Relocating to Singapore in Sept from KL

[dmd]

Hello Forum,

I am an expat currently located in KL and will soon move to Singapore in September for a new job assignment. I have a budget of 4.4K SGD to start with for an apartment for a 1-2 year stay. I would appreciate any advise/suggestions for a good and ideal apartment for my family. Please consider the following in your suggestion:
- 4 kids of ages 13, 4, 2 and a toddler. School for my teenage boy and children amenities will be essential.
- wife not working. Access to shops, groceries and mix with other expats' wives will keep her busy
- work will be Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate. Btw, my job makes me travel 40% of my time.
- i am normally home on weekend and like to use condo amenities (gym, big pool and other family get together activities).

On other notes :
- Do you suggest buying a car in Singapore? We bought a car in KL only to realize that I depreciated its value by more than 30% just to get rid of it so we can move. Or second hand car is more appropriate?
- We have 2 househelpers in KL and we want to bring at least one to Singapore as the this will not be cheap, what's the quickest and cheapest way to do it? What will be our cost if we bring 2 maids?
- On our DVD collections, we know we cant bring them to Singapore for obvious reasons (I am in Malaysia and chances majority of my collections is worth 8MYR each and too cheap to be originals). We will definitely leave them behind but I can also rip my collection into my harddisk. Will they check what's inside my PC and my storage device ? Otherwise, we will not take the chance.
- will our personal effects including our appliances (tv, pc etc) be taxed or taxfree?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR VALUABLE INPUTS.

Cheers!

[jpatokal]

- Do you suggest buying a car in Singapore? We bought a car in KL only to realize that I depreciated its value by more than 30% just to get rid of it so we can move. Or second hand car is more appropriate?

If you're only going to be here for 1-2 years then you might want to look into leasing.

- We have 2 househelpers in KL and we want to bring at least one to Singapore as the this will not be cheap, what's the quickest and cheapest way to do it? What will be our cost if we bring 2 maids?

It's possible, but it's an exercise in pain to do on your own:

http://www.mom.gov.sg/ProceduresAndGuid ... orkers.htm

-Will they check what's inside my PC and my storage device ? Otherwise, we will not take the chance.

They can do anything they like, but I've never heard of this happening.

- will our personal effects including our appliances (tv, pc etc) be taxed or taxfree?

Anything (within reason) for your personal use is tax-free.

[dmd]

hello jpatokal

thank you very much for your reply. what's the current lease rate for an SUV like Hyundai Tucson or other cars with the same class?

any recommendation on places to stay for my family ?

we look forward to your reply again.

cheers!

[hillview2006]

you got most of if from jpatokal already.

We also just moved here 2 months ago from KL. Our car depreciated by 40% though

Car leasing in Singapore may cost you about S$2k at least for MPV(family car) So we bought one instead! If you want to buy one,-second car is advisable! Car depreciated even more here!

Regarding yr maid – Is your maid is foreigner (i mean not Malaysian) if she’s foreigner then you need to cancel her work permit (as well as yours if you have one) and she must leave the country within 24 hours. I strongly suggest you to seek advise from the Malaysian Immigration Department ( Bahagian Pembantu Rumah - Maid department) Once you’ve settled in Singapore you can apply work permit for her and she must not reside in Singapore while submitting the application. Pls refer to this website. www.mom.gov.sg. Meaning she cannot be in KL either and must be in her origin country. This is what the Malaysian Immigration officer told me. There’s NO quickest and cheapest way to do this. I think you are running of time now better hurry.

If you never hire a maid in Singapore before – you got to go for a orientation and if your maid never work in singapore before she must sit for a Test ( 3 test allow with-in 3 mths after her work permit approve. If she failed the 3rd exam, bye bye lar)

The Filipino maid salary in Singapore is pretty much standard, S$320 – 350 and monthly levy S$34 . In Malaysia their salary is depending on their experience – most of my friend happily paying RM1500 which I think on the high side (but maid levy in Malaysia is very cheap)

On your DVD collections:-. We take everything with us except the blue one. ( well better don’t maybe you don’t have the luck..)

I can also rip my collection into my harddisk;- hard to say. At least they don’t check ours.

Personal effect such as TV, PC etc.. etc.. – No tax ( but you still have to pay for it first and claim later if you bother to do so) is a very small amount of money though.

Hope this will help.

[dmd]

dear hillview2006,
thank you very much for your clear advise. that surely helps a lot on moving forward.

can you advise too on best place to stay given our budget and some personal considerations we need to consider?

regards!

[tas]

or you can do direct hiring yourself.
it free.
check with MOM

[bethsue]

Maybe I can help you to transfer your maid over? Drop me a note if you are keen! Alternatively, I can recommend some good maids over here.

Cheers!
Sue

[hillview2006]

Dear dmd,

The different between living in Singapore & KL as an expat ;- In KL Most of expat stick together living in Mont Kiara, Bangsar & Damansara Heights or Ampang. Meanwhile in Singapore, expat living everywhere, south, north, east and west of Singapore and I MUST say that you can easily find another expat family in any condos in Singapore. So not to worries.. I'm sure your wife will find lots expat friend regards whereever you live. May I know which area you are now living in KL? It will give me a better idea on what kind of standard/environment you at looking at.

Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate is under Commonwealth Division (I think so) So I would recommend Holland village area. It’s a very decent place to live, most likely met all your requirements. But again, I’m not so sure if you can find a 4+1 bedroom condo with your budget. Otherwise if your family like city lifestyle, try orchard area the last time we are paying S$7400 for a Duplex 4+1 apartment partly furnished. I also learn that some of our neighbour paying $4500 for a 3 bedroom fully furnished.

In my earlier post – I made a typo error regarding the maid levy – it should be S$345 per month.You can appoint a maid agent in Singapore to do the necessary transfer /work permit application for you. Although you can do it yourself online but this will make is fast and save lots of your time. The agent fees are pretty standard too, unlike in KL We are using an agent here to do the application for our Sri Lankan maid. She’s now still in Sri Lanka waiting..

I’m sure your family will like Singapore better than KL. I dont meant that i dont like KL. In many ways KL can be a good place to live too


Good Luck on your move!

[diana_eng]

There isnt that many 4bedroom units for rental usually.
and SGD4400 seems to be on the low side.

For a decent condo with facilities which are "usable",think should be 4.5k-5k minimum.

There are a number of condo in West Coast Road, clementi and Dover Roadarea.

There are lots of amenties in Clementi central, and u be quite near to holland village where lots of expats go for weekend shopping etc.
There is a United World College at Clementi area.

Most importantly, u should be 5-10mins drive away from your work place. Imagine the travelling time you be saving.

Doesnt your company helps u to settle the accommodation issue?

[joeyleong]

Holland / Clementi area will be nice for you - near to your workplace and great area for family.

You may not even need a car for the time being. Coz it is just 5-10min by taxi to your workplace. As owing a car is costly in singapore.