My Flat
Trip Start
Jan 06, 2008
1
3
27
Trip End
May 10, 2008
Bukit Batok, Singapore, Singapore
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I'm living in a spacious 1700 square foot flat in Bukit Batok, a residential area in Singapore about 10 minutes away from the University. I live on the top floor of the building 16 stories up. It's an "Executive" level public housing block. In Singapore, the government subsidizes housing for people with below a certain income and rates them, with Executive being the most luxurious level. The housing is very nice- not like the housing "projects" in the US. When couples get married in Singapore, they try to buy flats as soon as they can while they are still earning entry-level wages in order to qualify for the subsidized housing. Not only does the government help pay for the house, they also provide low-interest loans. We're told that many Singaporeans live in public housing, including American and British expats who live here. However, we are certainly the only caucasians living on this neighborhood. Little kids look at us like we have 2 heads. Singapore has 4.7 million people who need to live and work in a 270 square mile area, so the housing market is really tight and expensive.
We've got air conditioning in every room except the kitchen and bathroom, our own rooms and office, and our bedroom views are of the forest. I really like waking up to that view every morning.
