aren.a wrote:So I asked a few people around on suggested locations where I will be able to feel the western vibe more intensely. Holland village and Buono Vista were two regions mentioned. What do you guys think? Do you have any other suggestions?
I'd suggested D21 as it appears a reasonable compromise, neither right by your work, and not right into town which can be $$$-expat ghetto.
I don't think I'd looked at BV, perhaps expecting it to be out of your budget. Don't know, have a look yourself (search function) and see what you think. A word of caution though: I remember one time I moved here and I'd set my sights on moving to Novena. Some of the units I saw were shocking. Like where a two-bed unit had been split in half (a front door, vestibule, then two further 'front doors' side by side, to 2*1/2 units) to what I'd describe as 'corridor flats'. What with listings here not coming with floorplans, be careful of suspiciously 'reasonably' priced listings.
'Western vibe'. Hmm one could have a very long discussion about what that is and to what extent it exists
There might be some corners where you momentarily feel a little like you're having a 'western experience'. They tend to be very expensive (Holland Village, Jones the Grocer, Swiss Butcher, high-tea at a 5* hotel etc). The other 'Western vibe' is that such as is put on to cater to the tourists... an evening spent F+B/partying etc down at Clarke Quay comes to mind. Of course it's still majority locals, but the western food, pubs, places with live music and so on feel rather like home, well, after a few weeks out in the pub-free suburbs they do
So this leads back to...
- IIRC your budget won't fund a place in HV, and I think that is probably a good thing (when considered in the round).
- Check out Bueno Vista as suggested, and see how it compares to Clementi.
- I don't think
living amongst a western vibe matters, even if you can afford to. Having the ability to occasionally access it seems to be enough to feed any back-home-blues.
