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American moving to Singapore

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sclancy3737
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American moving to Singapore

Post by sclancy3737 » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:21 am

My wife and I are American's that will be moving to Singapore for my job. What is the best district to make the move transition as easy as possible for our family. I have read that districts 9, 10 and 11 are a great place to start. Is this true or are there places that are just as nice where my money can go further?

Thank you for your help!

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durain
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Post by durain » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:42 am

singapore is so small you can live anywhere and it's not consider "far away" from anything else. but to answer your question, will need more info such as your work location, kid(s), what school, budget, etc.

sclancy3737
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Post by sclancy3737 » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:49 am

Thanks for your help.

I am not exactly sure where my office will be located - we are in the prelim stages of getting everything worked out. As of right now we have 1 daughter that will be starting school in a couple years. The American Schools are part of the relo package. My budget is about S$5000 per month for housing. We will probably be having another child while we are there so a 3 bedroom would be best - close to grocery and recreational shopping for my wife.

Again, thank you for your help.

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lordsgrace
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no worries

Post by lordsgrace » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 3:45 pm

Hi,
welcome to Singapore!

Your consideration is good, and i think if you prefer city life, to stay near the centre is good choice. The American School is not that far and they have school bus as well.

I ve many USA friends who enjoy the good life here where is not so near the central as well.
WHich state do you come from?
Would like to introduce you some friends too once you are here.

God bless!
LG

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Post by smayrhofer » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 5:40 pm

There are really a lot of areas in Singapore that meet your description.

My personal preference is east coast park area. I'm probably biased, though, since I just moved here.

- It's great for kids because you are really close to east coast park, which is popular for cycling, roller blading, barbequeing, walks with your baby... you name it. You can get housing within walking distance of the park.

- You also have Parkway Parade, which is great for convenient shopping nearby. It's a mall, and has a lot of kiddie stores as well as a well-stocked grocery.

- It's not too far from town. There are private shuttle services for you if you work in the business district, and there are direct public busses both to the shopping district (Orchard) and to the CBD.

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Post by smayrhofer » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 5:42 pm

I should mention that one of the 'cons' to living in east coast area is the lack of MRT access. The nearest MRT station is pretty far away, so you are dependant on buses to get around. Unless, of course, you buy a car. Always a good option if you have kids and want them to be safely strapped into car seats.

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durain
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Post by durain » Mon, 05 Jan 2009 7:09 pm

wah... east coast to SAS (singapore american school - www.sas.edu.sg) is a bit of a trek! even if there's a school bus, probably going to cost a bomb and have to catch the bus at 6am!

sclancy3737, if you can find out where you going to be working, that will help narrow down a few location that is easy for you and your kid(s) to school. have a look at the map of singapore to get a feel of the location. SAS is up north and the business area is down south.

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BodyBlitz
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Post by BodyBlitz » Tue, 06 Jan 2009 9:13 pm

Depends on where you're comfortable.
I would recommend you put up at a Service Apartment for 1 month and get use to singapore first then decided with help of friends and colleagues here on where would be a better place for you.

The main thing is that you need to have amenities around you to make your life convenient.

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Post by hideaki_o_o » Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:04 am

Staying near a train station is good especially if u work in town areas. I stay in the West but I honestly think its better staying in the East areas because of the amenities and food etc etc. Rental at 5,000 might be a little hard if u wanna live comfortably or if you do not mind taking a housing board flat (HDB).

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Post by durain » Sun, 11 Jan 2009 1:36 am

hideaki_o_o wrote:Staying near a train station is good especially if u work in town areas. I stay in the West but I honestly think its better staying in the East areas because of the amenities and food etc etc. Rental at 5,000 might be a little hard if u wanna live comfortably or if you do not mind taking a housing board flat (HDB).
anywhere in singapore, north, east, west or south will have good amenities, shops and food. for S$5000, you can get excellent comfortable property. as the rental rate is coming down, you probably be paying less!

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