Living
West Coast
The area is an excellent location if you have kids or work in Jurong or at the National University of Singapore. It’s got plenty of schools and the West Coast Park has open space and an excellent playground for your kids to run around in. For additional greenery there are the Kent Ridge and Telok Blangah Parks, both situated up on hills with views of the sea. The amenities along the coast are surprisingly good and it’s not far to Alexandra Road where you can find just about everything you need.
Accommodation
The main housing options are clustered along Pasir Panjang and South Buona Vista Roads, where condos and houses rent out at $2,500 to $7,000 per month. There are two areas of unique black and whites, one at Portsdown Road and the other at Bury and Preston Roads, near Alexandra Road. The community around Portsdown Road is an interesting mix of locals and expats with a common affection for older colonial housing and the desire to be set back from the hustle and bustle of Singapore.
Shopping & Amenities
Pasir Panjang Hill Village and the Village Centre next door cater to quite a few of the day-to-day needs of local residents. When they don’t suffice, Alexandra Road, the Harbourfront Centre and VivoCity should be able to pick up the slack. There’s an IKEA at Alexandra Road, as well as Anchor Point providing all the usual amenities found in a suburban mall. Alexandra Road is also one of the main car showroom strips in Singapore.
Entertainment & Leisure
If you like to be outdoors, West Coast is one of the better places to live. West Coast Park is much less crowded than its East Coast counterpart, and Telok Blangah, Mount Faber and Kent Ridge Parks are all pleasant green spaces. For the golfer, there’s the Transview Golf Course and Keppel Golf Links. It’s also hard to overlook the nearby Sentosa Island, with beaches, golf courses and various attractions. Restaurants in the area are mostly little local secrets and include Singapore’s premier biker hangout, The Handle Bar.
Healthcare
There’s the National University Hospital on the campus of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Alexandra Hospital on the north side of the AYE, near Queensway Shopping Centre. Both hospitals offer specialist and outpatient services as well as accident and emergency care.
Education
The West Coast is a hub of educational institutions. Both NUS and INSEAD have their campuses here, as do United World College, Dover Court Preparatory School, Tanglin Trust School, ISS International School Singapore (Senior Campus) and the Japanese School. It’s also a relatively quick trip up Clementi Road to the Canadian, British, Hollandse and German European Schools.
Traffic & Parking
Except for the West Coast Highway and the AYE, traffic is quite light. Getting in and out of town is easy – you can be home from Raffles Place in about 15 minutes. Buses run along the West Coast Highway and there’s an MRT station at Harbourfront, across from Sentosa.
Safety & Annoyances
The only disturbance is the many trucks carrying containers to the terminals along the West Coast whose presence on the roads can be unnerving for less experienced drivers.
