Four kids (9,6 & 2 year old twins) east coast or where?

[sixofus]

Hello!
We are (hopefully!) moving from Australia to Singapore v soon. What kind of housing / area do you recommend for a big family like ours?
THANKS!

[road.not.taken]

I think you should figure out school first, then find out what's available within your budget.

[sixofus]

Wea re keen on Australian International School or Avondale - will check them both out. We thought if we keep them on the aus system it will ease the transition both ways?
Thanks

[durain]

still need more info about your budget and place of work so that it is not a million miles between school, home and work! in singapore there's no such area specially for big family, so anywhere can do.

[Callalily]

Hello

We live on the east coast and there are many children from the Australian school here. I see them in the morning waiting for the school bus. We love the East Coast because it is very green and we really enjoy walks by the river. There are many other nice places, it really depends on what you prioritise and on your budget. How many rooms? house or apartment?...

[BodyBlitz]

what is your children's gender?
If its a single gender, you can put them in one room.
if its mix you'd have to think how to give them separate rooms.

But it of course its how much space you think you'll need more than how much is required, because here the majority of the locals who has 3 kids which can fit into a 4 room govt. flat

[St Georgie]

Hi

My partner and I live at Costa Del Sol on the East Coast, we dont have any children together - a long way off that yet! The complex is so fab for families and almost all the apartments have 3 double bedrooms, plus a room just off the large dining/living room which we use as a study. This could easily be turned into a fourth bedroom at some point. I dont however know what the rental prices are like, but its worth you checking it out. Ive seen lots of Australian families here, there are so many expats here in fact, us included.

We are 2 mins from the sea and the East Coast Park and if you dont want to leave the complex for whatever reason, you dont have to. There are around 7 pools for kids and adults, tennis and squash courts, a games room, gym, hair & beauty salon, video hire shop, cafe/bar, grocery shop, washing/ironing service plus 24 hour security. All apartments are very secure, its impossible to get about if you arent a guest or a resident. I really couldnt recommend Costa Del Sol more, we just love it here!

Hope that helps.

[Grace Fung]

Hello!
We are (hopefully!) moving from Australia to Singapore v soon. What kind of housing / area do you recommend for a big family like ours?
THANKS!

Hi, I'm Grace, fyi, The Australian International School Singapore is located at 1 Lorong Chuan Singapore 556818 Tel: +65 6883 5155; Fax: +65 6285 5255; Email: [email protected] web-site <http>
My advice is to stay somewhere near The Australian International School. East Coast-Cote D’azur to The Australian International School, it takes about 35-51mins subjected to traffic status morning and evening is the pick jam hr. For a 4 room condo is about S$1.6M located at Lorong Chuan or district 19 is about S$1.3M.. You may contact me at 65-94510711 for buying house.

[skye]

Good try Agent Grace, but I guess they are looking at renting.

[rosborn]

firstly congrats on your move. Singapore is a fantastic place for families (I personally believe). We also debated bw areas and dwelling types and I have to say unless you have a big budget to get a house with pool, condos can be a fantastic place for families. Access to a playground, pool, squash etc is great. We use the pool and playground every day. Not all apts are large though and it will depend what you are used to. I suggest seeing a range of dwellings (condo vs house vs cluster house) to see what the right balance of space and facilities is for you.

If moving to a condo, take a look around to see whether there's lots of expats...depending on your preferences that could be a good or bad thing. Our condo has all nationalities but we tend to gravitate toward other aussies, english, europeans and americans. Our condo social circle has become very important to us an our kids.

If you get a house with no pool, you may want to consider joining a 'country club'. If you can get in, several offer $4K per year membership.

We selected River Valley to live because of the proximity to cafes / shops and the city (for a short commute). The AU school is about a 10-15m drive from here although the school bus will take longer.

In addition to East Cost, lots of expats live around Holland Village, Tanglin, Bukit Timah which are all lovely but further from the city (longer commute) and the AU school (I think).

In terms of houses, unless you live out or pay rent > $15K per month (although it;s coming down!!) I get the sense that most of them have a courtyard sized outdoor space unless you have a good budget.

If you select to put the kids on the school bus (common practice since they come to your door), the commute isn't direct so it's always worth checking with the bus companies how long the commute is if you live x) vs y). That;'s because kids are picked up all over (not all on the same bus though!!).

Side issue but check the AU school doesn't have a waitlist.

So, with housing, invest several days getting driven around to different areas and get a feel for access to parks, playgrounds, cafes (etc, whatever is important to you) kids activities (like gym, swimming etc). See some different housing options (condo vs house). Think about what's important. For us for instance, although cabs are cheap, we wanted walking access to cafes/wine bars/shops/park.

We live in Aspen heights and penthouse apartments are 2600 square feet (5 br) so it would fit your fam ily no prob. I would normally recommend it but our pool is due for a refurbishment and it will be closed for 6 months, which, after what I told you re: how much we use it) is a massive pain.

Anyway, one last tip is rents really falling because of the recession. Some agents and landlords are in denial about this because of rents being high for some time and also because this things called 'saving face' where they do not want to cave in negotiations. Be prepared to bargain hard or walk away. For instance, if it's listed for $10K, offer 7-8K and see where it goes. There's plenty of stock so don't be fooled into signing.
Also, if you aren't certain about your choice, ask for a 1 year lease (most are 2). Lastly, and most importantly, make sure your leave (if 2 year) includes a 'diplomatic clause' that allows you to get out of it if your/your husband is ransfered away/loses job etc.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

[sixofus]

Thankyou for your replies Rosborn and others. It is so good of you to take the time. I cant PM yet. But, I Had a couple of questions?
* One concern I have is if our kids are in an Australian school their school hols will be different than so many other kids? Does this bother your kids?
* We like the look of River Valley. We also want to be close to cafes/shops/park - we can walk everywhere now and i love it. Your condos pool is being redone. Any other good condos nearby (we think having other expats in the condo would be a plus) - and a pool would be great!
* On that note ... it sounds like you have small folk - does no pool fencing worry you??
* Any other areas besides river valley you think would be good now you have lived there?
Thankyou!
Fran

[rosborn]

See more responses below...

* One concern I have is if our kids are in an Australian school their school hols will be different than so many other kids? Does this bother your kids?
--> our kids are small so it hasn't been a factor for us. Being on AU holidays means you can return to AU and they can play with their friends/cousins etc- if that's a factor. Plus, they'll probably end up being mates with school friends, no?

* We like the look of River Valley. We also want to be close to cafes/shops/park - we can walk everywhere now and i love it. Your condos pool is being redone. Any other good condos nearby (we think having other expats in the condo would be a plus) - and a pool would be great! What;s your timing? once aspen heights is done the pool will be great. Due for completion Julyish. Could be a bargaining point in the meantime.
--> you may want to check out valley point, botanica, ang yong park, one on nathan rd can't recall the name.

* On that note ... it sounds like you have small folk - does no pool fencing worry you??
--> it would worry me a LOT at a private house but not at condo because you are always with your small kids regardless. At a house you can pay someone to put one up.

* Any other areas besides river valley you think would be good now you have lived there?
--> I mentioned Tanglin, Bukit Timah etc in the first email. Go and see a few. Consider hubby's commute vs budget vs needs.
[/i]

[rosborn]

hi - one more thing that comes to mind.
Singapore was going through a massive building / development boom during which many condos were demolished and rebuilt. A condo tagged for redevelopment is called 'en block' (check spelling). Given the recession, many project are on hold so these 'en block' buildings are desperate for tenants and the rents are often halved. Now, they may need a paint inside or the facilities aren't excellent but you may be able to find a 2600 square foot 4/5 bedroom for under $5K or less! which is a very good price given the size. You can then spend more on activities for kids/memberhip to clubs etc. Sign a lease for no more than 1 year and you can then consider where you want to live for longer duration once the lease is up. There are 2 en block around river valley you should check out - at least. Lucky towers on Grange and Leoni Hill Towers. Look, if you have questions you can call me on 8199 0293. cheers