Singapore Expats

Hey everyone - I've recently arrived in SG and staying in short term accomm at Jurong as I'll be starting work at NTU next week. Although I did a fair bit of research about the different suburbs/condos before I came theres probably nothing like a locals/established expats opinion..... I was initially keen to find a place around the Jurong or even Boon Lay area so I would be close to work but it seems to be fairly quiet and a little isolated now I'm here..... Does anyone have an opinion on good suburbs to check out where transport is easy to NTU (so green line I guess) but where there is a bit of an expat social scene as well..... Any input is greatly appreciated! Cheers.

holly_sarah07 wrote:.... Does anyone have an opinion on good suburbs to check out where transport is easy to NTU (so green line I guess) but where there is a bit of an expat social scene as well..... Any input is greatly appreciated! Cheers.

Closest to NTU with some go-and-eat/drink-out expat community place is along upper Bukit Timah area (Hume Ave, Rail Mall namely). No MRT, buses only. Probably you would need to change the bus only once but normally people commute to NTU by private buses/vans what saves a lot of troubles.

Isn't Holland Village the Expat Haven? But I doubt whether you can call it a suburb. Its on the Green line Buona Vista MRT and also closer to the city!

...and with the rental prices twice as high for similar standard as around NTU.

But Singapore is an expat social scene.

OP is better off living in the West, around Boon Lay and Pioneer. Jurong may be a good idea but I don't know if the planned development has already affected prices (the current construction may be a factor too).

The social scene shouldn't be a problem--I mean, c'mon, this is Singapore. Public transport is not an issue (Green line + Night buses or taxis and you're good to go).

nakatago wrote:The social scene shouldn't be a problem--I mean, c'mon, this is Singapore. Public transport is not an issue (Green line + Night buses or taxis and you're good to go).

It is ok to live anywhere within SG and to go out once a week. You may be surprised though how difficult is to get sometimes a cab to take you back from the central part to the districts like CCK.
But ppl often like to go to a pub after work to have beer or a few drinks.

Did you ever find a location? I have been offered a post at NTU and my wife and I are thinking about where we could live in Singapore. I have similar concerns as NTU on campus housing seems to far away from everything. Also, how do you find the work culture compared to Australia? My PhD is from an Australian university and I wonder if conditions/expectations/support will be similar??

x9200 wrote:

nakatago wrote:The social scene shouldn't be a problem--I mean, c'mon, this is Singapore. Public transport is not an issue (Green line + Night buses or taxis and you're good to go).

It is ok to live anywhere within SG and to go out once a week. You may be surprised though how difficult is to get sometimes a cab to take you back from the central part to the districts like CCK.
But ppl often like to go to a pub after work to have beer or a few drinks.

I never had a problem. I just get in the taxi, close the door and ask him if he's changing shift. If not, I tell 'em where I want to go and if he moans and whinges, I give him a choice. Take me where I want to go or take me to the nearest police station. Believe me, he doesn't want to have his vocational license suspended.

I actually had one take me to a police station once (at Ang Mo Kio - near the Yio Chu Kang MRT station) and the police told the driver to take me wherever I wanted to go and told me, if the driver gives you any further grief, call him, and he gave me his card to boot. Driver took me home without further incident (I lived in Seletar Camp - also a pretty ulu place years ago before the expressways cris-crossing the north side of the island.

Rivelino wrote:Did you ever find a location? I have been offered a post at NTU and my wife and I are thinking about where we could live in Singapore. I have similar concerns as NTU on campus housing seems to far away from everything. Also, how do you find the work culture compared to Australia? My PhD is from an Australian university and I wonder if conditions/expectations/support will be similar??

Hi Rivelino.. I ended up moving to Queenstown and its fantastic... Although there isn't too much here apart from Ikea and a decent shopping centre, its relatively close to Holland Village, Dempsey Hill and Orchard. It's on the green line too, and I'm thankful that I didn't venture too far away from the mrt either. From experience, my main advice would be to make sure you give yourselves enough time to look around as it can be tough to find something, I guess largely depending on your budget though.

For NTU, if you take the mrt all the way to pioneer you'll find there's a shuttle constantly going to and from the uni, so it's relatively painless.. It's obviously a personal thing, but I felt isolated enough just living at Jurong West, let alone on campus... You'll find a more social atmosphere living closer in to the city if thats what you're after...

What uni did you do your phD at? And where abouts at NTU have you been offered a position?

sundaymorningstaple wrote: I never had a problem. I just get in the taxi, close the door and ask him if he's changing shift. If not, I tell 'em where I want to go and if he moans and whinges, I give him a choice. Take me where I want to go or take me to the nearest police station. Believe me, he doesn't want to have his vocational license suspended.

I actually had one take me to a police station once (at Ang Mo Kio - near the Yio Chu Kang MRT station) and the police told the driver to take me wherever I wanted to go and told me, if the driver gives you any further grief, call him, and he gave me his card to boot. Driver took me home without further incident (I lived in Seletar Camp - also a pretty ulu place years ago before the expressways cris-crossing the north side of the island.

Hmm, I did not think about this and it sounds like a good idea. The only problem is if you try to do it in the context of this thread I guess you may be more convincing to the taxi driver to take you to the police station and less convincing to the police officer going late on Friday or Saturday night after a few pints of beer or some other drinks

There was also a bus provided by NTU that did a once an evening trip from the campus to Buona Vista. Our admin girls used to race out the door at 5:30pm to make sure they did not miss that.

I would say look at the stops from Clementi to Tiong Bahru. They are all quite close to Holland Village, Dempsey and Orchard by cab. Each has a different feel to it.

Queenstown is a nice place. Great location. More of a working class suburb, but the prices have skyrocketed due to its convenient location, so it is harder for young people to buy there. They have a lot of elderly there. But a good community feel where the shop owners and the community have long relationships with each other.

Tiong Bahru has a nice low rise feel with lots of walk up apartments and good food.

Clementi has a heartland feel, is quite busy, but then has good access to major roads and highways.

Try hoping off at each stop one night for dinner, wandering around from the station and see what you think about each area. Then make your choice.

On campus accommodation at NTU can be quite nice in terms of space and affordability. Just it is really remote at night time. But if you like the peace and quiet, you might find you really appreciate it there. There are also sporting facilities on campus that you can use for a very cheap price as a staff member.

Thanks for the great responses, I will look in those areas. My wife would need to work in a hospital so hoping that a major one would be nearby. Holly/Sarah, I did my PhD on the South Coast of NSW.

To those who work/worked at NTU, I have been offered a position with the NIE, and would love to hear any thoughts about NTU/NIE. Is this a good place to work? And is it similar to Australian university work culture? I notice from the interview and hiring process alone that they work very fast- even without a final salary offer they expect you to be there tomorrow