Rent increase madness

[hedgehunter]

Jeppo, I do know mate.
I walk through the Marine parade HDB estate one regulalrly and see people sitting around eating food off the pavement and at the bottom of the stairwells smoking - not very attractive really, don't you think?
On the other hand, my condo is bad enough for noise - some maid was taking a 2 yr old kid for a dip in the pool at 11.30pm last night and the Singaporean family above me were playing basketball in the living area again for the 4th time this week. Now, if this what goes on in a private condo....it don't take a genius to work out that a HDB is probably worse - no disrespect of course. I just like peace and quiet.

[Jeppo]

Thanks for making me happy I stay in a hdb

After 4 years here I haven't had any of those noise problems. Eatting off the pavement? Never seen it where I am (Clementi now and AMK previously).

If you've only seen 1 hdb estate, you haven't really seen much. There are (literally) 1000s of estates around Singapore and judging them all by one is illadvised, it makes you look.... well I'm sure you can work that out for yourself

[pooiyin]

Hei,

I am also staying at HDB area (Khatib). In fact i also feel want to move back to KL, I just came here for few months. Currectly, I worked at Kallang Place. Anyone can suggest me a nearest palce to stay at least i can cut down my transport. Get mad for the morning train.

[hedgehunter]

Would the last person to leave, turn the lights off. Thanks

[EADG]

agree with you HH that it's not a bad place to live and is not without it's conveniences, one of them being how easy it is to get out of here (really)

other Asians and Westerners give up a lot though in terms of fashion, intellectual stimulation, otherwise assumed freedoms, balanced media, etc. and I guess a sense that one is not exactly in a leading cultural centre

...on the other hand as a result we probably hear less here about tossers like Vicky Beckham and Britney Spears...

it got boring for me after a couple of months, so it clearly isn't excitement that keeps me here

For sure this is a great place to live and there are so many benefits like the weather, shopping, food and safe environment. But does anyone else think that it get's a bit boring after a couple of years here?

[T+D]

I agree there is always going to be a balance between things that keep us here vs things that push us away - financial hardship is certainly one of the big motivators to find another location, however unless you intend to move somewhere extremely exotic I dont think there are many places left in the world where you can get good cheap housing - part of the side effect of the cheap money world we have been living in for the past few years.

There must be a macro impact of the inflation experienced in singapore in recent months however that may lead to further difficulties before the good times return - part of my decision to come to singapore was an inkling that it may be a good place to ride out a global recession

I'm still out there looking for an affordable place and think if we all do our best to shop around and haggle hard we will do our bit to help to cool the market. I've made a point of trying to find out the old tennants rent in the latest places I've been to which has helped me to guess where to put my bid for when the landlord returns to his senses

[EADG]

yeah

what's probably a surprise to most is I now pay in Singapore what I paid in Tokyo for rent, and my place in Tokyo was bigger

granted, it did not have a pool, gym or tennis court......

but....unlike in Tokyo where I'd hop in my car to drive to the beach for surf whenever I wanted to, now I have to jump on a plane for that

after 3 years still think the food and nightlife and culture are better there, but work keeps me here

not to mention, if you lose your job there you don't loose your visa in two weeks, and have better employment rights, unlike the nonexistent ones here

[ScoobyDoes]

......... however unless you intend to move somewhere extremely exotic I dont think there are many places left in the world where you can get good cheap housing........

I think there are still many places "where you can get good, cheap housing" and i know from recent experience that my place in Malaysia, just outside KL (like i live just outside the centre here) was 1/4 of the price here and to a similar standard and size.

The only thing i didn't have there that i have here is the potential to get hot water out of every tap........ i only had a water heater in the shower.

As i said before, the place is not without problems but nowhere is and this is just one example. I know also that general expenses in Hong Kong are much lower than here. It is true that accomodation there is probably more expensive together with income taxes but nearbly every other facet of life is cheaper. The problem that HK currently has is pollution and the resulting quality of life.

T+D........ you can look into Thailand (outside Bangkok) and the up and coming Vietnam as places left in this world. I don't regard Vietnam as exotic anymore and i can more there in as quick a heartbeat as a move back to either KL or HK.

[batgirl_cdn]

I've been looking virtually since I am not on the ground in Singapore yet, but what kind of place can you expect to get in the $4,000 pm range? It would be nice to have a three bedroom, and preferably something like a townhouse or an apartment in a low-rise building. Is such thing possible at $4,000 per month?