If you could live anywhere in Singapore....

[movingtospore]

Sounds to me like Pot. Kettle. Black, Raj. Just to let you know, you are treading on thin ice.

moderator

Aww he made me laugh! Come on. Much worse than that on this board. Weren't we all feeling that.....

[JR8]

Sounds to me like Pot. Kettle. Black, Raj. Just to let you know, you are treading on thin ice.

moderator

Aww he made me laugh! Come on. Much worse than that on this board. Weren't we all feeling that.....

TBH I didn't find it funny either, and it's no way to respond to a new member seeking help.

But irony (if it were that, which I rather doubt) usually never works on internet fora anyway and is best avoided unless you load it with emoticons, whereupon having joined all the dots for the reader any comedic value is lost.

Just my 2c

[Brah]

phoenixscienter - interesting choice of handle, what does it mean?

Re Raj, though he did apologize well enough, JR's last post captures the reality of forum commentary succinctly.

It's been an interesting and vicarious read.

[nakatago]

SMS,

Good tip, thanks. I remembered SG drivers weren't too bad, they stopped at pedestrian crossing. Perhaps things have changed since.

Oh, how many times I was almost run over when it was green for pedestrians and when walking across those turn curves at intersection when I was halfway through a three-meter pedestrian crossing.

[phoenixscienter]

Thanks for everyone's help on here- I really, really appreciate it.

Looks like my company's going to offer a decent expat package, although they may lower the amount of monthly rent they initially offered. They said they would cover both of my children's cost to attend SAS (which is not insignificant - about $70K US in total), pay for one R/T airfare for my family back to the US, pay for a membership at the American Club for my family (also not insignificant), but only about $15K Singaporean per month for rent. I say that partially in jest because I know $15k/mo SG is still a whole hell of a lot of money-- but it does mean I can't be shopping for the penthouse at Reflections anymore. (I know, poor me). I think they will give me some sort of yearly allowance for MRT and cabs since I do not expect us to have a car, but most of that expense will be on me. All in all, I'd say their expat package offer is very reasonable if not going above and beyond. Thoughts?

Also- I posted this in the moving thread but any idea how much it costs for an international pack and move from the US mainland to Singapore? I want to include this in my expat package (which they said they would do).

Oh and to the poster inquiring about my name-- it's just something that popped into my head. The mythological "phoenix" which rose from the ashes sort of describes my own life (I was once laid off, without a job on the streets, etc. and re-made myself into what I am today) and the "scienter" part has to do with knowledge (actually "knowingly" committing some action). The idea is that one has to take informed risks in order to revamp themselves when times get tough and be able to be responsible for their own actions. I know - it's deep - but it rings true to me.

[Brah]

You asked for thoughts so....

I think I'm speaking for the majority here when I say that you have the kind of package the rest of us only hear about. But it's good to know what our boss's bosses are likely getting.

The rest of us are local hires, with no expat package - no school assistance, no housing, no trips home, no club membership and most can't afford the SAC without company input, and for some, no relocation at all. Most of us live in apartments which cost more than half of what your allowance is for.

Again, not envy or sour grapes, just another world we only get glimpses of. But to be fair as most of us are not privy to these, so no way to know if your package is on par with your peers or not.

From the sounds of it your relo might cost as much as USD25-30k; my relo here with limited furniture and just me was around USD 20k although I never actually saw the bill or forget it if I did.

It was me who asked about your handle, I was wondering if the science related to Scientology, and while I doubted that, that's always an interesting subject. The phoenix part is interesting, and maybe a story for another thread if you're up to it.

[JR8]

It's late here... but look forward to reverting tomorrow.

p.s Phoenix, I have a phoenix, or more precisely a cockatrice, within my family coat-of-arms. Always thought the family identifying with a flame-mouthed bird-headed dragon (c400 years ago) was pretty cool.



edit to add: afterthought. I concluded that idterps below was much better informed re: your situation than I could hope to be. So unless there are any follow-up questions on which I might contribute, it's better that I call it a day. Good luck!

[idterps]

Phoenix...my recomendation would be Ardmore Park. It's right in your budget range, size, great pool, and very close proximity to the American Club and the Orchard Rd area. It will probably be about 30 minutes on the bus to SAS, but our kids did it and never had any problems. A couple of advantages to AP is that they fill the bus with kids from that community so the bus doesn't have a lot of stops (i.e. shorter travel time), and if your kids are involved in after-school activities one of the few buses has the American Club as a stop (will save you a trip to SAS). Ardmore also has a great ex-pat community.

There are a lot of nice houses up in the SAS area, but the downside would be that you would be fighting the traffic both ways on your commute (where if you live closer to downtown the kids will be going against traffic). There is also not a lot to do up in the Woodlands area for entertainment.

Just to warn you about living on the East Coast and Sentosa, their is a lot of photo magic when condo's are showing the water. It's wall-to-wall tankers waiting to get into port.

[zzm9980]

Just to warn you about living on the East Coast and Sentosa, their is a lot of photo magic when condo's are showing the water. It's wall-to-wall tankers waiting to get into port.

Said this earlier also, but will continually reinforce it as I live here and have this view. It's not nearly as nice as you think it will be. It's even worse at the night, as all you see are glowing orange flood lights on all of the ships making the water just as bright or even brighter than the city.

[zzm9980]

Here is East Coast water from overhead:
http://distilleryimage6.instagram.com/d ... 14cb_7.jpg

Gives you an idea of how many hundreds of boats you'll see from your condo.

[x9200]

It's still a very nice view and all these tankers, I don't know, I sort of like them too.

[zzm9980]

It's still a very nice view and all these tankers, I don't know, I sort of like them too.

If it weren't for the flood lights at night and the bags of garbage washing up on the beach in the early AM (before the foreign workers clean), I'd possibly agree.

I will admit the dozens and dozens of emergency flares shooting off on new years eve is pretty neat to watch. Better than the fireworks.

[movingtospore]

Only other people I've known on packages like that got bumped off after a year here. Make sure it's in a solid contract! Companies seem to have developed the habit of luring people here, all expenses paid, and then deciding they don't want pay anymore once you're well settled.

[JR8]

Only other people I've known on packages like that got bumped off after a year here. Make sure it's in a solid contract! Companies seem to have developed the habit of luring people here, all expenses paid, and then deciding they don't want pay anymore once you're well settled.

Yep, happened to me first time I worked/lived in SG.

I knew I was the only candidate for their job, so I wringed every cent out of them I could in negotiating the relo package.

However when the banking middle-office was up and running, locals hired and trained, they couldn't have got me out the door faster and trf'd elsewhere into a veritable career back-water. That was revenge waiting-to-happen from the CFO!

[clueless_idiot]

Please allow me to add my two cents. I suggest a Sentosa condo and SAIS. I moved to SG last year. Similar situation to poster. My office is on Circle line near Laborador Park. We looked at Reflections, Carribean, Ardmore and various places. We settled on Sentosa and couldn't be happier. We like that it is secluded and has few cars on the streets. My family and I bike along the beaches many times a week. We feel much safer on the roads in Sentosa than we would on the main island. We see lots of people riding bikes, jogging and kayaking. It reminds me of Southern California in that everyone seems to enjoy outdoor recreation. There is a Cold Storage on the island as well as newly opened restaurants in Quayside Isle. As many have said, we don't swim in the ocean, only our condo pool, but the views and sea breezes are nice. We use public transportation. There is a Sentosa shuttle bus system that gets us to Harbourfront/Vivo City easily. No matter what condo I would have been in, I would almost assuredly be taking its shuttle to the closest MRT. I am doing that from Sentosa, so it doesn't feel any different than if I were on the main island. Being close to Vivo City and the MRT is very nice. Our kids ride the MRT (purple line) to SAIS. Habourfront is a terminal station, so it is easy for them to ridel. They enjoy the school very much. As other posters have said, it is much easier to get into than SAS. I prefer SAIS to SAS. SAS is too large a school for my young children. It is overwhelming. SAIS is new, clean and has a smaller scale which my kids like.