Which districts to research before move?

[hapa-girl]

Hi there,

We moved here three months or so ago so I'm no expert but these are the things I noticed.
I would definitely live near a wet market. You save loads of money on groceries and its funner than a supermarket which can get tedious. I don't actually live near one but I will for our next move.
I also wish I lived really near (like next to) a MRT station.
To save on electric, look for a place with ceiling fans in every room. I hardly use the aircon and my electric bill is much cheaper compared to my friends who live in the same layout without ceiling fans.
Look for a place that has a nice breeze/sun light so you can hang your clothes out to dry instead of putting in dryer. Again, you will save money.
Good luck!

[thismyvoice]

If your husband is working in Mapletree Business City, try staying in the West Coast / Pasir Panjang area. Use gothere.sg or google to check out traveling time and arrangements (bus or metro).

Since you used to stay in a house, some condos in Singapore may be too small for your comfort. Do note that some rooms are only good for study room. Pay attention to such details when you do house hunting.

[Aussie_family]

Thanks so much to everyone for their input - it was greatly appreciated. We had the pre-hire visit over the weekend and there was lots to take in and lots of the costs went higher (particularly rent, taxi & alcohol! ) than we anticipated but not by a huge amount. We loved the Botanical Gardens so I'm hoping we might be able to live around that area or on the west coast near the west coast park (we like the parks for our little one to run around as we're used to having a backyard). If anyone has tips for nice condos in those areas I'd be appreciative to get your thoughts.

I'll be posting a separate question regarding medical/health insurance and obstetrician costs - we're planning on having our second child over there so need to ensure we understand how the system works in Singapore compared to Oz.

Thanks again!
S

[guoquan]

hi,
health insurance new is cheap here in singapore.
newborn baby is around 30 dollars a month. covering everything as charged and no deductibles and co-insurance.

[Pennywhistle]

Hi Aussie_Family

Long shot that you are still on this forum, but in case you are I wanted to know how accurate do you think your estimates were or what you are actually budgeting per month now? How are you finding your quality of life vs what you left behind in Australia?

We are in a similar situation with regard to (well trying to!) having our second child in Singapore and would love to know what your experience was with the hospital, midwifes, care, and raising a newborn with a toddler in tow in a foreign country. (we are currently trying to hunt down more intricate details of the expat insurance policy we will be provided with).

Would love to hear from you, or alternatively anybody else who read this and wants to add their 2 cents!