10 Essential Services For Expats Living In Singapore

While moving to a new country is exciting, it also involves major changes to your lifestyle. There’s a lot to do before you settle in, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the househunting, immigration paperwork and your daily chores.

Fortunately, there’s a whole range of commercial services in Singapore that you can help you with the latter. Here are 10 ways to get started.

Engage a reliable child care operator to look after your kids

Find a bit of me time for yourself by engaging a trustworthy child care operator to help to take care of your children for a few hours. There’s plenty of options in Singapore, from the infant-care specialists to kindergartens that look after and teach your kids.

The government maintains a directory of approved operators who are qualified in early-childhood professional services. This way, you will also have a peace of mind while going about your other chores.

Go grocery shopping online

Some find grocery shopping therapeutic. If you’re not one of these people, then Redmart’s your answer to this problem. Redmart operates entirely online, and delivers groceries right to your doorstep. It’s convenient for you, and saves you the hassle of lugging plastic bags of groceries around every few days.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Redmart also sells fresh produce. It’s a one-stop solution that helps you save many hours each week!

Find a place to stay with Krib

House-hunting is a chore, and the Singapore real estate market is both complex and intimidating for the uninitiated. Krib aims to simplify the house-hunting experience by connecting you with the right realtor or landlord, and also gives you an indication if you’re overpaying for a particular place.

For the budget-conscious, you can also use Krib to handle all your rental paperwork, saving you hours of independent research into the process.

Organise BBQ parties to get to know the neighbours

Even though most Singaporeans live side by side in apartments, there is few opportunities for socialising as everyone hurries back and forth to work everyday. By planning a meet-and-greet BBQ party in your condominium’s BBQ pit or the nearby HDB park, you’ll have a chance to properly introduce yourself and learn more about the neighbourhood.

BBQ parties are popular among Singaporeans, and you can engage specialised services that cater to these events. BBQ Wholesale and EZ BBQ are among the more popular options these days.

Hire domestic help through an online manpower agency

If housework is too much for you to handle alone, consider hiring a domestic helper for a few hours per week. Sendhelper and Agent Bong can connect you part-time maids, babysitters, cooks and elderly-care helpers.

With a clear scope of work and a transparent price-list, using these services also helps reduce your need to manage the helper, while saving you hefty fees involved in hiring a full-time stay-in maid.

Speed to work on an express bus

Skip the rush hour traffic and glum-faced commuters by boarding an express bus. While they’re priced higher than the average public bus service, these buses only pick up passengers from a few stops, and then head straight to the Central Business District in under an hour (at worst).

The LTA has a directory of the approved vendors plying these routes, along with their respective rates. For that extra half hour of comfort, plus the joy of waking up later, it may be worth the price!

Book a fitness instructor on to go

Can’t find time to go to the gym? You can hire a personal fitness instructor to keep you in shape, saving you multiple trips to the gym every week. GoTrainer’s instructors are professional and will meet you at a location of your choice.

To save money, you can even find friends or family to train with. It’s probably fun that way too!

Engage someone to walk your pets

While pets make awesome companions, it’s also a heavy responsibility to keep them active and healthy. However, if you’re short on time, consider hiring someone to walk your pet and look after them when you’re busy or out of the country.

Pawshake and Dog Walker Singapore are popular choices, and are pet lovers themselves. Who better to take care of your four legged friends, right?

Visit the doctor without waiting in line

Singapore has excellent public health-care, with reasonable consultation rates that won’t break your bank. While polyclinics are usually busy looking after the community across Singapore, you don’t have to wait in line for long.

On your first trip down to the polyclinic, register with the counter for an online account. This way, you can make a consultation appointment before going down for subsequent visits. You’ll easily save up to an hour each time, and you’ll even get a reminder days before your scheduled visit!

Outsource your laundry and dry cleaning

Washing, folding and ironing your clothes can be a hassle, and the laundry basket is never empty. Let Keep Calm and Laundry On handle your dreary laundry chores, so you can spend more time with your family and friends. We also handle curtain and carpet cleaning, so you can give your house a regular refresh at reasonable prices. Best of all, you don’t even need to step out of your house - we pick up and deliver your clothes right to your doorstep!

While some of these services come with a premium, they will help you save time and ease the burden of daily chores. As you settle into life in Singapore, you’ll find more useful services and lifestyle hacks to make your lifestyle more efficient. Share your ideas here, we want to hear them!