[GM1]

I have taken up a position in Shenzhen close to the HK border that will start after CNY in 2007.

As I will move my wife and 2 1/2 yrd old son with me, I am thinking it will be better to live in the New Territories, ie Shatin, to make the daily commute not so daunting and to maintain a good standard of living (ie better than in Shenzhen itself and with more space than HK).

Can anyone advise of estate agents and English speaking kindergartens/nurseries in the Shatin area and provide any feedback on living in Shatin in general?

Thanks a lot in advance!
GM1

[Pekkerhead]

why Shatin and not somewhere closer to the border like Tai Po? You could shave another 10/15 mins off your journey.

[jaykay]

One thing you are going to need to consider is that by working in Shenzhen you will only have a visitors visa for Hong Kong so will need to go through 2 sets of border control both entering and leaving SZ every day. This can become quite tiresome after a while and can take an hour of your time at busy periods. Your wife and son will also need to leave and re-enter HK every so often to maintain their visitor status - how often depends on nationality. Alos check exactly where you are in SZ, being close to the border does not necessarily mean close to a border check point!

This should be your first consideration and if you must live in HK then I would suggest geting a serviced apartment first to try it out for real before commiting yourself to a 1 or 2 year lease in an apartment here.

About Sha Tin in general - well there is a strong expat community especially around the central and Tai Wai areas. Plenty of English speaking kindergarten and schools. Transport to anywhere in HK is extremely good. A lot of expats choose to live in village houses which in Sha Tin are more unique as most of them are extremely convenient for shopping, public transport, etc and don't require you to own a car.

Anyway, best check out the commute first and then decide.

[GM1]

Thanks a lot for you info.

The company I work for is also registered in HK (although I will work in the Shenzhen office), so I will be able to get a HK visa as I will have 2 contracts, 1 from HK and 1 from SZ.

Do you know where I can get a list of estate agents and English kindergartens for Shatin? I will visit next month and would like to get a feel for the type of property I can expect for the budget I have - I did look on HK island last month when I was there but I hope I can get more for my money in Shatin area (something with a small garden would be great!).

The reason I look at Shatin rather than Taipo is because my wife will work (she is Japanese) and is most likely to find a job in HK island or TST so I need to consider her commute as well.

Any other suggestions you may have are most welcomed!

Thanks again.

[KnowItAll]

>> English kindergartens for Shatin

Best to poll the new arrivals on www.geobaby.com