Gary the Real Estate Agent

The Prelude:

In November 2016, I was tasked by Gary to write up 10 articles for a website that will feature infostatistics and articles on Singapore. Gary, a real estate agent in his early thirties, had this dream about setting up this website promoting Singapore to potential real estate clients from Jakarta. 

As such, I took on his ambition and helped him create the articles –



Article One: "Understanding Singapore"



Let’s begin by understanding the demographics in Singapore.

This tiny island of 719.1 km² is one of the world’s busiest port and an important gateway between the Western Countries and China.

Singaporeans are bilingual- they are fluent in English and one other mother tongue language of their ethnic group or choice (usually Mandarin).

Ethnicity

Four major ethnic groups make up the ethnicity of Singapore. They are the Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians. A minority number of other races add to the vibrant, melting-pot culture of this tiny dot island so important to the world.

Faiths & Religions

Singaporeans, being 74% Chinese, are majorly Buddhists. Quite a number are also Christians, especially today’s English speaking youth. Below is a pie chart of Singapore’s religions:

Other Important Statistics:

Now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of the population’s demographics, it’s time to move on to other important statistics. 


At a glance, this chart summarizes the important statistics of Singapore you need to know:

(source: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#18)

1)     In summary, the statistics chart shows significantly, Singapore’s prominent standing as a safe and secure nation in the world. It is also one of the busiest ports, and an important getaway and linkway between the West and the East (China). Singaporeans are brought up in a bilingual education system – hence they are competent in both English the world’s language, and one other mother tongue of their choice.

The standard of living in Singapore is one of the highest in the world (3rd most competitive in the world (EIU)), notwithstanding South East Asia (SEA). As such, the cost of living is proportionally higher, too. Singapore has a well-earned reputation for exemplary cleanliness, healthcare and public safety. Imported goods, particularly food can be expensive.

However, offsetting these higher expenses would perhaps be the cultural diversity and richness Singapore has to offer. As one expatriate friend from Nepal who grew up in the United States put it, “You can find 10 different accents within any given area in Singapore.”

This is also one of the few places where different ethnic groups co-exist in harmony, equally and without prejudice for one another. As such, despite the higher expenses, it can be particularly rewarding both culturally and spiritually for you to bring your child here.

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Article 2: Understanding Singapore By Region and Favorite Hotspots

In this article, we will look at two main aspects:

1)    Understanding Singapore By Region

2)    Indonesians’ Favourite Hotspots in Singapore

1.      Understanding Singapore By Region

Singapore’s mainland is almost diamond-shaped, divided into 5 different districts:
Central, West, North-East, North and East:

Below, the detailed map of Singapore, numbered by Districts:

Source: http://www.houseguidesg.com/singapore-district-map/

Being 14 miles high, by 35 wide, Singapore is a compact, tiny country, tiniest dot on the world’s atlas. Throughout the last 40 years, land reclamation projects have contributed over a significant 50 square miles to the total land area now standing at 719.1 km²!

Going on, Singapore can also be divided into three distinct regions: Core Central, Rest of Central and Outside Central, as shown below: (kindly refer to Singapore’s Map for a detailed understanding of districts).

What does this mean for you, the aspiring tourist, soon to turn expatriate and perhaps Permanent Resident?

2)    Indonesians’ Favorite Hotspots

Most of the hotspot areas favourited and frequented by Indonesians are around Districts 9, 10 and 11.  As follows:

District 9 – Orchard and River Valley areas.

District 10 – Bukit Timah, Holland Village (another favourite expatriate area) and Tanglin

District 11 – the Novena and Thomson estates.

What would you find in Districts 9 to 11? In a nutshell, great shopping, good food (Singapore is Asia’s food galore), lots of private hospitals providing top-notch healthcare, and the classier private residences owned by expatriates. There, you may find all sorts of nationalities being your neighbours and friends, from Asians to Caucasians! That’s how “in a nutshell” Singapore is.

For District 9 – Orchard is Singapore’s busiest and main shopping district. It is one of the busiest shopping districts in the world for such a tiny island as Singapore! There, we have the high-class malls like Ion Orchard, Mandarin Gallery, The Heeren, Ngee Ann City and many more. The youngsters usually shop at Cineleisure Orchard or Far East Plaza.

Districts 10 and 11 boast some of Singapore’s best private hospitals to ensure the best healthcare is available – quite literally – at your doorstep. While you may find public hospitals such as KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital there, the chart below shows you the private hospitals that provide just as succinctly for your healthcare needs:

Do take note that the majority of private hospitals listed here are around Districts 9 to 11.

What about housing? Quite a large number of (wealthy) Indonesians may be found residing at the Ardmore Park Condos, the Orchard Residences (located above Ion Orchard), and Yong An Park Condos.

Say you decide to choose residency at Orchard Residences. It is a 56-storey, 218 m (715 ft), high-rise residential condominium towering above Ion Orchard. It is also, very easily, the highest building around the Orchard shopping district. Stand aloft any of the condo units in there, and you have a grand overview of the Orchard shopping district, besides of course, easy access to everything grand and good in Orchard.

In and of itself, Districts 9 to 11 provide everything world class for you and your children staying here. It is also an extremely safe haven for shopping and relaxing – you get to meet many more nationalities staying at these districts than any others in Singapore, reason being, well, it IS Singapore’s busiest shopping and high-class districts after all.

Then, if you’d care to explore, Novena boasts yet another smaller, but no less distinct, shopping district with its array of malls such as United Square, Square 2, and so on. It is also home to Novena Medical Centre and Thomson Medical Centre and quite conveniently, Tan Tock Seng public hospital.


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