Settling In

We’ve been in Singapore almost 3 weeks. We are out of the hotel and every day I feel more and more certain we picked the right place to live.  

We have three beds, a couch, TV and Internet, toys and boxes of clothes we will never wear here. There are dishes all over the counter and random items awkwardly taking up precious floor space because I don’t know where to keep them (high chair, strollers, air purifier, etc.) But where our accommodations may be lacking in organization right now, it is not lacking in amenities. (Forgive me while I brag a minute…)

The complex is brand new. We are the first to live here. I pulled styrofoam out of my oven and am still a little afraid to touch our space-aged microwave. Perhaps because it’s because it is new, but it feels like we moved into a resort!  Don’t believe me? Look at my coffee maker!

Check out my shower!

And the pool? 

And that’s not all!

In the few weeks I’ve been here, I’ve found Singaporeans to be neat and efficient. No one likes to deal with garbage and here, I barely have to. See this?

It’s my garbage chute. Anything that needs to be thrown away just hurdles fifteen floors down into what I image are pristine bins that somehow automatically, and correctly, sort my trash into tidy paper, plastic, glass and trash piles. No more stinky diaper smell. No more dirty trash bins. Greatest thing ever.

I also have a bomb shelter. All the apartments we saw have one.  One of the oldest places we saw was built in the 1980s. So ok, I can kind of see why maybe they had them then. But I’m not sure why the Singaporeans think they need to equip all their homes with bomb shelters today. I don’t know if I’m comforted or frightened by this doomsday thinking. But in any case, extra storage for all those bulky winter clothes. Win!

Needless to say, so far what they say about Singapore is true. It’s an urban paradise. I saw a sign on the highway the other day that read, “let’s make Singapore our garden.” Compared to Shanghai, it feels like it already is.  It’s difficult to explain but even amid skyscrapers and construction, it is lush and green. Driving down the streets, it is green. Looking out from the 15th floor of our new home, it is green. It’s amazing how they accomplish this.

But it’s not perfect. I mean, what is? What kind of person would I be if I didn’t find at least some things to complain about? So far, this is my list of complaints:

1. There is lots of change and I find carrying alot of change a nuisence. Who has time for that? One dollar coins, 50 cent coins, 20 cent coins, 10 cent coins, 5 cent coins, 1 cent coins…about the same as the US but it feels like more. I felt like in China, people used 2 coins only. There are more in circulation but I feel like people didn’t really use them.

2. Things are beeping at me all day long. All these fancy appliances buzz and beep like they are trying to talk to me but I don’t speak their language yet.

3. Sometimes the air conditioning is too cold. If I learned anything from the Chinese, it’s that rapid and dramatic temperature changes are not good for the body.

4. Netflix is blocked. How am I ever going to know if I like Don better with Megan or Betty Draper?

I’m not ready to call Singapore the greatest place to live of all time yet, but give me another week and I just might.