west coast condos...the far away ones

[pant]

We will be moving to Singapore in October and for the last few weeks I have been living in . and memorizing MRT map.
The husband will work near Keppel (Maple Tree) and we won't have a car. We are a couple, mid-forties, no kids but with a stupid beloved cat. We love to socialize, go to the markets, grab a cup of coffee...but the condos that I like and of course within the budget seem a little bit far away- ClementiWoods, Varsity Park, Monterey Park, Botannia. Are they very isolated, no supermarkets around? Will we die of boredom?
Keppel Bay and Reflections look nice but the apartments are a bit small and we can not afford the larger ones.
Any feedback?

[x9200]

It really depends on your life style. If you have to socialise daily and just die without meeting some extended expat circle every day then far West locations could be a problem.
If only occasionally, then I see no problem with these locations - cabs are cheap and the nearest socialising clusters with a decent attenders diversity are already at the Clementi Rd/Pasir Panjang area.

[pant]

Thanks for the reply. Really appreciate. Actually it is not about meeting the fellow expats, socialising daily can be lethal for me as well, but the convenience matters..if the nearest supermarket is like 20 minutes by car or no wet markets/ hawker centres nearby, then it is a problem.

[BBCWatcher]

I assume you're referring to Mapletree Business City (postcode 117438, or near enough). Check the bus routes if you haven't already: bus routes 10, 30, 51, 57, 61, 93, 97, 100, 166, 120, 143, 175, 176, 188, and 963. Busrouter.sg will show you the routes of each of those buses. Then just find a condo you like with a FairPrice supermarket nearby that's, say, up to 30 minutes from Mapletree via one of those bus routes, and you're in business.

[x9200]

Sorry, I don't have much time today for a better response, but generally in any inhabited place in Singapore (vast majority of the areas your favorite condos included) I would be surprised not seeing any grocery and coffee shops (and many other) within 20 min by foot. What you may lack are higher end markets like Cold Storage but there are on-line deliveries also available and some surprisingly reliable (Red Mart for example so far).

Your primary potential annoyance you should focus on is commuting to and from work, all the rest is manageable without a major sweat.

[pant]

Thank you for the feedback. It is really helpful. All my target condos are 30-40 minutes bus ride away to work. My concern was about the daily life necessities and social life. But seems one has to compromise.
Argghhh...the apartments in Monterey Park look so good but still can't be sure about the location.

[Addadude]

Monterey Park is at most 30 mins by bus from Mapletree Park. There will be plenty of shops, supermarkets and malls near by - just look at how close West Coast Plaza and Ayer Rajah Food market is.

[pant]

Thank you Addadude.
I have literally memorised googlemap around the area, maybe can not walk but can easily ride a bike to both. But I have never been in West Coast and am totally clueless about the district.

[PNGMK]

WC is definitely an upwardly mobile destination. So is Pasir Panjang these days.

[valleyman]

Have you looked at The Interlace on Depot road. It will be only 2 bus stops from MBC. The area is very green and nice and you will also be 2 bus stops away from Anchorpoint mall/IKEA, in the other direction. Alexandra Central mall is also closeby..

[thismyvoice]

We will be moving to Singapore in October and for the last few weeks I have been living in . and memorizing MRT map.
The husband will work near Keppel (Maple Tree) and we won't have a car. We are a couple, mid-forties, no kids but with a stupid beloved cat. We love to socialize, go to the markets, grab a cup of coffee...but the condos that I like and of course within the budget seem a little bit far away- ClementiWoods, Varsity Park, Monterey Park, Botannia. Are they very isolated, no supermarkets around? Will we die of boredom?
Keppel Bay and Reflections look nice but the apartments are a bit small and we can not afford the larger ones.
Any feedback?

There are a row of eateries at intersection of clement road and pasir panjang road. Used to be popular with students from nearby university. Used to open till late.

The nearby West Coast Plaza should have places where you can have a cuppa in an air-conditioned environment.

There is a pretty decent hawker centre opposite West Coast Plaza, if you are keen on local food.

There used to be a pub or 2 somewhere along the end of pasir panjang road, at the other end.

All the above from memory so don't blame me if they are not there.

[x9200]

The area is not bad at all and actually I would think Monterey Park is a good combination between reasonably peaceful place to live (a bit off the main roads) with hassle free accessibility to everything needed. Comparing to more central and more busy locations using bicycles to move around (if one doesn't want to walk too much) would be a safe option.

It is also close to the whole Jurong East shopping cluster, IMM, JEM etc etc.

[gottaname]

Hi,

currently staying at one of the condos near westbay and working in the pasir panjang area

You have the option of sheng siong at the west coast market and cold storage at west coast plaza. NTUC is at clementi mall. If you live before clementi road, you should get a bicycle and cycle.

West coast is a quite, out of the way area and its the kind of quiet. Do note that the west coast highway can be quite dangerous at times due to the heavy container truck movement in the area as the port is being moved to pasir panjang from keppel.

The bus services are quite good, 175 and 143 will bring you to orchid road and vivocity, 51 will go bugis/jurong east. 201 is the local feeder bus that runs from keng ridge to clementi central.

The nearest MRT is haw par which allows you to head into the city centre quickly (timed for 40 minutes or less to bugis). Clementi central has cinemas and some shopping, but its crowded due to the larger HDB estate and can be congested at times.

There are two major parks in the area, west coast park and clementi woods. If you like taking walks in parks or outdoor activity, this might be the place for you. Clementi woods usually has the woodball club playing there.

The nearest large shopping areas are at Jurong East / IMM or down at vivocity. West coast has only 1 mc donalds at west coast park and 1 popeye's/subway at west coast mall.