Hi there. We have been here just over a year now, and i remember well that feeling of not doing too much as it didn't seem real enough, but then later on running out of time to get everything sorted. So... start now, and pre-empt situations, particularly the schools.
Get your kids names down at TT NOW. Pay the deposit yourself if you have too. the large majority of it gets refunded if you decide to withdraw your app. before a place is offered. WE DIDN'T and deeply regret not doing this.
You may need to compromise on the accommodation front somewhere along the line. Don't rule out
condos to start with as that leaves your options much smaller to start off with. You can at least specify to your letting agent, LOW RISE
condo, or LOW FLOOR. Be aware of the VERY high rents now charged so that your expectations are managed. Find out your budget NOW. Have a look at some rental websites so you get an idea of what is around for that price.
Regarding location ; we'd all like beach, park and MRT, but getting all together can't be done. There aren't MRT's near the beach. the only beach really is the east coast area. This is very quiet during the week and busy at weekends. You don't see many expat kids actually playing on beach, most ride their bikes or skate up and down the cycle paths. There are Sentosa beaches, but again, expats would tend to visit this area at weekends.
Park areas... there are lots of green spaces in Singapore, so some form of park is accessible. If you can't walk to one (very hot here) you can always drive to one.
MRT : I presume access is needed for a certain someone to get to work. In my view, having seen that lots of people get cabs to work, I would say that if you decide to live far from work, then access to an MRT is required, as taxis would become the more expensive option. But if you decide to live fairly close to work, then a bus or taxi would be good choices. My husband gets dropped off at an MRT, then uses that.
Housing : This I think is more difficult. I had to get my head around the fact that I wasn't going to match what we left behind in London, in terms of quality and space and location for the budget we were given. Initially we requested a house, but most of what we were shown should have been pulled down. In addition to this, the streets some of the houses were in were a shock to my system in that they seemed very "local" or "traditional" and not very londonised. Of course they're not "londonised" but it was still a shock to my mindset. Don't let the streets put you off. I know now that if you were expecting to have the best street in the best suburb, you wouldn't need to work - they are that expensive !. So there are houses available, more for your money out at the east coast, rather than Holland Rd, Sixth ave, etc.
There are loads of condos, older ones are more spacious, some possibly may go "en-bloc" whereby the whole bloc gets sold and tennancies are cut short. there are also some townhouses and semis. Townhouses may have the facilities too, e,g, The Tenerife, whereas semis normally have some outside space but no pool unless the owner has had one provided in the back garden.
When choosing a location combined with school, i think all schools have school buses. what you should bear in mind is the start time of the school and the time that the bus would pick up your kids. Sometimes its VERY early, depending on where you are on the bus run. But the kids do get used to taking a school bus, sometimes its just a much earlier start and longer journey thats the killer. Don't rule out living on the East coast with having a school such as tanglin etc. located more to the west. Quite often the buses just pick up around the East coast and then wizz off to school, so not necessarily a longer and earlier journey.
Fingers geting tired now. Hope this helps.