[imcanadian]

Hi all

I am a 42 year old male recently divorced relocating from Toronto Canada to run a factory in Longhua Town of Baoan District in Shenzhen. I have been advised to live in Hong Kong needing a 1 hour subway commute to the boarder, 10-15 minutes for passport control and 1 hour car ride to the factory each way. I would be required to attend meetings in Macau once a week as well as meetings in Hong Kong (once a week). The factory has accommodations where I can stay a couple a times each week and If I need to venture out in Shenzhen I would require the driver as both interpreter as well as body guard. The question is how bad is it in Shenzhen and should I consider living there or due I commute 4 1/2 hours each day to Hong Kong so that I can be in a more expat environment?

Thanks in advance

[discobay]

Can't comment on Shenzhen. You could consider living in HK up near the border with Shenzhen in places like Tin Shui Wai. They have a development called California Park which has 3-storey houses in quiet roads. Each has its own car space and the area is generally clean and pleasant. You could easily commute to Shenzhen and the HK airport, Macao ferry terminal.

[KnowItAll]

>> I would require the driver as both interpreter as well as body guard.

Unless you're tagged as a multi-millionaire (in which case you would not be in the factory accomodations) you should not need a bodyguard.

[Sand]

Shenzhen is both good and bad.
There are now a lot of good private housing estates and the prices/rent are far cheaper than HK (although this is changing fast).

From experience I would say travelling from HK every day will eventually get to you. This is how I started. After 6 months I moved to the mainland and found life far easier. Less travelling and more free time.

My accommodation was also better. I moved from a very small apparment in HK to a large house with swiming pool for less that a quarter of the HK price.

BTW, factory accommodation is not usually that good. Make sure you get a detailed description before you arrive.

[imcanadian]

Thank you all for your comments. A millionaire I am not but I was told that petty crime is very common and as a foreigner I would be an obvious target. Even the Chinese at the factory don't go out alone. The idea of living close to the border has crossed my mind but I don't have a family nor do I need allot of space. I personally thought living in the heart of the city near all amenities might be better for my social life (close to a gym, restaurants, bar - given that I will not have my own car). At this point the cost of the serviced apartment would be picked up by the company no matter where I stay so there would be no savings for myself to live in Shenzhen. Either way I will not be accepting anything until I personally inspect it. Any suggestions what areas I should be looking at living in?

Thanks

[discobay]

I mistakenly referred to California Park in an earlier post but I should have said Palm Springs and it's in Fairview Park, Yuen Long.

[Roger]

I travel to Shenzhen frequently and don't have many problems, even though I use buses, minibuses and tubes a lot. It takes 5 minutes by taxi from my home to Sheung Shui station and then another 5 mins by train to Lo Wu, so I don't know where the "one hour" travel time came from, unless you choose to live away from the border area. A taxi to Longhua from Luohu Shangye Cheng will set you back less than Y100 and all SZ taxis are metered. The vast majority of drivers also use their meters and my experience with SZ taxis has been generally good.

So if you want to be based in HK for the medical benefits, try Sheung Shui. If you want a nice place to live in Shenzhen, try Huaqiaocheng

[vanvarn]

SZ is about as safe as Detroit. HK is a better living environment. Do like a lot of us who work in China. Live in China week days, then come back to HK on the weekends.

[Sand]

It takes me 90 minutes from leaving my flat in Lamtin to clearing customs in ShenZhen

MTR + KCR.


I've never had any problems in Shenzhen, however, I do have Chinese friends who have been mugged and their bags snatched. One girl was pushed from her bike and beaten until she let go of her handbag.

[imcanadian]

Thank you all for your advise. I am leaning towards Hong Kong myself. There is someone there looking for a place for me as we speak. I will send him the recomendations you have made for consideration as well. Assuming everything can be work out here in the next couple of weeks I should be on my way by mid October. I'm sure I'll have more questions at some point in time and I will be looking to this forum for it's guidance.