Can I just say that I am so shocked by how some people live in Singapore? I've seen the high end stuff and all of my Singaporean friends live in really nice places. So I was shocked when my agent showed me around to look for a room. With a budget of SGD 1,000 (about $674 USD) for just a ROOM and a private bathroom (in a condo), I thought I would at least have several options...options were plenty, but don't ask me the condition of these rooms!
My agent wasn't much use. He showed me what are probably the shittiest rooms in Singapore. I have never seen such dilapidated shit in my life...and I can't believe people are renting out these disgusting rooms for SGD 1,500!! Even my maids' living quarters in my house are 100 better than the crap I saw out there.
Descriptions of some of the rooms I saw:
1. 30 year old building, walked into the apartment and wanted to walk out immediately. But out of respect for both agents, I decided to take a look...bad idea. The apartment would be shared with a Swede and a Filipino...one bathroom for 3 rooms. EW. Saw the bathroom...almost fainted, that's how dirty it was. The room had mold on the walls, a bed from maybe 30 years ago with a mattress that my maid wouldn't even sleep on. GROSS. The kitchen floor was slanted and the fridge was missing a leg. The living room had some weird altar thing in it. Rent price? SGD 1,000.
2. 15 year old "condo" owned by an Indonesian lady. When my agent asked where the room was, she showed me the storage room by the kitchen. Enough said. Rent price? SGD 1,000. When they registered the look of shock on my mom's face, they told her: your daughter can live in the living room, we'll put up a partition so that she can have some privacy...me, live in a living room? Hell no! And when I saw the bathroom...oh god. Shared with 5 people. GROSS.
(I have something against dirty bathrooms...ever since I was little I would freak out if the bathroom wasn't spotless...i'm still like that...I survived freshman year in college by spraying a shower cleaner in the shower area first and letting the water run for a good 10 mintes...and I only had to share the shower with 3 other girls)
3. 30 year old private apartment. This place looked like something you would see in those old Chinese movies where the criminals hide out. Filth and squalor were the two words that came to mind. I told my agent that I wanted to live with foreigners, as in expats, because I would feel more comfortable. In this apartment lived a Chinese woman with her daughter, and another Chinese laborer. They told my agent I could take the master bedroom, and the woman with her daughter would move to the smaller common room. They couldn't speak English. I won't even mention how the bathroom or the kitchen looked...all I can say is that I wanted to take a shower back in the hotel room right after I left that place. Rent price: SGD 1,500. The apartment unit itself is probably only SGD 2,000 a month! And they're asking that much for a room?
The other places I saw were quite nice, but involved living with the landlords. I don't feel too comfortable with that, because you can't do anything and you feel like you don't have any privacy. One of the landlords was a 90 year old man who was hitting on my mom!! He came out of his bedroom wearing only shorts, belly hanging out...enough said.
I took matters into my own hands, found a roommate website, and found something I can say i'm really happy with. In a condo. Only 6 years old. With my own bathroom. Lap pool and gym. Belgian roommate. All the privacy I want. And for less than SGD 1,000 utilities included! The room is kind of small, but it is clean. I still miss my apartment in LA though
. Unfortunately not on daddy's payroll anymore.
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