[amya]

Hi,
I am planning to relocate(with my wife)to Singapore. Do we have any BHPians over there? Or has someone stayed there for some time?. It would be great if I can get some valuable inputs. If someone wants to share some information, please PM me and I will give you my Gtalk ID. Thanks in advance.
P.S. : I am already trying to get as much information as possible from the Internet but I think 1st hand information is always better. Thanks.

[iraghava]

Amya - PM fellow member Captain Pings, he shifted to Singapore last year & would be able to advice you best.

[navin]

what you need to know?

Where will you be staying till you find a permenant home? Is this a temp move or do you hope to make Sing your long term or permanant home?

Sing has a huge Indian population. many came before independance or during independance.

[maxj2005]

Originally Posted by amya

Hi,
I am planning to relocate(with my wife)to Singapore. Do we have any BHPians over there? Or has someone stayed there for some time?. It would be great if I can get some valuable inputs. If someone wants to share some information, please PM me and I will give you my Gtalk ID. Thanks in advance.
P.S. : I am already trying to get as much information as possible from the Internet but I think 1st hand information is always better. Thanks.

Congratulations! For moving to the cleanest countries in Asia.
It has been my dream country to retire to. I have been there once and have a few Indian friends living there.
The first thing you will notice is the Changi Airport. It’s the world 3rd best airport.
The second thing you will notice is the cleanliness. The third thing you will notice is rain. It rains a lot there.
The next thing you will notice is the number of India tourists (honeymooners).LOL!
The local transport system is as good as it can possibly be.
People do not buy cars because it’s a small country and the road taxes are high. The government does not encourages people to buy cars they want them to use the transport systems MRT, Buses or Taxi's.
Little India is the place where you can find most of the Indian restaurants and the biggest single man owned shopping mall in the world - Mustapha .

You will find almost everything there. No need to take anything from India only a few days supply should last good. The next best thing to be there is the building the architecture and the tourist’s spots. They are so many of them. Since Singapore was a British colony most of the old buildings were built by British. It was their major trading port. Singapore earns most of its money from its ports and tourism.
Few tings you must keep in mind.
1. Do not break any rules especially on the road. The fines are very high they will even give u a ticket for not crossing the road from the zebra crossing. Also do not try to bribe the police if caught.
2. If you are a pure vegetarian and you can’t take the stink; then you will have problems going through food courts, but don’t worry you will get used to it.
3. Before leasing a house make sure you check from the locals. The people there will sublease and run with your money so be careful.
4. Last and the most important thing. Makes sure at the airport no body gives you anything to carry or hold for a minute and always keep your hand baggage in site with all pockets locked. Since DRUGS are banned and there is no hearings for this .They shoot you the very next day if banned items are found in bag.
5. Always carry a small umbrella.

Have fun .

[Steeroid]

PM TBHPian nitinbhag (not seen very often out here now, but he still does log on) - he moved there a couple of years back.

Singapore is an easy country to move into - you get the rules, you follow them. Simple.

[neeraj_infopark]

Amya - I have been in Singapore for 1 year now and am relocating back to India in Aug. In Singapore the only problem you would face is getting an accomodation. The rents are very high now and you would have to really work hard in finding a good accomodation and ofcourse at an affordable price. You can join the ezlink Group in yahoo where you would get a lot of rents posted, it is really helpful. Also I am vacating my house on the 13th Aug, so if you would be here before that then maybe I can help you get the flat. Please feel free to IM me if you require more specific info.
Regards,
Neeraj

[sushrutha]

contact Gowda79
He shuttles between singapore n Bangalore.. Hope he'll be able to help you to some extent

[tsk1979]

Avoid little India. Its the only place in Singapore which is dirty. Rest all is fine. Thats all I can say

[jango]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Avoid little India. Its the only place in Singapore which is dirty. Rest all is fine. Thats all I can say

Very true..its more like our india ...

[ikoneer]

Amya, nice and safest place to relocated. Public safety is at the maximum in singapore. i have also listed below a few pointers
1. hope you are going for employment and have a valid employment pass.

2. of late, rent and standards of living is very high in singapore and you to make a decent savings you would at least need about S$6000-7000 per month. on the brighter side, taxes are very low in sg

3. You should not eat/drink in the MRT and bus

4. DO NOT CARRY YOUR PASSPORT TO LITTLE INDIA or with you for that matter. indian passports are much in demand and can be looted. if you are on EP, then the EP card would do or you can have photocopy of passport. The police have online access and with your EP card they can get all the information about you.

5. For any service like getting telephone connection etc, they will have normal, fast, urgent etc, and the rates would increase accordingly, i would sugges to go for normal option, which you would get faster generally.

lastly, any unlawful activity by ignorance or by mistake is taken up very seriously in singapore, just take care on that and i would say this is the best place in the world to stay with family.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Avoid little India. Its the only place in Singapore which is dirty. Rest all is fine. Thats all I can say

I loved to visit little india every sunday just to get the feel of India. I loved that place. Where else could you get Haywards 5000, KF & Golden Eagle & round it off with a nice mutton biriyani ?

[spadival]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Avoid little India. Its the only place in Singapore which is dirty. Rest all is fine. Thats all I can say

I would amend that and say avoid little India/Serangoon road on Sundays. The place will be jam packed with Bangladeshi construction workers on Sundays, you will feel as if you are on an enlarged city block wide version of the mumbai local train!!

Beyond the first week, Singapore gets a little boring, unless you are a gadget guy intent on buying the latest gizmo money can buy.. Most tourist places in Singapore are hyped up beyond their entertainment value.

But there are places that you can visit outside Singapore - Malaysia, Bali (Indonesia).

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I loved to visit little india every sunday just to get the feel of India. I loved that place. Where else could you get Haywards 5000, KF & Golden Eagle & round it off with a nice mutton biriyani ?

We were there on a 5 day trip, and on a short foreign trip the last thing we wanted was taste of India. Unfortunately our hotel was in little India, with the only bright spot being the 24 hours open mustafa center and walkable underground metro station

[Captain Pings]

hi amya,

ishaan's correct - i relocated last august - would be more than glad to help you with any information required. You can PM me anytime and we can discuss the small things which need to be looked at. Nothing major - its a very convenient city state - and expensive / clean / blah blah - as lots have pointed out above.

pings.

[abhijitvp]

Hi Amya,

I am in Singapore at present on long term assignment. You can PM me for anything you want to know about.

Abhijit.