[Donosti]

My husband will be moving to Hong Kong in June and my son and I will join him at the end of August. We just got the news and we are.... fricked out! Tons of things to do: packed, sell the house, the cars, look for a place to live, enroll the kid for school and I need help.

- We will get a $14000 HKD allowance per housing. What can we rent for that price? I was thinking on a 3 bedroom apartment but I supposed 2 will work too if the area is nicer.

- Could anybody give me an idea on monthly expenses: gas, phone, electricity, water,internet... trying to figure out our budget :-)

- My son will be 3 in 2 months: Options for school? IS homeschooling an option in HK?

- Moving companies from the US to HK? The move is not paid by the company and we would like to find something cheap to move a couple of items (not much stuff)

Thanks a lot!!!

[KnowItAll]

Look at centanet.com for apartment listings.

http://www.geoexpat.com/hong-kong/in...ng-kong-style/

School etc .. might get better answers on geobaby.com

Moving -- look at unaccompanies baggage / US post etc if it is a few items. Waste of money to send appliances and furniture over (store them..)

[KnowItAll]

From Kentucky? I spent a few years in Cincinnati ...

[rani]

Hola Donosti,

Have a read through this thread on homeschooling.

Home Schooling in HK?

At 3 kids in HK start kindergarten. Its best you decide which area you plan on living and we can recommend the schools in that area.

Rani

[Donosti]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

From Kentucky? I spent a few years in Cincinnati ...

Yes. My husband is a pilot and we live in Burlington, very close to the airport. I work in Cincinnati. We have been here only 1 year... and to tell you the truth, I can’t wait to leave... This sooooo boring and cold.

Do you have any specific names for the shipping companies? I am so overwhelmed with all this. We have only 2 months to sell everything and try to figure out what to keep and take with us. We don’t think we are taking any furniture, neither appliance. I would like to take just clothes, some books, my computer, some of my son's toys , pictures, artwork, towels, sheets, and a couple of kitchen items... Does this sound reasonable?

One more question: does 14K sound OK for rent? What can I expect for that money? My husband is going to work for Cathay and we won’t have a car... I would like to be close to stores, playgrounds... I don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere. Any suggestions?

Thank you Rani for the tips! I will for sure let you know when I know we are going to live so you can give me some advice about schools. Are waiting lists long for Kindergarten? If we move in August, beginning of September, when will he start? There is any bilingual (English-mandarin) kindergarten? My son is a little confused right now with Spanish and English and even though, we would like him to be able to speak mandarin I don’t want t to make it too hard or frustrating for him. Please let me know if I could PM with more questions, I don’t want to make this to long

Also, if going to ESF schools, do they learn any mandarin or would we have to look for a private tutor?

[penguinsix]

14000 is, well, average I'd say for an expat on a stipend. We had a very small 2 bedroom in a nice building for 14,000 in the Central area, though you may want to be closer to the airport (not sure). How are the prices in Disco Bay or Stanely? Not sure myself. Depends what kind of life you want to live (i.e. somewhat suburban or hard core urban).

If your husband gets free passes on the airport express train (of the company pays) than you can live on Hong Kong island and really take in the full brunt of the city.

OF COURSE--the general rule for all moves applies--rent a corporate apartment for 1 month (or 2) and THEN find a permanent place once you get to the new town, see the highs and the lows NOT printed on the website.

Moving companies. Your best bet is to look locally for international movers. The guys you ship with, say...well Allied or something, will team up with someone in HK totally different, say Santa Fe. Timing is more important. I think the bulk of your goods will go by ship (6 weeks) but you may be able to air cargo a certain amount that will be there when you arrive. You will want to find people who pack it themselves (rather than you do it) and who have a pretty good reputation.

Do you really need to sell your house? Could you rent it out while you are away and make a profit? Find a management company that oversees the day to day and then, when you come back to the US, you a) have a place if needed (or wanted) or b) have some equity in something (probably that has gone up in value). Remember, you are basically getting an extra 14000HK (1,700 US) a month, and if you rented it out that is another XXXX US. Maybe that could pay your mortgage and then some. I'm not a financial advisor, but as you are planning budgets you may want to consider that option...

One other thing--do you have some form of repatriation? Will the money be there to ship all this stuff home when your time in HK ends? Many people who come to HK do a massive yard sale of stuff before heading to HK--i.e. no sense in taking the IKEA stuff with me to Hong Kong only to bring it back when I return. Furniture is comparitively cheap in HK vs. the US so maybe some redecoration is in order. Family heirlooms are family heirlooms, but some stuff can probably go in a yard sale.

[goergeWbush]

I suggest you check out Tsing Yi, Tung Chung, Discovery Bay, and park Island if you want to be near/ on the way to the airport. It is approx 30 mins. outside of Central district, so it would make no sense for you to live downtown, especially seeings how you a) have a 3 year old and probably don't party 5 nights a week, b) are looking for a reasonably sized 3br apt (you will not find anything of the sort for 14K downtown), and c)want to live in a more convenient area.

I know a ton of pilots living in Discovery Bay, and the apts are more open to the american style in that they are more spread out. There are quality int'l schools located throughout HK, so its more of a matter of choosing a location you like and finding a school in the area that suits your requirements/budget.

Re: towels, linens, etc- dont bother. It's so cheap here that its not worth the freight and hassle to bring it across. Either yard-sale it or store it back in the states.

[larac]

Hi Donosti
There are heaps of people that have all had the same questions as you and lots of people on this forum to help you. Try posting your questions one at a time so people with specific experience can help you. Search the Forums using the search engine on the left and once you read through some of the threads you will probably feel alot better about things. Do a search on a place called Discovery Bay - it could be the place for you.
My advice would be to get help where you can before you move becasue you really have to do it all at this end yourself for a while - for example I would never try and pack everything up myself again. Only you can decide what to chuck but if you can afford it let someone else pack and clean the house for you.
Good Luck.

[PDLM]

Donosti,

If you haven't done so, could I also suggest you check out the Frgrtant Harbour and Frgrant Harbour Wannabees forums over at http://www.pprune.org/forums/ They are full of current and wannabee CX pilots discussing all sorts of issues related to the job, moving over here, where best to live if working for CX, etc.

[normad]

If your husband works for Cathay, it would be very convenient for you guys to live in Tung Chung. Check out the Caribbean Coast and other neighboring housing estates. The Caribbean Coast has a lot of club house facilities like swimming pools, bowling, reading area, Internet cafe, kid's area, mini golf, articial beach (to come), etc. There is quite a lot of open space around. Compared to Discovery Bay, it is much closer to the airport and much cheaper. For around 11000 HKD you can rent a three bedroom apartment with balcony and seaview. But there is definitely a larger expat population in DB.

By the way, do you really want your kid to learn mandarin? People in Hong Kong speak Cantonese, so if he learns mandarin at school, he would have a problem communicating with local kids.