SGD$3000 Per month... Holly F*ck!

[lindsayvine]

Hi all,

I've just resigned from my £30,000 a year Police Constable job in Scotland to take a £20,000 (SGD$40,000)a year job as a TV Development Writer in Singapore.

I know... I know... but it's a chance to leave a job I've hated for 7 years to get myself into a role that will give me great job satisfaction. I'm 31 and if I don't jump ship now I never will. I've always said I'd rather regret what I have done than forever regret doing nothing at all.

Anyhow, how am I going to do this? My girlfriend will be coming along with me and we want to stay in a decent apartment and we both like alcohol. A lot. My work place is Sophia Road.

Next year the wage will jump and the year after that it should be a hell of a lot higher than what I'll be taking this year.

As much help as you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Lindsay

[nakatago]

A lot of Southeast/South Asians do ok with less than that. Heck; I know an American who did ok with that. Though with a girlfiend (which you can bring in on a DP with a lot of caveats and hoops to jump), it may be tough.

Your decent apartment will have to be an HDB and may have to share it with others. Your alcohol fix would have to be bought from the supermarket and consumed at home in the company of friends. (re: you'll have to bring it down a notch...ok, a lot).

There are plenty of threads already about the related monthly expenses, accessible via the search function.

[lindsayvine]

Thanks Nakatago!

What's a DP?

I'm Scottish and so, I can stretch the £ or the $ further than most!

I'd rather get alcohol from the supermarket and have a BBQ or friends round for some chill-out sessions - than go to a bar and pay through the nose.

Thanks for the info - you've certainly instilled a little bit of faith in me!

[nakatago]

Sorry; you should be googling LTVP not DP.

reference: http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/sutra438412.html

Stretching your dollar? Have you met any Indians or Filipinos? Hehehehe...

[lindsayvine]

I'm off on night shift now (one of the very last!) so I've passed that link onto Nat to have a look at.

I've travelled all over Asia back in 2008 and had to stretch my money then too - and yes Indians and Philippino's are truly wonderous when it comes to scrimping and saving. I might befriend a few and get tips.

If I work in Mount Sophia Road - do you know where I should be looking to get some apartment/room?

Cheers again - You're a star!

Lindsay

[nakatago]

I'm off on night shift now (one of the very last!) so I've passed that link onto Nat to have a look at.

I've travelled all over Asia back in 2008 and had to stretch my money then too - and yes Indians and Philippino's are truly wonderous when it comes to scrimping and saving. I might befriend a few and get tips.

If I work in Mount Sophia Road - do you know where I should be looking to get some apartment/room?

Cheers again - You're a star!

Lindsay

Since you're on a tight budget, you need to cast a wide net--so, basically the whole island. Use Google maps or gothere.sg to gauge travel times, and in combination with searching forq rental ads and the threads here about living in certain areas, you can roughly define what your comfort zone will be for a place to stay.

[x9200]

@lindsayvine, have you secured your employment pass already? I mean do you have in principal approval from MOM (Ministry of Manpower)? I hope you did, because with the salary level and the limited bits and pieces of your professional profile you included I would expect it may be difficult to have it granted.

[lindsayvine]

Employment Pass has been secured. I have experience in making telly programmes so that went a long way towards getting my pass. And the company I'm going to work for have fought my corner very well.

It's going to be a tough and tight year but it'll all be worth it...

If you see the shaggy looking Scotsman walking to work in one flip (or flop) then throw him a dollar!

[Plavt]

For somebody who has been a copper for the last 7 years one would hope you would bother to read around this website before spamming various other threads with your request for an apartment. There is a classifieds section provided for that purpose. Multiple copies of the same post are treated as spam and have therefore been deleted.

Plavt

[ecureilx]

Next year the wage will jump and the year after that it should be a hell of a lot higher than what I'll be taking this year.

Chief, my 2 cents having lived here for a while ..

All is good, except, that, unless you have the above in writing .. good luck

At the pay scale, I presume you are working for a small company, and such small business try to skim you .. as much as possible ..

Pay rise will come, at 1% to 5% is my bet .. not like 100% raise ..

Then again, I been through a lot of rough patches here and that's called "EXPERIENCE" I guess ..

[lindsayvine]

Plavt - Sorry about that. I don't want to be stepping on any toes and I certainly don't want to be pissing anyone off. If I ever meet you - a pint shall be on me. Sincere apologies.

Ecureix - God loves a chancer!

2011-12 is going to be tough. But I'm a great believer in karma and reaping what you sow!

Now, we've seen a few skating teacher jobs going - so we're trying to find one for the girlfriend (she's represented Oz for a few years on the international skating stage) I spoke to the people at the Singapore Embassy today and even though it would make everything a trillion times easier... I will not marry for a visa. Does anyone know what's the better option - LTVP or DP?

[Mad Scientist]

LTSVP if you are not legally married
DP if you are married

http://www.sg1hro.com/index.php?option= ... icle&id=12

http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/ ... fault.aspx

[thismyvoice]

Good luck to you.

I hope you don't smoke. Drinking and smoking is very expensive in Singapore.

[thismyvoice]

Just a hint.

Buy as much as you are entitled at the DFS store in Changi Airport.

[lindsayvine]

I'll stock up at the DFS store! Don't worry!