SINGAPORE EXPATS FORUM
Singapore Expat Forum and Message Board for Expats in Singapore & Expatriates Relocating to Singapore

This condo thing is a completely different world from the HDB market where, in many parts of the island, resale values are falling and rents are either stable or showing only marginal increases. This instance on buying into condo status is disproportionately expensive for what you get for your money...

"apprehensive"? That might be a little too strong. There is a certain authoritarianism here and it pays to be cautious until you learn your way around. I'm glad that you are looking at the HDB market. It is seriously good value in both monetary and cultural terms. The public schools are beginning to...

S'OK. I'm a cat person and covertly encourage the local food patrol ladies who come round every evening to feed the packs. We had a cull about two weeks ago, but the numbers are rapidly picking up again with lots of kittens frollicking around. It's a shame the local people are, by and large, so host...

"Their status is that of absolute respect eg. even if you meet them out of school, the student and parenets are very respectful . . . I suspect Singapore is same?" I am aware of one or two instances where Heads of Department and, in one case, a Principal called in the police when parents became conf...

"I have a lovely, energetic, playful cat that I adopted . . [but it] becomes quite aggressive towards me" As you are probably aware, there is quite a serious feral cat problem in Singapore. If you "adopted" one "off the streets", you invited a wild animal into your house which is why it can be aggre...

Risking indiscretion, my wife has big feet and until a few years ago, she could not get shoes that fitted her in Singapore unless she paid out relatively large sums of money to buy imported shoes in the best shops. The situation is now beginning to improve but unless and until you find your way arou...

Just to give you the official version, children under the age of seven go into the education system on a voluntary basis. Here is an overview of the kindergarten system http://www.moe.gov.sg/preschooleducation/. Six years of compulsory education starts at seven through the Primary system. This is an...

It seems we're both not completely accurate about the percentage of the Singapore population living in HDB flats. Sorry, I should have checked before putting a number down. The HDB Annual Report for 2005/6 which estimates total population and their residences up to 31st March 2006, has the percentag...

Wow, as Alice is reported as saying, this is getting stranger and stranger. I make a general statement about Singapore (which you seem to agree with) but you deny its correctness because it does not apply to Kembangan. Well, let us not fall out about it. However, if you will forgive one minor correc...

"The only thing I do agree to with the above poster, Singapore is very safe, so no issues there at Kembangan either."

What a strange thing to say when it is quite obvious that we agree on every point but simply have a different way of answering the same questions.

"We were just planning on the public school system." Two short statements of the obvious: Coming in August is halfway through the school year here. This complicates entry into the public system which is highly competitive if the school is any good. At five, the younger will probably have to wait for...

Would you know if Kembangan is a nice residential area? Almost all the more mature areas of Singapore are "nice". Quiet Unless you choose to live over or near a 24 hour coffeeshop or a place of entertainment, almost all life in singapore is quiet. accessible to food places, If by this you mean place...

Sinvan wrote: "It might be difficult to go to your office during rush hour from opposite side of the city." Absolutely not. The total journey time on the MRT East-West is less than one hour, i.e. whichever side of the city you come from, you should never be on the MRT more than 30 minutes to get int...

I'm sorry that you've lost money. I hope it was not too much. Most banks have contractual terms and conditions which require their customers to take care of their cards and to ensure that people cannot easily acquire their pins. The most common method for obtaining the pin is skimming where a dishon...

Thanks for the help KSL. I'll ring Harbour Front and see what they say.

All the best everyone

David