Raj1ele

Hi,
I am planning to move my family to Singapore ASAP, but don't know where to start, my wife is a doctor so I'm hoping to get a lot of assistance from her future employer, however my wife is not totally sold on the idea so I'm planning a visit first but need to get in contact with hospitals to talk about working on Singapore. Any ideas on how I can arrange an informal professional visit and while I'm there get in touch with schools and possibly visit them to gain an insight?

ex reg

Can't help with contacts but your wife must be 100% sold on the idea before she signs on the dotted otherwise you'll find it a BIG mistake.

You must solve that without forcing her.

Raj1ele

I agree, I think I'm about 90% there with getting my wife to be fully on board so don't really feel that is an issue right now as I want to get as much info as I can in order to weigh up and justify the move, which is mainly for my children to be bought up in a more suitable environment.
Are the state schools an adaptable option for young children from the uk aged 3?

ex reg

I can't really comment on the schools here as haven't had any direct experience with them. But I will to some extent.

The international schools are supposed to be very good but you have to pay and there is a long waiting list unless where your wife will work has some pull with the international school you choose.

State schools from the outside seem better funded than what I've seen in UK.

In the end it comes down to the child imo.
Certainly when the exam results are released then the top results often come from pupils who attend state schools. You may be able to google the exam results to check my opinion on this. Hopefully I'm correct. The top students also come from newly arrived immigrants iirc. I'm sure I'm generalizing here but maybe you can check.

Maybe your wife can ask her likely employer to suggest how you can get an idea of the schooling here.

But be under no illusions, there is tremendous pressure on school kids here to do well and most of that pressure comes from parents. I'm not sure if you or your kids would be happy with that there isn't any comparison with UK on the pressure issue. But the opportunities are there for kids to shine.

Just re reading your post and see your kids are 3 years of age.
Good pre school stuff here and a high %age of kids will be in that sort of schooling.
The grind stone starts early.

Raj1ele

Thanks exreg
That has been of use to hear from someone indigenous.
I think my start point wil be to visit again in the coming months and visit potential employers and see the scope for benefits packages etc.
Can you give me an indication of rent for a 3 bed home in Singapore?

ex reg

It does depend to a certain extent on the area, which in turn will be governed by where your kids go to school and where you both work.

Most employers used to provide accommodation in the package these days local contracts are becoming the norm and in a local contract there is no addition of an item for accommodation it is paid for out of the salary.
Try to get on the full package but I suspect hospital doctors these days might be on local terms and conditions.
If you both work then things should be fine.
A 3 bed condo might be S$5000 per month give or take S$1000 either way. You could pay more, a lot more if you wanted but not much less.
There are websites where you can see what you get for your money, just google.

HayleyPaling

Singapore and Hong Kong have been ranked as one of the most popular global destinations for work relocation. This is mainly attributed to the cities’ low crime rate, tax incentives, excellent lifestyle and opportunities for personal development in the region.

illoyd1

Hi we are moving to Singapore next month and like your wife I am not 100% convinced but like yourself want our three year old son to grow up in a better environment. If you find out more regarding schools I would appreciate some feedback as all preschool places seem to have long waiting lists with large holding fees required.

Raj1ele

On further research I have come to think that the local state schools are an option, however you need to weigh up how important it is that your child has "British" qualifications which is what the international schools like the tanglin offer, base your decision on how long your likely to stay in sin ie state schools can also accommodate gcse standard in the long run, whereas international schools do that from the offset. Your best bet is to contact local schools if you want to avoid paying extortionate fees from my undstanding there are a lot of expat children in the mainstream system already and do have a hi standard.

This is accurate according to my research although there may be a few people who may know different.

illoyd1

Thank you I seem to be spending hours everyday looking at educational establishments. We have made a few appointments to look around so hopefully once we get there our son won't be on a waiting list too long. If i find out anything that may be helpful to you once we get there I will let you know.

Kooky.

I hope this is OK with the Management - I've done it before and it has been, and this forum is so sparsely populated that you may struggle to get the info you want here.

expatsingapore.com is a long-standing forum that has a section for all child-related matters you might find useful. It's years since I used it as it's not to my liking but I don't have children so I'm not much use to you.

singaporeexpats.com has a ton of good property info on it. There is also a forum but I usually restrict my recommendation of that to younger expats looking for a social scene.

singaporum.com is very quiet these days as a lot of members have moved on (although like myself still post occasionally), most members are long-termers and will try to help you if you ask questions about pre-schools, schools, rents, areas to live, where to see your footie team on TV, etc.

Regarding the "better life for my children" issue - something I'm only used to seeing on the Oz forums It will be different, for sure, but better is a matter of opinion. Are you hoping it's a long-term move? As ex reg says, the little ones will have a blast but there is a ton of later pressure to be top of the class for everything and the local kids certainly do a lot of extra-curricular activities.

illoyd1

Good morning Seasider

Thank you for your reply and advice. I will have a look at the sites that you recommended. At the moment we have agreed to move for a year and then it is up to us if we want to extend the contract or move on else where. I had heard that my son would have fun but also have to work hard. I prefer the holistic approach for the stage he is at just now. You want to provide the best opportunities for your children but as you mention this can bring with it pressure to top of the class.

Kooky.

Be aware that most leases are for 2 years. One year can occasionally be negotiated, but you will probably pay a premium rent.

illoyd1

Good afternoon Seasider

Fortunately my husband's work is covering our accommodation costs so that is one less thing to think about. Spent the morning packing and throwing out so if one good thing comes out of it my house is going to have a good spring clean.

Kooky.

Good morning illoyd1

That's good, but just be aware it may limit your choice if they insist on a one-year lease. Hope they're putting you up in a serviced apartment while you look around.

Moving continents is a great way of making you have a clear out! We moved to Singapore with suitcases and a few boxes, but when we moved to Australia we had to get rid of a load of stuff to fit into a 20ft container. And move 3 cats. Now we'd need a 40ft - my ambition is to one day go back to suitcases.