Relocating family of 5 from Minnesota, USA

[yogini4life]

We are going to relocate to Singapore in Jul/Aug 2008...have seen bungalows and townhouses...how expensive are these per month? Is it more like New York City where most people take public transport, or do people mostly own their own cars? Do bungalows come with appliances? Furniture? I am at a loss to know what to expect, whether to put everything into storage or whether to take it with us. I am married to an Aussie bloke, is it hard to meet other families? My children also have a lot of food allergies...are there specialty stores that are gluten free? How hard is it to get into schools? How expensive are the schools? Kids are in soccer, how are the sports for kids in singapore? I am assuming that we won't need our winter jackets though and at the moment that is a good thing since it was -40 farenheit this morning with the wind chill factor when I woke up. Any/ all comments are appreciated since we are just starting this process.

[sundaymorningstaple]

As you have asked a lot of questions that have been asked dozens of times before, due to the fact that you have a good 6 or 7 months of time to prepare I would suggest that you first do a search of this Site. Both the real estate portal link at the top of the page and the following Forums:

Relocating, Moving to Singapore
Staying, Living in Singapore
Parenting, Family & Schools

Either do a keyword search in the search link shown in the top left side of the page (under the "Profile" link) or just check out the first 4 or 5 pages or so of each forum. You can also check out my links or the Links on this sites main page as well.

[remersonh]

I would highly advise against moving here from the Eden that is Minnesota. You'll miss the winters too much. Your car will always start without even plugging it in. And your boogers won't ever freeze. It's really not worth the risk.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Ain't it da truth!

[Narak]

Thought I give you some local perspective

1. Soccer - Depends on how much you want to blend in with the locals, they can easily join a soccer team in school or they can join the youth team of various clubs. In Singapore there is this government body call the People's Association (www.pa.gov.sg) they organise kid's soccer practices. Sometimes they even have league where father and son play together!

2. Yes, most of us take public transport and if you live in the housing estates they Government pamper us by having sheltered walkway all the way from your bus stop to you home. I know, we are really spoilt. I can travel from my apartment in Woodlands (near Malaysia) to Cityhall without an umbrella!!! Cars are disgustingly expensive though I own one. That's because I have to bring my dog around. Haha!

3. Schools - Local Schools are not hard to get in. You need to take one entrance test to gauge your children capabilities conducted by the Ministry. With that you can start visiting schools to check for vacancies. You might need to 'facilitate' by donating some money to the school. Y'know what I mean.
Okay that's all from me.
Need to know anyting local you can asked me

[yogini4life]

Thank you! That helps a lot. Covered all the way to the MRT, sounds like Minnesota where we have skyways for miles in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul so that you do not have to go outside in the winter. This morning we are a sad sorry bunch as the thermometer has already seen it's high today at 5am. We are at -5 farenheit right now and will be dropping for the rest of the day.

Looks like we are heading over sometime before the school yera starts in August. As things come up I will be sure to ask.

Have a great day! Time to start the car or I won't get kids to school.

[familyof5]

hi there. i started to look at this forum regularly a few months before i moved here (i arrived 3 days go!). rather than worry about trying to get your questions answered all at once, you'll find that you learn a lot just by reading the posts every now and then. We are an australian family, i have 3 kids. You are welcome to PM me anytime, i guess my first few months will be a bit trial and error. you're welcome to learn from my mistakes.

[Suzikatz]

hey family of 5, we are thinking of moving to singapore also, but we are not bringing much with us, we are placing our stuff in storage in OZ and then only taking a few suitcases with us and we will rent a furnished apartment. You dont have cars in Singapore, they are too expensive, you take the Bus or train or taxi's. You just do abit more research on this site and you can find alot of info.

[ching]

Good question about the gluten-free food... I've seen some in specialty shops, but in most of the regular supermarkets (and food centers), I don't recall seeing any special labelling for gluten-free food...

But if you check over in the Parenting section of this forum, parents in similar situations can probably give you some tips!

[sundaymorningstaple]

With regard to gluten-free foodstuffs, check the following thread for a lot of information some relevant some not.

http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic46063.html

[in8mom]

The linked thread does have a lot of good information. My daughter also has many allergies so it's REALLY difficult to eat out here. Most meals are at home and even then, it's simple bland items. Little India is a good place to get spices and some ingredients. If you're really careful and know what types of food you can have, South Indian food is generally GF. Just need to watch out for when dishes are added yogurt, if you're also DF.

I've only found Glutino, Orgran and a few other GF brands. My biggest advise is BRING FOOD. Your favorite non-perishables from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods or PCC/Wild Oats, etc.

PM me if there's something specific you're looking for and I'll let you know if I've seen it or not. Dietary restrictions are REALLY hard here.. for us anyway.