Saturday Rick and I finally met our real estate agent (Iris) to look at some apartments here in Singapore. Since one of our families (not coming until June) has a child still in school, we thought it was important to locate somewhere in close proximity to the school. That is on the west part of the island and also where rents are a bit cheaper than on most other parts.
After researching for hours (if not days since we got here)I found three apartment/condominium complexes in the same general area (within walking distance of each other). With three different complexes (total of more than 1000 apartments/condos, surely we could find two. We won't need the third one until just before June. I sent our agent the three complex names and she arranged for some "viewing" of available apartments in two of them.
We met her there at 9:30 on Saturday morning. The first complex was absolutely beautiful. It is a "low rise" meaning it only goes up 6 stories. The first apartment we looked at was on the sixth floor. It was immaculately clean and freshly painted. It had three bedrooms and was fully air conditioned. Now here in Singapore, "partially furnished" means it includes a fridge, washing machine, and possibly a microwave. This one was just such a deal. All the windows were ceiling to floor giving lots of light to the place. Being up high gave it a wonderful panoramic view of the area.
The kitchen was small. Kitchens here are usually not very big because not much cooking goes on in Singaporean homes. Everybody EATS OUT alot. By the way, did I mention that there is no oven! (This was true for all the apartments we looked at except for one. IF you are going to need that, you get a "toaster oven" for the counter space!
The back porch or "yard" as it is called here was where the laundry is done. It also included a "maid's room". It is no bigger than a walk in closet. Those who can afford it (and need it) hire a maid (usually from the Philippines) to do their house cleaning and be a nanny to the children. There is also a bathroom in the "yard". (No, we won't be having a maid here!)
Counting the bathroom in the "yard" - there were three! Oh, I forgot to say that the "maid's room" would also make a great storage room for us. We still have lots of Chelsea's stuff among our shipment and will need a place to store that until we can get it to her.
This apartment complex had a large pool, a wading pool, a spa pool, gymnasium, tennis court, sauina room, and club house. (It is nearly like a resort!) Very impressive (and just another reason why we LOVE living in Singapore!)
We looked at two other apartments in this complex and they were all very similar. Some were cleaner and had a fresh coat of paint. Some needed painting. Some were more "partially furnished" than others, but all in all, this still remains a great option for us.
The second complex was across the road, putting it within walking distance of the first one. (By the way, the first complex is two bus stops for the school, so this is a great option for our family with a child still in school.) The second complex was even more "resort-like" and was a high rise (I think it had 24 floors.) The first one we looked at was on the 19th floor. What a view! All of the windows were ceiling to floor letting in all the morning sun. (This is important to know because the afternoon sun can be a killer PLUS run up the electric bill trying to cool the place.)
I LOVED the kitchen - it was an open kitchen concept - meaning there was just a small half wall separating it from the dining room/living area. This one was just a two bedroom - about 900 square feet of living space. But it included a "safe room" (I'm not sure why) which could be used as a store room/pantry. Still no oven, but there was a great brand new stove top with a grill!
The amenities were about the same - pools, gym, etc. And there was a small "7-11" type store right on the premises. We were, needless to say impressed. We looked at three apartments in this complex.
Now - what do we do? Well, first of all, we have decided that these three complexes are certainly what we are looking for so Iris is arranging to look at more apartments here on Monday. We will meet our other team members there so they can look as well. Hopefully, in the next week we can decide on something and sign the papers for our new living space.
At that time, we can have our stuff from West Africa shipped here. Now, who knows how long it will take that to get here. Could be a few weeks (doubtful) or a few months. No one really knows for sure. We haven't seen that "stuff"in nearly three years so it will be interesting just opening up those boxes. We have already decided that we will definitely have to "downsize" to live in the small spaces we have available here but are willing to do so.
Our goal is to have the apartment rented before we leave for the states in February so when we come we will definitely have PICTURES! Since we are not sure when our "stuff" will get there, we will also have to buy a few things like bath towels, kitchen towels, sheets, etc. We will go ahead and get a bed and are even thinking about getting some living room furniture. We gave away everything but our couch and a bookcase before we left West AFrica so in many ways we are "starting over" in the furniture department.
I will certainly keep you updated on all of this so you can pray me through it! I feel like a newly wed!
Our trip to the Philippines included a trip to the farm - a community development project that started over 20 years ago. It was an incredible experience seeing how a whole community has come out of their poverty level and is sustaining the work themselves. The project also included a BOOST program which included a two to three month training in agriculture, animal husbandry, health and sanitation, well drilling, and chronological bible storying. (BOOST = Baptist Out of school training). People from all over Asia have come to the farm to learn techniques that will better their lifestyles.
