Accommodation

we're just back from Canada, important to look for quiet environment with lots of fresh air. We're considering Mount Parker Lodge in Quarry Bay, but wonder if there'll be any disturbance during sleep(esp in early morning) caused by noise from early morning strollers on the Mount Parker Road nearby and from the planes. If you're staying in the neighourhood, grateful if you can share your experience.

llam

You've found an area of Hong Kong you like, and chosen a development you're happy with. Now how do you choose the best flat?

Here are some questions to think about:

Many of the excellent reader comments made on this article about the cost of living in Hong Kong have focused on the relative merits of keeping a car here, and how having one can be crucial if you’re living in a village outside Hong Kong’s urban areas.

If you are planning to buy your first flat (aka apartment or condominium) in Hong Kong, you’re probably wondering how to get the best deal, while avoiding any expensive mistakes. Read on for Batgung's recommendations on trouble-free house-hunting.

As I mentioned in my previous article on Hong Kong town planning, it's curious -- in a wonderful way, of course -- that Hong Kong's extreme population density, coupled with 'Radiant City' town planning that's produced mostly urban hellholes in other countries, has resulted in a very livable city that's among the world's safest.

I've recently read a classic book on town planning, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs. Jacobs burst on to the town planning scene with this book in the early 1960s, and has been the sage of what's been termed 'New Urbanism' ever since. She unfortunately passed away recently. (You can find a fairly recent interview with her here if you're interested.)

I've griped about it myself: pollution and a general indifference to the environment in Hong Kong. But in one way, at least, Hong Kong is surely one of the world's most environmentally-sound cities. How can that be, you ask, through a haze of air pollution, standing next to a harbor that's a toxic soup?