Orb747

Hello All.

Thank you for the opportunity to register, ask my questions and hopefully someone in a similar situation will respond with some good advice.

First a bit of background and our current life.
My husband has been approached by his company to go and work in Singapore and we are currently living in the UK. We have been here 14 years and before that we lived and grew up in South-Africa. We have two gorgeous girls one 20 months old and a 5 year old, and we (as any parent) want the best for our kids.

They have offered to pay for me to go with my husband on a fact finding mission today. But I can not go until Mid March.
My husband has gone without me as he has a meeting this week.
However the company wants an answer very soon.

For a while now we have been talking and wishing for a change in life and now it is on offer. ( Be careful what you wish for it might just come true :-)

So now for the big question....
Will we do it? (Rhetorical only)

We know it is very expensive to rent, but how much do we need to budget for a nice 3 bedroom place with a garden in a decent area for the kids?

What age do kids start school?
What is school fees like?
What schools do I need to look at?
Is there toddler groups for me to attend with my little one?

As cars are also very expensive from what I have read. I guess we will use public transport and would not need to bring child safety seats or should I? How is access with a pushchair for my little one. Or if we do decide to get a car what is the options and how much?

What about our furniture shall we put it on a container (That the company offered to ship) or buy new there. Can we bring our own TV's.

Any other usefully advice or tips moving with young kids, gratefully received.

I know I can research all these but prefer to have it from someone in the know.

Thanks for now.

bakedbean

Hi and welcome to the forum

That's a lot of questions in one post.....you might like to browse through the Singapore section and have a good read up. You'll find plenty of topics re places to live, schooling, travelling...and you may wish to read those then add on to those topics.

Certainly a house with a garden will cost the earth I imagine. Most people live in condos which have lots of facilities including swimming pool, and it would be great for you and your kids to meet with other families.

I no longer live in Singapore so I'll leave the Singapore residents to give you more info.

Orb747

Thanks for reply

I know I have so many questions, I will do my best in researching as much as I can.
Regards

Pupsiecola

We rented a 3 bed condo in district 9 by the river (River Valley). It was cosy lol. Nice pool, 3 minute walk to loads of bars and restaurants and cafes along the river. That cost S$6000 per month (around £3k). We would have moved to Holland Village if we'd stayed longer.

Most of the big International schools have nurseries so start from age 3. Many of the schools are HUGE - think 1500 pupils upwards. Think about whether you want your children to follow the IB system or the British curriculum. IB for the younger years is tricky. If we had our time again (we came back after a year cos school didn't work out (that's an understatement)), we would have tried Dover Court. It's far from perfect, but it's smaller and it follows the British system. Be wary of the for profit schools.

Can't help re toddler groups as mine were 9 and 7 at time of moving. I think a lot of people use the "meet ups" website.

Cars - you have to bid for a license to own a car. That can cost as much as the car (so a 40k car could cost you 80k). And I understand that you wouldn't necessarily get a license straight away - actually you might wait for 3 months. Taxis are so cheap and the MRT (underground) is safe, clean and efficient. Only thing is you'll have a buggy to keep getting in and out of the boot of the taxi but the taxi drivers are used to that.

Re shipping, depends how generous the shipping offer is. We sold a lot of our stuff on eBay before leaving cos we had nothing of any real value or emotional value. But shipping is expensive. And soft furnishings may go mouldy during shipping back here.

Travel opportunities are fab. Popping over to Thailand or Bali is cheap and easy and you can get an amazing hotel for the price of a 3* in Europe.

It's a great opportunity and I wish we had done it when our kids were much younger. It becomes far more complicated. Be very wary about schools. You know you child best. Don't be sucked in my facilities and marketing.

ex reg

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Orb747

Hello.
Thanks that is some great info.
Especially as all my furniture is oak.
Think we will use the public transport, as from what I read it is very good.

Valesarl

We know it is very expensive to rent, but how much do we need to budget for a nice 3 bedroom place with a garden in a decent area for the kids? It depends on the aspect you're looking at, be it close to where your office is or you prefer a quite location

Pupsiecola

Oh and also you pay quite a bit more for a pool/garden view vs a street view. And for a high floor, although we always preferred a middle floor. But for example a high floor, pool view would cost a lot more than a low floor, street view.

Dunroaming

Hello
If it's ok id like to tag onto this thread as I am in a similar situation with a 3 and 1 year old. We might catch up for a play date to swap notes 😁
Is a street view not good? Is it too noisy? As I would rather pay less and would the pool side be noisy with people in the evenings having bbqs or socials? Is there a curfew for noise level?? Coming from living a few years in Switzerland we are used to rules and regs!!
Are nurseries for toddlers expensive? Or are there classes where you can drop your kids off for few hours and pick them up?

Pupsiecola

Depends what the street is like - there are some I wouldn't want to look at!! Oh, and with low floor you can get more cockroaches etc climbing up the garbage chutes. Not too much of a problem if you have a good bug guy coming once a month. You also don't get mosquitoes if you're higher up...

Orb747

Hello Dunroamim
Yeah would love to catch up, if we even get there. The company keeps draging there feet. They justs keep dangeling the carrot. So fed up with the yes we are, no we not going, game the company is playing. My husband is on Singapore right now again. Thanks for advice pupsiecola , and everyone else so far for great comments. I am Building a good picture of things to concider now.

Dunroaming

Great tips. ESP as we have kids. I am terrified of cockroaches.