Grace Ong
“My desire is to embark on that special journey with you, as you look for an ideal place to call your own.”
Background
In my previous life, I majored in English and English Literature at the university, and taught English, or what is known as General Paper, at the ‘A’ levels, in various junior colleges in Singapore. I also had a short stint in Mindef working on current affairs analysis, before deciding that paper-pushing wasn’t really for me; I really liked working with people more. When Covid struck, I went on the Real Estate Salesperson course, and so, here I am now, as a realtor, doing exciting work, learning more about the property market, connecting with people, and advising and aiding them in their asset acquisition for their own stay or investment portfolio.
Ideal places
“Some people look for a beautiful place, others make a place beautiful.”
— Hazrat Inayat Khan
What, for you, makes an ideal place? Is it about the interior design of a space, that embodies who you are, and what you see and feel, as aesthetically pleasing to you? Or is it about the specific locale, the surrounds, the accessible amenities that make a place ideal for you?
Ideal places, to me, are all these, but they also go beyond these tick-boxes on a checklist, because it’s at heart about the people who can make a simple space, a haven one can come home to, a safe harbour and a place of solace.
An ideal place isn’t necessarily one with a prestigious address, nor does it have to cost you an arm and a leg, with swanky interior aesthetics that make you feel like you are in a posh gallery, but not a home. It can be simple, pared-down, not necessarily expansive or spacious, but a place that you can drop your guard, relax and be you. A space to call your own.
“I talked about places, about the ways that we often talk about love of place, by which we mean our love for places, but seldom of how the places love us back, of what they give us. They give us continuity, something to return to, and offer a familiarity that allows some portion of our lives to remain connected and coherent…”
— Rebecca Solnit
My perspective of what makes an ideal place, then, goes beyond the merely physical or functional. An ideal place, to my mind, is a space where you get to make good memories with the ones you love, where you feel connected and have a sense of belonging and roots to a greater family or community, in a fast-paced, ever-changing landscape that may otherwise make you feel displaced, adrift, at sea…
Going into real estate, my desire, is to embark on that special and meaningful journey with you, as you look for, and create, that ideal place to call your own.