[dianna]

Hi, everyone. I am planning to move to Hong Kong next month for my first job in HK and looking for a pet friendly place to settle down. Here are my top priorities:

1. convenient transporation to get to work at Hunghom, Kowloon; around 30 mins commute is fine
2. pet friendly building; nearby park to walk my dog would be ideal
3. proximity to gym, restaurants, etc.
4. 10-15k per month budget

If you also know a good real estate agent, please feel free to send me a contact number. Any kind of the advice would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

[nina_70]

Hi there...I've PM'd you the name of our real estate agent in Causeway Bay/Tin Hau/Happy Valley. Keep in mind that real estate agents in HK tend to "specialize" in certain areas. So, if you're looking outside this area it might be best to get one more agent (for example, you can have 3-4 agents looking for you in the 3-4 areas you're interested in...at least that's how I did it).

For areas for you and your doggie, on HK-side Happy Valley could be a nice middle-ground. You're fairly close to the big country parks (Tai Tam etc..), but you're also close to Causeway Bay which has a ton of restaurants, shopping etc...Also, commuting should be easy. The only negative about Happy Valley is that it might be a little on the expensive side for your budget so I'm not sure what quality of place you can get.

South side of the Island (Stanley etc.) is very relaxed, but a longer commute (no MTR) and pretty pricey. East side of the Island (North Point/Quarry Bay) is very good value (so you can get a bigger place) and commute is still not too bad since you are on a MTR stop, however getting to the parks can take a little longer depending on where you live. I've heard good value on West side of the Island (e.g. Kennedy Town), but I don't know too much about the commute or park access that side.

For very relaxing and more green areas there are the Islands (e.g. Lamma, Lantau, Park Island), or places like Disco Bay & Sai Kung but then your commute really goes up and you're not very close to the "downtown" action. It really depends what you like. Maybe other people can comment on non-Island locations...

Hope that helps...

[z754103]

If the commute is to Hung Hom, why not try the New Territories - Shatin, Taipo etc?

[en_sursis]

hi dianna,

another possibility could be broadcast drive in kowloon tong. all the buildings there are pet friendly and a 2-bedroomed flat with about 500sq ft is around 10-11k. you may need to take a 5 minute minibus ride to festival walk for shopping etc...there is a direct minibus route to hung hom from broadcast drive which takes around 30minutes. there are a few gyms in hung hom. i believe there is a california fitness in whampoa garden, hung hom.
some newer buildings which have their own clubhouse with gym and swimming pool etc....also allow dogs. park island on ma wan near tsing yi and carribbean coast in tung chung are pet friendly but require more travelling time however that said, a 3 bedroomed, 2 bathroomed flat with seaviews in carribean coast can be rented for around 9k fully inclusive.
if you are looking at the new territories, shatin and tai po have direct train links to hung hom kcr station. you would need to check with agents as to which buildings in this area allow pets. please be careful as some agents are out there just to make a sale and say that pets are allowed. what they don't tell you is that if a resident makes a complaint, the management has the right to serve you with an eviction notice for your dog. speaking from personal experience only.

[sunniefaith]

Is it really true with eviction notice? If it's true, Park Island must be very very extremely dog friendly. The dogs bark all the time and even when complaints are made, nothing much is done.

[en_sursis]

hi sunniefaith,

i have heard that park island is pet friendly and basically you just need to register with the management if you own a dog. however, it is almost certain that if they receive three complaints, they will take action as this is the case with most new or larger complexes.
but when developers such as Sun Hung Kai with Park Island and Cheung Kong with Carribean Coast market their property, they make it quite clear in their brochures that it is pet friendly. thus the buyers who do decide to purchase that property are already generally aware that there will be a large number of pet owners and are less inclined to complain unless maybe someone's pet is unbearable.
non-pet friendly individuals will probably choose another complex and are more likely to complain if a resident flouts the managements rules.

[dianna]

Hi, guys. I really appreciate valuable information as well as insightful inputs by everyone. I am still figuring out the names of the places mentioned above ^^; but will definately check out the places! Thanks a lot!

[en_sursis]

hi dianna,

just to give you a run down of some of the places mentioned for better visuals:

1. carribean coast is in tung chung on lantau island. large apartments with sea view overlook the airport so it is basically 15 minutes from the airport. the developer of carribean coast boasts it has the larger clubhouse in hk. not sure about that but it is impressive and consists of sauna, swimming pool(s), bowling alley, snooker etc.. it has quite a large expat community both in terms of residents and also visitors from discovery bay which is 20 minutes away by bus. it has an mtr station but not directy to hung hom. it's a nice environment with al-fresco dining, a cinema, a shopping mall which is currently being changed into an outlet-style shopping mall, a cable-car system to the big-buddha on the other side of lantau and is one station away from disneyland.

2. park island is located on a small island called ma wan. it is near tsing yi and not far from disneyland either. it has a ferry service to the city and a feeder bus to tsing yi mtr station (10 minutes). nice community, has it's own shops, restaurants etc...slightly pricier than carribean coast. haven't heard of any complaints although there have been some reservations about getting back during typhoons etc.. maybe sunniefaith can give us some info on traffic arrangements during typhoons.

3. broadcast drive is located in kowloon tong. it is an older residential area with 95% of the buildings being almost 30 years old. kowloon tong was quite favoured by many expats pre-1997 but still has it's fair share. from broadcast drive, there is a large shopping mall (festival walk) located 5 minutes away by minibus where the kowloon tong kcr (train) and mtr (underground) is also located. you could actually take the kcr to hung hom station (8 minutes). minibus from broadcast drive to hung hom will take maybe 30 because of the route although hk minibus drivers probably have done this route in minutes during non-congested hours. it is probably the most convenient in terms of proximity to your office but also the most expensive. don't expect a luxurious, spacious flat though. 11k will get you maybe 500sq ft gross floor space and according to my experience of flat hunting there most flats are rather ...outdated. a good area though. maybe 10k if you find a flat without a carpark space.

i have also seen plenty dog-owners in whampoa gardens, hung hom. not sure what the terms are there. worth a look as it will be near your office and has loads shops.

[sunniefaith]

For Park Island, as far as I know, even with typhoon number 8, the ferry still runs. Typhoon number 3, the shuttle buses stop running.

[longbeard]

Try checking www.caribbeancoast.org (English Forum for People Living in Caribbean Coast)..