suburban

[Dihult]

Hi.

While waiting for my offer and package to be finalized, I have a few thoughts regarding living standards and any insight that anyone would care to give.

My family and I live in a quiet surburban  neighborhood 30 miles east of Los Angeles and like it.
What does surburban life in Singapore look like? Is it quiet? How are the ammenities? Going out for dinner, food shopping, etc.

On the other hand we have also considered living the urban scene but have second thoughts after a time period spent in downtown Bangkok. Then again our kids were younger at the time and most of the area was under construction.

We have two boys, 17 and 19. We are looking at the American school for the youngest and the oldest wants to attend University. My wife will not be working and my office is down town.

Anyone have any words of wisdom regarding these issues. If we choose the surburban scene we are looking at a house with a yard and some privacy.

Thanks...Great board! Wish I had access to this kind of forum for my last move.

[Paul N]

Suburban in Singapore is hard to come by.  In the context of what you are used to, the only "suburban" choices here would be some carefully selected Black and Whites.  Those are alse extremely difficult to come by and expensive when found.

The American School is located in the Woodlands, and the northern tip of the center of the island.  In itself, it is fairly isolated from the hubub of Orchard Road and the Central Business District.  "Little America" as it has come to be known, is a development right next to SAS.  It is kind of suburban, as far as mainstream Singapore gets suburban.  The houses are either Semi-detached or landed property, but are very close together.  Not as crowded as Bangkok, but cozy nonetheless.

Holland Road is another popular expat enclave.  It is closer to the CBD and still convenient to Woodlands.  There are several neighborhoods there that have landed homes, but again, you are not going to find the type of setting as you would in suburban US.

If you have not already been to Singapore, you may want to come take a look, at least to find suitable housing prior to getting here and to give your wife a chance to look the place over.

[Dihult]

Hi Paul and thank you. How far is the commute to the CBD from the Woodlands?

Also, do you have any input concerning expat dependants attending University there and the options available. I hear a lot of kids opt to move "away" and study at home.

[Paul N]

Woodlands is about 30 minutes from the CBD by car, around 40-50 by train (someone correct me if i am wrong.)

It appears your 19 year-old has posted in the Living in Singapore forum under a posting "University life in Singapore."  I have absolutely no personal experience with Universities here, but have heard mutterings the same as replies already posted there.  I guess they explain why Singapore is not as large a target for Western Uni students as are places like UCLA and USC for Singaporeans.  I understand they have a very good education, but the way they get it is uncomfortable for most Westerners.

I hope all of these replies to you and your cash liability help you in your relocation.  If you ever need anything surpassing just advice, ask on this board and you will be shocked at the number of helpful people you will find reply.  My wife's in hospital and so far I have offers of childcare, house-cleaning, car-washing, shopping...it is absolutely amazing.  

You have found the one 'site in Singapore every Westerner should know about, whether they are moving here, live here, or just want to know about the place.

[Boston Family Sing. bound]

Hi,
We came from the suburbs north of Boston about a month ago. We were on 2 acres, very quiet, lots of privacy.
We have 2 kids at SAS and have chosen to live in the expat area next to the school.  The expat area of Woodlands has mainly landed properties (vs condos only 2 near by and are small sized apts.).  The rents seem to range from S7,000 for smaller townhouse type to S18,000 for huge house (7000 sq ft) with pool. Make sure you have a large utilities allowance someone told me today that theirs is S2,500/month.  Yikes! Even the very large and expensive houses in this area have VERY little property.  Most all are walled and gated, giving some privacy. I've found it takes close to an hour to get from the house to the downtown area even at non-busy times.  It is a long trip for you and your wife if she is going to be really active at one of the clubs.  We chose this area so the kids would be close to school.  With the age of your son attending SAS even he may prefer to be in the more active Orchard Road area.  He can easily take the MRT to school.  They also have SAS school bus service available to all parts of the city.  East coast has some great large houses as well but it would be a long hour or more commute each way for your son to school.  I haven't found the transition from suburb to city to be difficult and this area is quiet and peaceful.  Lots of very friendly and helpful people.
Hope this helps.  Good Luck.

[Dihult]

Hi PaulN and Boston Family and thank you for your helpful insight. And, yes I guess my son decided to seek information as well. Some pretty interesting responses.

Paul I hope your wife is Ok and will be out of the hospital soon. And I do agree with you about all the help and advice people are willing to lend. Amazing, really!

My main conern is obviously the comfort of my family. Heck, I have a 30 mile commute today through the valley of Los Angeles and have dealt with the snail paced Bangkok traffic so I can deal with anything.

For sure a look-see visit is necessary to really take it all in for ourselves in order to create an opinion of our own.

Again, thank you for answering my question and perhaps we will talk again soon.

Dihult

[Pat]

Boston family  I sent you an e-mail. Did you receive it?? Not sure if the address is your current one here!  

[suburb]

There are some other suburban areas in Singapore, for example there is an area called South Buona Vista which is kind of between Pasir Panjang Road and the National University of Singapore (to the west of central Singapore).  It's quiet and green and there are quite a few expats living there.  There are amenities like a supermarket and a few drinking places/restaurants. This area quite near Holland Village.   The main drawback for the area if you don't have a car is it's not that close to an MRT, you'll have to get a bus to the closest one (Buona Vista).  Having said that, there are several buses that run directly into the city.