Moving to Singapore from UK with toddler and baby

[Kpapas]

hiya

We're arriving in Singapore at the end of this month with a 20 month and a 10 week old in tow, can anyone give me ideas on which is best with children a house or a condo? We do value outside space, but a large balcony may be enough? Also, does anyone have any good recommendations for playgroups and/or nurseries. My toddler goes to nursery part time and I'd like her to continue a couple of mornings a week once we settle a bit?

thanks
k

[davewide]

We are in the similar position moving end of the month with a new born and a toddler. I have just got back from two weeks in Singapore sorting out houses and pre-schools. You will soon realise that most of the properties are quite similar, the older they are the more internal space you get and a greater chance of some outdoor space. We have gone for a condo ( ground floor unit) because of the worry of the toddler on a baclony. With regard to preschool, depends where you are living but there seems to be plenty of good little nurseries. Most of them will make you pay for 5 days a week, even if you don't want to send your child every day. Suggest you visit Tanglin Mall as there are some really good shops for babies and there is also a Mum and Baby support centre there that are incredibly helpful and have lots of information. If you can get hold of a book which came free with the Expat magazine called ' the finder. Just for Kidz 2005' it has all the numbers and reviews of the pre-schools and clubs.

Regards.

[Sommerville Park]

You should give some of the older condos a look. By older, I mean up to 20+ years old, not old by european standards. We live at Sommerville Park, centrally located, green and spacious for kids to run around, olympic pool and baby pool, gym, 2 playgrounds, tons of families. I take a walk around the grounds every evening which takes about 20 minutes, but then I'm a slow walker, since I'm pregnant with our third...

Even have a minimart where you can buy groceries without leaving the grounds. We choose a bigger condo since I thought it would be easier to be social without having to drive around with 2 little ones in tow. Now that we're going for 3 I'm glad we made that choice.

Best of luck with the move!

[guestlim]

Hi

With regard to preschools, like one of the reply mentioned, there are plenty depending on which location. Similar to rental of places to stay. Basically, it really depends on your requirements and budget.

For example, i have a couple of neighbours who are Australians, French and English folks who moved to where i live. It's called Serangoon Gardens similar concept to popular expat zone Holland Village but much more subdued as it's a very family oriented environment.

Rental of houses over here are pretty reasonable eg 2 storey house with a garden partially furnished, walking dist to the eating places is around $2-3k. There are nurseries and even parks where families bring their kids to socialise. If $ permit, you could even join a nearby country club reasonably priced (no golf), where much facilities are sought after eg swimming pool, courts, playroom, bowling, etc.

After much said, it's still comes back to your budget and requirements.