An Expat's Guide To Tanglin Singapore

This expat guide to Tanglin, Singapore gives a simple overview of what it’s like living there as a foreigner. You’ll learn about the history of Tanglin, some tips for expats, and a bunch of locations worth a visit for dining, shopping, entertainment, and healthcare once you move abroad.

Discover the world’s top health insurers.
Compare quotes with a click of the button.

As an expat or digital nomad gearing up to move to Singapore, you won’t want to miss this detailed guide to Tanglin, and you especially won’t want to miss our guide to the best places to live in Singapore if Tanglin doesn’t seem right for you.

Kickstart Your Search for the Perfect Insurer

Compare over
50,000 Plans
from Top Insurers

Introducing Tanglin Singapore To Expats

Tanglin is a hilly region in central Singapore, and its Chinese name means “great east hill peaks.” It includes Leonie, Cluny, Emerald, Mount Elizabeth, Claymore, Nassim, and Goodwood Hills. This area welcomes expats in its many residences, luxury apartments, condominiums, and five-star hotels.

Tanglin is located west of Newton and Singapore River, south of Novena, east of Bukit Timah, and north of Bukit Merah.

Tanglin Halt Road, Singapore Street

History And Background Of Tanglin

Since the 17th century, the history and background of Tanglin has focused on its fertile slopes that were used as plantations of sireh, gambier, nutmeg, and pepper. It also became a popular home for Europeans, Teochaws, and wealthy Chinese settlers.

In the 1900s, they began to construct large villas on Nassim Hill, and by 1980, Tanglin was classified as a Good Class Bungalow area, meaning it was an area with many exclusive and elaborate houses.

In 2006, an alfresco bar and restaurant transformed Tanglin Village, which used to be known as Dempsey Hill, into a “lifestyle hub” as an expanding dining and retail center.

Today, Tanglin Village is famous for its Orchard Road shopping belt and Singapore Botanic Gardens. It has become quite the shopping and lifestyle enclave!

Living In Tanglin As An Expat

There are several housing options for expats living in Tanglin, Singapore, including condominiums, landed houses, walk-ups, cluster houses, executive condominiums, bungalows, corner terraces, detached houses, townhomes, and luxury apartments.

Renting Housing In Tanglin

You can rent a 1 bedroom apartment in Tanglin for anywhere from SGD $5.65 per square foot (USD $4.19) to SGD $9.71 per square foot (USD $7.20). You can rent a 3-bedroom apartment for anywhere from SGD $3.23 per square foot (USD $2.39) to SGD $14.08 per square foot (USD $10.44).

The more you are able to spend, the more luxurious you can find a home.

Buying Housing In Tanglin

You can buy a 1 bedroom apartment in Tanglin for anywhere from SGD $1,889 per square foot (USD $1,401) to SGD $3,111 per square foot (USD $2,308). You can buy a 3-bedroom apartment for anywhere from SGD $1,828 per square foot (USD $1,356) to SGD $4,514 per square foot (USD $3,348).

In order for a foreign national to purchase any landed property in Singapore, they must have approval from the LDAU (Land Dealings Approval Unit). In general, purchasing a condominium without land is easier and less expensive, especially for expats.

Tanglin Tips For Expats

When moving to Tanglin as an expat, Singaporean culture and etiquette may feel different from what you’re used to. To help prepare for this, you’ll want to learn all you can before you go and observe those around you once you get there. It’s always important to show respect to local customs.

Tips for Expats in Tanglin:

Shake hands and bow: When arriving and leaving a business meeting, shake hands firmly and give a slight bow to everyone present.
Don’t touch heads: Don’t touch a child or another person’s head. They are considered sacred.
Punctuality: Be on time. This is common and expected.
Gift for the host: If you are a guest in someone’s home, they will expect you to bring a gift to the host. This will be dependent on their ethnicity.
Burping: Making a small burp after eating a meal is a way to express gratitude for a good meal.
Wait for the host: When eating in someone else’s home, it is proper and polite to wait to eat until the host invites you to begin.
Chopsticks: Become familiar with how to use chopsticks since they are the most often used type of utensil. They should never be rested vertically.

Dining And Entertainment In Tanglin

When it comes to dining and entertainment in Tanglin, there are restaurants, cafes, and snack spots at parks. There’s a variety of cuisine with German, Italian, American, Asian, and Greek food. Check out our list of the top-rated restaurants.

Top restaurants in Tanglin:

In Piazza – an Italian restaurant and pizzeria
Da Paulo Dempsey – Italian cuisine with a wood-fired oven and bar
Burnt Ends – this bar and grill features modern barbecue
Zamas River Valley – a Southeast Asian restaurant on River Valley Road and Kellock Road

Shopping And Markets In Tanglin

There are several shopping centers and malls in Tanglin, Singapore expats and digital nomads can shop at. Tanglin Mall, Far East Plaza, and The Centrepoint are three of the largest and most common. These all run along Orchard Road and Tanglin Road.

Here are some of the top shopping centers in Tanglin:

Orchard Towers: This 18-story office building on 400 Orchard Road leases out the first 5 levels to retail stores and bars
Palais Renaissance: This mall is located on 390 Orchard Road with four floors of retail space
Shaw Centre: This set of buildings features several shops on 1 Scotts Road, just off of Orchard Road
Valley Point: This is a shopping center not located on Orchard Road. Instead, it is at 491 River Valley Road. Valley Point also has a supermarket

If you’re looking for supermarkets or grocery stores, you can check out these sites:

The Honey Colony: This is a gourmet grocery store located on Tanglin Road
Brown Rice Paradise: This is a grocery store by the Tanglin Mall
Little Farms Market: This is another gourmet grocery store at the Tanglin Mall
CS Fresh: This supermarket is at Cluny Court and is a great option for those who live in northern Tanglin

Cultural And Recreational Activities In Tanglin

Some of the recreational activities Tanglin is most known for include its beautiful Botanical Gardens, Phoenix Park, and the Tanglin Club Sports Centre. The cultural activities in Tanglin include Japan’s Creative Centre, the Museum of Ice Cream Singapore, and the REDSEA Gallery.

Tanglin Gardens, Singapore Gardens By The Bay

Here are some recreational and cultural activities in Tanglin, Singapore:

Wildlings: This is a fun center for children’s summer camps, great for families!
Camp Road Interim Park: This is a nature playground with barbecue pits, campfire sites, and obstacle courses off Camp Road and Sherwood Road
Singapore Botanic Gardens: This includes the National Parks Boards, the Keppel Discovery Wetlands, Eco Lake, and the OCBC Arboretum
Platinum Fitness: This is a highly-rated gym in Tanglin
Japan’s Creative Centre: The center is the first of its kind outside of Japan that highlights the “soft power” of Japanese pop culture and traditional art
Museum of Ice Cream Singapore: Here you can eat unlimited ice cream, learn about the history of ice cream, and play in the world-famous sprinkle pool

Healthcare In Tanglin

There are several healthcare facilities and international clinics located in Tanglin that can cater to expat needs and familiarities. The Gleneagles Hospital is located in central Tanglin, granting all the locals easy and quick access to all medical needs, and it includes a specialist clinic.

There are also a large handful of medical clinics off the Orchard Center shopping mall. These include:

When considering your healthcare needs, you always want to read up on international health insurance plans so you can be covered no matter where you are in the world. You’ll also want to consider private health insurance plans in Singapore designed specifically with expats in mind.

Transportation For Tanglin

When it comes to getting around in Tanglin, expats and foreigners often rely on public transportation since it’s too expensive to own and park your own car. The rail network is a great resource in Tanglin, as well as the bus network, though the buses are more popular in Tanglin.

These are some of the MRT Railway Lines that may be most useful in Tanglin:

Downtown line
Circle line
Thomson-East Coast line

There is an app called MyTransport.SG can help you find the public transportation services available in each city, including the bus routes. Taxis are also used frequently by expats in Tanglin.

Pros And Cons Of Living In Tanglin

When it comes to living in Tanglin as an expat, just like any city, there are pros and cons. Pros include that Tanglin is a community of expats and well-off locals; cons mostly center around poor transportation. Each of those advantages and disadvantages will be objective based on your preferences.

Tanglin, Singapore Neighborhood

Pros of living in Tanglin:

It is considered a quaint and upscale neighborhood
It is home to many affluent locals and expatriates
It is close to medical, religious, and educational institutions
It is close to an IKEA
It is close to many shopping and entertainment centers

Cons of living in Tanglin:

There isn’t an MRT line specifically for Tanglin, so you often have to switch between buses and railways if you need to go downtown or elsewhere
Many of the locals here own landed homes, and if you’re not able to purchase one as an expat, it may be more difficult to find housing
Your living costs may be higher than your local neighbors who own cars because you may end up using taxis often

Start by Comparing
Insurance Plans Online

Browse and Compare 50,000+
International Health Plans

Conclusion

Tanglin is an uptown neighborhood in central Singapore. Now that you know all about the dining, shopping, recreation, healthcare, and transportation in Tanglin, as well as a brief history lesson about it, you’re ready to decide if it’s the community for you.

If not, we encourage you to read our guide for expats moving to Holland Village and our guide for expats moving to Tiong Bahru. Each of these will introduce you to more areas in Singapore worth your consideration.

Reach out to Pacific Prime Singapore today with your questions about health insurance!

Author
Recent Posts

Jantra Jacobs

Senior Copywriter at Pacific Prime

Jantra Jacobs is a Senior Copywriter at Pacific Prime with over 10 years of writing and editing experience. She writes and edits a diverse variety of online and offline copy, including sales and marketing materials ranging from articles and advertising copy to reports, guides, RFPs, and more.

Jantra curates and reports on the results of Pacific Prime’s monthly newsletters, as well as manages Pacific Prime’s Deputy Global CEO’s LinkedIn posts. Complemented by her background in business writing, Jantra’s passion for health, insurance, and employee benefits helps her create engaging content – no matter how complex the subject is.

Growing up as a third-culture kid has given her a multicultural perspective that helps her relate to expats and their families while 8 years of working remotely have given her unique insight into hybrid work arrangements and enthusiasm for employee benefits.

An Expat’s Guide To Tanglin Singapore

Discover the world’s top health insurers. Compare quotes with a click of the button.