[pkrs]

hi people.. husband is being offered a job in fanling. Cant find any rentals there so looked online at apartments in Tai po and sha tin. Are these areas any good to live in.? Tai po accommodation looks good. More for your money, modern and with a garden which is what we want.Are there many westerners in the area? We also have a 5 year old who i am hoping will attend Aust int school. Is it a hassle to get to aust int school from Tai po and back home again.?
Any suggestion of a nice area near parks and with low rises thats convenient to these suburbs.
Much appreciated!

[greenietea]

i live in taipo. it's a really nice outdoorsy district with many nice parks. i love it here. and in terms of the air quality, it's much better than shatin. going from taipo to kowloon tong though, it would probably take around 30 minutes one-way on the KCRC, that is if you actually live around the train station. but most of the nicer apartment complex and houses are quite far from it (taipo is pretty big, it is the second biggest district in hk) you'll probably have to take the shuttle to the station and back.

[Pekkerhead]

low rises in Tai Po can be found at 'The paragon' on Shan Yin Road. or depending on your budget you could go for somewhere like Hong Lok Yuen which lies about 1/3 of the way between Tai Po and Fanling (closest KCR is Tai Wo). loads of village houses around Lam Tsuen valley or perhaps a bit closer to town in Wun Yiu or Tai Po Tau.

a reasonable size flat (900+ sq ft) with 3 bedrooms will cost around 15000 per month. if you rent a newish apartment (i.e. 10 years old max) then chance are you will have a clubhouse and pool facilities plus shuttle buses to and from Tai Po Market station. very convenient.

trip to Kowloon Tong takes about 15-20 minutes train time. Australian school is right next to the KCR station so really convenient.

Oh and by the way, I love Tai Po as well. Been here for a year now. there are expats and Westerners here but by no means is the place full of them.

If you need an English speaking agent just drop me a PM.

[youngjediboy]

I live in Shatin and have also visited Taipo. I think both are good places and definitely a nice break away from the busy Kowloon and HK Island areas... but they're close enough to civilization compared to other NT areas.

Like greenie says, Taipo is more outdoorsy so that's a better pick if you like to be around nature more. Shatin is a better choice if you want to be around more shopping, restaurants, etc... for convenenience.

I have a friend who's going to be renting a place in Taipo... real nice 2 story standalone house right by the water. It's about maybe a 20 minute light bus ride from the KCR station, but it's perfect if you want to be around nature, away from people... and want big space for your money. He's a westerner and so is another guy who lives a few houses away from him.

Good luck. And it's also a good idea to visit and travel around the 2 areas first.

[Sleuth]

We split the differene and live in Fo Tan. The Tai Po houses we looked at were several floors and tended to have one room per floor. Plus they were not near the KCR and we don't have a car. They all had small back yards though.
In Fo Tan, we are close to the KCR, but no yard area. Can't have everything.

[Boris]

I live outside Tai Po in a good size village at Ting Kok.
The village house rentals are very good value and Pekkerheads mention on prices must have lots of added extras in a new full service development.

When we where house hunting here we discounted those sort of developments as they where no more value than what we had moved from on HK island at Tai Koo.

Our property is a 700 sq ft 3 bed, 2 bathroom, BRAND NEW, top floor in a village house . Its a top floor so you get the flat roof patio ( another 700 sq ft ) thrown in the deal.
Our rental is HKD 6500 so quite a saving from the urban area.

Some dismiss the villages as remote but there is big and mini bus services that are never really any more than a 5 minute wait. Time on a Mini bus to the KCR is about 15 minutes.

We are good friends with a most excellent house agency in Tai Po. 3 ladies who really know their stuff. English speaking too. If you need a recommend I will PM the details upon request.

[Azuremain]

You're offered a Job in Fanling? So why not move to Fanling? There would be even an International School for your child near the KCR and accomodation can be either cheap and dirty or luxurious with even double floor serviced appartments with wide open views, club house with all kinds of amenities etc. etc. No need to take that trip from Tai Po or Shatin.

[Sleuth]

Fanling will put you a long way from what most people consider to be Hong Kong. Might be okay with that, but just need to be aware.

[youngjediboy]

But it's also closer to Shenzhen, so if you have regular trips to the mainland it'd be VERY convenient.