And we are back! We moved on Friday to a new apartment in Hong Kong. After several attempts to connect the internet, we are online and ready to blog! (Sidenote: I don't even want to talk about how annoyed the internet makes me here. Communicating can be difficult when we don't share a common first language, let alone trying to communicate about technical things. It drives me BANANAS!).
First, the move. We decided to move a few months ago when we found out our landlord was trying to sell our apartment. We realized that the new owner would probably raise our rent (which was at the high end of our budget in the first place). We know other units in our building were renting for more, and we didn't want to pay more. The second reason we decided to move was that all the primary schools where we applied for Nora are on the island, when we were in Kowloon. It isn't far at all, but it just gets annoying to have limited transportation options and we knew we wanted to be close to her school.
We started to look in the North Point neighborhood because it is a little bit cheaper and we have some amazing friends in the area. Plus, the school that we are most interested in having Nora attend is in this neighborhood. After a few weeks of searching, we found a great apartment that is bigger than our old place and substantially cheaper. We are very happy! The downside is that it is in a old building with no amenities. There are some new challenges and it will take some adjusting, but we are very happy that we made this decision.
I'll take pictures tomorrow and post them. Then, you can see some the challenges (ie, the hot water heater right above the sink in the bathroom, so no mirror in the bathroom. The stove that is really a campfire stove and sits a little bit above my knees).
Nora also had some additional changes. We knew it would take us about an hour to get to her preschool from our new apartment in North Point. We weren't thrilled, but I figured we would just tough it out for a couple more months until summer and then (hopefully) she would start a primary school in August). Well, resourceful Richard checked with our preschool and got permission for Nora to transfer campuses. She is now going to a closer campus in the morning. The morning schedule has been a big adjustment for the entire family. We have to leave about 8:10, when we used to have a slow and easy morning. We are getting the hang of it and I think it is for the better to get up and go.
Pictures tomorrow and more amusing stories from our kids. Calvin is starting to talk a lot and is saying the cutest little things. Nora is delightful and when she saw her new room in the new apartment, she exclaimed "I can't believe my eyes!"
First, the move. We decided to move a few months ago when we found out our landlord was trying to sell our apartment. We realized that the new owner would probably raise our rent (which was at the high end of our budget in the first place). We know other units in our building were renting for more, and we didn't want to pay more. The second reason we decided to move was that all the primary schools where we applied for Nora are on the island, when we were in Kowloon. It isn't far at all, but it just gets annoying to have limited transportation options and we knew we wanted to be close to her school.
We started to look in the North Point neighborhood because it is a little bit cheaper and we have some amazing friends in the area. Plus, the school that we are most interested in having Nora attend is in this neighborhood. After a few weeks of searching, we found a great apartment that is bigger than our old place and substantially cheaper. We are very happy! The downside is that it is in a old building with no amenities. There are some new challenges and it will take some adjusting, but we are very happy that we made this decision.
I'll take pictures tomorrow and post them. Then, you can see some the challenges (ie, the hot water heater right above the sink in the bathroom, so no mirror in the bathroom. The stove that is really a campfire stove and sits a little bit above my knees).
Nora also had some additional changes. We knew it would take us about an hour to get to her preschool from our new apartment in North Point. We weren't thrilled, but I figured we would just tough it out for a couple more months until summer and then (hopefully) she would start a primary school in August). Well, resourceful Richard checked with our preschool and got permission for Nora to transfer campuses. She is now going to a closer campus in the morning. The morning schedule has been a big adjustment for the entire family. We have to leave about 8:10, when we used to have a slow and easy morning. We are getting the hang of it and I think it is for the better to get up and go.
Pictures tomorrow and more amusing stories from our kids. Calvin is starting to talk a lot and is saying the cutest little things. Nora is delightful and when she saw her new room in the new apartment, she exclaimed "I can't believe my eyes!"
6 comments:
So glad to have you back online. Miss you so much more when you have Internet problems.
Love,
Grandma Carol Lee
Your 'new' apartment sounds great. Thanks for the detailed account. Looking forward to the pictures. Enjoy every minute with those beautiful children and thanks for sharing them with us. Love you.
Thank goodness your found a place you all like! I can't imagine how difficult and stressful it must have been - but there isn't much that Team Hawkins can't handle. Glad you're back :)
So glad you found a place you like! Apartment hunting is NEVER fun. Can't wait for the pictures. :)
the thought of moving makes me pretty sick to the stomach. you are a beast! :) a family of four moving machine! your holidays look so classy and enjoyable. what an amazing year with the ages of the kiddos! so glad you had all this time together. loves. hugs. etc.
I for one am quite pleased (read: ecstatic) about your chosen location. Many more playdates to come! Yay! But I do want to see this knee-high stove you are talking about...
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