Singapore Expats

Hi all,

Looking to move to Singapore this summer with my wife and two very young children.

Looking to spend $15-20k or so on a large fully furnished 3-4 bedroom place, ideally on a high floor with a nice view.

I've seen online listings at Skypark @ Somerset, Oliv @ Balmoral, The Colonnade, Sail @ Marina Bay, One Robin for example...

- Can we trust these listings? The pictures look generic
- Any buildings we should be looking at beyond what is on propertyGur and 99.co?
- Is it a bad idea to do this all remotely with an agent on the ground?
- Anything to keep in mind while we search?

Thank you for any guidance you may have for us

What's your immigration/employment situation like?

Will be on EP, opening an office for my own company

Curious how that impacts things?

Well, because in order to provide a meaningful reply, we need to know if you're home and hosed in that department. If so, well done. In the latter case, your odds of moving here are longish.

prop gur is pretty ok. The pics tend to be generic because for some godforsaken reason the lazy useless real estate agents here don't use professional photographers but take their own snaps or steal others from the internet.

For that budget you have a wide range of choices and I would look past condo's and look at clustered properties or stand alone homes with pools, courts etc. Mainly as you have less asshole neighbours to deal with.

PNGMK wrote: ↑

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 6:57 pm

prop gur is pretty ok. The pics tend to be generic because for some godforsaken reason the lazy useless real estate agents here don't use professional photographers but take their own snaps or steal others from the internet.

Yes, this blows my mind! Ok... So the only way to truly see it is either to do a video call tour or wait to see it in person?

PNGMK wrote: ↑

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 6:57 pm

For that budget you have a wide range of choices and I would look past condo's and look at clustered properties or stand alone homes with pools, courts etc. Mainly as you have less asshole neighbours to deal with.

We were actually thinking the opposite - that the building would be a good source of community for the family

If you are looking for places with a higher density of Americans in the community, search for condos with names like Claymore, Ardmore or Draycott, or condos on roads of the same. This is a premium residential enclave off Orchard Road in close proximity to the American Club. It is so popular that the American school offers direct, dedicated bus service to the area.

Almost all expats from my office with your kind of budget are either living there or in the Woodgrove neighborhood (a.k.a. Americatown) next to the American school.

Very helpful, thank you!

My wife is Indian, and we're actually looking for a good community of well-settled Indian Executives/professionals.

Speaking of which, I have heard that some landlords will not rent to Indians - is this the case even at this spend bracket?

You can look for the condos at Grange Road/Chatsworth road.. It is close to Orchard Road and has mixed neighborhood with a sizable Indian community.

nyctosgp wrote: ↑

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 5:29 am

Very helpful, thank you!

My wife is Indian, and we're actually looking for a good community of well-settled Indian Executives/professionals.

Speaking of which, I have heard that some landlords will not rent to Indians - is this the case even at this spend bracket?

At this bracket you shouldn't have an issue. IF you do the agent is a retard as they are losing a massive commission and you should point out to them that their casual racism is hurting their income.

This issue seems mainly to be in the state housing system (aka HDB). There is a great Indian community in Singapore. You should consider joining the Singapore Cricket Club (which is the upper Indian club of choice) as well. I would NOT sign a long lease initially - or even use a long term Serviced Apartment while you get your bearings in Singapore and take your time choosing - at your price point it's a buyers market.

I have many Indian friends from all ranges of the economic spectrum here. Generally speaking, they tend to be rather frugal, even those at the upper end. I really doubt you will find a large community of Indian expats living in condos in the $15-20k/mo range... mostly limited to those that are quite westernized - to the point that it becomes hard to distinguish their Indian-ness, if you know what I mean? They just sort of meld into the Western expatriate pool here.

To add on to PNGMK's advice - your best bet is to move into a short-term Service Apartment at first and take your time to find the place and location that's right for you. The higher earning members of the expat Indian community tend to congregate round Grange Road/River Valley - as mentioned above, and Meyer Road/Tanjong Katong on the East Coast.

Thank you all, incredibly insightful.

Very glad to have found this forum.

Will likely look into the Serviced Apartment option for our initial stay.

Using one will reduce the stress of moving here a lot. Some people try to avoid it as they don't have the wherewithal but it's a false economy.

What I like about using one is that it gives you a place for agents to pick you up from for house / apartment viewings and there is no rush to move into a place as a result.

luckycricket wrote: ↑

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 7:27 am

You can look for the condos at Grange Road/Chatsworth road.. It is close to Orchard Road and has mixed neighborhood with a sizable Indian community.

The historic reason for this by the ways is that the Indian High Comm is on Grange Rd.