Singapore Expats

Excited and nervous for my move

SAHMs / WAHMs tell us how you are coping.
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Anca110
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Excited and nervous for my move

Post by Anca110 » Fri, 07 Feb 2014 1:08 pm

Hello,

I'm going to move to Singapore from Canada with my family in a couple months. We have a 3 month old son and a puppy. I have never been to that part of the world so I don't know what to expect when we arrive. Here are some of the questions :running through my mind:

What is a good neighborhood to live in? How come?

How is the health-care system?

What is it like living in Singapore for my fellow stay at home moms?

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 07 Feb 2014 1:19 pm

Welcome to the forum. Please make use of the excellent search tool found in the row of links at the top of the page. Most, if not all, of your questions have already been discussed in great depth on here numerous times. After partaking of the veritable feast of info on this forum, and you have specific questions, we will be glad to try to answer them.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

BedokAmerican
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Post by BedokAmerican » Sat, 15 Feb 2014 9:43 pm

As a stay-at-home mom, I wasn't too keen on Singapore when I first moved here, but I've grown to like it much more.

One of the things that surprised me (and annoyed me) when I moved here with my husband and 7 1/2 month old was that there's a lot of waiting around (long lines) and it takes so much more time to do things in Singapore than it did in the U.S.

Now, waiting for buses, cabs, trains and elevators might not be a big deal if you're out and about by yourself, but it's a very big deal if you're out with a baby. I would "plan" to be home at such-in-such time to get my child a nap or a meal, but the "plan" usually didn't work. In general, there's no such thing as a "quick trip" to the grocery store or mall in Singapore.

My son was taking 2-3 naps a day when we first got here and getting somewhere when he was awake wasn't easy in such a short amount of time. He didn't sleep well in his stroller. I was often homebound. He's how almost 2 and has been taking 1 nap a day the past few months so it's much easier to do things with him because there's more time.

We also got a car a few months ago and that makes transport much easier with a toddler, although parking can be a challenge. Sometimes it takes a long time to get in and out of garages because 99% of drivers back their cars in and often take several attempts to park perfectly. It might take you 15 minutes to get somewhere by car but an hour to get there by bus and sometimes the MRT isn't going where you need to go.

I don't mean to sound negative, but it was hard for me at first. It got easier once my son got a little older and we got a car.

As far as health care goes, it'll depend on the plan. The one through my husband's company is ok because we're all healthy and don't have any preexisting conditions so it works great for us. But I read over the plan and its title should be the "Don't Get Sick Plan."

Another thing, if you're not getting a car, you might want to consider a car seat that doubles as a stroller because taxicabs don't have carseats. So many people just hold their babies on their laps. We used to clip my son's carseat out of his stroller, collapse the stroller base and put him (while his seat) in the cab that way and put the seatbelt through the designated area on the carseat , so he was in his seat and remained buckled in.

If you find an "indoor playground" you like when he gets a little older, be sure and take him there weekday mornings when schools are in session and avoid weekends and public holidays. I made the mistake of taking my son in the afternoons and it's more crowded and lots of big kids aren't careful around the little ones. Some indoor playgrounds will let kids under are 1 or 2 in for free. They can be a nice change from the hot outdoor weather.

Lots of nice areas to live. I suggest a condo with a pool, playground, amenities, etc because it'll be easier to entertain your child once he starts walking and climbing. However, you'll have to check to be sure places allow your breed of dog.

janiceliu88
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Post by janiceliu88 » Fri, 21 Feb 2014 6:57 pm

A couple of things you might want to consider - if you're not getting a car, like most of us in the country, you might want to live close to an MRT station. Especially if you'll be traveling with a stroller most of the time, that saves time. Also, it does matter what line you're on - the circle line (the yellow one) takes forever, the red and green lines (east-west and north-south respectively) can take more time and be frankly pretty congested. I live on the north-east line and I absolutely love it.

Besides a convertible car seat, I've seen portable car seats/safety harnesses around, something like: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product ... 14893.html . I haven't tried them out personally but I mean to soon.

JJuulliiaa
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Post by JJuulliiaa » Sun, 23 Feb 2014 11:46 pm

Hi Anca

You've got some good advice from the regulars :)

I definitely second living near an MRT station, we live on the Circle / East - West line, its not the fastest but it hasnt caused me any issues yet - my baby is also 3 months old, there have been a couple of occasions where he's become hungry when on the train (which means an entire train full of people looking at me as he yells but nevermind!).

What breed of puppy do you have? We had a Japanese Akita but she had to stay in the UK as they are banned over here :(

If you want to meet up when you get here give me a shout

Julia

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