Living in Singapore?????

[madrose]

hello, Dh's company might be sending him (and us daughter 3 years) to singapore.

Does anyone live there and would those kind and wonderful someones give some hints and tips as what to expect.

I'm a tad nervous about the whole thing.

I used to live there and absolutely LOVED it!

I still have lots of friends there with children. The ExPatSingapore Message Board is worth a read.

Expat Singapore

Thank you - will have a look. Was it easy to make friends? (am quite sociable

Oh...very easy.

There's an enormous expat community there. I met people through my job but there are lots of clubs and associations that are good meeting places. I had the best social life there I have ever had!

A few more links for you:

The British Club

The Mother & Child Centre

Singapore is such a magnificent place to raise kids, within 3 months you'll be wondering how on earth anyone manages it in the UK.

go go go go go!

ooh but don't let the company turn around and offer Hong Kong instead - it's much more expensive and badly polluted.

Thank you for replies - ninedragons - they might offer hong kong, but we've already decided a big no no.

Thank you for the links SDHIC.

How do you cope leaving friends and family?

I live in Singapore. Leaving friends and family is tough but e-mail, web-cams and phone cost very little and keep you in touch. We feel it is worth it for the opportunity for all of us to travel round Asia and for the DCs to experience living in a different culture.

Hi,

Am also based in Singapore been here for just over a year and currently expecting 1st DC in August. I would say give it a go. It's a very easy and safe place to live. Coping without friends and family is difficult at times but we have probably spend more quality time with family when they visit than we ever did in the UK. Plus a great place to be to visit Asia as FleurDelacour mentions.

I am in Shanghai now but was in Hong Kong for seven years, and most of my best friends live in Singapore (having moved from HK or direct from the UK).

Of course it's hard to leave family but Singapore is not a bad flight - one hop from Europe, serviced by lots of airlines and thus relatively cheap. It's not like you're going to rural Bolivia. You'll be surprised how many people make the trip out to see you.

One thing I would pass on from my SG-based friends is definitely get schooling (including kindy/pre-school) for DD and any future children included in your DH's contract. Possibly it's just in the particular areas in which my friends live but schooling for non-citizen children can be very expensive.

Singapore is a great family posting. Others will have more tips but be reassured .. it really is very wonderful.

My one piece of advice -- make sure you get a lockable fence around your pool!

I've been in Singapore for 3 years, and agree that it is a really easy place to live with young children. I have a son of 5 and am expecting again in May. Here are a few things that I thought would be helpful..

The Expat Singapore website may be an interesting read but it is also known here as the Angry Board - a lot of aggressive, frustrated people on there, and wise to take many opinions with a pinch of salt!

Try and make sure you have good healthcare insurance, else it gets very expensive, particularly if you are thinking of having another baby - most policies have a period of 9 months to a year before they pay out for maternity costs.

You can get inexpensive domestic helpers here, which can compensate in a small way to not having family help. A lot of people have full time live-in helpers, but I would strongly advise you to only do this if you are 100% sure you want to; it doesn't work for everyone. I had one and hated it - I now have someone once a week to clean and iron, which suits us much better.

The weather - this one is hugely pertinent for me being 8 months pg - my God, it's hot here! Of course it's not a deal-breaker in any way, but if you don't like the heat you may find it hard. Some people love it, but others are forced to spend their lives in air conditioned places!

Generally it is a good place to live - it's a very safe and easy place to be with young children, and if you live in a condo it's really easy to meet people. Let us know if you decide to come!

I'll move to Singapore in 2 weeks and am sooo looking forward to it. I've leaved there before and it's been great: huge expat community with all the perks, great weather, excellent service (maids, amahs, etc) and excellent food in a stable, thriving and safe country.

Madrose, you'll find it easy making friends and the same goes for your dd. It's a really international community with a laid back lifestyle and people are really pen and friendly to newcomers.

Medical care and schooling as well as public transport and standard of housing are excellent.

The only 'downside' in regards to the expat community is, that Singapore is a transit place. Just as you're making really good friends they move back home or on. Having said that, I kept in touch with the closest friends I met there and no matter where they are now, nothing has changed, when an email from them pops in, it's great to catch up.

Good luck!!

I lived in Singapore for 5 years - now in HK and loved living in both places. Prices in Singapore have gone up a lot in the last year or so - not just accommodation which has sky rocketed, but also food etc, so make sure that your dh's contract is taking into account the true cost of living at today's prices. Also, even though your dd is only 3, make it a priority to visit schools and get her on the waiting list for the ones you want her to go to. Depending on the school you favour and your nationality, your husbands contract (ie whether they will pay for debenture etc), it can take a while to get your place - even if you don't want her to go until Y1, you should get her name down now.
Definitely go for it - Singapore was a wonderful experience for us. (BTW, I wondered what our move to HK would be like - was nervous about lifestyle change, polution etc. but it's been fine and I'm loving the change of pace and all the new things to do here. It's a different city to Singapore and also wonderful - just in a different way!)

Hi

We move to Singapore at the end of May, but lived there in 1998 for 6 months and 2001 for a year - really looking forward to going back.

This time it will be different as we have DD who is 3 and a half (will be on here again asking if anyone wants to meet up, I'm sure!) and am also pregnant with number 2, due Sept 08. DH is in SGp now looking for housing while I finish work and tie up loose ends.

Like any posting, Singapore has its own frustrations (camp fever can set in it you don't take advantage of the rest of Asia on your doorstep and the lack of seasons can take some getting used to) but it is a fantastic and safe place to raise children and it's relatively easy to have a great lifestyle. One of my favourite postings!!!!

I live in Singapore and always wonder how on earth anyone can call it "safe". Any time you drive or are driven here there is a very high chance of a dreadful accident because of the standards of driving.

Dengue fever is rife here - several of my friends have had it and been hospitalised.

The weather is a prisoner. The humidity is horrid so you will spend very little time outdoors.

The food is poor quality and expensive. Eating in restaurants is too expensive and the food stalls are cheap, fatty, rubbish food.

I know this all sounds a bit negative but I wanted to show that there is a different side to it. We've been here a couple of years but spend as much time visiting Asia as possible (Singapore aint Asia!). Singapore is a huge construction site.

There is another expat site called Singaporum. One of my friends uses it and says it's quite friendly.

I'm not sure why this thread has been resurrected from 2008! but I disagree with you Pliff...yes there is Dengue here but its not rife, you just have to be careful, and yes I do know about 5 people who have had it and recently people from our condo and the one next door had it and we were a so-called 'hotspot' but it was contained and like I said you have to be careful.

Yes the weather is hot but it doesn't have to stop you going out, early morning walks are fine and later in the day.

Yes the food is expensive but I disagree with the poor quality. There are reasonably priced restaurants and the place where I get my chicken rice fix is fab and cheap (and very tasty)

Agree it is a big construction site :( but I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

Good quality healthy chicken then papooshka!??

maybe not but it tastes damn good

I agree with Papooshka that the positives outweigh the negatives.

The driving is fine once you get used to it. It isn't fast but I do agree there is lots of swerving between lanes without indicating.

It is only minutes to everything- concerts at the indoor stadium, rainforest walks, fab shopping malls etc.

The public transport is great and means children have great freedom to travel by themselves or with their friends.

You want bad driving and bad food? Try one of our previous postings in Central Asia. Safety issues, I can point you to Nigeria. Dengue? Try anywhere in s America or S/SE Asia where there are lots more cases per head of population. Barbados has by far the highest humber of dengue cases in the world....

It's about appreciating what you've got and making the most of a posting. Nowhere's perfect and negativity about everything from the weather to the food makes life miserable.

You have some points pliff. The weather through the day is too much, especially for young children though it's easier once they are in school - but the early mornings and from about 4 or 5 on can be lovely - same for out walking at night or dining out. The driving can be an experience and a bit frustrating but it never bothered me that much and is probably better then many cities, especially some asian ones. dengue - I worry about having young children but only know a few who have had it. The construction is bad and marred our first few years hear when they started building right opposite us - it does get a bit much.

Guess I miss beautiful countryside most - getting a way from it all and being in awe of the beauty around you - this small island can get a bit - well - small.

Don't know about Singapore not being Asia though - of course it is and many of the surrounding asian countries would love to have what Singapore has and for the poorer people to have the life and opportunities even the poorer Singaporeans have. What is 'asia'? Tokyo, Shanghai, Mumbai, Korea - can't really put a label on it.