If you could live anywhere in Singapore....

[disenchanted]

I've been here for the past 6 years and in the hindsight I have to say that my, by far, favorite area is the East Coast, especially along Marine Parade.

It has probably the most natural vibe out of any places I've explored in Singapore. The ratio of new/old buildings is just fine, it has plenty of walk-in restaurants in charming shophouses, a couple of solid shopping malls and lots of diverse housing. Getting to the Changi airport and the CBD is easy with buses. You have the very nice asset of East Coast Park right behind it.

Besides, I found people in the area somehow less aggressive and stressed out than in most other places here. Its in some magical way devoid of a lot of tension that most of Singapore has. It's quieter also.

If you belong to the folks who enjoy walking out of your gate and being somewhere natural and easy going and stroll ahead exploring places, I'd strongly recommend you to check it out.

[Wd40]

The east coast is an awesome place, especially if you have your own car, considering that its mostly condo or landed houses and far from MRT, the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about East Coast area is a CAR!

[sundaymorningstaple]

Interesting. The first thing I think of is a bicycle. As you can more easily ride on the east coast.

[zzm9980]

Besides, I found people in the area somehow less aggressive and stressed out than in most other places here. Its in some magical way devoid of a lot of tension that most of Singapore has. It's quieter also.

I'll give you that. I have a good impression of HDB neighbors and people here, and everyone (locals and foreigners) in general. But visiting places like Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, etc, you won't quite get that feeling. They're so much more dene population wise, and not quite as.... polite.

[disenchanted]

To the Thread Starter, I haven't ever visited Sentosa Cove but I've got a feeling I'd rather not isolate myself so much. Another very popular area for the wealthy is the Bukit Timah Road corridor and the surroundings of the Botanic Gardens, but personally I don't like them so much. Its like having a typical suburban property but horribly overpriced and I find the entire area pretty dull.

Besides, I found people in the area somehow less aggressive and stressed out than in most other places here. Its in some magical way devoid of a lot of tension that most of Singapore has. It's quieter also.

I'll give you that. I have a good impression of HDB neighbors and people here, and everyone (locals and foreigners) in general. But visiting places like Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, etc, you won't quite get that feeling. They're so much more dene population wise, and not quite as.... polite.

Agreed, I think East Coast has pretty much everything in the right balance.

Compared to lots of other fairly wealthy areas like Orchard for instance, it has a far more welcoming and natural atmosphere IMO.

[zzm9980]

The east coast is an awesome place, especially if you have your own car, considering that its mostly condo or landed houses and far from MRT, the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about East Coast area is a CAR!

It's not so bad if you don't mind taking a bus to the MRT. 7-10 minutes and almost every bus nearby goes to one. You can also get to Orchard in 20-25 minutes by bus, CBD in 15-20, Changi in 15-20, etc.

[disenchanted]

In fact if your life revolves around either Changi area or the Downtown Core, Marine Parade is probably the best deal you could have. Even with a major traffic jam you'll get to either one of those within 40 minutes - and that's already a pretty conservative estimate.

In places like Jurong West you may very well spend half an hour on the bus before you even reach the MRT station. So don't take location easily, it will have a major impact on your quality of life.

[JR8]

I'll give you that. I have a good impression of HDB neighbors and people here, and everyone (locals and foreigners) in general. But visiting places like Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, etc, you won't quite get that feeling. They're so much more dene population wise, and not quite as.... polite.

I'm interested in the point, but can't figure out your typo (dene). If you have a moment, can you elaborate (you're anti new-towns issit? )

[zzm9980]

I'll give you that. I have a good impression of HDB neighbors and people here, and everyone (locals and foreigners) in general. But visiting places like Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, etc, you won't quite get that feeling. They're so much more dene population wise, and not quite as.... polite.

I'm interested in the point, but can't figure out your typo (dene). If you have a moment, can you elaborate (you're anti new-towns issit? )

The buildings are much closer together, at about 5pm on a weeknight there just seemed to be a lot more hustling and bustling in the market and around the bottom of the buildings. Maybe this is just my experience in TP Central and AMK Central vs MP Central (which in fairness is about 1/4th the size of TP, and 1/3rd the size of AMK). I can walk from my flat to Parkway (about 1km, a bit less maybe) and see few enough people to count them with my fingers if I stick to the void decks. In any of the other two I'd see dozens or more in about the same time around their 'central' areas. Maybe I'm imagining all of this though, but thats the impression I have. Those are the only two estates I've spent a significant amount of time besides here.

[condos305]

Because every country is unique, there are always challenges when moving. Also, you get to experience the stress with moving away from your own country and becoming accustomed to a new place. Regardless of where you relocate, if it's any area other than your own country, there are lots of things to do and remember before you make your move.

[Brah]

Because every country is unique, there are always challenges when moving. Also, you get to experience the stress with moving away from your own country and becoming accustomed to a new place. Regardless of where you relocate, if it's any area other than your own country, there are lots of things to do and remember before you make your move.
Shameless URL removed | another Shameless URL removed

I really like this last post, perfect example of the ubiquitous Singaporean proclivity of stating the painfully obvious as if it were some kind of intellectual insight. Which for this person, it probably was.

Back to the OP - I was thinking of this thread the other day, of how we have not heard back from the OP, and whether my response to him was a bit too pointed.

Phoenix-whatever, have you arrived?

[x9200]

This is a standard IN spam.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Brah, you weren't even close. Just a typical spammer from, you guessed it......

Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India

[nakatago]

Brah, you weren't even close. Just a typical spammer from, you guessed it......

Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India

I don't know if it's just spammers but in social networks, sometimes, I'd browse public posts because some of them interest me, even the comments (some commenters give good insight or link to other relevant articles). Occasionally, an Indian would post something bafflingly inane/obvious/stupid like "This is very good technology" or "Apple/Microsoft/Google is great."

If the post is by a female who looks attractive in their profile pic, it's worse: you'd run into posts that say, "You are very pretty/beautiful" when the post is something about technology or current events.

Just now: a popular blog just posted something about Google working on and testing the next version of Android. Then, a certain vignesh krishnan posted "oppa gangnam style!!" Everybody else was either making jokes about the post's topic or discussing different viewpoints. It's like joining a group discussing a topic then some joker butts in and shouts something completely stupid.

[JR8]

The buildings are much closer together, at about 5pm on a weeknight there just seemed to be a lot more hustling and bustling in the market and around the bottom of the buildings. Maybe this is just my experience in TP Central and AMK Central vs MP Central (which in fairness is about 1/4th the size of TP, and 1/3rd the size of AMK). I can walk from my flat to Parkway (about 1km, a bit less maybe) and see few enough people to count them with my fingers if I stick to the void decks. In any of the other two I'd see dozens or more in about the same time around their 'central' areas. Maybe I'm imagining all of this though, but thats the impression I have. Those are the only two estates I've spent a significant amount of time besides here.

Ah I see 'dene' meant dense, and yes I agree with you. I imagine that AMK was a new-town like TP. The town centres of both of them are *major* transit-hubs/malls, that's one of the reason they're both so busy. Once away from the central hub, TP is much quieter.

Despite 4-5yrs in SG I don't recall going to MP central. Maybe that is a case of QED?