Thursday, January 23, 2014

our dream apartment list...


one of my goals this year is to start looking for a place of our own. 

its been a long-time dream of ours to buy a place in singapore and paint it, decorate it and hang random things on the wall.. *quivers in excitement* ok i'm definitely alone on the last part! we've looked casually on and off since we started dating. but whenever it gets frustrating, we move cities so we've been running away from it for a while. but maybe its time to grow up.

i won't go all sob story on you on how the property prices are prohibitively expensive. and how massive a house we could get in many other places we absolutely love. but we chose this city (for now) and love it (for now) so that's just one of the limitations we have to work with. the dang old boring budget.. 

but within our (very modest) budget, there are a few things that are deal breakers. 

here's our list! 


{our little nugget of space, tokyo}

one - location. commute to school/work is important. the less time we're stuck in traffic, we more time we have for each other. also, we are very lazy habitual creatures. the easier it is for us to get somewhere, the more we will do it. on top of not driving, we enjoy walking and cycling. so if we stayed far away from things/people that made us happy, it won't work for us. 

two - space. our little family needs two rooms. ideally many more for our gear-intensive hobbies, but ideally three decent sized rooms but when push comes to shove, we can fit in two!

three - light. we spend a lot of time at home and tinker around with photography at home. having natural light (but more specifically indirect light) and a relatively clean backdrop is very important for our little photo projects and in general my mental health. 

four - windows / air flow. we once lived in an apartment with no windows. it was excellent in many other ways but the air flow was terrible and we had to use the AC/heater to ventilate the house so much!! it was a costly lesson!

five - economics. potential rental yield (in case we move countries again..) or resale value. its not priority because i reckon liveability is more important than this. but it would be nice to know that its a wise financial investment. 

six - washer and dryer. semi-dry laundry drives me bananas. i'd much rather run a load in the dryer than to live with musty smelling towels. gah.. just talking about it make my stomach flip. im one of those compulsive towel smellers. 

seven - a pool. im throwing this in for blake. it's pretty high on his dealbreaker list. but since he's not chipping in, he'll just have to suck it up and live with it. 

eight - parking. not essential for us but it can't be too hard to get because our pals pop in quite often to hang out. so if that puts them off... its a no go! 

nine - a garden / yard. it had never made it in our list till we had blake. we're not gardeners. never quite appreciated herb gardens or impeccable landscaping. but the lil one thrives when there is space to build a little playground out of random furniture, scoot around or scamper around nudie. and its hard to say no, to his nudiebums. but highly unaffordable. so maybe next place! :)

we've had this conversation with tonnes of our friends and each time, our priorities change. some of our friend won't move far from the beach. or their parents. some really value facilities provided. some of our friends prioritise a stunning view or distance from a top school (because in singapore, you get priority if you live close to a school! its complicated!). or a prestigious area with cool artsy neighbors!

of course, all these qualities are brilliant and budget aside would all be soooo nice to have. and very often we've had to compromise on things lower down on our list like a pool or yard. or a pool overlooking a beach in our own yard *dreams*!?!

what i'd love to know is... what's on your list? 

xx

10 comments:

  1. Babe, move to Sydney and be our neighbor. Seriously!

    1. We are a 20mins drive to the city. The train station is a few minutes walk away and it takes 30mins to get into the city by train. Pretty good for Sydney. The local shopping center is also just a few mins walk away and it has 2 bubble tea stalls and IKEA! Plus the Olympic Park is nearby and you can cycle or take a long walk there.

    2, 3 and 4. Lots of good sized 2 and 3 bedrooms apartments in the area with good natural light and air flow

    5. Rental yield is decent.

    6. All apartments come with dryer.

    7. There is a pool in most apartment complexes here.

    8. 2 bedders comes with 1 parking spot, 3 bedders with 2. Also lots of street parking available.

    9. No garden but some apartments have large balconies while ground floor units have a small yard. Plus you can go for daily walks along the river, and there are lots of grassy areas as well as a few playgrounds in the area.

    ;)

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    1. seriously we are considering that!! grrrr.... and your view is TO DIE FOR! :)

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  2. Or move to mine!!! We can be neighbours!! xx

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    1. i would love that!!!! just that we have to eat tau gey for the rest of our lives! :) and tau hway for brekkie and tau kwa for dinner! no afternoon tea! :)

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  3. I am curious to know which are your top 3 neighborhoods(for now), to live in!

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  4. we are in the market for one too!! I've a similar list as yours, except i may switch number 9 with 6. Nara will go ga-ga over a garden/yard! And I figure that I can dry laundry out in the yard too? :)

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    1. OMG hon. we have to sit together and have a sob. im all over it even though we just started! isn't it meant to be easy peasy... rite of passage? study hard, fall in love, buy a house, marry, pop kids and all set? i've done it all but the buy the house bit... GRRRRRR!!!

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  5. Or come to Melbourne. heheee... near your in-laws...
    - Hazel

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