Where Families Live in Singapore

Singapore is a very small place which actually makes it easy when deciding on a place to live. Location is everything but it depends on your criteria. 

• Some families choose to find a place smack bang on an MRT (train) line. This is particularly helpful if you don't intend on getting a car. 
• Some like being as close as possible to the action and the central business district.
• Whilst others opt for being a bit further out, in the country. Yes there are plenty leafy locations in Singapore! 
• And then there are the breezy coastlines to consider too. 

As a general guide here's where most expats tend to live:

1. East Coast

East Coast Park is a long stretch which is great for cyclists!

There are lots of lovely condos and landed properties around the Myer Road, Mountbatten and East Coast Road areas. You've also got East Coast Park on your doorstep and no end of restaurants, bars and shopping centres. If you're closer to the coast, or high up, you can also get a lovely breeze. Downside to the east coast is a lack of MRT stations. Most people use buses/taxis but these can be unreliable. 

2. Sentosa Cove

Quayside in Sentosa Cove Village is where all the shops, restaurants and boats are located!

Many locals think Sentosa is miles away from everything but it's actually a very central, convenient location. It has a village, community feel, a lovely calm and leafy environment and there are lots of condos to choose from on both the North and South Coves. 

Unlike other parts of Singapore, where you'll only get super high rise apartment blocks, Sentosa has more of a range with high rises as well as circa 6 storey condos. Landed properties exist but are expensive. There's a lovely beach nearby, plenty of restaurants, bars, supermarket, doctors, hairdressers. Basically everything you need is right there. 

3. West Coast

Pasir Panjang Village on the West Coast has everything you need!

There are a mix of condos and landed properties on the west coast. Clementi Road, Pasir Panjang Road as well as South Buona Vista roads are all popular. 

There's a fast freeway that connects the west coast with the city which can make getting to work an easier task. The West has a number of large shopping malls and is close to many international schools. It's also where the Science Centre, Jurong Bird Park and Jurong Water Park are located. 

4. Holland Village

Holland Village has lots going on and can be noisy but also has plenty of quiet leafy roads

Holland Village is great for families. Close to the MRT station you have a number of landed properties on surprisingly quiet roads. You also have lots of condos on Tama Warna Road, Leedon Road and Farrer Road.

Chip Bee Gardens offers a lovely a strip of restaurants, cafes and services such as physiotherapist etc along with a great baking supplies shop! 

Dempsey Hill is close by too which has a heap of restaurants there, a butcher as well as multiple furniture shops. 

Holland Village shopping centre has everything you need inside: banks, coffee shops, supermarket, pharmacy and multiple services upstairs such as hairdressers and foot massage places. A number of bars and restaurants are located behind the shopping centre (photo above).

 

5. Robertson Quay

Rob Quay is a really lovely place to live

Super close to the city, many people love living in Rob Quay because it means they can walk to work. Being along the river, Robertson Quay has lots of paved walks and a range of restaurants to choose from. Much more homely and quieter than neighbouring Clarke Quay, Robinson Quay has a wide arrange of condos making it my preferred city location. 

6. Orchard Road

The nightlife is in Orchard!

Obviously smack bang in the middle of the shopping district, the Orchard area can be noisy. But lots of people love it for it's convenience to the city and main shopping centres. There are lots of condos around 313Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut too. Condos tend to be smaller and pricier but everything you could ever need is right on your doorstep. 

7. Newton

Newton Food Centre

A popular area just north of the city, Newton is leafy and close to a number of international schools. Cluster houses are quite common around this district as are high rise condos. 

8. Bukit Timah

Get into the jungle in Bukit Timah!

BT is right in the countryside but still close enough to make a relatively easy commute to the city. There are absolutely stacks of playschools in this area and it is close to many international schools too. 

Rents tend to be a bit cheaper than central and again, there are many places to choose from. You might even see wild monkeys and large lizards in the national parks and reservoirs around this area!

Happy house hunting!

Rebecca x

Property Options for Expats in Singapore

When an expat rents a property in Singapore they tend to sign up to a two year contract. There are ways of course to get out of a contract earlier than this, but a two year stretch is the standard approach here. 

We are nearing the end of our first two years and are very happy where we live but, with a new baby on the way and a new school location to consider for Elise next year, we thought it best to explore our options and see what else might be about. 

And it got me thinking about all the various places our friends live and which locations really work best for expat families. 

Most expats live in condos here but some live in landed properties as well (both stand alone houses and semi detached). Cluster houses are also fairly common outside of the city. Here are the differences between the options and some pros and cons:

A Condo

A high rise condo on the East Coast

A lower rise condo development in Katong

Pros:

• The newer ones have decent fittings (not always but usually). 
• Usually have excellent shared amenities including swimming pools; BBQ pits and communal eating areas; clubhouse; gym; playgrounds
• As a result of this you're more likely to become part of a social community which can be very useful when you have young children
• There's a huge range of condos to choose from in Singapore!

Cons:

• Rooms can be smaller. 
• You might have noisy neighbours above, below and /or nextdoor! Luckily we've never had this problem in Singapore. 
• You may not get any outdoor space or balcony but if you do, the space is usually small. 

Landed house

A villa style landed house

A beautiful 'black and white' property

Pros:

• You get a lot of space for your money in the main - obviously this is location dependent. 
• You might get a garden or private pool. 
• Rooms tend to be bigger than condos. 
• You might land a pretty black and white house! 

Cons:

• Singapore is hot and your children will rarely use your garden!
• A private pool and garden require maintenance. And you lose the community of meeting other children at your pool. 

Cluster house

A cluster development

Pros: 

• Cluster developments are usually homely environments. There will be about 20-40 houses within a development. They might be built in a long terrace or in a circular shape for example. 
• They often have shared amenities such as a swimming pool, climbing frames, BBQ pits 
• Because of the point above you actually see your neighbours and there's a greater sense of community than you get in a house or semi detached. 

Cons: 

• Cluster houses tend to be tall and thin and so are built over 2-4 levels. It means there are often lots of stairs (consider all the stair gates if you have small children!)
• Having multiple floors can be tricky if you have children. For example you might need to bath one child upstairs whilst the one downstairs needs feeding. At least in a one level condo you can hear everything that's going on and move easily between your juggling acts!
• Many have roof gardens. Singapore is just too hot for roof gardens. Even party couples might want to think twice about renting a place with a roof garden!

To read about which districts Singapore expats tend to live in, click here.

Love and hugs

Rebecca x 

Indoor Play Options in Singapore

Singapore is a hot and humid place most of the time and although there is plenty of green grass, parks and the like scattered around the place, for many months of the year (April-September) it's just too hot to play outside for any real length of time.

That means mamas and dadas are always looking for indoor options as well.

One nice option is Little City in Liang Court shopping centre, Clarke Quay:

One of the murals on the wall inside Little City

It is a mini city for children complete with mini supermarket, mini hairdressers, a mini cafe, police cars and even a dressing up box. It gets a bit manic at the weekend but weekdays are usually pretty quiet so if you want to enjoy some buzz go at the weekend, otherwise it feels less like a city and more like a sleepy village :)

Do we need any milk?

What sort of cut would you like today Madam?

Ariel the Mermaid

And if you're going, remember your socks otherwise you'll have to buy some.

One minus with Little City is the cost - personally I think it's a bit pricey for what you get. But it's great for a rainy (or a hazy) day.

Love and hugs,

Rebecca and Elise

Singapore and THE Haze!

The haze has been particularly awful this year (not as bad as 2013 but bad enough).

Farmers are burning palm fields in Indonesia (and have been for nearly 6 weeks) and when the wind blows in our direction, Singapore becomes covered in a rich, orange dust. It is filthy.

PSI levels have been over 300 (which is extremely unhealthy) and on some occasions, schools have been closed.

This is not a new problem. The haze has been entering Singaporean airspace since the 1970s but it has never been as bad as the last few years (I am reliably told by locals I know).

On school days, we wear our N95 masks when leaving the house and car. Otherwise we are staying indoors. It is the only sensible thing to do.

Singaporean life is so much about the outdoors and there are only 2 indoor swimming pools here! It makes swimming a near impossibility.

Thought I'd share an image of what our air purifier filters looked like after just 4 weeks of usage:

New filter on the left; filter after 4 weeks' usage on the right

Truly, the haze is the only thing that puts me off Singapore living. With the haze, there is no blue sky and options - certainly with children - are highly limited.

Last year (2014) we just had a few days of it.... this year has gone beyond a joke. Let's hope a solution can be found... and soon.

Rebecca

Beware... Driving in Singapore and Foreign License Conversion

So we have been living in Singapore for 18 months now and I have to say, negotiating the roads here is one of Singapore's greatest delights.

Beware. There are many 'nuances' that must be learnt if you are to drive and stay alive here!

Here's what I've observed so far:

1. Drivers often don't indicate. They just pull out in front of you.

2. Drivers use their hazards for pretty much everything. My favourite is when they just stop at the side of a busy road. Sometimes they bother to pull over. Sometimes they don't.

3. Roundabouts. Often you'll have people indicating right in the left lane. Or they might not indicate at all (see 1).

As an expat you need to know a few things about converting your driving license:

1. You are able to drive on your foreign license for 12 months after you first arrived in Singapore. If you want to continue driving after 12 months, you must convert to a Singapore license. It is best to apply for a license conversion at least 3 months before your first year is up, as it can take that long to get an appointment and test done.

2. Book your conversion test at any of the Driving Centres around town (you have to go down there in person to register and pay). Your conversion test is two things: an online theory test (called The Basic Theory Test) and watching a safety video (which truthfully, scarred me for life it was so graphic)!

3. Revise. It is worth getting a Basic Theory Test book, which you can buy from any book shop (suggest Times or Kinokuniya book shops), and reading it.

There are some questions in there that are relevant to driving in Singapore specifically and although your own knowledge will help you answer most questions there will definitely be a few you won't have ever heard of. Here's a good example - what does this road sign mean?

Yup. I guessed you've never seen this one before! It alerts motorcyclists to the fact that there is a shelter up ahead in the event of a heavy downpour.

Safe driving!

Rebecca

Dim Sum

No Asian experience is complete without enjoying dim sum for lunch every so often!

Elise loves char sui bau (light steamed pork buns)... here she is tucking into some!

September 2015 in Crystal Jade, Vivocity, Singapore

We are also having some garlic spinach, long bau and bbq pork sesame buns... delish!

Love and hugs
Rebecca and Elise

Create a Lantern for Mid Autumn Festival

Elise's preschool, White Lodge (which we adore), posed the children with a challenge this week: to make their very own lantern for the 'parade' to take place today.

Being completely obsessed with the film 'Frozen', Elise asked me if we could make an Elsa lantern.

"Why not?" I thought...

And here she is today outside her school, September 25th 2015, proudly holding the finished product:

If you want to know how we made it, I tried to document the steps:

What  you will need:

• A picture of Elsa that you like
• 1 piece A4 paper 100gsm
• 1 piece glittery card, roughly 30cm square
• White craft glue that dries clear
• Pencil
• Waterproof pen
• Colouring pencils or glitter glue
• Pom poms, stickers, shapes to decorate Elsa's skirt
• Stapler
• A fake tealight (i.e. one that turns on with a battery)
• Some heavy duty tape

1. Find a picture of Elsa that you like online or from a book. Use fairly thick paper (I used 100gsm A4 and folded it in half - you'll see why later). Draw a pencil outline of Elsa on one half of the paper, then use a waterproof pen to go over the pencil. Don't worry about the back of the picture - we will come to that later.

2. Decorate the image. Elise and I used glitter glue because it's vibrant and fun to use but you could use whatever you like - coloured pencils, crayons, markers etc. I particularly like Elsa's lips on ours :)

3. Next cut around the 'front' image but don't cut around the edge where the paper fold is. Leave that intact; this will keep the top half of your lantern attached for as long as possible and it make it easier for you to draw the reverse image too. Let the glitter glue dry!

Steps 1-3

4. Next, turn the picture over and use the shape you have cut out to draw the reverse of the image. It doesn't have to be perfect remember. You'll see I have still left the bottom part of the picture (by her arm) intact - I haven't cut that bit out yet. 

5. Decorate the reverse image!

Steps 4-5

6. Open the inside of the lantern up and use sticky tape to stick down a handle. I used a sequin ribbon because it can sit flat and also because the silver, sparkly effect sits well with Elsa and her frozen, magical theme. You could use string as well of course. Create a handle at the top and make sure you have plenty of string or ribbon left hanging at the bottom. This will help you fit the top of the lantern to the base later.

Step 6

7. Let's make the base. We used a big square piece of glittery blue card - this would become Elsa's skirt. The card I used measured about 30cm square and this worked well. Turn the card around into a cone shape to create a 'waist' and a skirt 'hem'. Use a stapler to fix it together. Then cellotape the inside seam to give some extra strength.

Step 7

8. To decorate the skirt, Elise and I enjoyed putting lots of blobs of glue all over it and then added colourful decorations such as pom poms, shiny leaves and even added some snowflake stamps (we had a stamp in our Christmas decoration box!). I also cut along the edge to give a wavy effect like a dress and cut a V shape into the waist.

Step 8

9. Once your two pieces are completely dry (you don't want all your pom poms falling off!) you are ready to attach the top of the lantern to the base.

Slide the 'waist' of Elsa into the skirt, using the ribbon to help you. Once it is in place you can cellotape the ribbon to the inside of the skirt to secure it. This means when Elise holds her lantern by its silver handle, it is attached through the whole lantern (it is stuck to the inside of the Elsa image and to the skirt base) which makes for a robust lantern!

10. Get your tea light and slide it up into the 'waistline' of the lantern. You might have to switch it on from the outset! Tape it along its base to the inside of the card 'skirt' and hei presto, you have a glowing lantern!

Step 10

We tried it out in the dark to see how effective Elise's lantern really was:

I thought I'd share some photos from the Lantern Festival celebration today at Elise's school. Here are the teachers performing a dance:

 And some of the older children performing a dance as well!

And Elise enjoying a Moon Cake in the car on her way home from school!

Love and hugs,
Rebecca and Elise x

The Singapore Flyer - the big wheel in Singapore

Elise trying to be as tall as The Singapore Flyer

The Singapore Flyer is one of the more touristy things you can do in Singapore. I was expecting to be a bit disappointed to be honest. After all I've been on The London Eye which is, quite frankly, awesome.

But I wasn't disappointed at all.

What is interesting about the Singapore Flyer is the vantage point it gives you of all the reclamation going on around it. In this photo you can see the land to the east of The Mariana Bay Sands Hotel that has been reclaimed and is waiting to settle.

You can see the two domes and the enormous purple 'trees' at Gardens By The Bay (I will post about this gorgeous place another day), but beyond that is barren land.

No doubt, if we go on the Singapore Flyer in a few years from now, this land will be filled with brand new shiny skyscrapers and office blocks. I took this photo in early 2015, so let's see! :)

Gardens by the Bay (left) and Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino (right)

If you look the other way, towards the west, you can see the business district (as well as a floating football pitch - this is Singapore after all).

You can also just about make out the spectacular Fullerton Hotel and the Merlion overlooking Marina Bay.

Business district 

Overall, I'd highly recommend The Singapore Flyer. It isn't the cheapest hour you could spend but you might be pleasantly surprised by the experience.

Rebecca

Little India - Singapore

Little India - Serangoon Road

Little India is a wonderful, slightly crazy, place that bustles with life anytime you choose to visit it. Weekends are particularly noisy and busy, when the whole Indian population of Singapore (circa 400,000 people) and only slightly fewer tourists seem to transcend its streets, alleys, hawker stalls and markets.

The overwhelming smell of incense and fragrance from the orange, red and white marigold garlands hit you as soon as you arrive.

There are a number of places you can shop and explore in Little India - some are indoors and others, out. The main road (Serangoon Road - see photo above) has a number of shophouses all along it, selling everything from gold jewellery and peacock feathers to saris, embroidered and jewel encrusted materials and durians.

Indoors, you have The Verge which is a shopping centre essentially (with air-con) but there isn't much to see here. The Verge sits on the corner of Bukit Timah Road and Serangoon Road.

You also have Little India Arcade, which is a small labrinyth of shops and market stalls. Expect to feel cramped but exhilarated... there's lots to see! This place is brilliant if you're looking for some small, authentic gifts: elephant mobiles, table runners, bags, scarves, fabrics, clothes, cheap jewellery. Not much for the blokes unfortunately!

Little India Arcade isn't big enough to get lost in; it's all spread out over the ground floor.

Little India Arcade

Now if it's saris you want, or a lovely punjab trouser suit, the place to head is The Tekka Centre. Located right next to Little India MRT train station the Tekka Centre is, quite simply, a wonder.

Tekka Centre, Little India

The upper level of The Tekka Centre is literally crammed with clothes and you will always be able to strike a bargain here. There are clothes for as little as S$5 and beautifully ornate saris for a whole lot more.

Clothing in The Tekka Centre

I have bought numerous things from The Tekka Centre including bangles, bindis, punjab trouser suits, silk dresses for my daughter... and never for much money. You can get henna 'tattoos' here, buy sparkly shoes (to match your sparkly outfits) and also get any materials tailored. Here are three lovely tailors happy for their photos to be taken:

The Tekka Centre sits above a wet market. A word of warning - if you're not keen on the smell of raw fish you might find this place a bit of a turn off.

You can buy fresh veggies, flowers, fish, seafood and meat from here. I personally am not keen on the wet markets for buying meat (but that's my preference).

Wet market, G/F The Tekka Centre

And if you can't find what you want from Little India, you could always try Mustafa's, which is a 24-hour  shopping extravaganza (located at Farrer Park)... but that's a whole other post entirely.

In summary, Little India is a must-visit-place for any local, temporary resident (like me) or tourist. It is rich in cultural flavour and will always fascinate.

If you're up for a bit of added cultural exploration, you might like to visit one of the many Hindu temples in the area: Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple (Serangoon Road); Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple (Serangoon Road); or Shree Lakshminarayan Temple (Chander Road).

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

How to get there:

By train: Nearest MRT is 'Little India'

By car: There is limited parking but there are car parks at The Verge and dotted about the area. I would definitely recommend getting the MRT though - it's easier!

Would you take your children?

Absolutely! Pushing a pram around might cause some issues, but that's the same with anywhere outside of a shopping mall in Singapore.

Have fun!
Rebecca