Woodland living vs Holland/Orchard Area

[MNsnowgirl]

My husband, 6 year old and myself will be moving to Singapore within a couple of months. We haven't decided on schools yet so making a firm decision on where we will live is up in the air. Can anyone tell me if there is a real plus to living in the Woodlands area if your child doesn't go to school in that area? We probably would for sure have to have a car if we lived in the Woodland area, but may not need a car if we lived near the Orchard or Holland Village area correct? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

[Jeppo]

I wouldn't live in Woodlands cause it's to far out of the way. You wouldn't have to get a car but public transport would take a long time. I live in Clementi and it's only a five minute bus ride to Holland or 20 to Orchard. Also take into account where you and/or husband will be working as you won't want to live to far from your office. My wife works in Jurong and when we lived in Ang Mo Kio it would take her almost 2 hours on public transport each way, now it takes about 30 min.

[lost_canuck]

live as close as possible to where you work, if you don't want to pay orchard/holland road prices, go slightly further but not much

[micknlea]

Woodlands is a long way from everything else on this little island. It may not seem far away on a map but it can take a big chunk out of your day if you have to go to central to go to work. As LC said, live closer to work than school, besides the schools have excellent bus services.

[MNsnowgirl]

LC, what do you mean by 'Holland/Orchard road prices'? If our child does go to the SAS where would you recommend to live then? You certainly wouldn't want to be living in the Holland/Orchard area would you even though others say the school bus service is quite good? My husband will be working in the Kaki Bukit Tech Park.
Thanks to you all for your comments.

[humpbackwhale]

Hi MNsnowgirl

If you are worried about your kid going to school, don't, write or call SAS and they can tell you more than 70% of the kids don't stay in woodlands, SAS i think has tied up with a good bus company that ensure that you can get your kid to school, no matter how old they are and no matter where you stay. In essence, transport to school is your least worries.

Some americans stay in woodlands, but fact is very few, you might want to stay in town or near town, where your family will have more conveinence.

If your hubby work in Kaki Bukit Tech Park, then stay at east coast, which is the second most popular area for expats, you will have lots of friends and all the amenities, and even East Coast Beach/Park (largest and most popular in Singapore) at your door step. Look only in district 15, near still road, telok kurau area (nearest to Kaki Bukit Tech Park)

[micknlea]

On the East Coast you will find lots of kids who go to SAS as well.

[gordie]

I have lived in Woodlands area for 3 months now and at first I thought it was a long way from anything, but as an expat a taxi ride to here from the city is around $10.

There are GREAT advantages to the woodlands area.

1) Breezes. I get amazing breezes from Johor from my condo

2) Views. I have mountain views of Johor

3) I cycle within 10 minutes to Sembawang park to walk along the pretty little beach, relax in its stunning tree covered park, or eat in its great restaurant.

4) Causeway Point Shopping Centre is so much more relaxed then other places

5) I can take a bus to JB on my MRT pass for a spot of real bargain shopping and be there in 20 mins thru customs.

6) When commuting to work on the MRT I read and sometimes take a catnap, or enjoy the above ground view of trees, lakes, streams etc.

7) If I want expat land then I slip easily into a taxi outside my condo and Im in Holland village real fast.

8) My Condo is soooo much cheaper. Try find a Condo less then 5 years old with 3 bedrooms, maids room, wet balcony, 4 pools, lush gardens and views of mountains for S$1.5k a month!!

[rob w]

I agree living up north is good , I like to mix with the locals and as I work up north i chose to live in Yishun, while most of my colleagues live around orchard. I spend lest time travelling to and from work , if i want to go down town taxis are cheap, and the differences in rent are huge.

[SinghaPoor]

8) My condo is soooo much cheaper. Try find a Condo less then 5 years old with 3 bedrooms, maids room, wet balcony, 4 pools, lush gardens and views of mountains for S$1.5k a month!!

Hi gordie! I don't know if you still connect to this website, but as your message is from march, I was wondering if you could give me an idea about the current prices of condos similar to yours in Woodlands. $1.5k for a 3+1 seems definitely extremely attractive, but I bet now it's at least 2.5 or 3k!!!

Anyone who is familiar with prices in this area, your comments are welcome!

Thanks!

[mikek]

Living in Woodlands versus Downtown is a personal choice. We found the following to be our biggest decision factors (we live in the Woodlands, BTW):

1. Commute time for kids to SAS -- our kids our 7 and 8 and we didn't want them catching the bus at 6:45 a.m.

2. Cost of housing -- your housing allowance might be the driver for your decision. We wanted a comfortable house and had S$10,000 as a budget. We didn't find anything downtown or near downtown that met our criteria.

3. Parent's commute -- I will admit that many adults in Woodlands complain about their terrible commute. My wife leaves before 7 a.m. to beat the traffic. I work in Yishun so have a very easy commute from Woodlands.

4. Your hobbies, activities -- We end up in downtown most weekends because that's where the most activities are in Singapore. However, during the week it is a huge benefit to be in the Woodlands because of the SAS after school activities. Please note that even if you live downtown you will most likely be coming to the SAS school at least once a week for kid activities, parent conferences and other meetings.

Good luck in your decision!

[SinghaPoor]

Thanks mikek! Actually I am single and I don't have kids... And in my job I will be travelling outside Singapore for the whole week so I will be in my flat just from friday evening to maybe monday morning (except the first 2-3 months). So I don't mind a long distance to CBD since I will not be going there often. The reason I am considering living in the woodlands is that for the weekend time, when I will be in my flat, I'd like to have the feeling of being in a nice flat, and I don't want to spend too much on rent since I will be living in hotels most of the time... So my only criteria is to have a good value for money flat... Location doesn't matter a lot...

Any ideas are welcome!

[aquario]

Hello there.

We are living at Woodlands, Admirarlty area. It's 5 mins from MRT, takes 25 mins to go to orchard via mrt. and we love it here, its more serene, and convenient with mrt to go anywhere.


My husband works nearby and comes back for lunch everyday.

My husband, 6 year old and myself will be moving to Singapore within a couple of months. We haven't decided on schools yet so making a firm decision on where we will live is up in the air. Can anyone tell me if there is a real plus to living in the Woodlands area if your child doesn't go to school in that area? We probably would for sure have to have a car if we lived in the Woodland area, but may not need a car if we lived near the Orchard or Holland Village area correct? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

[rajeshwari rajamani]

Hi, am in a similar situation - looking to move in 2 months with husband and 2 kids, 1.5 and 4.5 yrs. old. Want to put kids in SAS, and were wondering about woodlands vs. Orchard vs otehr places on the mrt. Initially thought Woodlands may be better- closer to school, and if close to the admiralty MRT, not too far for hubby from CBD. However in response to a post on this site, for the first time it struck me that it can happen that my kid(s) may not get into SAS. In that case, the whole question of lviing here becomes moot, esp as hubby works in Raffles and is not very happy at the thought of the commute. My quetions:
- How far is the Admiralt MRT from Raffles (hubby has been told about 40 mins to an hour!!!). Plus hubby has also been told that there are very few taxis to be got from the Woodland area, is that true? Lastly, that from Woodlands to anywhere downtown isvery expensive by taxi... I saw 10 SGD on this forum (Woodlands to CBD)... so is that about right??
- Is it true that there are only 2 condos in the woodland area near the MRT? Does this make the chance of landing an apt here remote (esp since I have only the 1st week in December to house hunt 4 weeks before I move to Singapore)?
- What are the rentals like in Woodland? I understand that recently they have gone up by a lot. SOme conflicting posts talk of finding a place here for 7- 10 K, which was not possible in other places on the MRT line for the same size. Can someone please clear it up for me- is woodland more expensive or less expensive than other places of same sze on the MRT line? Will 7- 8 K give me a shot at my kind of acco (see below)?
- I am looking for a 3 + 1 (maid room), with attached baths, with balconies (preferably 2) and a store room, size about 2000 to 2200 sq ft. My main criteria is that the whole house must get lots of air and light, including the kitchen. Is Wooland doable in 7- 8K? How much money would be sufficient for a place in Woodland, assuming a place does get free?
- With my specs for a house, can anyone recommend any condos that I should see - on the MRT line, not more than 5-7 mins walk? Within 7- 8 K?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Have you tried browsing this sites real estate section yet? That would be a good place to start to see the types of accommodations available (obviously the rentals are probably not accurate if the info for a place is over 2 months old but at least you can see if what you are asking for is even available in the area you want.