Job Discussion Forums

[sypanda5]

Hello!
I have been offered a position with the NET Program for August 2003. I have been placed at HOI PA STREET GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL and TSUEN WAN GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL in Tsuen Wan area.

First of all...does anybody out there know anything about this area (living environment, costs, anything!) or anthing about these schools? If so, I would be extremely interested to hear your suggestions, advice, information!

(Are there any CBC's/ABC's who have experienced being a NET? How is it? Any problems?)

Thanks in advance for your help!

[kurva]

Hey,
I work in a Tsuen Wan Primary school and the one thing I can tell you about it is that you don't want to live there. It's one of the faceless personality free areas that abound in Kowloon and the New Territories. They seemlessly blend into one another and all have the exact same things in them. Don't be afraid to commute. I live in the mid-levels in central and it takes me about 35 minutes or so door to door. The mid-levels have all the Chinese stuff you need for your authentic experience but also mexican food til midnight, coffee shops, clubs, bars but it's not in your face like Lan Kwai Fong or Wan Chai. Anyway, work out the routes and the travel times and choose somewhere else to live that gets you to your jobs in reasonable time. Don't get stuck living in some crap area just because you work there!

[sypanda5]

kurva,
thanks for your honest reply! GEEZ....sounds kind of scary! you said you work at the Tsuen Wan primary school - is that different from the one where i am placed?!

if you hadn't have told me that, i would have totally just lived in tsuen wan! ha! can you give me an idea of whereabouts you live (central - close to the MTR or...? i don't know too much about HK)...costs, etc.?

(How are the kids, parents at your school?)

thanks again for your reply!

[arju]

Hi I agree dont live in the place you work its fun travelling there its part of the life in hong kong.
If you live in western mid levels you can walk to hong kong station and catch tung chung line to lai king change trains to tsun wan line and the trip has taken around 20 mins on the mtr and cost $11.80.
I also live in mid levels and agree it has lots to offer if you want check a web site called gohome.com it lists appartments all over and you can get an idea of the things on offer. you can get partments around hollywood road etc 600-800 sq feet for $8000 up depending on what you want, go for furnished as its less hassle to get furniture plus to get rid of at end of contract.
stay in a serviced apartment at the start to get aquainted and look around.
best of luck
arju

[jenny-pnet]

Sypanda5, Kurva, anyone, what do you know also about the orientation that we are supposed to attend before the commencement of school????

[arju]

re orientation last year we had orientation in the last week of august conducted at st marks school north point plus some follow up saturday morning workshops. the workshops were run by the att's and some british council members, some of the sessions were good and some were so popular we couldnt all do them.There is a lot of information to digest and not all of it helpful but if there are actual net teachers there to answer questions it will be better for you to have some facts rather than fiction from those not teaching.
best thing about orientation is getting to make some contacts with other nets, important to make friends for support.
hope this helps.

[kurva]

sypanda5,

Actually, I don't work at your school but in Kwai Ming Wu School near the MTR.
Mid-levels is near central. There is a huge escalator that runs half way up the mountain passing through HK's Soho among other things. You’ll find quite a few foreigners there but not the unwashed backpacking budget crowd, they're in TST, or the sex obsessed foreigner common to Asia, they're in Wan Chai and Mongkok. Mid-Levels has a lot of different types of restaurants such as Nepalese, Argentinean, Italian, Fusion etc. and is the only place in HK to get a bagel, burrito or deli sandwiches. It also has lots of coffee shops, art galleries, clubs, bars and is close to Lan Kwai Fong-a big bar area. I feel like I'm a mid-levels tout or something. The one downside is that rents are significantly higher. I could easily find my apartment in the New Territories or outlying islands for half of what I pay. The location, though, makes it well worth the cash for me. A few good websites to check out are

www.gohome.com.hk -it's good to check prices/locations
www.centamap.com or www.ypmap.com -for maps
www.asiaxpat.com.hk -for expat stuff-really good for used
furniture and household stuff

And if you are really interested in the mid-levels I'll give you my realtor's number as he bent over backwards for me and is a good guy...for a realtor.

[Scott in HK]

i am one of those who lives and works in the new territories and although i enjoy going down the city once and again...i have to say that i prefer the quiet life out here in the boonies...i have 1200 sq ft little townhouse with a garden out back...big enough for the kid's pool and my barbecue...

though i agree about not living in tsuen wan...i would also suggest that you might want to live the cheapness that is the NT....rents are much lower and apts are bigger...and there is a tad less pollution in the air...

[kurva]

I agree with Scott in HK in that there is no point living in places like Kowloon and some parts of the New Territories and that some parts of the new Territories have alot to offer. It really depends on what kind of lifestyle you want. Out in a place like Sai Kung or even some of the islands like Llama there are some great deals in really beautiful locations. Getting to civilization can take quite a while though and if you want any kind of selection in entertainment/dining/drinking then you won't get it out there. I'm a twenty something single guy and those issues are central. My advice would be to experience the city before you escape it but the choice comes down to wanting an urban life with all of its expenses and excitment or a rural one with its peacefulness and disconnectedness.

[sypanda5]

kurva, jenny-pnet, scott in hk and arju,
thanks all for your comments/advice! all things to think about. i am a mid-20 single gal who likes to have fun (not a drinker though) so perhaps living in Tsuen Wan as I had origianlly planned would not be my ideal place!

the mid-levels sound like an exciting place to live! so..i will definitely look into that! AND, perhaps if I've "had my fill" of excitment and want some relaxation, I'll move out into NT in my second year...?!

thanks again for your responses....keep them coming if you have anything you want to add/say!

Sonya
(Jenny-pnet - just wondering..when are you planning on getting to HK?) (How many days in advance would you think is ok...?)

Did anybody go to HK for an interview...and fill out the reimbursement for travel expenses? (DId you get the reimbursement back yet?)

[jenny-pnet]

Hi sypanda5, I was thinking about coming early August, but am really not sure yet. To arrive too early means having to fork out extra money in accommodation, but leaving it too late means not having enough time to set up home and familiarise myself with the place before starting school. I hate the thought of not being properly organized. I was advised also that it is wise to take someone experienced when seeking accommodation, so as not to get ripped off with exorbitant rent. And I was told that in early August, there won't be any veteran NETs around to help in this regard, because they will all be off holidaying in other places. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this.

[Generasian X]

Great questions that I am interested in hearing back from, I think this should be a seperate thread, don't you?

[sypanda5]

Hey Scott in HK and Kurva,
OK...so.....to keep my options open, you had mentioned living somewhere OTHER THAN Tseun Wan (is it really THAT bad?!).....where else in the New Territories would you recommend to live? I will definitely want to go out on the weekends (clubbing, dinner, etc.) but also like the idea of paying MUCH LOWER rent by living in NT area...so I think I would rather pay for a cab when I go out, rather than pay a super high rent!
And, another question to go along with jenny-pnet's question.....
HOW easy/hard is it to find a decent apartment? Would we need to arrive quite early? or are a few days enough?

THANKS!

[Scott in HK]

There is nothing inherently wrong with Tsuen Wan...you can live at Discovery Park...some apts above a shopping center...you are on the MTR...it is just the TW doesn't offer any great benefits...like access to clubs if you like that sort of thing...or greenery if that is more to your taste.

Personally, I live near where I work. Cutting the commute down is the most important thing. I hate traveling to and from work. So I live about 30 minutes from work. I know people who live in Tin Shui Wai and work on the island....they travel about 50 minutes a day...cheap rent in Tin Shui Wai and a really good service apt...Harbout City Resort Plaza...i know people who lived on lamma island and commuted over and 1 hour to work...

I live in Fairview Park...as I have a family and it gives me a lot of space...if i was single i would be living in the serviced apts in Tin Shui Wai...

Best idea...come and get the serviced apartment...as they are month to month lease and then look around before you make your decision...

When getting your apt...ask a teacher at school to help...my teacher really bargain hard for my first apt....we got a realtor when we moved to Fairview Park...and she also bargain fairly hard for us...

[kurva]

I agree with Scott in HK. Get a cheap serviced apartment on a month to month lease so you can scope out the areas for yourself so you don't have to listen to guys like us go on about what we like and why. Although, I must add my two cents about not liking to taxi it for a half- hour plus to get a croissant/bagel or decent cup of coffee/cappuccino on a lazy Sunday morning.

Get a local to help with getting the price down but be wary about any other advise. They aren't quite in tune with western thinking sometimes. I can't tell you how many times people told me that getting a small place on a high floor is better than a bigger place on a low floor. Floow number is a status symbol as are all kinds of useless stuff that really doesn't matter to anyone not caught up in the HK status race.

One other note. Asked by co-workers at my school in Tsuen Wan about the government school and they said it is one of the best in the area. Lucky you.