GOODBYES aren't easy.

Especially when leaving a home of 11 years.

Ms Susan Amy, 48, a British training consultant, will have to move out of her pretty colonial black-and-white bungalow in about six months.

Her home is one of the 174 houses earmarked for demolition at the Seletar Airbase.

Ms Amy, who pays $3,200 in monthly rent, has not started looking for alternative housing though the deadline to move is looming.

And though her rent has shot up by $700 from last year, she said she would stay on if she could.

Ms Amy, who lives there with her boyfriend, told The New Paper on Sunday: 'I'm still hoping that somehow, there will be a change of plans.'

She has lived in Singapore for 23 years, and is deeply involved in the Seletar community.

She is the founder of the Seletar Chronicle, a community newsletter she started in 2002.

She also helps out at events like the Seletar fair, held over the weekend, where she hawked items like maps of the area and commemorative notebooks.

She also conducts yoga classes twice a week at her house.

She said with a sigh: 'There's nowhere else that I have ever felt so at home.

'What's special about Seletar is that it feels like a village. I know people in every street and everybody is friendly.'

The neighbourhood is so interconnected that whenever a lost dog or cat is spotted, concerned residents send out SMS alerts to check if any pet is missing.

Ms Amy will also miss the lush flora and fauna in the area.

With its papaya trees and hooting owls, the area is a haven for nature lovers.

'There's nowhere else on this island that is like this,' she said.

While she said she did not spend much on renovating her home, she had taken pains to decorate her place with various knick-knacks over the years.

And there is a striking floor-to-ceiling painting of a Bodhi tree done on her kitchen wall by an Australian artist friend.

That, she said sadly, will have to be left behind when she moves.

Mr Steven Low, 42, a ceramicist, shares her pain.

His garden is decorated with dozens of quaint sculptures and he also has an outdoor shed full of his students' creations.

Mr Low, who has lived there for seven years, has so far not been successful in finding another home, though he has been looking since last year.

He wants a home that's affordable yet spacious enough to house his artwork, equipment and to conduct his art classes.

He said: 'I feel sad of course. This place is close to nature and inspires me to create. I'll miss it.'

But Mr Peter Wong, 30, a management consultant, and his fiancee, Miss Michelle Wong, 26, who works in the banking sector, were among the lucky residents who won't have to move.

They have lived in their rented bungalow on Edgware Street for 11/2 years.

Mr Wong, who pays $2,500 in rent a month, said his two-year lease expires at the end of the year, after which he intends to renew it.

However, he and his fiancee feel sad that many familiar faces will soon be gone from the neighbourhood.

'KAMPUNG SPIRIT'

Mr Wong said: 'The community will change. For me, that is the biggest loss - having people we know move away.'

He told The New Paper on Sunday how residents wave and invite others to gatherings.

Mr Wong said with a smile: 'There's a kampung kind of spirit here.'

The couple are also concerned about the construction work, which is scheduled to go on till 2018.

Since Chinese New Year this year, construction work has been going on in a field in front of their garden.

Miss Wong, who used to enjoy her breakfast on the porch can no longer do so because of the dust.

Though the couple do not own the house, they take pride in it.

They have splurged about $4,000 on their garden, which has frangipani, creepers and palm trees.

There is also a bamboo grove, planted before they moved in.

They forked out $20,000 to renovate the house.

Why did they spend so much on property they don't own?

Mr Wong pointed out: 'You don't necessarily have to own something for you to love it, care for it and appreciate it.'

Ms Stefanie Fam, a wellness consultant in her 50s, is another resident who is lucky enough to stay on.

She lives in a bungalow on Sussex Garden with her husband, also in his 50s, and her two teenage children.

She empathises with those who have to move.

The resident of 17 years said: 'It's a very emotional thing for long-term residents and some feel depressed.

'I feel sad, and I'm really going to miss my neighbours.' -shreeann@sph.com.sg

Not all to be torn down

Of the 378 houses at Seletar Airbase, 174 will be demolished to make way for the 300ha Seletar Aerospace Park.

Affected residents have till year end to move out.

The remaining 204 colonial houses will not be demolished.

However, of these, only 131 houses will be allocated for residential purposes.

The rest will be developed for other purposes such as eateries and aviation training schools.

This paper was first published in The New Paper on June 15, 2008.