I'm with Cara here and my daughter will be attending the same kindergarten this year. My wife works in Kowloon Bay, close to Kwun Tong and travel time can be superbly quick unless traffic accidents. I personally work a lot in China and while I don't share the 35 minutes to Sheung Shui theory (can take almost that to get to Shatin some days) it's not a huge hassle - can also depend on where you cross the border - much easier in HK to select the right border crossing than try and get where you want Shenzhen side. Travelling to Tsim Sha Tsui / HK Island side for other locations in China by ferry isn't too difficult either once you know the quickest ways to go by public transport.
pre-nursery/nursery in kowloon - pls help!!!
- Thread starter baguette
- Start date
carang
Registered User
baguette, i think you misunderstood me.
the children ONLY sleep if they go to the school for the whole day (8/8:45-4/5:30). if they go for 1/2 day (8:45-12 or 12:45-4) they do NOT sleep.
it is a cantonese school. 95% of the instruction is in cantonese. they do have english classes and when the kids are older, mandarin/putonghua classes. but they follow the local curriculum inthe local language.
yes, houses here are cheaper. we pay less than $17K/month and we have 2100', 5 bed, 4 bath, 1000' garden, 2 carparks. we have a VERY good deal, though, and probably the cheapest in our village. the cheapest you can get now is probably closer to $20k/month. we are 20 minutes out of sai kung town in the country park. closer to town, the prices go up. so, depending on your budget, you may get an entire house (like we have) with a garden...
the children ONLY sleep if they go to the school for the whole day (8/8:45-4/5:30). if they go for 1/2 day (8:45-12 or 12:45-4) they do NOT sleep.
it is a cantonese school. 95% of the instruction is in cantonese. they do have english classes and when the kids are older, mandarin/putonghua classes. but they follow the local curriculum inthe local language.
yes, houses here are cheaper. we pay less than $17K/month and we have 2100', 5 bed, 4 bath, 1000' garden, 2 carparks. we have a VERY good deal, though, and probably the cheapest in our village. the cheapest you can get now is probably closer to $20k/month. we are 20 minutes out of sai kung town in the country park. closer to town, the prices go up. so, depending on your budget, you may get an entire house (like we have) with a garden...
carang
Registered User
jaykay, i drive via Ma On Shan and it is highway the entire way... i don't go anywhere near sha tin....as i said, this is driving NOT via public transport.
baguette, it depends on when she was born. if she was born in 2007 (as was my daughter) she will go this coming september...if she was born in 2008, then it is the following year. well, actually, that is not quite right. they may take her but you will not be eligible for the discount on the fees until you get the gov't voucher, which will be valid the following year...
does that make any sense?
jaykay... what year is your daughter in?
baguette, it depends on when she was born. if she was born in 2007 (as was my daughter) she will go this coming september...if she was born in 2008, then it is the following year. well, actually, that is not quite right. they may take her but you will not be eligible for the discount on the fees until you get the gov't voucher, which will be valid the following year...
does that make any sense?
jaykay... what year is your daughter in?
carang, sorry as I lived up there many years and Ma On Shan is classed as a part of Shatin hence my meaning. Of course if I travel to Sheung Shui (unless staying overnight) I will drive and do so pretty much every week from close to centre of SK (in quick car and I don't mess around either on highways)! Obviously I pick the right border crossing depending where I am going in SZ - if Nanshan area I'll go to Kowloon Tong and use coach, if Futian I can use bus / train, etc. If elsewhere in western Guangdong (Zhongshan, Shunde, etc) I can use ferry - or through train. Hence a mix of my car and public transport depending on what I am doing and where I am going.
Anyway continuing on your last post we don't get so much as you do for the cost being so close to town BUT we do still have a great space, superb views and convenience (+1 carpark)! Actually great to have all those choices here.
Daughter will start this year in Aug / Sept - she turns 3 in July. She's actually looking forward to it and keeps telling us she's going to school soon and will meet lots of friends! I'm looking forward to it myself!
Anyway continuing on your last post we don't get so much as you do for the cost being so close to town BUT we do still have a great space, superb views and convenience (+1 carpark)! Actually great to have all those choices here.
Daughter will start this year in Aug / Sept - she turns 3 in July. She's actually looking forward to it and keeps telling us she's going to school soon and will meet lots of friends! I'm looking forward to it myself!
cara,
"children ONLY sleep if they go to the school for the whole day (8/8:45-4/5:30). if they go for 1/2 day (8:45-12 or 12:45-4) they do NOT sleep."
oh I got it, the problem is that my daugher authomatically falls asleep at a certain hour so unless I manage to change this habbit, she cannot attend afternoon class!
I understand the gov't voucher matter.
She was born in jan 2008...it starts being a problem! everywhere they tell me that dec 2007 would have been better!
I wanted to send an email to the school to ask them some more question but the address on the website does not work..do you think you can help me finding the right one?
"children ONLY sleep if they go to the school for the whole day (8/8:45-4/5:30). if they go for 1/2 day (8:45-12 or 12:45-4) they do NOT sleep."
oh I got it, the problem is that my daugher authomatically falls asleep at a certain hour so unless I manage to change this habbit, she cannot attend afternoon class!
I understand the gov't voucher matter.
She was born in jan 2008...it starts being a problem! everywhere they tell me that dec 2007 would have been better!
I wanted to send an email to the school to ask them some more question but the address on the website does not work..do you think you can help me finding the right one?
carang
Registered User
hi baguette,
i just called the school. she gave me a different email address and said they would check the one listed on the website (thank you for letting them know!).
the email address is:
[email protected]
i asked about your daughter, born in january... the answer was this:
the term goes sept-jan, feb-summer... so, the earliest your daughter could get in would be Feb as if they don't meet the age criteria at the beginning of the year, they must wait until they are 3 years old to start.
also, she said that the voucher would not be valid until sept 2011. so, your daughter could join in Feb, do a few months, get used to it... then stay in the same class for the following year (at which time you would be able to get the voucher for the fee discount).
hope that helps!
i just called the school. she gave me a different email address and said they would check the one listed on the website (thank you for letting them know!).
the email address is:
[email protected]
i asked about your daughter, born in january... the answer was this:
the term goes sept-jan, feb-summer... so, the earliest your daughter could get in would be Feb as if they don't meet the age criteria at the beginning of the year, they must wait until they are 3 years old to start.
also, she said that the voucher would not be valid until sept 2011. so, your daughter could join in Feb, do a few months, get used to it... then stay in the same class for the following year (at which time you would be able to get the voucher for the fee discount).
hope that helps!
Princess101
Registered User
Hi, I just wondered if anyone has experience of Tutor Time in Mid Levels (Caine Road). I am thinking of enrolling my son who is 14 months, but we are a western family and speak no Mandarin, half the class at Tutor Time is conducted in Mandarin. We will probably only be in Hong Kong for maximum 3 years, do you think it is worth trying to teach him Mandarin? If anyone has any experience of this I would be very grateful to hear about it. Any other pre-nursery recommendations would also be useful. I currently send him to Woodlands (The Peak) but there is a very small outside space and I'm not sure it's the right place for my son. Thanks.
Thank you Cara!
Do you think it is possible to find a serviced apartment in saikung so that we can stay there while we look for the apartment we will rent?
now I know which one is saikung and we've been there few times in the past but just for lunch so we want to make sure that we like it and everything.
we are now quite excited about this!!
Do you think it is possible to find a serviced apartment in saikung so that we can stay there while we look for the apartment we will rent?
now I know which one is saikung and we've been there few times in the past but just for lunch so we want to make sure that we like it and everything.
we are now quite excited about this!!
carang
Registered User
AFAIK there are no serviced apt in sai kung... there are some in Ma On Shan, but that won't give you the same feeling as if you were in Sai Kung itself.
any idea what your housing budget is? if so, i can have a look around for you to see what's available out there.
remember that even if you sign a place, you only have to normally stay for 14 months (you give 2m notice at 1 year) then you can move out if you don't like it...
bloominginhk is also in sai kung and her daughter is in my son's class at school...
any idea what your housing budget is? if so, i can have a look around for you to see what's available out there.
remember that even if you sign a place, you only have to normally stay for 14 months (you give 2m notice at 1 year) then you can move out if you don't like it...
bloominginhk is also in sai kung and her daughter is in my son's class at school...
our budget is 25k.
we would prefer not to stay too far away from the village.
the more we can save (can we save anything?) the better it is, of course.
I don't want you to look for apartments on my behalf...that would be really too much to ask! just let me know whether it's doable.
and...what about playgroups? if she's to be home untill Feb 2011 I'd better find something interesting for her to do in the meanwhile!
we would prefer not to stay too far away from the village.
the more we can save (can we save anything?) the better it is, of course.
I don't want you to look for apartments on my behalf...that would be really too much to ask! just let me know whether it's doable.
and...what about playgroups? if she's to be home untill Feb 2011 I'd better find something interesting for her to do in the meanwhile!
carang
Registered User
i'll look around at the flyers/leaflets that the estate agents use for advertising and let you know what is in your budget.
there's lots to do...there's a public pool (open april-october/november), a library, lots of playgrounds a "bring your kid to play" place and some other playgroups in the area...
my helper will pick up my son in a couple of hours, i'll ask her to pick up the flyers and get back to you asap.
there's lots to do...there's a public pool (open april-october/november), a library, lots of playgrounds a "bring your kid to play" place and some other playgroups in the area...
my helper will pick up my son in a couple of hours, i'll ask her to pick up the flyers and get back to you asap.
carang
Registered User
sai kung is made up of Sai Kung Town and surrounding villages. we are out in sai kung country park. by minibus, it takes us about 15 min to get to town. by double-decker, it takes about 30 minutes.
generally speaking, the closer to town, the more expensive the housing... but that doesn't mean you can't get anything within your budget.
right now, there is a house in the front of our village that has been COMPLETELY renovated! i mean, it was gutted and only the outside walls were left standing. they are looking for $20k... so, you could go for that, and get a second hand car or two and still be saving money...
generally speaking, the closer to town, the more expensive the housing... but that doesn't mean you can't get anything within your budget.
right now, there is a house in the front of our village that has been COMPLETELY renovated! i mean, it was gutted and only the outside walls were left standing. they are looking for $20k... so, you could go for that, and get a second hand car or two and still be saving money...
carang
Registered User
helper forgot to pick up the leaflets, but i've done some searching on a few websites and found the following:
remember, for a village house: 1400' usually refers to 2 floors of a 3 floor house, so you would get either ground floor plus middle floor OR middle floor plus top floor. if you get a ground floor, usually there is some kind of garden. if you get the top floor, there is the usable rooftop.
2100' means the entire house is yours...
Sunshine Property Consultant Limited ???????~?U????????q
http://www.squarefoot.com.hk/search...0&rent_max=25000&layout=16&keyword=&x=26&y=17
the last set of listings will also include separate estate agents, where you can find their own websites...
good luck!
ps> just had a look through some of the listings on the second link. some of them are in clearwater bay, which is close to sai kung, but more residential. there is not much except housing, so in my opinion, better to be closer to sai kung town for the kids...
remember, for a village house: 1400' usually refers to 2 floors of a 3 floor house, so you would get either ground floor plus middle floor OR middle floor plus top floor. if you get a ground floor, usually there is some kind of garden. if you get the top floor, there is the usable rooftop.
2100' means the entire house is yours...
Sunshine Property Consultant Limited ???????~?U????????q
http://www.squarefoot.com.hk/search...0&rent_max=25000&layout=16&keyword=&x=26&y=17
the last set of listings will also include separate estate agents, where you can find their own websites...
good luck!
ps> just had a look through some of the listings on the second link. some of them are in clearwater bay, which is close to sai kung, but more residential. there is not much except housing, so in my opinion, better to be closer to sai kung town for the kids...
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