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Mr. S works in Science Park II and a couple of his colleagues live in condos on Dover Rd. -- just a hop to Sci Park I from there.

Edit: Pretty sure their rents are right around the S$3k mark. Can find out condo names if you want.

Nice Indian restaurant in Pasir Panjang Village.

Or at least there was (haven't been for a while)....

slinky wrote:Mr. S works in Science Park II and a couple of his colleagues live in condos on Dover Rd. -- just a hop to Sci Park I from there.

Edit: Pretty sure their rents are right around the S$3k mark. Can find out condo names if you want.

That will be Dover Park View (shitty management) and Heritage View (strange angled rooms).

There's a few buildings going up on Biopolis and near Bouna Vista MRT, but not quite ready for you to move in.

Look in pasir panjang, district 5

Dover park view is too much money for rubbish location really, and the apts are dull and lifeless, heritage view is bleh, too much like a giant hotel, tiny kitchens, round walls..

In pasir panjang, avoid, Royal Palms, Blue Horizon, West Cove, West Bay (new condos going up next door)... Check out Landridge, Buona Lodge, Bayville... or even Le Hill if you want to feel like you should be sipping champagne and expect to see Charlie Chaplin go by... don't know why but that is the feeling it evokes in me... depending on your noise acceptance level there are some along pasir panjang road that are ok-ish

My second day (afternoon only) of viewing. Visa Park, South Buona Vista Road x 2 (bleeeurgh, horrid, unloved for 2.9k)
The Foliage, Pasir Panjag Road (very nice flat but absolutely no privacy: looking directly into lots of other neighbours) 3.8
Southaven 1 (Upper Bukit Timah). Lovely flooring, lovely big rooms, nice greenery out the back, grotty toilets & showers. The landlord has just done the place up - and spent quite a bit of money on the flooring and the agent there was a tosspot of a young guy with an attitude telling me that if I wanted the bathrooms grouted/cleaned it would be up to the landlord and I should put in a request with my offer (3.3k)
I think we are going to look more at the areas you guys are suggesting. Mr B tells me now that he intends to cycle to and from his work everyday and that Pasir Panjin would be a good area as he can go up that narrow hill (is that safe?)
I'm just away to print off all the info you've given me and start working on arranging viewing on some of the places.
Thank you all again.

'That narrow hill'? Do you mean South Buona Vista? The long, curvy road? Honestly, I don't even like driving a car on that road given that lane markings don't tend to mean much to too many drivers here

Lots of cyclists use that road. At least 20-30 people in my office. They love the downhill in particular.

BeeKnees, i had a kitty client who rented a lovely little terrace house on one of the little roads that branches off Pasir Panjang Rd, not sure what they paid in terms of rental but might be worth looking at those too?

Fresh Mint wrote:My rent was also paid for me in those days ....

a major consideration for me at the time when choosing to live on Nassim Hill...

anywho, this is fast turning into one of those 'Useful Threads"...

Shit. Better do something about that QUICK!

I've been here over a decade (like others here I think) and real estate agents ALWAYS use this "lots of high paid expats being transferred now" line. ALWAYS. It's your game, supply is high.

I looked at some flats on Pasir Pajang Hill yesterday and was so disappointed in that they were tiny boxes. What a fantastic location and view from them but just too small to live happily in.

I then took the bus (402 I think) into Orchard Road and it took me nearly 45 minutes (not peak hour traffic) and that's made me think twice about the area. If I amn't able to get a job here it looks like I'll need to visit the main shopping/business district for a gym where I can do some group fitness classes, yoga etc. Is this the only way to get into town from Pasir Pajang? Is this the time for travel I should be looking at ?

I also saw another flat which was completely different. Large, beautiful, old, within budget, great location...BUT..the old kitchen was completely open plan to the outside - it would have been built for when there was no air conditioning available. Has anyone else come across this? I don't think I'd be happy about the hygiene issues...I'm sure during the night some beasties (cockroaches!) would find their way in and it was also open to pigeons I suppose (there was evidence of them roosting outside the flat). Does anyone here have a kitchen like this?

When I was a kid, our flat had a kitchen that was open-air. I don't know if we had any more or less roaches, we did get them in the toilets and kitchen and service area, but we were only on the 3rd floor and it was an old building, so we would have had them anyway, closed kitchen or not. The only way to completely avoid them is to live in a new place/very high floor.

What size would you consider appropriate to live in comfortably? - maybe you can tell the agent that you are only looking at apts of this size and beyond.

Beesknees wrote:I looked at some flats on Pasir Pajang Hill yesterday and was so disappointed in that they were tiny boxes. What a fantastic location and view from them but just too small to live happily in.

I then took the bus (402 I think) into Orchard Road and it took me nearly 45 minutes (not peak hour traffic) and that's made me think twice about the area. If I amn't able to get a job here it looks like I'll need to visit the main shopping/business district for a gym where I can do some group fitness classes, yoga etc. Is this the only way to get into town from Pasir Pajang? Is this the time for travel I should be looking at ?

I also saw another flat which was completely different. Large, beautiful, old, within budget, great location...BUT..the old kitchen was completely open plan to the outside - it would have been built for when there was no air conditioning available. Has anyone else come across this? I don't think I'd be happy about the hygiene issues...I'm sure during the night some beasties (cockroaches!) would find their way in and it was also open to pigeons I suppose (there was evidence of them roosting outside the flat). Does anyone here have a kitchen like this?

Why do you have to go to Orchard road for the gym? There is a perfectly good gym in Science Park where your drone works. Alternatively, the bus from Pasir Panjang to Vivo City is only about 15 minutes. Every shop and facility known to mankind is there.

As for your open plan kitchen, I lived in Towner Road for a couple of years. The whole house was "open plan". I loved it.

Kooky is the expert on open kitchens.

I have never actually lived in a flat where the kitchen has airconditioning. At the moment, we leave the kitchen window and the door to the utility area open permanently and have no issues. Cockroaches etc (if they come in) are not going to be using the window. As for hygiene, in this climate you are not going to be leaving food out anyway, so other then a little dust Ican't see there will be a problem

even in a lot of the new developments kitchens don't have aircon. we lived in a ground floor condo with only a door with a large ventilation gap at the bottom between the main and the wet kitchen and never had any issus with roaches. the odd lizard and gecko, yes, but never roaches.

no matter where you live when the building has roaches you will have them no matter on what floor you are located, as they travel through ducts and piping.

Lizards and Geckos? Monitor lizards and the odd Komodo dragon?

You don't usually get pythons above the 10th floor

Fitness First at Fusionopolis (bus 200 from Pasir Panjang village, 10-20 mins up the hill and over the AYE))
Science Park gym at Science Park 1 (and will be cheaper than main gyms, but maybe less clases such as you want 10-15 mins up the hill, bus 200 again but then walk down SP1 to the end).
Planet Fitness at Vivocity (many buses)

I think you're being far too selective on those sorts of things without knowing the full details.

Open-kitchen: All of my kitchens have been open to the outdoors in some repect. I either leave the door open, the window open, or there is no door/windo and just an iron bars to stop the workmen stealing a glass of water! Just make sure when you get there you Bagon the place for a few days, then make sure you clean up on a regular basis, and don't leave many scraps around.

Again, I think you're being far too selective.

However, the tiny rooms are an issue, and if you have a choice of new or old, then the new will be tiny and expensive but will have a nice kitchen and bathroom, the old will be not so tiny and not so expensive and may not have the latest design for kitchens and bathrooms.

BN: i hate to tell you this, but i have a kitty client who lives on the 41st floor of a brand-new condo, fully air-conditioned including the kitchen ... and they still get roaches and ants. welcome to the tropics!

Outdoor kitchens are fab, and great for parties, aren't they folks?

Honestly, I loved and miss mine (and the open air bathroom...oh and that tub )

No real cockroach problems, but you do have to clean up every single crumb or the ants come marching in. Just make sure it has a ceiling fan.

[quote="Kooky"]
Honestly, I loved and miss mine (and the open air bathroom...oh and that tub )
quote]

And the impromptu bathroom 'water feature' when it rained?

Ok i did a search for you to show you where I mean on potential condos. (Along west coast road and pasir panjang road) the double red arrows pointing upwards indicate condos.

May take 1/2 hr to cycle to work and 1/2 to city centre (via bus & MRT).

Edit: BTW, I think up to 1 hr is still considered normal commuting time here and is no big deal to most singaproeans. Just a rant - it annoys the hell out of me when my husband says it takes too long to commute in London if the commute time is 1 hr.. I mean it takes 1 hr to commute form oxley rise to geylang in sg and we did it every weekend!

Satellite wrote:it takes 1 hr to commute form oxley rise to geylang in sg and we did it every weekend!

A bit of moonlighting? (slap)

Satellite wrote:.... the double red arrows pointing upwards indicate condos.

you mean the thing that looks like a big house with a small house in front of it?:D