Singapore vs United Kingdom

KotMot · Post by **KotMot** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:18 am

Have no idea what to do.
Currently I'm in Singapore and my salary is good, but I have proposition for UK.
What do you think is better for life Singapore or UK?

I don't like that Singapore doesn't have so much nature and I cannot afford to buy a house.

durain · Post by **durain** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:27 am

if your salary is good, then should be able to buy your own place. even if singapore dont have enough nature, go over to the surrounding country. still lots of virgin jungle to be discover!

at the end of the day, it is your decision. also, the grass is always greener on the other side, until you step into it!

Saint · Post by **Saint** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:32 am

99% of people who live in Singapore can't afford to buy a house (by house I'm guessing you mean landed property which is what a house is when comparing to UK)

apollo_69 · Post by **apollo_69** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 2:36 am

KotMot - where is the UK job based? If it's London I think you'll find Singapore has a lot more greenery....I've been living in London for 5 years and the UK for 20...am moving to Singapore in 2 weeks for the following reasons:

- Can't stand another cold winter, going to and from work in the dark every day for 6 months of the year
- Getting taxed 37% on my paycheque before I even see it (vs 6-8% in Singapore), and as the UK is bankrupt taxes are only going up
- UK is bankrupt, hence the purchasing power of the £ will keep falling off a cliff (esp vs SGD which has a decent budget and trade surplus)
- Huge cutbacks on spending here will inevitably result in worse public services and social unrest, especially in urban areas
- Transport infrastructure is massively expensive, dated, and nothing seems to work on time, you can get stuck in traffic for hours at a time
- UK doesn't produce or manufacture anything these days except financial services, the whole economy is over reliant as a % of GDP and we have already pissed £200 billion down the toilet trying to prop up all the zombie banks, which hasn't actually worked and only delayed the day of reckoning. We import everything which means we are hugely vulnerable to price inflation if the central bank keeps printing and devaluing the £.

In summary, I think the quality of life in the UK will get a lot worse for most as the recession winds up another notch. DYOR carefully before you make a decision...

KotMot · Post by **KotMot** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 3:38 am

apollo_69, but I see that London has more job opportunities (more vacancies in IT field) and salaries after taxes the same.
Isn't it?

Bafana · Post by **Bafana** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 4:36 am

If you get a job outside London than plenty of opportunity to buy house and freedom. Otherwise (sorry to say to all my pommie mates) London is just another city but just a bit more stuck up.

apollo_69 · Post by **apollo_69** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 4:48 am

IT's a big area, what exactly would you be doing? I do datacentre and storage infrastructure consultancy which is actually counter-cyclical to the general economy and the business is having its best year ever, however that's not the case for the majority, IT spending budgets have been frozen or cut for the most part.....

If you're working in London the houses aren't exactly affordable either (yet), so either you wait it out or you buy outside and do the long commute which means you have even less free time to yourself..

After taxes I'll actually be earning a fair bit more than in the UK, so maybe you're not doing yourself justice in Singapore....when you take exchange rates into account it used to be 3:1 it's now nearer 2:1, i would expect at least 1.5:1 or lower in the next 6-12 months so take that into consideration. Go pull up a chart of GBP/USD or any other GBP cross and tell me what you see....don't believe me off hand but please take a good hard look at the UK economy before you decide you want to be paid in £. Good luck

durain · Post by **durain** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 6:31 am

even if you get a job in london, you wont be able to buy a house either.

bluenose · Post by **bluenose** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 8:06 am

Being a londoner...I am proud to say it is the best place in the world....for a weekend! Unfortunately I would not like to live there anymore...
The property in London is expensive even in the recession...too expensive for most people.
The people in Singapore have respect for each other...mostly, but in London many people have a chip on their shoulder!
The transport system is ok...just ok and can be expensive, but the traffic can be a nightmare!
London is a huge place with lots going on, but it all costs money, and there yes there are parks which are free and some attractions that are free but not many!
I also lived in Scotland where the life is better if you have a job and a decent salary...the air is cleaner, the scenery is stunning, there is more things to do at a cheaper cost, but the jobs are harder to come by and the salaries are lower....
Go and try it, what have you got to lose...but the days of London streets being paved with wealth and fortune are long gone....
For me...Singapore is an easy place to live...sometimes too easy, but I have had the fortune to go to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and a couple of other places...so there is plenty to see here too!
I tried it and have not lost...but gained great experience...go for it!

KotMot · Post by **KotMot** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:11 am

apollo_69 wrote:IT's a big area, what exactly would you be doing?

Quantitative Development actually.
On Efinancialcareers for Singapore I see a couple vacancies, but for London more then 70.

So what if I decide to change a job - not so much opportunities in SG.

Plavt · Post by **Plavt** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 3:31 pm

KotMot wrote:apollo_69, but I see that London has more job opportunities (more vacancies in IT field) and salaries after taxes the same.
Isn't it?

Should you earn somewhere in excess of 30K in the UK the tax is 40%.

KotMot · Post by **KotMot** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 4:58 pm

Plavt wrote:
KotMot wrote:apollo_69, but I see that London has more job opportunities (more vacancies in IT field) and salaries after taxes the same.
Isn't it?
Should you earn somewhere in excess of 30K in the UK the tax is 40%.

That is good, but I see that London has good rates in financial IT: from 80 000 GBP to 400 000 GBP per annum.
In Singapore the same, but in SGD.

After all, you may get more in GBP.

durain · Post by **durain** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 5:04 pm

KotMot wrote:
That is good, but I see that London has good rates in financial IT: from 80 000 GBP to 400 000 GBP per annum.
In Singapore the same, but in SGD.

dream on dude on the UK pay for a quant developer. what you see in advert is not reality in the real world.

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 5:15 pm

GBP400,000 in the UK as a salary must be the guy in charge of Microsoft in Europe, or similar level.

I was in the UK last week, and if i had the choice....... I wouldn't ever move back!

Plavt · Post by **Plavt** » Wed, 23 Sep 2009 6:21 pm

Durain and ScoobyDoes are correct the only people getting that kind of figure are some of those involved in the city (or comparable positions maybe) e.g; the 'retired' chairman of HBOS received a pension of that magnitude. Amazing what you can get away with when you are a complete failure!

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/ ... article.do

SINGAPORE EXPATS FORUM
Singapore Expat Forum and Message Board for Expats in Singapore & Expatriates Relocating to Singapore

Singapore vs United Kingdom

Singapore vs United Kingdom

Who is online