On The Lookout

Yup, we'll be moving when our lease ups and ends this July. Although it really is a bit too early to start looking yet, we've been going to different areas to figure out if we'd like to live there. I personally love the area we're in: wet markets a few minutes' walk away, NTUC Fairprice and Shop N Save also a few minutes' walk away, the MRT station right at our doorstep, oh, and the community library just one MRT station away. But then again, the rent that we're paying hardly justifies the noise level we have to put up with: headache-causing construction work right below us and of course, the MRT trains going by can be quite a nuisance but the worst of all are the ad-hoc fighter jet practice runs which can creep up on you like a surprise. Nope, I think it's time we moved to quieter pastures.

It's rather fun going around looking at apartments. The great thing about Singapore is that almost EVERYTHING can be found on the maps and online. There are pictures of apartments with details of the nearby amenities down to the distance of the apartment from the MRT station or the nearest school and/or shopping centre. You'd NEVER get that sort of information on a Malaysian apartment on any website or even on the map.

The main criteria here will be floor space, proximity to an MRT station (nope, not getting wheels anytime soon) and amenities, and nothing too old (anything more than 10 years would be old). Oh, and of course, within budget.

So far we've taken a look at Serangoon and are benchmarking our search on the very first apartment we saw there, the Yardley. It has an awesome patio which opens out onto the swimming pool and lets in the sound of running water (great feng shui!!). Great way to camouflage the sound of traffic from the neighbouring highway. I have a contention with the small kitchen though; it's less than half the size of our current place. The fittings were nice and new and it also had it's own cozy little front entrance with a built in show cabinet. The apartment block has three units on one floor and it just so happened that the one that we viewed had its entrance set apart from the other two units. Sweet.

We're not going ahead with that unit because obviously, we need to look around and check out our options further. Also, it's too early to look at apartments and be expected to commit as most owners would prefer immediate tenancy. The soonest we're likely to move is early June. Plus, Serangoon is a leetle bit futher off into the suburbs than where we are now. So...we're still looking.

Toa Payoh is an excellent hub to be living in, closer to the CBD; too bad the apartment we saw, Oleander Towers, didn't live up to Rizal's expectations. It was older and somehow had a musty smell about it even though the agent said it was only vacant for a month (hmmm...not too sure about that). I love it's proximity to the MRT station (I love the MRT station! It's under a mall!) and it's high ceilings. Other than that, I really don't think I can sleep at night on the ground floor with my windows and sliding doors open. I also don't want to have to worry about where the brown cows are or what they're getting up to 24/7 since it's a ground unit so, that's a no go.

Sunglade in Serangoon is also a no-go mainly because of two things: it's smaller and feels much more cramped than even The Yardley and the very frightening sliding doors in the living room which open out to a so-called balcony which is more like a ledge which is about a 1' drop to a window-planter like platform with a few bars as railings. I can just imagine Sophia tumbling out the sliding door onto that platform and then...shudder...brrrrr.....The pool at Sunglade though, is every kid's dream come true: water slides, fountains and jets, a mock sand bed, arches, and just water meandering everywhere.

We'll be upping the ante on the search come April/May. Good thing for us that property prices are heading down so we may even take a look at areas closer to the CBD.