PrimroseHill wrote:Sorry, I haven't explain myself well, I'm afraid. Only 1 kid. Thats enough to bankrupt me in UK much less in Singapore
The reason for asking about Dover Court and OFS, is that (a) I thought that both of these schools are located near each other. My daughter has a place in Dover Court but she is waiting to hear back from OFS. I have a feeling she much prefer to be in OFS.
Keppel Bay and Holland Village it is then, I will take a look. Are there apartment blocks better than others? Housing budget something in the region of $6k monthly. Is that a doable rental budget for a 2/3 bed apartment; partially furnished?
And where do I go to purchase 2 beds, real beds?
Also, I am thinking for the first 2months, to live in a
Service Apartment until our possessions arrive. I had a reply from City Lights
condo - jellicoe road, where is that? Is that doable?
TO be honest, I would settle the school issue first, because not needing to be near either Dover Court or OFS will open up a whole load of opportunities for you.
For instance, if your daughter ends up on Dover Court, then you can start looking at more places along the EW(green) line, out to Clementi or Jurong. Especially now the Circle Line is running from Buona Vista down to Harborfront.
If she ends up at OFS then you might find Newton or Novena or even Toa Payoh on the NS (red) line more conveniant, being close to Orchard etc and still less than 40mins to Harbourfront.
6k should be doable for 2 or 3 beds, but you will get more for your money the further out you are (Clementi/Jurong instead of Holland Village, for instance or Toa Payoh instead of Newton. Look on google maps and click on the little coloured squares (MRT stations) and follow the lines...
Also, older properties will be cheaper than new ones. Something 10+ years old can be substantially bigger and cheaper than newer properties. If you're looking at Keppel Bay, for instance you will get a much bigger 3 bed apartment at Harbourlights for around 4.5k than a three bed at Caribbean, for instance which will run 6k+, but people pay it because they like the pool and the postcode
So yeah,
condos vary enormously, it depends what your own criteria are.
Partially furnished will usually only mean white goods, and at your rent level most landlords will add/remove items to secure the tenancy if you haggle.
One mistake that many expats make when they move here is that they look for a "southern" (i.e sunny) view with lots of balcony space. Then they find its too hot, close the windows, close the curtains, turn the aircon on and wish the bills were cheaper and use the balcony for storing bikes that sounded good when they moved here but ended up making them sweat too much. Look for a dark apartment facing north, with small windows
For beds...what is your budget? What is "real"? There is an ikea if that is your thing, and several local chain outlets like Harvey Norman or Courts that any taxi driver can take you to.
If you want to spend, then Simmons has a store at Paragon Shopping Centre, Robinsons in Centrepoint does beds and nice mattresses, and there is also a serta mattress place in the same mall. For incredibly beautiful and expensive bed frames go to park mall. For everything in every price bracket, go to the furniture mall behind the Park Royal hotel on beach road and be prepared to haggle.
Oh - Asian bed sizes are different...you might find fitted sheets don't.
And get your condo before your beds...not every condo can accommodate a king size bed, for instance.
Plenty of more convenient
Serviced Apartments, but you could do worse and at least you'll see a different part of singpore if you stay at jellicoe. For a decent (luxury) 2bed should budget 8-10k at current rates, but many will discount if you pay upfront or commit to two months upfront. Don't expect them to be too big though. There are different levels of "service" too...do you want sheets/towels changed everyday?
We've used these people":
http://lxtan.webs.com/geylangaljunied.htm
But the only 2bed they do are Aljuniad...at least is fairly easy to get to Dover/OFS/Harbourfront from the EW line with a change, and you might find you like East Cost area which is getting more popular with Expats. And their two beds are $3-3.5k...but bedrooms are separated by sliding doors, not proper separate rooms.
But yeah, getting a
Serviced Apartment for a couple of months will help you get to know the lay of the land before committing to a condo.
