New - moving with 4 kids

[Hanalei]

Hi All,

Looks like yet another relocation is on the cards, this time with 4 kids who will be 9, 7, 6 and 4 when we move in August. I have a 3 day trip planed in a couple of weeks to try to decide on a school and an area to live. With so little time I am looking for guidance from anyone who would like to share.

Although I am a Brit, we live in Ireland at the moment and 2 of our kids were born in the US so I am not tied to any school system. I anticipate returning to Ireland for secondary school so we are only looking up to age 12. Have been recommended SAIS, CIS (Lakeside) and Nexus as places that might have space for 2014/15. I have also been speaking to the Headmaster at Dulwich but it seems places are unlikely. Please let me know your honest opinions. Tanglin would have been on the list but it appears we will be heading home before we reach the top of the wait list.

I was thinking of picking the school then trying to find a home based on location from school but with 4 kids and numerous visitors does anyone have any suggestions of larger properties/condos that might be options? We are going to need 4 beds as a minimum and more is obviously better but my husband has his heart set on a condo, anyone know if this is possible at larger sizes?

Sorry for the ramble but hopefully someone will be able to give me some pointers.

[Primrose Hill]

There are older developments like Sommerville Park or Holland Peak may have or East Coast

[Hanalei]

Thanks Primrose Hill, will have a look. Trying to balance space with location for the school commute is going to be interesting.

[movingtospore]

If your children have US passports you can get priority admission at Singapore American School (which is not to say they have a spot, but you jump the queue a bit). It is a well established school with a strong program for middle and high school-aged children. However, if you are planning on university in the UK their high school curriculum may not be the right fit.

Do some searching on the forum re some of the other schools you mention and you'll see some discussion on the pros and cons of each and of questions you should ask of International Schools when you go visit. The big ones:

- Is this a for-profit school. If so, what percentage of the profits are re-invested in the school?

- How is the performance of the school governed?

- What percentage of teachers leave every year?

- What percentage of students leave for other schools in Singapore every year? (this will give you an idea of how many people place their children there just because they're waiting on other schools).

I've mentioned in other threads - International Schools are big business in Singapore. Ask tough questions to make sure that you're getting the whole story - not just the marketing package.

[movingtospore]

There are a number of UK families at St Joseph's International. Used to be quite difficult to get in as it's smaller, but worth checking out.

[TryingTBBMom]

Welcome to Singapore!

So you have your work ahead.
Relocating to Singapore with a large family takes a lot of thought especially concerning housing and schools.
A lot will depend on your "package".
[b]You are going to be getting a lot of varying responses from expats, weed through the BS that does not apply to your situation as there is a great debate on the term expat here in Singapore.[/b]

Housing: There are good sized condos throughout the city,
Have a relocations specialist give you a list of condo names.

I live in a landed house (bungalow ) with a large garden off holland but keep in mind that the maintenance is not included in the monthly cost.

Theres Sentosa, Holland Village,Bukit Timah, east coast, CBD areas which have larger places. Woodlands if your kids go to SAS or Marlboro in Johor MY

Schooling: Rule of thumb is to apply to at minimum 2 to 3 schools.
It's not uncommon the your kids may have to attend different ones until spots open up but you do get bumped up the priority list if you have kids attending. If you want to keep with UK curriculum than there is Taglin, Dover Court,and Dulwich. Be mindful of the "for profit school" like nexus,AIS SAIS.
Best advise is to visit each school and ask boldly for recommendations. Then google reviews and comments.
there is also UWC and OFS, CIS…all good.
I have been doing this for some time and have 1 in college finally and 2 in schools here. if you would like to PM me I will gladly expound further.
Now Taglin does have a wait list but if your husbands company has a debenture than check into that.

No I'm going to get flack for saying this but realistic housing for a minimum 4+ bedroom will be over 10K per month. If anyone tells you different than you are looking at HDB's albeit may be a new one will be a more "local vibe"

Make sure your package includes all fees including multiple applications for school fees.

do not move into your flat or home until it has met all your requirements as per your contract….. Landlords are a bit dodgy and rarely fix stuff after you have taken possession.

There are tenant laws that many real-estate agents do not inform you of so be sure to get all that info too….

If any of your kids have special needs or LR than that's another hurdle.

Best of Luck!!!
From one mom to another!!

[Hanalei]

TryingTBBMom, thank you very much for the info, I appreciate you taking the time to type such a long response. We are not lucky enough to have access to debentures but hopefully our package will be ok on the housing front.

Unfortunately I need to post a few more times before I can PM but I will be in touch I am sure!

[Hanalei]

movingtospore, thanks for your messages and the question suggestions. The whole International School thing is new to me and going to be a complete shock for my kids who currently attend a village school with 15-30 children per year group!

Only two of the kids have US passports but I will see whether that helps get the others in as siblings at SAS. SJI is totally full for 2014/15 but thanks for the suggestion.

[nutnut]

I would recommend the Singapore International School Guide, we found it very useful when making our decision, they will flog it to you a ebook since you are not in Singapore.

http://www.internationalschoolguides.com/singapore/

As for places to stay, depending on your budget, you can certainly find >4 bed places in Singapore, they tend to be houses rather than condos IMO, and floor space is expensive here. decide on some schools first, then search here and . for places. I would suggest if you are getting a package then the company may help you find somewhere.

For us, we love Chatsworth school, it's pure IB and although it's a "for profit" school, it's great, the kids love it.

[Hannieroo]

We go to Nexus and like it very much.

Whatever school you choose make sure you live walking distance from it. With after school clubs, play dates etc you could find yourself permanently on the road. Plus two minutes late when walking means you trot a bit, two minutes late for the bus is no bus.

I know a fair few people living in condos (Ridgewood, Pandan Valley, Clementi Area) where they have 4 or 5 beds, 3,000 sq ft and a roof terrace for around 7k. Another option is cluster housing, that's a house that's on a condo development. There's a fair few of them, Binjai Crest has them for 8 or so.

[Hanalei]

Hi Hannieroo and nutnut,

I recognise your names from lurking and had booked appointments to visit Chatsworth and Nexus on the strength of some of your past comments so thanks a million for your input. A quick question, I have a friend who is moving to Sentosa in with kids and a distant relative who also lives there, is the commute doable for small kids as I had rejected it based on anticipated traffic?

Thanks again

[Hannieroo]

Helio!

I know three families that do it. One has older children that take the public bus, it takes an hour. One has young and drives and one has young and takes taxis. I think it's around 20 minutes by car. I assume the school buses run there I know they do Keppel Bay. if you email the transport companies they will give you a list of routes.

Now, taxis. They are cheap and plentiful unless it's rush hour or raining, plus they only provide seatbelt for 4. The buses are great but I wouldn't fancy that with 4 small children. If your company provides the school bus fees but not a car I would negotiate. A small car will cost 1200 a month or so, the school bus for us (4km away) is 650 a term. For you that would be 10,400, more with CCA. You might find a leased car, all in, only costs an extra 100 a week which when you take away public transport and taxis might only be 20 quid. Which you'll easily save by driving to Fairprice rather than going to the local Cold Storage.

[nutnut]

Sentosa is kind of the least convenient place in Singapore unless you have a car. School buses will likely not stop there or will be last to stop there, so depends on your circumstances.

Depending on your budget/package, assuming you have done some research and the money is not an issue, then I'd still probably avoid Sentosa and go for somewhere like Holland V/Bukit Merah areas if you want the expat lifestyle and I love Tanjong Rhu which is just about to open the new sports hub if you prefer a more sporty lifestyle, also, spitting distance from gardens by the bay and east coast park.

If you end up at Nexus, (that's in the west isn't it?) then you would find Holland V are better.

[Primrose Hill]

Mine is at OFS but they are moving to Pasir Ris next year. Tanglin Trust, is that on the cards?
Further from what Hanni was saying definitely look into cluster/town houses with the condo facilities.
Allsworth their houses are huge, sommerville park has houses too, Holland Peak has plentiful big condos, Rivergate is another good one, there are quite a few on Sixth Avenue too

[movingtospore]

That reminds me of another question. Ask when the school's lease is up and if they are moving. The government is steadily moving all the International Schools out to sticks once their leases are up. GESs and Tanglin are next I heard.