Location Advice

[Eddie80]

Hi All

I'll be moving over to Singapore next month and my employer is putting me up for 6 weeks whilst I bed in and establish where to live.

Ill be working in Suntec Tower 1 and ideally want to be no more than 20 mins commute on MRT.

I have a budget up to 3K and looking at district 5 is this a e nice area? (ideally want to be by the sea). Seen nice condo at West Bay near Dover/Clementi and Bueno Vista apartments - is this a nice area?

Ill moving with my girlfriend I already have a job she will look upon arrival (but her employer in UK has offered her a contractor work - which is good!) As ill be in the office I would like certainly for the first 6 months be in an area where we can meet people, ideally with a pool etc - to keep her happy while we bed in and undertsand our surroundings better ...

I suppose what im asking is is there any areas to concentrate our search on, 20 mins give or take to the centre and be good starting location for our new life in SIngapore (etra preference would be by the sea, but 3K might not allow us, especially as we would like a 2 bed!)

Any suggestions and recommendations would be great!

Thanks in advance

Eddie

[Mad Scientist]

There alot of posts about this in the forum. Why don't you go to the search button under the profile link to read and absorb

I would be incline to suggest that you rent a Service Apartment for a month approx. and then go for house hunting when you are here.
Seeing is believing as there are many cowboys agents and landlords alike who will scheme on vulnerable tenant.

If you still cannot get what you are looking for, throw a line , someone will pick up the slack.

[Eddie80]

sound advice thanks!

[observer]

I would be incline to suggest that you rent a Service Apartment for a month approx. and then go for house hunting when you are here.

No need for the additional cost of a service apartment, I think 6 weeks is more than enough time to find a place.

The key will be to get a trustworthy agent, so I suggest as soon as you arrive, to get recommendations from your new colleagues or maybe your employer will have several.

[BigSis]

I don't really know too much about district 5 apart from that there don't seem to be too many condos right by the sea around there (apart from the Caribbean at Keppel Bay which might be too expensive) - have you been there to have a look around yet?

East coast is more the 'condo by the sea' area, although as the ECP runs outside everyone's windows, the condo by the sea doesn't really exist there either - we get a sea view but a traffic noise!

I think you'll just have to have a look around when you get here and get a feel for the place. People used to always mention Holland Village as a great place to live when we were organising our move over here but when we arrived we found that we didn't like the place, so we ended up on the East Coast.

[Girl_Next_Door]

Your office will be at Suntec, so you might want to focus on condos along the new circle line if you want less than 20mins commute time.

There are a few stations that are near Suntec including Esplanade & Promenade on the circle line, so you can get off conveniently, depending on which building you are working within Suntec. Of course, you can also get off Cityhall but its a good 10-15mins walk to Suntec, depending (again) on which building you are working in Suntec. Assuming you are coming from UK (since you mentioned your gf's employer in UK), you might need some getting used to, with Singapore weather.

With a budget of $3k, don't expect to find a brand new 2-bedroom property. You will probably need to check out the older apartments/condos. You can investigate if there are any suitable condos within your budget around Stadium/Mountbatten train station. Its a popular expat area and there is some seaview, or sort, depending on which condos you are looking at.

If you are looking at Dover/Clementi/Buona Vista, note that you won't be able to get to office via train within 20mins (including the short trek from Cityhall to Suntec).

Clementi is more heartland area (i.e. more locals). Buona Vista is near Holland Village, which is another popular expat area. There are several buses that goes from Holland Village to Suntec and I understand the bus-ride is about 20mins.