Neighbours of 23 Years Share Tearful Goodbye Before Moving Day

On Sunday morning outside Block 430 Yishun Ring Road, two families who have lived across the corridor from each other for 23 years said goodbye in a moment that left several onlookers in tears — including the contributor who sent the photograph to Town Tales Pro.

Mdm Siti, 58, and Mdm Lim, 61, met when their children started Primary One at the same school in 2003. Over the decades they exchanged kuih during Hari Raya, shared mandarin oranges at Lunar New Year, and watched each other’s children grow up and move out.

"We are not just neighbours," Mdm Lim told Town Tales Pro. "When my husband was hospitalised in 2019, Siti cooked for me every day for two weeks. When her son got married, my daughter helped with the decorations. This corridor is family."

Moving to Johor Bahru

Mdm Siti’s family is relocating to Johor Bahru next month after her husband accepted a transfer with his logistics company. Rising costs and the appeal of a larger home across the border influenced the decision, though Mdm Siti said leaving was harder than expected.

"I told myself it is only a causeway away," she said. "But when I saw Lim jie jie crying this morning, I realised how much we took for granted — the morning wave, the spare key, the children running between flats."

A rare kind of story

Positive neighbourhood stories account for roughly one in twelve submissions to Town Tales Pro. Editorial team member Sarah Tan said accounts like this resonate because they reflect the daily multicultural coexistence that HDB living makes ordinary — until a moving lorry makes it visible how fragile those bonds can be.

Both families have exchanged WhatsApp numbers and plan monthly visits. Mdm Lim said she will keep Mdm Siti’s spare house keys until the new tenants arrive, "just in case she forgets something."