Where oh where should we live?

[Shaxiaoyu]

Hey,

Moving to Singapore at the end of the month and need to find a 2-3 bedroom apartment for me, my wife and our 3 month old girl but really unsure where we should be looking. I'll be working in Pasir Panjang Rd (on the MRT circle line) and ideally we need somewhere that's an easy commute there and back. If it's not too much to ask good transport links, or very close proximity, to a major shopping area or two would be great as well! We're home-bodies so the place doesn't need to be surrounded by bars and restaurants but having a couple nearby doesn't hurt. Some good outdoor areas like parks, or coast-line for walking would be a big plus!

Our budget is around the 5,000-6,000SGD / month mark.

Oh and yes we have an agent and they've been quite good so far but we really feel like we need to give them more direction on where to look rather than trying the some what scattered feedback we've had so far.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!!

[slinky]

If you want to be fairly close to work, have your agent show you places in and around Pasir Panjang Road as well as Dover Road and Buona Vista. Plenty of condo options in those areas, although I don't know what the rents are these days. S$5000-S$6000 per month sounds reasonable - you should find something decent for that.

Edit: Forgot to add, if you can stay in a serviced apt for at least a few weeks, that will give you time to really have a look at areas to make the best choice. Standard lease here is 2 years, so you'll want to be happy with your choice.

[Fat Bob]

Location is important, but so is what you want in your apartment. Size (the newer the smaller), balcony (few have one, even fewer have a reasonable sized one), if you're going for condo, what faciltiies do you want (tennis courts, swimming pool, kids pool - so many options).

It's not worth having a great location if the apartment is too small and you hate the place.

[Tas]

That's true from memory of days there, some of the older ones might look a bit worn round the edges, but once you put your furniture in, a couple rugs and pictures you can end up with better value - and thicker walls. Bit random but note condition of air conditioners and the service contract needs around (but for me mainly the noise of them) also fans important in humidity. That's another advantage of some time in a service apartment, can assess how coping in humid conditions, which might affect what you look for in apartment if not lived in those condtions before.

[tigerbalm]

I know you asked only about location, but once you have that figured out, look out for few more things when choosing an apartment:
Oven - many especially the older ones don't have one
Front loading washing machine - the top loading type used locally seldom uses hot water for washing. Sport outfits might smell musty despite washing. There is few more tricks for that but that is another theme.
Possibly north south orientation, avoid getting west direction for your living room - it gets very hot in the afternoon and you will have to use aircon all the time.

[expat yorkshire]

Another important factor is whether or not you have a car . If you don't have one , you need to be close to an MRT or a popular bus route

[slinky]

Oh, on the topic of what to look for -- I think it's somewhat common for the kitchen to have no hot water (!) -- I've lived in 2 different places here and not had that issue (got lucky, because I didn't know to check) but it's one you probably wouldn't figure out until you've already moved in. Just be sure there is a hot water heater for the kitchen. Ovens I remember seeing pretty much everywhere we looked, but I've heard that one too. However, any oven you have will be tiny. Don't expect to get more than one thing in there at a time

If you are going to hire a live-in maid, you might also check whether or not there is hot water for the maid's bathroom. First place I lived here there wasn't and after about a year there, when I did hire a maid, I had to pay to have it put in because the LL wouldn't.

Edit: typo

[Kooky]

The lack of oven thing is easily solved with a microwave combination oven - still using our Panasonic...crikey, it must be nine years old No, you can't roast a chicken whilst baking a cake, but it is pretty big and has a removable shelf so can, say, bake some fish and roast some veg at the same time.

The lack of hot water, we solved by having one of those small boiler things put in under the sink - the kind you often see in office kitchens. Put it on when you sit down to eat and it's hot in time for doing the dishes (if you don't have a dishwasher). Bit like a kettle, really, but more water

[Morrolan]

dishwasher. dryer. a dryer especially can be useful as the humid conditions will get your laundry smelling musty before it even has the chance to dry. so, that only adds to the argument for a front loader wahing machine as you can then store the dryer on top of the washer.

[Shaxiaoyu]

Thanks for the feedback guys - some good tips there we hadn't thought!

Is the lack of hot water in the kitchen common?

After some brief internet searches we were thinking somewhere in the following areas might work for us but would love to hear people's feedback!

Districts 4, 5 & 6 - telok Blangah, Mount Faber, Buona Vista, Dover Road, Keppel Bay
District 9 - River Valley
District 10 - Bukit Timah, Holland

We don't need a huge place as we don't have a lot of gear - would prefer a slightly smaller newer place with good facilities than a large older place.

Thanks again!

[Addadude]

As Slinky said, there are quite a few condos to choose around Pasir Panjang Road. I personally think you should check out The Caribbean at Keppel Bay, close to Harbourfront. Big condo, list of facilities and a pretty vibrant mums and tots social scene. There are plenty of busses from there to Pasir Panjang. The rental should be easily in your price range too.

[Spike]

Thanks for the feedback guys - some good tips there we hadn't thought!

Is the lack of hot water in the kitchen common?

After some brief internet searches we were thinking somewhere in the following areas might work for us but would love to hear people's feedback!

Districts 4, 5 & 6 - telok Blangah, Mount Faber, Buona Vista, Dover Road, Keppel Bay
District 9 - River Valley
District 10 - Bukit Timah, Holland

We don't need a huge place as we don't have a lot of gear - would prefer a slightly smaller newer place with good facilities than a large older place.

Thanks again!

No hot water in the kitchen is quite common. Because I don't spend much time in a kitchen normally, I didn't realise when I bought my apartment 5 years ago that it had neither an oven or hot water. I enquired with the previous owner whether the kitchen hot water heater was faulty and she told me that none of the apartments in my condo had one. The washing up detergents you buy here seem to lather up quite well in cold water, so I guess they are designed for the local, cold water kitchen environment.