Suggestions for place/district to live

[Lailafamily]

Hi all,

As we are continuing to look into our option of moving to Singapore, we want to know what are good neighborhoods/ districts to live in. We don't want to be more than a 45 minute commute by transit from the husbands work (Serangoon/ North Avenue 5...not sure which district that is...?), something that is family friendly with parks or other places of interest for a mom and 3 year old, good schools, markets, etc.

Wld appreciate all suggestions as we're trying to determine our options to move there.

Thanks so much!

Laila Family

[zzm9980]

Almost anywhere in Singapore meets your criteria.

Use gothere.sg to get exact commute times between arbitrary point A and point Bs.

Otherwise, use the forum search. There is at least 3 people asking this question every month. You can read all of the old threads.

[BedokAmerican]

If you want to estimate MRT commute times, this tool might be helpful:

http://www.transitlink.com.sg/eservice/ ... il_idx.php

[sundaymorningstaple]

Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Serangoon North, Hougang will put you in the vicinity.

Very close to my digs (Serangoon North Ave 2).

[Lailafamily]

Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Serangoon North, Hougang will put you in the vicinity.

Very close to my digs (Serangoon North Ave 2).

Thanks! are these all within the district 19? We would like to stay close to the husbands work place till we get adjusted to the city and find what interests us as a family. Is district 19 a family friendly area, as alot of people (from past threads) seem to opt for East Bay area as family friendly...

Thanks again!

[sundaymorningstaple]

Lots of people or lots of westerners? Anywhere on the island is lots of people. There are some expats out here as the French school is in the area as is the Australian school. Again, you have to weigh your priorities. The best thing you can do is have a Serviced Apartment when you first come here (for a month) to give you time to actually check out the various areas and travel distances/times. I'm your southern neighbor (south of the Mason-Dixon line, but from the Eastern Shore). I've been in Singapore for the past 31 years so I don't worry about local vrs expat as I assimilate with all. I've got a slightly different attitude though. I figured, if I was going to come to Asia I'd rather take in the whole ball of wax. Can't do that if one hangs out with a tiny clique of your own kind so you tend to miss a lot of the experience.

[Lailafamily]

Lots of people or lots of westerners? Anywhere on the island is lots of people. There are some expats out here as the French school is in the area as is the Australian school. Again, you have to weigh your priorities. The best thing you can do is have a Serviced Apartment when you first come here (for a month) to give you time to actually check out the various areas and travel distances/times. I'm your southern neighbor (south of the Mason-Dixon line, but from the Eastern Shore). I've been in Singapore for the past 31 years so I don't worry about local vrs expat as I assimilate with all. I've got a slightly different attitude though. I figured, if I was going to come to Asia I'd rather take in the whole ball of wax. Can't do that if one hangs out with a tiny clique of your own kind so you tend to miss a lot of the experience.

Thanks! Agreed doesn't make sense to travel across the world and live within a comfort zone all the time! We are Indians but have been living in Philly downtown for years now and have become very adjusted to a mixed environment and hence are not keen on any one community zone only (if you know what I mean!) We want our son to be exposed to people of all different nationalities and cultures and not just indians, as then he will be a global citizen. We have a great mixed community neighborhood here and are looking for something similar, where there are kids and families and a fun environment for kids...nationalities of the families are not primary...that they have the same values as us, is.

[sundaymorningstaple]

If you like the water, then East coast is nice and is more laid back (lots of condos but also lots of single family dwellings as well, giving a more suburb feel to it, but it's a good commute to the Serangoon North area. As your child is young, you've no need to concern yourself with schooling as an immediate concern but something to start looking at depending of the type of school one intends on sending the child to.

Seriously, don't get set on any area until you are actually here. You either have to do an exploratory trip here or have the employer set you up with a Serviced Apartment for a month (this is the most normal way of doing it). If you are an easily mixing Indian family, most anywhere will be fine.

[Lailafamily]

If you like the water, then East coast is nice and is more laid back (lots of condos but also lots of single family dwellings as well, giving a more suburb feel to it, but it's a good commute to the Serangoon North area. As your child is young, you've no need to concern yourself with schooling as an immediate concern but something to start looking at depending of the type of school one intends on sending the child to.

Seriously, don't get set on any area until you are actually here. You either have to do an exploratory trip here or have the employer set you up with a Serviced Apartment for a month (this is the most normal way of doing it). If you are an easily mixing Indian family, most anywhere will be fine.

Thanks! Yes we're not totally hung on the location as we don't know it yet, but trying to gauge what is better than others...especially when trying to budget for a life halfway across the world, yet again!
I think the deciding factor for our move is now dependant on better understanding the NS scheme with regards to our son and applying for a PR. Also is it true that we cannot buy property unless we are Citizens or PR status? This would imply that we wld have to rent until we gain PR status and wld need to budget rent accordingly as well....

[sundaymorningstaple]

If you like the water, then East coast is nice and is more laid back (lots of condos but also lots of single family dwellings as well, giving a more suburb feel to it, but it's a good commute to the Serangoon North area. As your child is young, you've no need to concern yourself with schooling as an immediate concern but something to start looking at depending of the type of school one intends on sending the child to.

Seriously, don't get set on any area until you are actually here. You either have to do an exploratory trip here or have the employer set you up with a Serviced Apartment for a month (this is the most normal way of doing it). If you are an easily mixing Indian family, most anywhere will be fine.

[therat]

Also is it true that we cannot buy property unless we are Citizens or PR status? This would imply that we wld have to rent until we gain PR status and wld need to budget rent accordingly as well....

You can buy one type of private property - condominium if you are not citizen or PR.

Landed property is for citizen. PR need to get approval

Two PRs (couple) can buy Resale HDB unit but not new HDB unit

One citizen and one PR can buy new HDB unit

[Lailafamily]

Thanks...so we can buy a condo but not a single family home ie landed property. What is a HDB unit?

If we buy property first and then after 1-2 years apply for a PR, does this influence our approval chances?

[therat]

HDB is build by Singapore government and sell (rent) to citizen for 99 years.

The Housing & Development Board (HDB) is Singapore's public housing authority and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development.

http://www.hdb.gov.sg

Some resale HDB with good location and fetch SGD 1 million dollars.

Even my 30 yrs old 4 room HDB 92 sqm, last done is $508,000.00.

[beppi]

Even my 30 yrs old 4 room HDB 92 sqm, last done is $508,000.00.

That is a third or quarter of what a new condo unit of the same size would cost!

Owning property will not affect your PR chances.
If anything foreigners buying real estate add to the high demand and prices, which the locals complain about (and the government listens to them).

[disenchanted]

If you can afford it and don't mind the commuting, Marine Parade area is the best choice. It has the best vibe, nice settings right next to the East Coast Park and an easy access to the town should you feel like hanging out. Its family friendly but its lively enough for singles, has plenty of food and bars and has a very international atmosphere. The problem would be the distance - I'd say you need to consider 1 full hour of commuting to your husband's workplace to be safe.

A place which is not too shabby either is the Upper Thomson area - much nearer to Serangoon and although it does not have a large park, it again has a nice atmosphere in not-so-dense settings. Plenty of quality eateries around and decent connectivity with numerous buses.

Personally I'd advise against any 'mainstream' areas in Singapore as long as you can pay for something better - it may seem like the natural choice to go for an HDB 'New Town' somewhere, but in my humble opinion they're way too noisy and crowded and feel too dull and synthetic to be enjoyable long term.

However if you HAVE to live in those for whatever reason, Punggol is worth considering. Its got a nice new waterfront that should offset the pains of midnight noises downstairs.

All the best hunting for your new place.