peterd

Hi all,
have been offered a position at NUH in senior nursing. Has anybody had experience with NUH?
We also have a 16yo son who is studying yr 10 GCSE and I notice that Excelsior International School is not far from NUH, again does anybody have recent experience with this school?
What is the cost of accommodation like in the vicinity of NUH as i have been informed that the MRT is quite a distance away and would like to live near work and school.

Cheers from the UAE

ex reg

Can't help much but they are building an MRT station at NUH, not sure when it will be up and running but you could google to find out. At the moment they run a bus service from NUH to the MRT at Buona Vista takes about 15 minutes.

I met someone who teaches at the International School of Singapore which is in Depot Rd. Don't know if that's the Excelsior School though. Google might give you info.

Rents would depend on how many bedrooms you wanted etc etc you'll maybe have to google yourself again.

IRJ

NUH has a good reputation. Overall Singapore has excellent healthcare facilities and educates doctors, nurses etc. thru the local university. They often then take further degrees abroad and return.
Because such education is sponsored by the State new doctors MUST spend a some years at the public hospitals and NUH is obviously a teaching hospital so it covers a wide range of treatments.
You need to investigate (as you are doing) the educational possibilities for your 16 year old son. In general Singapore schools are well regarded though they do require students to study hard. International school entrance is well sought after by both expat children and locals so you must nail down these possibilities upfront. Maybe NUH can help here? Local schools while very good require students to become fluent in Mandarin and take some classes in that language so that route might be problematic for someone entering at age 16.
People do register years ahead for good schools and schools sometimes favor students from nearby districts at times. Good news is that at age 16 expat movements in and out of Singapore may create vacancies which your son could take advantage of.
Note accommodation in Singapore has become VERY pricey, but the transportation system is good (MRT and buses). So living away from the really high price areas isn't an inconvenience except for the ability to reach your work and your son's school easily.

ex reg

Having driven past the Excelsior International School last weekend I see that it is at the Clementi Rd end of Ulu Pandan Rd not in Depot Rd as I thought in my post above.
A short walk from the school there is a very big condo development. It's quite old now but there should be some nice condos there which because of age might be cheaper than the norm.
Some friends were staying there 17 years ago with 2 kids and their 3 bedroom was spacious and airy. There are quite a number of condos in the area and some affordable houses.
A good supermarket is nearby and a short bus ride takes you into Clementi Central.

I believe you can walk from the Condo to Dover Rd MRT and then it is one stop to Buona Vista MRT from where as I noted above you can get a free bus to NUH, may even have a special bus for staff.

The condos I mention are one option which will give you good access to public transport, a short walk to school and a shortish commute to NUH.
There will be others.

PS
If you google Excelsior International School you can find a map showing the school and Pandan Valley which is the condo development. Allsworth Park are the houses and as you will see there is a lot of other condo development in the area some of it less than three years old.
The map also shows the walk from Pandan Valley to Dover RD MRT, I think it looks longer than it is but you can check it.

Englishmum

Oops...I'd forgotten about this thread, I was in London when it was posted and didn't have time to reply then.

We live 2 minutes walk from Excelsior I.S. (which until approx the Summer was called the 'Emaar International School' which as the O/P is currently resident in the UAE would surely recognize that name! ). There are two little Turkish girls on our condo who are pupils and are happy there; a couple of years ago it seemed to be mainly Asian pupils, especially Korean, but I have definitely noticed a lot more Caucasians attending the school now.

As Ex-Reg mentioned, there are some older condos in the vicinity of this school (it was originally the Singapore American School and then the Australian International School). One is 'Pandan Valley' and the other is 'Ridgewood' which also has some townhouses. Both condos have mini-marts, tennis courts, squash courts, pools etc. I take my dry-cleaning to the Ridgewood shops. These older condos tend to be far more spacious inside, although the units come in different configurations and indeed some of the Ridgewood apartments can be either very large or quite small. Many units in both condos have been beautifully renovated and far better value for money than newer condos. Another condo which is inexpensive to rent a unit is Pine Grove - right next door to the school and has a lovely pool and mini-mart. I think it may have originally been an HDB 'executive' estate which was privatized. Many expats live in this vicinity.

The no. 92 bus is a 'loop' service which goes to the Science Park 1/NUH and to the Ghim Moh HDB estate and MRT station, Pandan Valley/Excelsior Int Sch. and Mount Sinai private housing and condo estate every 12-15 mins (there is a bus stop right outside our condo entrance - we live at 'Montview'). Also one can take the walk behind Fontana Heights condo along the canal to Dover MRT station on Commonwealth Ave - approx walk of 11 minutes. There are shuttle buses here from the MRT station to NUH. It's a pleasant walk along the canal...I've seen kingfishers, water monitor lizards, there are sometimes snakes (!) and lots of cyclists, joggers and dogs being walked.

FWIW my spouse works at Science Park 1 and runs to and from the office every day! (He does however have the use of a shower at work and he does love to run - he's running in the Singapore Marathon in early December).

If you take the job at NUH you might also like to consider living in a condo in the Pasir Panjang Rd vicinity, West Coast Road vicinity or Clementi eg. Clementi Park condo in Sunset Way (another older, well kept condo). The no. 200 bus goes along Pasir Panjang Rd & Village, up South Buena Vista Road to NUH and Holland Village.

My daughter did voluntary work at NUH when she attended the nearby United World College of SEA school in Dover Rd, playing games and doing activities with sick children. My mother was visiting and came over to look after my kids when we went on a 'look-see' visit when my spouse was transferred to the NYC office; she went out on my bike and fell down a monsoon drain and fractured her wrist! My mum then went by ambulance to NUH (we used to live on Pepys Rd, just off Pasir Panjang Rd) and was very impressed with the care she received. She also went for Occupational Therapy there, which my daughter observed and she is now an OT herself in the UK!

The oddest thing is about Singapore is that emergency ambulances actually wait at traffic lights, only proceeding when they get a green light. I often see them waiting at the lights adjacent to NUH. It is extremely rare for local motorists to give priority to ambulances and it is generally acknowledged that if one needs to get to a hospital quickly (and not immobile) it is far quicker to take a taxi!

By the way, there are huge construction projects are taking place at NUH and North Buena Vista Rd/Rochester Park, plus the building of the new 'Circle Line' train line. Traffic is a nightmare at peak hours...but I daresay that employment at NUH would be very stable for many years to come...

A great website for getting info/pictures of condos, houses and local maps is:

http://www.singaporeexpats.com (look up these condos for starters:

http://condo.singaporeexpats.com/con...NDISH-PARK.htm

http://condo.singaporeexpats.com/con...DAN-VALLEY.htm

http://condo.singaporeexpats.com/con...PINE-GROVE.htm

http://condo.singaporeexpats.com/con...s-MONTVIEW.htm (I live here lol! )

http://condo.singaporeexpats.com/con...ANTON-PARK.htm (this is very close to NUH and the Science Park 1 at Kent Ridge - personally I would only consider units away from the adjacent AYE (Ayer Rajah Expressway) due to traffic noise!)

http://condo.singaporeexpats.com/con...PARK-CONDO.htm

(All of the 'asking prices' for rents are negotiable and it is quite normal to ask for (new) curtains, a new washing machine. fridge-freezer etc. if the existing ones look old and grotty. Almost all rentals come with 'white goods'. You can also get furnished condos with sofas, beds etc. but your taste may be very different to the landlords lol!

Good Luck!