what to bring from UK ?

[bobgosling]

Looks like we may be moving to Singapore very soon.

Was there for 2 years in 1968 and again for 2 days in 2001. It had changed a lot !!!

What "home comforts" do you wish you had brought more of ? E.G. Is it hard to find stuff like Marmite, Colemans Mustard, Marmalade , etc ?

Looking at the price of wine we feel it may be worth bringing several cases of good wine and pay the duty, then we would at least be drinking Chablis at $20 a bottle instead of something we're used to buying for a few quid here.

Are LCD TVs and other home entertainment items relatively cheap over there ? Our stuff is quite old and may be better to leave it here and buy new in Singapore then bring back with us in a few years time.

Anything you wish you had brought with you ? ( I know about BBQs but prefer real charcoal ones anyway ). Electrical kitchen goods are on the list already.

[sierra2469alpha]

Hi Bobgosling and welcome to the forums.

Theese questions have been asked before and given the size of the expat community here you'll find an answer by using the Singapore Expats Forum Search facility just up to the right of your screen. Spend some time looking through there as there is a wealth of information that people have suggested!

If there is anything specific you're after, post back!

Cheers, Mr. P

[bobgosling]

I'm an IT Pro and I did do a search first, honest !

Most of the answers seem to be from a long time ago. Things change rapidly ( particularly in Singapore it seems ) so I thought it worth asking again.

I was there in 2001 and it all seemed pretty Westernised. I heard they tore down all the Kampongs. I hardly recognised a thing. As we were on honeymoon we didn't really do much shopping so I didn't get much of an impression of what was available/unavailable in the shops, particularly things that Brits abroad tend to always ask you to bring out with you ( Birds Instant Custard is something my sister can't get in Italy for example ).

We will probably have lots of spare room in our container so I really want to know what's worth bringing over that is difficult or impossible to find or stuff that would be very expensive in Singapore.

About the only bit of furniture my wife wants to take is our very comfy king sized bed, but I'm a bit worried it may be too large for many condo bedrooms. It's always the main thing we miss when staying away from home. Most comfortable bed I've ever owned.

Our TV is a very big CRT type which could be worth taking with the intent to leave it there and bring back an LCD replacement, but that's only viable if electronic goods are much cheaper than UK.

Any replies along the lines of "What we miss most is ..." would be very welcome

[Zeenit]

For my pennies worth I brought my full kitchen, pans food mixres etc. And I brought all my mint sauces, chutnies etc. You can get them here but not the ones you really want when u want it. Also i brought my duvet because some one told me they did. i wish I did not.

Home comforts, my advise is bring it if you have space because it will take you awhile to find where they sell them and also why buy it again if you already have them.

We brought all our pictures for our walls and therefore our condo feels like home.

take care.

[durain]

tv price is pretty much the same in singapore and UK, give or take a few quids here and there. but with the GBP exchange at a terrble state, it might be cheaper to buy one in UK!

have a look at www.courts.com.sg, www.gaincity.com and www.audiohouse.com.sg/index.aspx?uc=products_promotion for a rough guide to the prices. there's always promotion in singapore to throw the spanner into the works when you are trying to do a like for like comparison.

make sure you read the small print with promotion stuff.

[sierra2469alpha]

I'm an IT Pro and I did do a search first, honest !...snip... Any replies along the lines of "What we miss most is ..." would be very welcome

Well, then as an IT Pro, whatever that is, then you didn't search. Search the forum, using decent keywords. Spend YOUR time doing the homework like the rest of us did. It's all here, and elsewhere.

We're here to help, but we like to help those that help themselves, first.

It actually ISN'T that difficult to do some homework before you move countries.

Now, again, I don't mean to be rude but can you understand that we get the same questions asked all the time. A judicious use of the search function will help us to help you, bobgosling.

Durain, great posts, well done

[Isambard]

Hi there,

We moved here 9 months ago from the UK and the only two food things I've not been able to get here have been pudding rice and cracked wheat - but this is probably only because I didn't look hard enough or recognise the product under a different name.

Furniture size could be an issue if you want to live in a new condo, but the older condos seem to have a bigger rooms. We have V A S T sofas so our choice of condo was dictacted by this but there was still choice.

Good luck with your move.

[textex]

Hi, this is our second relocation back to Singapore, here's a few tips, they are our personal preference:

Wine - is expensive in Singapore, there's a $8 tax per bottle.
Winter wear & doonas - if you decide to travel to cold countries, bring it along, else leave it back as the storage space in apartments isn't very big. Plus the humidity here doesn't help. You really don't need thick sheets in Singapore.
Furniture - if you have children, bring along the stuff, it makes the transition easier as it will "feel" like home to them. If the company is paying for the container, go ahead like we did. Just bear in mind that the average apartment size in Singapore is about 1500-1700 square feet.
Kitchen stuff & electronics - bring along as it is more expensive to buy here. Voltage and plug points are identical with UK. When it breaks, just replace with a local purchase.
Make sure you get moving insurance. We always had scratches & breakage even if we kept an eye on the packing.
Food stuff - don't bother as you can get most of the stuff here, albeit that meat (beef, poultry) is very expensive here.

Bring the king bed - if you get stressed from the move, at least you have the bed to relax in! Plus the wine...

Hope this helps.

Tex.

[sierra2469alpha]

Just backing onto tex's good post:

1. Wine, if you like it bring it but PLEASE declare it. There's a relatively recent thread on here which discusses paying duty etc.
2. On the king size bed - stock up on bed linen as you may find it difficult to find linen which matches size-wise!

HTH, P