Renting a whole HDB unit vs room only for a young couple, worth the extra?

We went the room-only route the whole two years to maximise savings for our flat, and for us it was the right call, but it takes the right situation. We found a landlord who was rarely home and gave us lots of space, basically had the common areas to ourselves most of the time. That made the shared arrangement bearable. The money we saved versus renting a whole unit was substantial and went straight into our renovation fund. My advice: it heavily depends on the landlord and housemates, view the place and suss out the vibe before committing. A good landlord makes room rental fine, a nightmare one makes it hell. If you value privacy highly and can afford it, whole unit removes all that uncertainty. Weigh savings against your sanity.

We rented a room first to save, then switched to a whole unit after a year, and I wish we'd done whole unit from the start. Sharing with a landlord family or other tenants as a couple was really tough, no privacy for arguments or intimacy, awkward kitchen and toilet sharing, and disagreements over aircon and utilities. It strained us more than we expected in that pre-marriage period. The whole unit cost more but the privacy and being able to live like an actual couple was worth every extra dollar for our relationship. My honest take: if you can stretch the budget, rent a whole unit, especially as a couple about to marry. If money is really tight, a room with a chill landlord can work, but manage expectations.