moving to singapore with 4 young kids....

[lagoatparty]

Hi lovely mummy's,

Im new here! (and am still living in Australia)

My husband told me recently, that we will be moving to Singapore with our 4 young children in the next year or 2. Although i'm very excited about the adventure ahead, im not gonna lie....the thought of it is very daunting and at times over whelming.

I thought i would nip onto a forum to ask the experts (you!) for little bits of advice.....but where do i begin?!

Words of encouragement are very welcome!!

My kids will be around 9,7,5 and 3 at the time. The " Australian International School" has caught my eye....any opinions there? or with schooling in general. And where to live? Do you find a place close to school as commuting is difficult? Are there any areas that you recommend?
Do you guys drive cars over there? Ive seen online thats its difficult and expensive...but just wondering if thats just a price young families have to pay for the convenience.
and lastly (for now ).....condo life vs house with a yard. The condo appeals to me for the community/pool for the kids, but then, im not sure if my imagination is taking me to the right places there.

Love to hear from you!

[wona11]

Welcome!

Well, not cheap raising 4 kids in Singapore. Unless the company pays for it ofcourse. Are you going to take on a job yourself?

Public transport is very convenient, especially is you live between the common folks. If you opt for some high class areas (Bukit Timah, Holland, Sentosa etc) the public transport might be a bit further away. Cars are generally expensive, and with a large family you should prepare to have a rental cost of around SGD 2000 per month. You should do a math whether taking (daily) taxi trips will be cheaper. Taxi in Singapore is generally affordable.

Condo is smaller, though there are large condos. Rental are normally cheaper than a house with a yard. I have not stayed in any house, but I can imagine the maintenance you need to do(depends on rental agreement) and ofcourse the utility bills are higher. I would say it is more your budget and your personal preference.

All the best

[TropicalExpat]

Hi lovely mummy's,

Im new here! (and am still living in Australia)

My husband told me recently, that we will be moving to Singapore with our 4 young children in the next year or 2. Although i'm very excited about the adventure ahead, im not gonna lie....the thought of it is very daunting and at times over whelming.

I thought i would nip onto a forum to ask the experts (you!) for little bits of advice.....but where do i begin?!

Words of encouragement are very welcome!!

My kids will be around 9,7,5 and 3 at the time. The " Australian International School" has caught my eye....any opinions there? or with schooling in general. And where to live? Do you find a place close to school as commuting is difficult? Are there any areas that you recommend?
Do you guys drive cars over there? Ive seen online thats its difficult and expensive...but just wondering if thats just a price young families have to pay for the convenience.
and lastly (for now ).....condo life vs house with a yard. The condo appeals to me for the community/pool for the kids, but then, im not sure if my imagination is taking me to the right places there.

Love to hear from you!

Good luck with the move... I would choose a condo to begin with just because they typically are closer to public transport. Some houses are the middle of nowhere. They're also a bit smaller so easier to manage in terms of cleaning. And they have facilities like pool, gyms, bbq bits etc (not all of them have all of these)
Also houses sometimes get issues which you will need to deal with but condos have management to sort out.
The problem with condos -- lots of people. If you have a neighbour that you don't get on with, hates kids or plays loud music, smokes, then you can get into confrontations about it (mainly passive aggressive )

Once again, good luck with the move!

[abbby]

Hi lagoatfamily, and welcome to Singapore. If you're considering The Australian International School, Lorong Chuan has a few condos across AIS. And there's also the train station Lorong Chuan which is one the circle line. Other condos along the same stretch is also good, Serangoon, Bishan, really depending on where you and/your husband works.

Most people do own at least one car in Singapore, but there are also many who take the public transport as they're safe and reliable. I do see many children taking their own public transport after school.

Condos are not the cheapest in Singapore, but I would recommend you to consider a condo over a house, as houses requires more maintenance works, ie: gardening, car park and are harder to care for, especially if you have 4 kids I think the last thing on your mind is having to take care a large outdoor area. And houses generally don't come with pool. Your kids will enjoy condo facilities better (tennis, pool, gym, playground) and the compounds are also generally safe for kids.

[Max Headroom]

Singapore isn't called "Asia Lite" without a reason; it's Asian, but it's really rather cosmopolitan, so no worries there.

That being said, and not to be a wet blanket, but have you completed your formalities? I take it you're aware that Singapore is going through a pretty turbulent spell at the moment? I don't just mean Covid-wise, but especially vis-a-vis the considerable Covid fallout, with consequences for the economy as a whole and for its immigration/demographic trend in particular.




Edit: syntax.