Places to live near Canadian School Lakeside campus

[crazysafari]

Hi

Moving from Sydney to Singapore in Jan with a 6 year old who starts grade 1 in January. Most likely will enroll in Canadian Int'l school- jurong- lakeside campus.

I will be working in the CBD- around raffles place or marina bay area. Second kid is about 2. Wife may need to go back to work.
Which areas should we be looking at. Budget around 4k- prefer a 3 bed room condo with a pool & gymn. Don't mind commuting upto 30-40 minutes at the most.

1) Based on initial research looks like newton & bukit timah are in that range.
2) East Coast though nice would be too far to the school?
3) Are buses usually more convenient than MRT?
4) Prefer an area which is not too noisy and has pre-schools etc and also shopping centres within easy access.

suggestions most appreciated.

[kithu]

Hey, welcome to the club ! I am also in the same confusion. Will be moving to Sg soon. My ltl one is 5 yr old and will start JK in lakeside campus(most probably) in Jan. My hubby works in CBD too. Unlike ur wife I work from home! We have (almost) decided to live in Jurong west - so that commutation for the ltl one is easier.

Your case depends on where will ur wife be working. I guess - CBD, isn't it? I personally feel that Metros are reliable than buses in terms of puncutality and frequency. From bhukit timah, one need to take a bus to go to a metro station. Newton wil definetely be far for ur kid. He'll have to spend atleast 30 or 40 min the bus - which I guess is a bit too much for a six year old.

Sorry I may not have been of help, but thot to say a hello as we both are in the same boat
Goodluck

[movingtospore]

There are a number of high rise condos close to the lakeside campus of CIS - walking distance. They are also close to the MRT for you to get downtown.

There are downsides to living in Jurong near CIS. It is a bit less expat oriented than some other neighbourhoods, but some people like that better. And it's cheaper. But the housing also tends to be in monster apartment blocks. That said, if you're not picky about ambience you'll have all the services you need out there.

You have a bit more to choose from in upper bukit timah/ bukit timah, which is still close enough by school bus for your child, but longer for you to go to the CBD as you're not on the MRT line any more.

Novena/newton will be quite far for your child to take the bus. However many do. And like Bukit Timah, those areas have more services for expats if you like that.

Once you land here, look around and then decide. Really depends on who you decide to make commute - you or the child! And, what type of neighbourhood you like.

[movingtospore]

OH, I don't think there's anywhere quite in SP. Construction everywhere, all the time. The odd $20K/month landed property might be peaceful, but that's about it.

[the lynx]

There are a number of high rise condos close to the lakeside campus of CIS - walking distance. They are also close to the MRT for you to get downtown.

There are downsides to living in Jurong near CIS. It is a bit less expat oriented than some other neighbourhoods, but some people like that better. And it's cheaper. But the housing also tends to be in monster apartment blocks. That said, if you're not picky about ambience you'll have all the services you need out there.

You have a bit more to choose from in upper bukit timah/ bukit timah, which is still close enough by school bus for your child, but longer for you to go to the CBD as you're not on the MRT line any more.

Novena/newton will be quite far for your child to take the bus. However many do. And like Bukit Timah, those areas have more services for expats if you like that.

Once you land here, look around and then decide. Really depends on who you decide to make commute - you or the child! And, what type of neighbourhood you like.

I'd second that!

Most of the mentioned condos near CIS are actually near the MRT (either Lakeside station or Chinese Garden station) such as Parc Oasis and others (can't remember the names of the other condos at the moment).

That, if like movingtospore said, you consider doing the commute yourself and stay near CIS.

[sevestert]

Here are some of the condos you can check it out: Lakeshore, Parc Oasis, Parc Vista, Lakeholmz. Lakeshore is the newest condo among these mentioned. If you guys do not mind waiting, there are now two condos under construction: Caspian and Lakefront Residence. And these condos mentioned are very near Chinese garden and Lakeside MRT. Lakeside may be quiet for now but in a 2-3 years time Jurong East is going to be CBD of the West, so there will be much more entertainment options. Like the upcoming developments Jcube and JEM.

[leeste]

Not that you probably don't know by now, but the east side is definitely too far for a young child. It took me about 75min door-to-door to get to Lakeside campus using a combination of buses and the East-West MRT line. The Canadian school advises their students to get off at Chinese Garden, since it provides an overhead walkway to cross the street and is safer.

[boandbob]

Just to give you a rough idea if you wanted to look at apts away from the school, we live just behind Orchard and our bus leaves for Lakeside at 7.45 and returns at 4.10. My kids are 8 & 4 and they both love the bus as it gives them a little down time with their friends or to read and my youngest has a brief nap on the way back which stops her being so grouchy before dinner - perfect! We are moving to Farrer Road / Hollnext year and the times are roughly the same:)

You just need to call Goh Transport (the bus operator for CIS) and they can give you rough bus times.

Hope this helps!

[hapa-girl]

Hi. You are probably aware of this anyway, but if you are interested in the East Coast area, CIS has a campus in the east. Good luck with the move!

[crazysafari]

thanks all... we decided to go with SAIS...hopefully we will have a few more options to live along east coast. And yes, definitely agree with the 'downtime' in the bus. Its good for the kids to generally socialise after a day in school. So 30-40 min bus ride shouldn't be an issue