So many questions, so little time, moving to HK with 1 week notice

[RAR]

Hi Hing Kong Mums

We found out last Monday, my husband's company is sending him to Hong Kong for 2 months, initally, with the possibilty of extension. It is a fantastic opportunity, but there is so much to do, before he leaves Australia next Sunday.

These threads have been an absolute wealth of information, but I still have many questions.

Accomodation: The company will fund my husband to stay in a hotel, whilst he is looking at serviced apartments. Once he has selected the apartment, myself and 10 month son will follow, hopefully in a week or 2, as we don't want to be too long apart.

Any comments on serviced apartments/long stay in the Discovery Bay? We think this is best as this is reasonably close to work and looks family friendly. I can't find any reviews on any in DB on this site. Do these apartments supply essential baby items, eg cot and high chair, or will we need to purchase these?

The stroller reviews were great, it is with sadness I will leave my Mountain Buggy at home as it will be too large at 9 kg, and needs 2 hands to fold it. I am looking at purchasing maybe the Maclaren Quest or XTR? Will it be cheaper here in OZ or in HK? I need a stroller as light as possible, if I have to carry it, as I have an old whiplash injury.

I have been looking at the Ergo Baby Sport, as my 9 kg bubby has outgrown his Baby Bjorne. Will I be able to get a lot of use out of it? I like the idea of havng bubby close to me, in the crowds, but am concerned we may be too hot, considering we will be in HK in June and July.

We only have the standard airline allowance for luggage, so packing is very strict with essentials only. What would you suggest we definitely have to bring from OZ? And what can we buy in HK?

Thanks in advance for any help, it is going to be a busy next few weeks.

 

[carang]

1) Db has loads of privately owned flats that they rent out by the day/month... at least they used to.
2) those places will NOT in all likely-hood have any baby supplies BUT DB is full of babies and you should be able to pick up something second-hand without any problems at all.
3) your new stroller will most likely be cheaper in Oz than HK, but if i were you and only coming for 2 months, i would forget that and get a second-hand one in DB...
4) DB is FANTASTIC for life with kids. there is a fairly well-stocked, western-friendly supermarket and another huge supermarket an easy 15 minute bus-ride away in tung chung. there is a second plaza that has openned in DB with a second supermarket, but i haven't been to it yet (moved out of db 3 years ago and miss it terribly!)...
5) if you are only coming for 2 months, then pretty much everything can be found here... it's not like you're never going "home" again.

 

[TheQuasimother]

Welcome RAR!

I understand the rush. We had only a month to sort our affairs in Oz before coming to HK.

Accommodation: Don't just limit yourself to DB. Try HK Parkview or Pacific Place. When you first move to HK, you'd like to be mobile and be able to explore easily. DB is probably better when you've settled down. We stayed in a serviced apartment on the Kowloon side near a train station and it was REALLY handy!

Buggy: We brought our Bug Cam. which needless to say unless you are driving around HK is about as useful as the Mountain Buggy! We had to buy the Maclaren Quest when bub was about 9 months. And it made moving around HK so much easier! I think at that time it was about HK1200 - HK1500 - I can't recall. It was quite some time ago.

If you are no longer breastfeeding, and using formula, the formulas aren't the same here. So in case you need to wean bub off your regular formula, I'd bring an extra tin. Everything Australian/Kiwi you are used to is more expensive here. Medication for bub. We prefer the ones in Oz and continue to bring them over! General stuff - panadol, cough mixture, bum sore cream etc. I can't think of any other essentials as it seems so far away. But if you do have any concerns, holler away... lots of Aussies here

 

[RAR]

Hi HK Mums

Thanks you so much for all the tips and advice, it has been so valuable.

We put hubby on the plane today, and my darling boy just repeated dad - dad - dad over and over for the enitre 30 minute drive home, I really hope he doesn't comprehend that he won't be seeing him for a while.

The up date so far...

I am the proud owner of a Maclaren Vogue stroller. Picked it up for a great price of $359.00 Aussie. My background is in prescribing and designing wheelchairs, and even though I was all set to buy the Quest, the Vogue having the independent suspension on each wheel, means that the ride for bub will be so much smoother. Also it is suitable for new borns up, so longer possible use, maybe number 2..... I only hope I don't curse the extra 600g in weigh. We also bought the ergo baby, so that I can hold bubby close in crowds or if carrying the stroller long distances. We will see how it will work out. As in OZ, I regularly push my bag in the pram and carry bub, so hopefully it will free up my hands.

Started looking at all the accomodation suggestions, and it has really broaden our views. I think I blew hubby away with my knowledge now of HK, as I have sent him off with the list of options, plus pro and cons. One day these lists are going to end.

About our length of stay it is for want of a better word a 'trial' to see if they like hubby, and if we like HK, with either able to pull pin, but my planning and feeling is that will be for longer, generally all hubby's contracts keep getting extended, up to years in length.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions.


I have taken full advantage of hubby's 40 kg lugguage allowance and packed it full of baby supplies, baby panadal, sudocreme, wipes, teething gel etc, etc, so we have a fully stocked nursery ready for us to arrive. Now daddy just needs to find a place and we are on our way