woodlands vs. eastcoast

[sollan]

Hi. Can anyone lend an opinion on the pros and cons of living in the woodlands vs. the eastcoast.
My husband's office is in the financial district and our one son will attend his senior year at the American Singapore School.
We plan on having a car and prefer to find a home with a yard and a pool.

Thank you.  

[Paul N]

I live on the eastcoast with 2 kids at SAS.  Boy, I wish I lived in the Woodlands.

[Pat]

Hi we live in Woodlands and have 2 daughters at SAS. It is very convenient to live here, if for anything the sports that the girls are in. Practices get over at 6:00 so they are home by 6:15. There are activities buses from the school that will take students to drop off places in town. We do have friends that live on the East Coast and they are on the bus by 7:00am, my girls walk to school at 7:35. Hope this helps.

[sollan]

Thanks PaulN and Pat. I've read a lot on this board about the wonderful nature and vicinity to the beach on the east coast. That's what sounds so luring.

We are not certain about SAS as we understand the overseas family school also offers an AA degree and this might work for our kids as well as one will graduate next year.

How is the morning commute from the east coast; both to the city (I think OFS is central and my husbands office is located off Orchard road) as opposed to SAS in the north?

We also have concerns about the kids getting in to town to socialise. What is the driving age, by the way. Wondering if the kids can take the car like they do at home!
How about part time work for the kids? Is it common or do they involve themselves in other activities after school?

Also, what is the difference in housing available to your knowledge? We're thinking a house with a yard and private pool as opposed to a condo with community facilities.

Appreciate your thoughts......

[expatwife]

You might want to know that the legal age for drinking alcohol in Singapore is 18. Unlike the States it is pretty much unheard of for ID to be checked when teenagers are in bars - and even then most of them seem to have obtained fake ID anyway, despite it being illegal ...(I discovered that my son and his friends had gone to a shop in Far East Plaza and bought fake ID with a false age stating they were students at the French school!). You often see local and expat underage drinkers & non-drinkers hanging out in the bars & discos of Far East Plaza, Boat Quay, Clarke Quay etc. Many of their schoolmates go there and it is all peer pressure. I've had many battles with my teen and so have many other parents I know.

The driving age was 17 but I believe has now been raised to 18 due to lots of accidents with young drivers. I don't really know of many parents who allow their teens to drive as cars cost more than a house in Singapore and it is not worth the risk to let inexperienced drivers out in this crowded city. It is easier to have them take taxis instead. The general driving standard here is appalling, there is little courtesy on the roads and my car is always getting scratches & dents from inconsiderate people in the multi-storey parking lots. Driving is on the left in Singapore.  

Very few expat kids work part-time in Singapore. Some kids who take the IB exams have to do work experience as part of their course and work for a few weeks in the Summer often in catering - but I've never seen expat kids work year-round. I think there is too much competition amongst the local population - you will find it commonplace for elderly/handicapped people to operate gas pumps or to work in fast food restaurants. Most after-school activities are either to participate in sports, doing homework(!), or hanging out in malls and the cinema or the above mentioned places..  

[Mom]

I think you don't have to limit yourself to choosing between Woodlands and the East Coast only. A good residential place to look is in the Holland Village area (District 10), or nearby at some of the lovely houses near the Hollandse/Dutch club. There are many houses (some with pools) in this district and you have the best of both worlds - reasonably quick access to SAS - the buses go up Farrer Road directly onto the Expressway (once on the expressway it takes just 15 minutes). Check with the school transport office the last pick-up time in the morning - the total journey should be around 30 mins max and most teens sleep on the bus anyway!  The main attraction is that it will be a great base for your teens and a good place for Mom to live: you have the expat enclave of Holland Village - excellent shopping and lots of cafes, restuarants, banks and bars, and very easy access into the city centre/CBD/Orchard Road shopping/OFS - 10 mins by car and a little longer on the bus or taxi but at least you can very easily get public transport and not feel like you are out in the boondocks! It is part of the great expat experience to be amongst expats (and locals) from all over the world and especially so for your teens - they will get to meet other kids from other international schools too like United World College/OFS/SAS/German/Swiss/Japanese/French/Dutch schools in Holland - District 10 area. In Woodlands they'll only really get to meet other Americans (and perhaps a few locals if they go to the local shops and hawker centre). In that case you may as well stay at home for all the lack of adventure you will experience!          

[not quite]

Sollan you may have a bit of a romanticised idea of what the beach at East Coast is like.It's not really like a tropical setting, quiet palm fringed setting with white powder sand  and clear blue sea etc. The beach is quite polluted in parts ( water and sand) and as the area is a heavily utilised shipping lane, the horizon is dotted with cargo ships. Just thought you might  need a bit of a reality check....but then it all depends on what you're used to and what you expect to find here.

[sollan]

Thanks again. I've studied my map based on the information offered and at least I know where a lot of things are now.

My husband will be over next week to meet with his employer and to get a first look at housing, schools, etc. I'll make sure he checks out Holland village.

Your point about being around a diverse group of people is what we are looking for and not a segragated community....if that's what it's like in the woodlands!? We'll simply have to see.

As for the quality of the beach, NOT QUITE, I see your point and after hearing everything else about the distances perhaps living a bit nearer schools and work is more important. My husband does a 30 min+ commute nowadays and I'm sure he'd love to quit doing that and instead dart home for lunch once in a while!

Thanks again

[Janine]

I definitely recommend the Holland Village area as I have teens myself and they have many friends who live in this area. It is soo easy to get to downtown and the Botanic gardens from there. We live on Sommerville Park which is a large condo with great facilities and also has townhouses, but in this district there are many single family houses with a yard (called
"bungalows" in Singapore) I think that most of the families in Woodlands tend to have children of K1 - elementary school age. Once the kids are in their teens they like to be more independent so Holland Village with all its attractions is a great and very safe place for them to hang-out. They like going to Burger King, KFC,Haagen Daz, Denny's etc. to meet up with their friends. Woodlands would be totally boring for teens - I'm sure they would not want to spend all their spare time hanging out around SAS. There is no other reason for an expat family to live there other than the school, but with an excellent school bus service you don't need to.