Sth Horizons, Ocean Shores TKO or Pacifica, LCK: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

N

Newbie_hk

Registered User
Hi everyone,

We're from Sydney and we've shortlisted our apartments to South Horizons, Ocean Shores TKO or Pacifica, Lai Chi Kok and need a bit of your expert advice on these places.

I will be a stay-at-home mum for my 3 year old daughter till she goes to school (at some school that I haven't waitlisted in). I will also be giving birth in June 2011 so a family friendly place is at the top of our list.

How would you these places rate in terms of:
1) Accessibility to good playgroups, pre-school or nurseries (to keep my child stimulated and occupied)
2) Accessibility to prams to go around the MTR and shops
3) Meeting up with expats mums (to keep my sanity)

None of the places seem to tick all the boxes that we want but we're also conscious that we might be comparing it to Australian standards. In fairness, we're only here less than two weeks. We have done our homework on what to expect in HKG but would love to hear it from mums like you on the ground.

Thanks heaps !
Freshie Mum
 
Welcome to HK !

We live in South Horizons for 3 years now and hope we can stay here a little longer.
He have 2 children, one is going to preschool, 10 mn away with the bus. There are quite a few different nurseries/preschools around, like Montessori, Woodland, Victoria...
Transportation is very easy, plenty of buses to go everywhere, shopping mall just down the buildings, post office 10 mn away by walking, and a kind of shopping mall called Horizon Plaza (where nearly all the HK mums have been at least once !) with some babies/food/australian meat/furniture shops.
The area is quiet, there are a few big playgrounds, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, easy for the kids to ride a bike.
There is no MTR yet, but planned for 2015. With all the buses and taxis here, I never had a problem to circulate. There are parkings too.

It's 30 mn from Central via Aberdeen tunnel or Pokfulam Road. There are about 10% of expats here (on 40 000 people), but not many westerners. All my friends live all over HK and the new territories, and it's not a problem.

Don't know what kind of appartment you are looking for, but they are generally not very big (from 500 to 1100 sqf). The only ones interesting are the penthouses (1600 sqf), but not sure any are free right now as there are not many of them.
In any case, if you find an appartment, better take one with the sea view.

Good luck !
 
We previously looked at Ocean Shores and I really like it there! The price for what you get is very good compared to other places. They have a great club house with kids play areas that are fantastic for the little ones (particularly if you're a SAHM). I also know quite a few expats around that area too - I have quite a few friends up that side. The MTR is pretty close and convenient, and as it's at an "interchange station" it's easy to get both to HK island and to places in Kowloon too. The ONLY reasons why we didn't move out there is because a) we've always lived on HK island and so we know it better, and b) it would add on 15 minutes to my husband's travel to work - which is half an hour a day less that he would be able to see our kids.

We're currently in North Point and it's ok, but we don't have any facilities here (unlike OS) - we have an out door playground and my daughter's made a lot of friends there - and we have a mediocre pool, that's it. But it is more convenient - and for us, that was more important...
 
Thanks Frenchy and Nicolejoy for your reply. We eventually decided to go with Ocean Shores primarily because of the play area and the facilities. We managed to get a place with a sea view which was a bonus!

Many thanks again adn happy new year!
 
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