Our Home

We've gotten a few questions about the living situation here in Singapore, so we thought we would share a video of our home.  

We live quite near our school; about a 10 minute walk.  We chose this strategically because we don't plan to own a car as they are quite expensive to acquire and maintain in Singapore. Cata's campus is a little further away, but she walks with us and then takes a shuttle bus ride to her campus.  We live between two MRT (train) stops and have found our location to be pretty convenient so far. We live on the purple line, which runs North/South and has stops at Chinatown, Little India, and runs South through the Downtown core.  

Our condo, as they are called here although we are renters, has about 90 apartments.  Some of those are owned and lived in by Singaporeans and some are rented.  We have quite a few students and staff from our school in our building due to the proximity to campus.  Cata's favorite part is our lovely pool and she has become quite the little fish.  We also have a small gym.  Our apartment is fairly large, at around 1200 sq feet. We pay around $2,800 USD for a 3 bedroom apartment.  Rents are quite steep here and we got what is considered a pretty good deal. Luckily, we were also able to find something that is covered by the housing stipend the school provides.  

Singapore is quite dense and the most popular housing option amongst Singaporeans is the HDB (Housing Development Board).  Anyone can live in an HDB, but we chose a little more comfort over saving on the rent. Singapore has almost 90% home ownership rate, due in large part to the government land ownership emphasis in the HDB scheme coupled with subsidies for homeowners. Owning a home was a key part of the initial nation building philosophy once Singapore became an independent nation.

These HDB's are massive complexes that are much more affordable than a condo, but tend to be older and without the amenities of a condo complex.  We live near quite a few and they are like mini cities complete with their own playgrounds, clinics, and food courts, and they are usually on the doorstep of public transportation.

All in all, we think we chose well and are enjoying making our home 'ours' bit by bit.