Singapore Expats

Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Discuss about where to live, renting a property, tenancy issues, property trend and property investment in Singapore.
Post Reply
User avatar
ecureilx
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 9817
Joined: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 5:18 pm

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by ecureilx » Thu, 24 Sep 2015 11:09 pm

karanmaroo wrote:Hi all,

Found a few interesting condos in my budget at Dakota/Mountbatten. Specifically along Guillemard Road and Geylang Road. Any insights as to how good these areas are? I walked around and could find a couple of fair price stores very closeby. Also, will I be able to find any sports facilities nearby? How is the access to east coast park?

Thanks,
Karan
Geylang is one of the official Red Light Districts, or rather, parts of Geylang.

Though the educated know the difference between the 'designated' zones and others, most will assume you are in a Red Light District ! As for East Coast Park, there is a park connector that goes via Fort road direclty into Easgt Coast Park

Sports facilities ? you aren't too far from the National Stadium :)

Apart from a few gyms etc, in the up and coming Geylang "HERITAGE" District !

Search By



karanmaroo
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu, 23 Jul 2015 1:19 pm

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by karanmaroo » Fri, 25 Sep 2015 9:24 am

ecureilx wrote:
karanmaroo wrote:Hi all,

Found a few interesting condos in my budget at Dakota/Mountbatten. Specifically along Guillemard Road and Geylang Road. Any insights as to how good these areas are? I walked around and could find a couple of fair price stores very closeby. Also, will I be able to find any sports facilities nearby? How is the access to east coast park?

Thanks,
Karan
Geylang is one of the official Red Light Districts, or rather, parts of Geylang.

Though the educated know the difference between the 'designated' zones and others, most will assume you are in a Red Light District ! As for East Coast Park, there is a park connector that goes via Fort road direclty into Easgt Coast Park

Sports facilities ? you aren't too far from the National Stadium :)

Apart from a few gyms etc, in the up and coming Geylang "HERITAGE" District !
Oh, my goodness! Thank you for that, is that why the apartments are relatively cheaper here?

I looked around the area and liked a couple of units in Lorong 28 and Lorong 30. I am now having second thoughts with the safety of the area and all. What do you reckon?

Thank you for the tips, just googled and found more information.

User avatar
the lynx
Governor
Governor
Posts: 5281
Joined: Thu, 09 Dec 2010 6:29 pm
Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location: Location:

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by the lynx » Fri, 25 Sep 2015 11:13 am

You will see many construction workers loitering at that part of the Geylang - probably to ogle at the working ladies or just to chill, or both. They won't do anything to you, except ogling at your missus or your female visitors should they make house calls at your address.

So if you're ok with that situation, go ahead. If I'm just a lone male and I just want a nice and convenient (read: CHEAP) place to live, I'd be happy to rent there. So many good coffee shops and cafes around the Guillemard side. And yes, Park Connector Network runs through Guillemard to many other parks such as East Coast Park.

bgd
Manager
Manager
Posts: 1684
Joined: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 4:09 pm

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by bgd » Fri, 25 Sep 2015 11:58 am

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/viewtopic.php?t=91031

Have a read of the link above, older thread but the info still applies. Gives you a bit of an idea about Geylang. It's not all bad.

Edit: :D I see you have found it.

On the subject of the transport pass being linked to a credit card, I have a Citibank card that does that. Initially it was a little painful to set up but from a usage perspective it's great. Tops up automatically from your CC account so you never need worry about it.

User avatar
ecureilx
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 9817
Joined: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 5:18 pm

Re: RE: Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by ecureilx » Sat, 26 Sep 2015 7:36 am

karanmaroo wrote: I looked around the area and liked a couple of units in Lorong 28 and Lorong 30. I am now having second thoughts with the safety of the area and all. What do you reckon?.
The even numbered Lorongs were supposedly the designated areas

Safety ? If you are around that area with a pretty girl, the worst that can happen is for the guys around there thinking something and ogling... and that's the worst that can happen.

karanmaroo
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu, 23 Jul 2015 1:19 pm

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by karanmaroo » Sun, 27 Sep 2015 12:30 pm

The Lynx, bgd, ecureilx - Thanks a lot for your inputs.

A couple of days ago, I decided to walk around the area with my spouse at about 10:30 PM in the night.

- The walk from the Dakota MRT to the Lorongs was pretty normal, and so were the Lorongs 24A/26/28/30/32. Lorong 24 was a slightly shady feeling but pretty normal enough.
- You guys were right about the ogling - There was some amount of it in Lorong 24 and the area towards Aljunied
- Some of the street food both in Guillemard Road and Sims Avenue was pretty good. We are vegetarians and yet found some good stuff
- Interestingly enough, at that time of the night, didn't find a single female walking by herself. This was unlike most of Singapore I had seen thus far
- There were boards in all the Lorongs saying that drinking liquor in public areas is prohibited after 10:30 PM (Was reading somewhere that this is true for all of Singapore). They were stated as 'Liquor Control Zones'

Am still unable to make up my mind about the area :)

bgd
Manager
Manager
Posts: 1684
Joined: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 4:09 pm

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by bgd » Tue, 29 Sep 2015 10:55 am

karanmaroo wrote: - There were boards in all the Lorongs saying that drinking liquor in public areas is prohibited after 10:30 PM (Was reading somewhere that this is true for all of Singapore). They were stated as 'Liquor Control Zones'

Am still unable to make up my mind about the area :)
There is a general ban on drinking in public after 10:30pm. That is Singapore wide and a very recent change. In addition there are Liquor Control Zones which take that futher and ban the consumption of alcohol in public over weekends and public holidays. I think there are still only 2, Little India and Geylang.

karanmaroo
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu, 23 Jul 2015 1:19 pm

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by karanmaroo » Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:47 am

Thanks bgd. Yeah, did read that - it looks like the fine in Little India and Geylang is 1.5 times the fine in other areas for any violation of rules.

User avatar
altego76
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun, 03 Apr 2011 9:51 am
Location: Singapore

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by altego76 » Fri, 23 Oct 2015 1:40 am

In fact it is pretty safe to stay from Lorong 30 onwards. You may try to find those condo within walking distance to both Dakota or Payar Lebar MRT. The area now is influx with Expat as it is very accessible to CBD. It takes about 20 minutes to reach Raffles place from Lorong 30 by bus.
My condo also has a Indian family, and has been living here for 7 years. Not to mention the school are within walking distance from Dakota MRT.

karanmaroo
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu, 23 Jul 2015 1:19 pm

Re: Help for possible locations to live : Couple moving in newly [Using format given]

Post by karanmaroo » Fri, 23 Oct 2015 6:39 pm

Thanks a lot altego76 for your inputs.

Thanks everyone for all your inputs and suggestions. I've found a condo well within my budget at Kembangan. It's a 35 to 40 minutes door to door from office for me, which is works nicely. Thought I'd summarize my suggestions for anyone who is looking for flats with similar requirements:

1) I saw a few flats on Upper Bukit Timah Road. While the downtown line is expected to start from December 2015 in these areas, I didn't fancy the place much. I ruled out the West in my first viewings

2) The next area of search was Tao Payo and nearby. These areas have a lot of flats in the range which I wanted. However, they are HDBs and it on viewing them, I realized they didn't suit my purpose a lot as my wife was specifically looking for very good furnishings inside the flat. I then restricted my search to stand-alone apartments and condos. However, in 2.5K, one can also get good HDBs in areas like Tanjong Pagar, Tiong Bahru, Tanjong Rhu and the likes which are pretty close to downtown.

3) I also expanded my search to one bedders also. There are a lot of good one bedders within 2.5K at Novena, and it's a fantastic area to stay with good eating and drinking options. However, I faced one constraint - they all had hot plates in the kitchen, and I was looking for kitchens with the traditional gas cookers.

4) I looked at far-flung areas like Sengkang and Punggol and you have a lot of options in some new condos there. However, to me, it looked too far from the city if I was on a night out for drinks or a party or a movie. Hence, I ruled them out. You can also find a few good standalones in the Woodleigh-Kovan stretch

5) I loved the ECP area (Amber Road and nearby). Rentals have dropped by as much as 30% in these areas, and it was fantastic to see. Unfortunately, the two flats I liked here (both full furnished beautiful two-bedders within 2.5K) - the landlord backed out because we happen to be Indians (too much cooking and all that dope). It was disappointing to lose out on these because we absolutely wanted to live there

6) My Gelyang stories have been well recorded here. The Stadium - Dakota stretch is fantastic; close to downtown, close to ECP, brilliant eating options, close to the MRT, good bus connectivity etc- finally chose against it just for the 'Geyland' tag. I am guessing this area will become more and more popular to live in the near future.

6) Finally settled on something in Kembangan. The entire Eunos-Kembangan-Bedok stretch has many options and you can really bargain like crazy here. Thanks to the suggestions on this forum, I started with a 20% -below - asking price point to bargain and could get a lot of my requirements fulfilled.

Do feel free to contact me if you have any specific queries. Once again, thank you all for sharing tips with me.

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Property Talk, Housing & Rental”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests