Singapore Accommodation

Having resigned last Friday, now I am working on the relocation to Singapore. And first stop is accommodation.

There are two options which are extremely popular with INSEAD participants. Dover Parkview & Heritage View are within walking distance of INSEAD, are a bit posh and because of ample demand from INSEAD are definitely overpriced. I spoke to one real estate agent over the weekend and he mentioned that one other reason for them being pricey is because quite a few landlords have had bad experiences with INSEAD students and hence they want a premium for taking the risk.

Anyways, at these two places you are looking at about SGD 4500-5000 for 3 bedroom apartments. Other option could be Normanton Park which is a 5 minute bus ride from INSEAD. It is significantly cheaper and lacks the Club Med feel which Heritag & Dover have to offer. Normanton Park goes for about SGD 3500-4000 for 3 bedroom units. Third option could be Clementi, which is one subway/ MRT stop away from INSEAD (which is by Dover stop). At Clementi, decent condos go for about SGD 3000-3500..

The cheapest option is HDB units which is available all across Singapore. These are low cost units developed by the Singapore government and go for about SGD 2000-2500 for 3 bedroom unit.

As for me, I am preparing a list of all available options and then will look for fellow INSEADers to share the condo with. I am open to Dover & Heritage, second option being Normanton. Given the supply of condos around INSEAD, its not too difficult to get your hands on one. With recent economic downturn, the rentals do seem to be coming down but not so much so at Dover or Heritage.

On a different note, my wife will not be able to join me during this MBA year as she really wants to use this year to build up her professional experiences. Before taking up the assignment in China, I had little or no knowledge about what professional opportunities it could offer to my wife. Unfortunately, the opportunities were hard to come by and even the ones that came through were not as exciting. Both of us are now done with our first phase of professional life and we both want to use this MBA year to build up our future. And our post MBA goal is to see ourselves moving to an exciting place where both can pursue professional growth. I will definitely miss her a lot next year. She has been with me through thick and thin. I almost got her to kill me because of my constant nagging during the INSEAD application process. Unfortunately, next year I wont have her by my side telling me that I am an absolute champ irrespective of all the failures that I have in my kitty.

H....will miss you tons !