Expats living in Singapore just loving it

Expats living in S'pore just loving it: poll By ARTHUR SIM

SINGAPORE has been ranked the best place in the world to live in, based on a poll of expatriates.

The Expat Explorer survey for HSBC Bank International revealed that, as well as being top overall, expats rate Singapore best for quality of accommodation and second in terms of luxury living.

The survey was conducted between February and April, with data analysis conducted by Freshminds. It looked at a range of topics relevant to expats' lives, including living standards, an expat's ability to earn and save, a country's popularity and the level of luxury experienced. On luxury, countries were rated on a number of categories, including access to private healthcare, access to more than one property, and ability to own a pool and to employ staff (such as cleaners).
Across the 11 categories of perceived luxuries, on average, expats reported an increase in eight of these factors, with employing staff ranked as the highest increase.

The survey polled 2,155 expats in more than 49 countries. However, only countries with at least 30 respondents were analysed in the league tables.

Accommodation is a key concern of expats and almost three-quarters of expats living in Singapore said that the quality of their accommodation had improved since moving away from home, the highest amount recorded in the study. This was followed by those living in the United States and Belgium. The UK was identified as the most expensive expat location for accommodation, with over three-quarters of expats living there revealing that their living costs had increased.

It was found that Europe is a popular destination overall in terms of the length of stay. More than three-quarters of expats now living in the Netherlands have been there for three or more years, followed by Germany and Spain. Hong Kong and Singapore were ranked fifth and sixth respectively. HSBC head of consumer banking (Singapore) Wendy Lim estimates that there are over 300,000 expatriates residing in Singapore. She said: 'Singapore's safe, tax-efficient environment makes it an ideal location for expatriates to grow and protect their savings and investments.' Singapore is home to one of HSBC's five offshore banking centres around the world, the others being Hong Kong, Dubai, New Jersey and Miami.

Source : Business Times - 25 Jul 2008

Gambier Court Condo for Rent

Gambier Court, 66 Kim Yam Road, off Mohamed Sultan (Peranakan style; Heritage project)
2+1 Bdrm apartment (3rd bdrm is a study but can be used as a bedrm for a single/child bed)
Beautiful wood flooring throughout apartment
Just under 1200 sqft
Facilities: underground carpark & swimming pool
Amenities: close to Robertson Quay F&B outlets; 2 Supermarkets within 5 mins walk (Cold Storage & NTUC); Gym @ Gallery Hotel; 15 min walk to Orchard Road-CentrePoint
Closest MRT: Somerset MRT (10 min walk); Clarke Quay MRT (10 min walk)

Asking rental - $8800

Hamilton Scotts

The Hamilton Scotts is a luxury high-rise residential project that will allow residents to park their cars right next to their own units – even 30 stories up. The first of its kind in Asia, the concept is made possible by elevators that ferry residents’ cars up to their units.

Located at 37 Scotts Road, this development is the tallest in the world incorporating “car porches.”

The condominium consists of 56 units, including 52 three-bedroom units of 2,700 sq ft and two 3,200 sq ft junior penthouse units. Each of these has parking space for two cars.

The remaining two units are 7,100 sq ft triplex penthouses with interior customised to buyer specifications, serviced by an internal lift and come with a rooftop garden and swimming pool. They can accommodate four cars each.

In all cases, the porch is a bonus space not included in the specifications.

The project will be completed by 2011.

More New Launches...

CapitaLand intends to build an estimated 1,500 mid to high-end homes in prime District 10 on a site that currently houses the Farrer Court estate.

The developer and its partners bought the site off Farrer Road in a collective sale last June for some S$1.34 billion.

Revealing plans for the project on Thursday, CapitaLand said the new development will have seven blocks of 36-storeys each, with mainly two, three and four bedroom units. The development will also include 12 garden villas.

The unnamed project is expected to be launched in the first half of 2009.

CapitaLand expects the breakeven cost to range between S$1,350 and S$1,450 per square foot.

Industry watchers said, depending on the market conditions at the time of the launch, the new units could fetch between S$1,500 and S$1,800 per square foot on average.

Farrer Court currently has 618 private apartment units.

The 99-year leasehold site spans 838,488 square feet and has a maximum gross plot ratio of 2.8. It is within walking distance of the future Farrer MRT station.

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 17 Jul 2008