[beautifulday]

Hi there,

So happy I found this site. Our family is moving to Hong kong later in the year. We want to live in an area that has playgroups, supermarket,doctor, pharmacy , is fun and lots of mums wanting to meet. We live in Paddington Brisbane and I'm nervous about moving to Hong Kong with a baby. Looking for a nice community with things to do. Im 30 and my husband is 27, and we like modern living.
Can anyone recommend good places to live in mid central that are safe with a baby, ( no balconys)?
Or is there another area that is recommended. My busband will be working in Shenzen but he is willing to travel a bit as long as we live in a good area.
Any advise will be appreciated, Thank you

[louisouis]

Wow, mid-levels is quite a trudge to Shenzhen. Will your husband be commuting everyday? Will he be driven to Shenzhen or will he be taking the train? You are really lucky to have such a considerate husband. Lots of people who have to commute to Shenzhen live close to train stations. There are many nice areas which are near to train stations. There are lots of nice communities in HK, both on HK island and Kowloon. Good luck with your move!

[beautifulday]

we have decided mot to live in mid levels, sounds like too much of a pain. Can anyone else recommend a place to live in hong kong where travelling to shenzhen wont be too much of a pain. I still want to live in a nice place with a lots of expat mums and an area that has everything there..

[sophwillsmum]

How about the Gold coast? We looked at living there originally but the commute was too much for my husband to Central. I know there are a few Gold coast mums on this site, they may hopefully help you. You can also do a google search and find it.

We live in Cyberport at Bel air which I absolutely love. It is a big commute to Shenzhen but two of my best friends here have husbands who work there. Both have company drivers who take them up though and they also usually stay up there a few nights per week. Yhey both say that the commute is worth it though as they wouldn't want to live anywhere else. It is an awesome community of expat mums out here and there is always something going on. Sometimes I can't keep up with all the social activities. Good luck with your search.

[beautifulday]

hi there, how far is cyberport at bel air from shenzhen? sounds like a nice place.

[Neha]

even further than mid levels

[Hayzee]

hi beautifulday,

I'm an Aussie, 31, originally from Yamba, NSW, but lived in Brisbane for a few years in the late 1990's. (Paddington at one stage!) and just wanted to say that I live in the Mid Levels and I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and an 11 month old daughter and I'm due again next year.
Living here in Mid Levels with small children is pretty hard-going. Looking back on when we first moved here a few months ago, I would have chosen a more kid friendly place, like Discovery Bay (even though it would have sucked for me and my hubby because we like to eat out quite a bit and enjoy the vibrant nightlife (when I'm not pregnant!). Our building is called Tavistock II, it's in Tregunter Path, it doesn't have balconies. It has great play areas for the kids and a beautiful pool. But the hardest thing about living here is getting out and about. We don't have a car, so we rely on taxis. You have to load up the taxi's with your strollers and bags and kids, and they don't have child/baby safety seats. And then when you have to get home, you have to hail a taxi down in the middle of Hong Kong where hundreds of other people want the same taxi and believe me, it's not fun. We're thinking about hiring a car and a driver but it will be very expensive.
It won't be like living in Paddington where you can put your little one in the stroller and stroll down the street to a cafe and have a quiet cuppa with friends etc. It just doesn't have that vibe here, even though alot of mums do attempt to get out with the stroller and go for quiet cuppas, usually there are stairs everywhere just to piss you off even more, and you will most likely have to take a taxi to that cafe in the first place.
I really don't mean to be so negative, I guess I'm just trying to explain the differences between Brissie and here.
When are you coming out to Hong Kong? Are you already here?
My husband is from Saudi Arabia and we lived in Bahrain for 7 years before moving out here in July.

[bekyboo44]

From what you are looking for DB sounds ideal for you! Am not sure how long would take to get from DB to Shenzen (prob quite awhile) but DB is has a very large expat community- with more children and babies than adults (or so it seems like).

There are playgrounds, grassy places to play and the beach. Supermarket, doctor, pharmacy, restaurants, coffee shops, bank, kindergartens, schools- the lot! Some weeks I don't make it into Central at all, because have no need to!

Meetingother Mums is very easy- all you have to do is take baby down to playground, plaza, playroom, swimming pool and you will soon meet friends for your children and you!

You might want to also consider Hong Lok Yuen, which is in Tai Po- and so a lot closer to Shenzhen (15-20 mins on the train) and which is also a large self contained expat. community.