Woodland & "Woodgrove"

[never been woodland]

I'd like to hear any feedback about Woodland &  condominium "Woodgrove".    My husband was quite impressed by that condo and we put it on our "must see list".    If you send your kids to SAS and chose to live there,  I'm curious that if the place is really nice for you,  can you enjoy every day activity without going to city ?  Doing Grocery shopping,   having  morning walk  or a nice evening walk with my husband  is possible there ? (because I love those)     Your kids are not boring when they are at home?     Can they hang around with friends?       Are there any nice casual restaurant or local food court nearby within walking distance which is safe and can drop in at night?     Is life there totally the same as city's?    Do you feel you experience Singapore there?, or you rather feel you live in somewhere else?  (such as USA or even in Malaysia)    I'm considering  "Woodgrove"  but not sure if I regret to choose that place.  
Thanks for your kind input. that definitely will help us to make decision !  

[Ms Opinion]

Why dont you make a trip there and experience it yourself?    

Woodgrove is a nice, relatively inexpensive condo and close to American school.  There is a huge shopping mall - Causeway Point located next to Woodlands MRT -  also a short-walk to Woodgrove condo.   There is a huge Cold Storage to meet your daily groceries.   Personally, I prefer to live in the suburbs than in the expensive, hustle-bustle city.

[sas family]

I live down the street from the Woodgrove condo and have some friends that live there.  My street alone has 63 children that live on it.  The whole 6 block area has at least 390 kids.  Your children will have a ton of kids to play with.  There are many SAS teachers that live in the condos also.  

That said, about 30% of the neighborhood is local.  There are locals that own their condos also.  The SAS students that are "US passport holders" are not necessarily what you find in lily white suburbs back home.  There are many nationalities in our neighborhood.  

If you choose to move out here there are many active moms that get together several times a week at head into town for cultural events ect, and there are bunko nights, happy hours on Fridays.  There are community centers that serve the local HDB population and have festivals that we enjoy attending.  

There is a food hawker stand directly across the street from the condo and at least 3 food courts within 3 blocks of the condo.  

If you have older teenagers you might want to live down town (lots of kids like to hit orchard for partying, that may or may not be what you want for your children).  Otherwise it is really a kids life to be near the school for all the afterschool activities.  At least half of the new families that moved in this fall were from down town(orchard and even holland village).  They chose to be closer to the school to be involved with the activities.

Take a look and ask the welcome commitee at school to give you the names of people who live in town and out here for input about the different lifestyles.  I am sure there are pros and cons of both.

I have lived here 2 years and have not felt cut off from the activities of down town, but I came from Texas where a 20 minute drive to go somewhere is common.

I have only known of one family that moved closer to down town after living out here.  There may be more, but I am unaware of them.

Good luck.  I am happy to live in this area and partake of the cultural areas (Chinatown, Little India,my faves, and other areas as I choose).

[Catlover]

After living downtown for over a year, my children are sick to death of traveling to Woodlands for school and sports events.  We will be moving closer to SAS ASAP.  That said, I have heard that Woodlands is great for the children but not necessarily great for the parents.   Fishbowl effect is a phrase I have heard more than once.