Amidst the grand plan for a global city called Singapore is the small neighbourhood of Tiong Bahru, a place I like to go home to one day.
This is a piece I recently contributed to the project Civic Life Tiong Bahru.
I think the most beautiful thing of Tiong Bahru for me is the ‘place’ it is and the older flats are very much part of the charm. Much of our architecture here is not built for people, the skyline might look great on postcards, but my biggest problem is I can’t see the people. I want to live amongst people in the city, not skyscrapers.
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One place I’ve been thinking of staying in is Toa Payoh. =) Also for very Singaporean reaons – ease of travel with its ultimate central location, convenience of having lots of neighbourhood shops as well as Central for necessities. And the likes.
The monetary barrier to residing in Toa Payoh is arguably less than Tiong Bahru because Tiong Bahru lies much closer to the CBD. Also, TP is well developed, with plenty of HDB, the relatively newly built DBSS “The Peak” and upcoming condo projects.
But I would say that your chance of staying in TB will increase as your ability to earn more income increases, because land scarce Singapore will become less able to live with the low-lying properties in TB area. Older flats will be demolished and give way to high-rise flats to house the burgeoning population. Then, your chance to purchase one in TB will come!
But then, you will find yourself in the midst of skyscrapers once more. Will that TB still be your dream TB? =)