[sherwes]

Hi Zeppo,
We use the IQ Air filters and find them really good. They are frighteningly expensive though.

We bought ours second hand from a friend but I am told that if you want to buy a new one the sales consultants will come to your home and do a demostration (sort of a before and after measurement of the level of air pollution in your home). The sales consultant can also provide you with the results of the IQ Air against other major compeditors. Of course, the person giving you this info is trying to sell you the air filter so they present a rosy picture. I am not sure where you can obtain any independant testing info - perhaps someone else can suggest??

You can buy them at Bumps to Babes. Try to join their loyalty programme first so that you'll get a discount on this big $$ purchase.

[Zeppo]

Thanks, Sherwes, for the info.

Anyone else have experience with any brand of air purifier, pro or con?

[MLBW]

Originally Posted by Neha

I just feel all those people who complain all the time about HK not having enough nature things to do for kids or the pollution and are basically pessimistic people. I believe if u have chosen to live in a place u must try and find what is good about that place instead of pointing all negative aspects of that place and comparing it to all the other places that u come from or u have lived.

I do have my opinions about Hong Kong but I wouldn't call myself a basically pessimistic person. My whole objective in pointing out what I did was to give a different perspective than what I usually get in HK--people are in this city for various reasons. Some came here by choice, but others (like me) are not just here by choice. We weren't transferred here from our company or chose to move country because we loved the city--we ended up here and until financial things improve we will still be here. And I don't think I'm the only one in this situation. And that is why I pointed out that we plan to leave as soon as we can. For us, Hong Kong isn't a "wonderful place"--so I just wanted to add that view. And it is only natural to compare one's present abode to previous abodes (as so many in this post have done--before and after me).

[MLBW]

Originally Posted by AndreaY

I am extremely curious, why on earth are you staying in HK? There must be something particularly attractive to you here that you are not telling us about, one that outweighs all the cons of letting your children live in such a terrible hole. Cos if I felt the same way, I'd have uprooted my family and be living the clean, healthy, kids' friendly life to which I have been acustomed.

Also, there are some who like having helpers and some who do not, it's just unfair to be sarcastic and attack another saying it's a privilege for rich people who live in gated communities. Please just take a good look around and you will see there are many local families who are not rich nor live in big flats in nice areas that have hired helpers to help out. It can't be very nice to be living in very cramped quarters for the helpers, but that's another thread altogether...

Hi Andrea. I didn't mean to sound harsh in my previous posts--I just passionately dislike living in Hong Kong for several reasons. This city was fine to visit and stay in for a short-time but as a long-term home I do not like living here--especially when I was pregnant (having smoke blown in my face every day, never being offered a seat on public transport) and with a small baby (lack of handi-cap accessible ramps, rudeness of HK people). As a person without a baby I probably could have dealt with the pollution and such but when my son has to deal with it along with many other things--then it's a totally different thing.

And I believe my concerns and opinion are valid--just as much as those who love this city. I think that people who don't have similar concerns either aren't aware of the problem because they were never confronted with it (had a car so didn't have to worry about public transport while pregnant etc.) or are just really downplaying the obvious.

I do think that a lot of foreigners in this city are insulated from the realities of living in the city--so they feel it's a much rosier place overall than it is. Sure, if I had the option of living in some of the wealthy estates mentioned on here, I might feel the same. But as it is, I live a quite ordinary life as I live in the middle of a local HK family in lower-middle class HK standards. I just want to offer my view because I don't think it is represented on these boards and I think a lot of people are out of touch with the "ordinary folk" out here, that's all.

As I said earlier in this thread, my husband and I plan to move our family as soon as we can afford to. We are in our 20s and haven't "arrived" financially. We had a baby before we had "all our ducks in a row" and time will tell if that was for the best or not.

For us, living in HK was not something we planned out--we landed here because we had nowhere else to go at the time. We have felt very much like refugees in this city--which gives me a new understanding of what the many asylum seekers in HK might feel like (although I can't fully understand). We haven't found it to be particularly welcoming--especially since we don't live the way that most foreigners we know live. If I had my way, I would have already left Hong Kong and moved to an environment I felt was healthier--both socially and environmentally--but that will come in time.

I wasn't talking about having a domestic helper being associated with living in a gated community in my original posts if you read them correctly. That is simply not true and I know it because many of the "ordinary" local folks also have domestic helpers--it is a part of how HK runs and I understand that. We also had a domestic helper helping me when my back gave out after I gave birth and I literally couldn't walk--she helped us for about 3 months--but once I was recovered enough, we had to put an end to that luxury because it wasn't affordable.

I was talking about the lack of accessible grassy places for children to play. (There are some parks, but as another person mentioned--many of them are not really accessible unless you have a car to get there). The comment about gated communities--I said that I haven't been inside too many so I don't know for sure if any of them have parks and grassy places for children to play. That was my comment.