Singapore Expats

Aircon & terrace

Discuss about life in Singapore. Ask about cost of living, housing, travel, etiquette & lifestyle. Share experience & advice with Singaporeans & expat staying in Singapore.
Post Reply
finn55
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:46 pm
Location: London

Aircon & terrace

Post by finn55 » Fri, 20 Apr 2007 8:56 pm

We will be moving to SG in Q3 (just in the start of whole process so thanks in advance for all future posts/advise :) )

I have an initial question about accomodation type and specifically aircon.

The thing is we quite like hot and humid weather (wife just loves it). We travelled a lot in Asia during our backpacking trips and we often stayed in guesthouses without aircon. Now we can afford aircon but do we really need to use it in SIN (except it is extremely hot and humid outside)?

Wife will stay at home first weeks/months after arrival (she wants to work eventually) so she will definitely switch off aircon as soon as I will be out the door in the morning.
I will be in the office during weekdays and I will be happy to seat outside in the evenings, by the pool/BBQ ideally. Aircon during the night might be needed for me but I can be ok with a breeze through open windows.

What is the ideal accommodation for us?

Landed house (or part of it) with large grounds might sound ideal but I guess it will be over our budget. Also I do want to have a pool (but I understand most of "reasonably" priced houses do not have it at all).

I see it could be a condo with large terrace or penthouse (but it should be partly roofed to get a cover from direct sun or rain), or something like that....

Any thoughts?

How much would large terrace increase the price (if overall space of apartments is the same)?

My office will be nearby Bugis MRT - are there any houses/condos with large terraces which are located in vacinity/nearby?
I will be ok to commute (MRT/bus/bike) within 20 min if the house will be right and location within walking distance from park, shops and eating outlets.

Many thanks!

finn55
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:46 pm
Location: London

Post by finn55 » Mon, 23 Apr 2007 3:08 am

Please could you advise which East Coast condos have many appartments with large balconies/terraces? I checked the photos of some condos and it looks like some condos have no balconies at all (no no for us...)
Many thanks!

User avatar
ProvenPracticalFlexible
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 491
Joined: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 8:50 pm
Answers: 1
Location: East Coast

Post by ProvenPracticalFlexible » Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:21 am

finn55 wrote:Please could you advise which East Coast condos have many appartments with large balconies/terraces? I checked the photos of some condos and it looks like some condos have no balconies at all (no no for us...)
Many thanks!
Look for the lowrise condos. For example Villa Marina meets pretty much all your criteria: restaurants, bars, coffee shops and east coast park all in walking distance. Direct bus to take you to Bugis in about 20 min.

There's not much balconies, and they're small, but because it's a lowrise development with 4 floors, 25% of the apartments are on ground level with relatively large terrace. So you'd have a decent chance of getting one. I have no clue how much it affects the price, but anyway compared to some of the new developments you'd get quite good value for your money, at least I think so. On the other hand even without your own terrace, there's garden chairs and tables around the bbq pits and pool area to sit outside.

About aircon, I think it's not necessary, I only use it for bedroom during night. Day time windows open and fans on. We have wall fans in both bedrooms and a ceiling fan in the living room, but I'm not sure if all apartments have them. But if not you can buy standing fans.

finn55
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:46 pm
Location: London

Post by finn55 » Mon, 23 Apr 2007 7:20 pm

Ok, many thanks! I have just checked Villa Marina - it looks good and quite large properties are available with a "reasonable" price tag (3br of 1700sqf for S$3000 seems to be reasonable nowdays :roll: ) vs much higher prices for smaller appts in newer high-floored condos.
I will search other low-rise condos also, thanks for good direction!

Regarding vents - sounds good, I guess we will be using them rather then aircon most of the time.

humpbackwhale
Member
Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:12 am

Post by humpbackwhale » Tue, 24 Apr 2007 2:09 pm

Hi Villa Marina is a very beautiful condo, but be aware that the whole condo surrounds a mosque (can see from google earth), so you must be very careful which unit you choose as the unit facing the mosque can be noisy at some time.

Good luck!

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Staying, Living in Singapore”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests