We live in Clearwater Bay (above Clearwater Bay Beach #1) and although it doesn't have any playgrounds around our part we do have a small garden which we can fit a small climbing frame in which my daughter loves.
We have the beach 10 minutes walk away and head down there when we can. The beach is clean and so long as you don't head down on a Sunday not very busy either.
Not sure how old your kids are but there is a playgroup every Thursday which a few of the mums in the area have set up at the Adventist College. They have two sessions 930 to 1230pm I think and then 2pm-6pm. It is a pay as you go, turn up when you want and stay as long as you want in a session playgroup, which is awesome. It's HKD80 a time per child. They have a loyalty card so pay for 9 get the 10th visit free. It's a great way to meet some mums and kids in the area. Most of the kids that attend are under 6. They have a bouncy castle along with lots of toys and its all inside which is a awesome in the hot humid summer.
Most people (including myself) have a car if you live out here. There is however 3 mini buses that I can catch that go passed my village regularly. They take you to Tseung Kwan O , Po Lam and Kwun Tong train stations. As I live pretty much at the beginning of the run the only time I have not been able to catch the first bus I wanted was because it was full due to it being on a nice sunny weekend when everyone had headed to the beach. So they can be a little harder to get a seat the closer to Tseung Kwan O you live, if you are trying to catch them during peak hour when everyone heads to work or on the weekends.
There is an awesome public playground in Po Lam. We take our daughter down quite a bit. It has quite a few different sections designed for different age groups and is massive. When I first went there we went to the first part and thought this is ok but then kept walking and more climbing frames, swings slides etc kept appearing so it is really good. We take the mini bus down unless we are planning on buy a lot of groceries as my daughter loves the mini bus (she's almost 3).
The playground in Po Lam is right next to the Tseung Kwan O public swimming pool as well. We haven't actually been yet but friends have and said it is really good.
What I suggest you do is contact a few agencies in Sai Kung and ask them to see if there is anything in your budget in Clearwater Bay. I live in a Village House but there are a few complexes that do have swimming pools and playgrounds etc.
There is a website you can have a look to get an idea of what houses etc are available and then contact some agencies and get them to drive you around to get a feel for the place to see if it works for you.
http://www.gohome.com.hk/en/
With regards to getting to Central in 30 mins. For us we can get there via public transport in about 40 mins ( bus to Tseung Kwan O, then train to Central). That of course doesn't get us to the exact part of Central we want, just out of the train station.
Hope this helps.
