previously, we really don't utilise our helper very well when it comes to child care. I still do the school runs, cook, feed, bath, story tell and then wait till asleep, then go out and that's about once a month if I'm lucky!
As for furniture. I took two beds & then the bare essentials. Beds here are rock hard (i'm sorry, but they are!) so I was really glad to have mine like Sea princess! But like Carang said, you really don't know what space you'll have so be practical.
Good Luck.
 
For me, having a full time helper is one of the best things about living in HK!! I was looking forward to it before we came as I was living in London with no family nearby and juggling work and being a mum on my own. And now I think it will be thing i miss most when we eventually leave.
Its GREAT for my relationship with my husband. we are both very social and love going out and in HK get to do it ALL the time. we have a dinner date night every week and go out with friends a couple of times a week too. We are fortunate that the lay out of where we lives means we get a lot of privacy. And there was definitely an adjustment period. I remember crying in the first few weeks, then it probably took a full 6 months for me to be completely comfortable with the whole thing.

Good luck with everything. You'll get lots of advice and information from all the mums on geobaby.
 
welcome to hk! i loved melbourne! anyways you'll get a bit of culture shock, tight spaces and all, but you'll like it on a different level.

for budget furniture, IKEA or local furniture shops could work, or if you're brave enough you might order furniture from across the border for cheaper than what you can find in HK!

you might find some chinese new year furniture sales, as it is a custom to change old furniture/clean out old things right before cny. but if you're looking for moving companies, etc, they will cost more during that period.

anyways, welcome!
 
if you can even find local movers for CNY... most things shut down for 3-10 days (depending on the business).
 
agree that open plan does not work for a live in (and may also be quite intrusive even for a live out as they are rarely 'out of sight' so would bear that in mind when home-hunting. When we had our first baby, we ditched the whole sociable open plan kitchen layout for closed kitchen, helper room at back (with own bathroom) etc. and the arrangement has worked out v well. gives them the privacy any adult needs too.

not sure what your husband does but many jobs in HK involve lots of regional travel. i found having a live in helper helped me cope with the extended periods my husband was away. and as mentioned by previous poster, is GREAT for date nights, catching a late movie etc. and giving us the sort of freedom parents of young children in most countries might not enjoy...

and yes, you can fire them if things don't work out with 1 mth's notice. it takes around 4-6wks to hire/rehire another one. better to hire one when you are here when you know your living arrangement.

moving in Jan is fine if that means you're not moving into your home yet and staying in a serviced/temp appt. would wait after mid Feb to move locally. Chinese New Year is an interesting time to be in HK and lots of the big sales start afterwards (for everything).
 
WOW!!!!! thanks so much guys!!!!! love all the info - if u think of anything else keep it coming!!!! really good things for me to think about there that i just would not have known!!!! esp re helper and cny!
we had planned to move start of jan - into serviced then find place .....so do u think it would be better if we moved straight into place early jan b4 cny - as it sounds like things slow down, get more expensive. Given i have heard u have to negotaite a bit with yr rent - do u think b4 cny would be better as land lords would like to start ny with tennants. maybe a silly question ??? we can pretty much move when ever we want but thought our 5yr should have christmas here before we go.what do u all think? i know your school terms are totally different - she is booked into a woodlands school at aberdeen at the moment. thank u all so much - pls pass on any thing else u think will help!~!! :)
 
We moved in the month of January but moved straight in to an apartment rather than a serviced apartment. My husband had to come out on business about 6 weeks before we moved out here so he put by some time to view apartments and found one he liked (I trusted him to make a decision and had given him a checklist before hand eg; child friendly, pushchair accessable etc...). We then shipped all our furniture out here saving the need to buy new furniture. We arrived here on a Friday, stayed the night in a hotel and then moved in to our apartment on the Saturday when our furniture arrived. It depends on how long you are here for - we know that we are only here on a timed ex-pat contract so will be moving home at some point in the next couple of years and also your circumstances at home. We were able to 'bunk' with family until we moved so were able to ship our furniture before we left.

Good Luck with everything. I agree....have Christmas with family and come out in the New Year.
 
One more thought regarding helpers ... We don't have one, and it's a good decision for our family, BUT, our big frustration is that there aren't other options for childcare like I'm used to at home, since it's just expected that everyone has helpers. You can't just call up the neighbor teenage girl to come watch the kiddos, people don't really do "babysitting coops," there's no mother's day out, etc. Basically the only option is to get a part-timer, as has been suggested, but that's technically illegal. Don't know how risky it is or how likely to get caught. This is the one thing that drives me CRAZY about HK--very few options for childcare if you don't have a helper. If money isn't an issue and you get an apartment with adequate space, I would get a helper just so you have the possibility of going out if you want to!
 
I love HK and like you I had so many questions when we first moved here from the US two and a half years ago. I'd like to add that you can hire a part time helper as long as the person is a "local" Hong Kong-er. I have hired a part time helper before my baby arrived, then I hired a full timer. If you have any other questions you can PM me or ask here and I'm more than happy to provide some input.
Good luck on the move and I hope you'll like HK as much as we do!

Michelle
Baby, Children, Family, Maternity photographer
Hong Kong, photographer, Newborn, baby, maternity, family, children, photographer hong kong
 
hi guys- sorry i am as new to technology as i am to hk - bit sad really - so hope i am responding in right place - don't know how to respond to u all individually!!!
Musical mama - how do u legally hire a part time helper. From what the other ladies have kindly advised me - this might be a great option for me as being an aussie i have never even known any one with a helper - let a lone a live in one - and like all of b4 hk - have done it all on my own the last 6 yrs! having said that i totally agree with one of the earlier posts - u can still do the school run - baths, stories, bed - cook tea- but have some one do the irritating little things that rob u of time with the kids like ironing!!!!
i would really appreciate info on that - also if u know a way i could hire some one even just for a week or 2 while i am unpacking.
i have another totally unrelated question - can any one tell me with baby bottles of formula- do u boil the tap water there and give it in the bottle - or used bottled water to prepare formula.
also when moving onto fresh cows milk - is there fresh cows milk to be had in hk???? didn't see too many farms!!lol - i know they import the long life stuff from aus, but that would have preservatives.
thanks ladies - keep it coming!!!!! any gems u have that u wish u had known - or that now after time u have found make yr life easier i would appreciate!!! thanks!!!!!
 
we use boiled filtered tap water for baby formula. for fresh milk we use Australian imported fresh milk (Pura Masters) which you can get in all the big supermarkets. Just personal preference/taste etc as there are quite a few cheaper local options (HK or China dairies) which i know are fine.

also, think longlife milk doesn't have preservatives - it's just been treated by UHT? but there is fresh import avail. and the fancier deli's offer organic options for a price.
 
excellent pura it is - so glad to know that - my husband works in freight so i can get stuff here cheap - but i don't think fresh milk will make it!! lol. MayC - that is a good tip about the customising of furniture - could u reccomend any places that do this....i think u and the other ladies have pretty much convinced me to just buy it over there - we have a king bed too - but would be really upset if it didn't fit. also think hk may have more funiture designed with space saving in mind - like with storage under beds? any one know? am looking at bringing over loft bed with trundle and storage for my daughter - has built in book case can get it made her for 1000 aus $ - ( which is 5000hk) should i do this - or could i buy similar over there for same price...any one know - once again thanks ladies yr help is really appreciated!!!
 
i would definitely wait and get it here. if your hubby can get stuff shipped to you cheaply, then i would wait.

you REALLY have no idea of the size of place you will get. not just that, but the layout of the rooms. it may be that the place you get has a closet or door or window or something where the bookshelf will be etc.
 
I was so heartened by the outpouring of support from everyone! I just moved to Hong Kong for the 2nd time three months ago and I'm rediscovering this community. Just one thing I would like to add to everyone's great suggestions is PriceRite, a local furniture and furnishing shop. I got quite a bit of furniture from this place this time as their furniture is great for small spaces and is very reasonable, even compared with IKEA! There are a number of stores, so please choose to go to a larger one to see a wider selection of furniture.
 
i'm back!!! school holidays in australia - it has been frantic!!! just trying to arrange my kids passports has kept me busy enough!!!
you are right - the support and advice from other mums who u don't even know is beautiful and amazing and heartening that that is the community i am moving towards.
I am starting the "pack, store, buy" list.
i was wondering about electricals - small and large appliances. do u cut the cords and fit them with hk plugs - or just use adapters.
typing this one handed with wriggling 16 week old so more soon!!!!!:smile:
 
Regarding electricals you will need an adaptor as the HK plugs are the same as UK plugs, 3 big and fat prongs. I bought all my electricals in HK and got the plugs changed by an electrician when I returned to Australia. Depending on how long you will be in HK I would just use adaptors otherwise you would need to cut the cords again to return to Australia and the replacement plugs are never as nice as the originals.

Also alot of the apartments in HK don't have ovens, expats usually buy those small bench tops ovens. We just made do with a convection microwave, gas burners and BBQ.

As for furniture, visit IKEA they have so much stuff and its easier to fit in your new apartment rather than try and make your exisiting furniture fit. You can always sell it before you leave on the Asia Expat or GeoExpat websites.

Good luck with the move.
 
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