Nopainnogain06 wrote:I work in EU for a big company in shipping
I'm in my 30s, married with 2 small children Position offered: sales director South Asia
Contract: Local with relocation package
Package: S$24K/month (including 8k for housing and car) meaning S$288K/year
Bonus: 30-40k/year on top Yearly salary: more or less S$325K/year
Relocation package: 1 week home search trip + max 60 days temp living + moving of household included - door to door service (No max volume but usually 1 container) + signing bonus of S$45K net + return tickets home for the family (1 a year for 2 years only)
Health care: insurance in case of hospitalization included + reimbursement Doctor up to S$100 each time We go. Vacation: 25 days
I was told that this type of package was good especially given the current economy (sadly more and more ppl are leaving Singapore). What do you guys think?
On the face of it that's a tasty package although of course one never knows quite what package a person is moving from. Either way, you can live well on that by just about any measure (IMO).
Good to see an element of 'Home leave [flights]', and routine medical costs, as IME it's hard to visit a local doctor/GP in SG and for it to cost less than $100.
Your children are of an age where 'serious' school fees might not come onto the horizon during your tenure. Will the children stay at home or be sent out to daycare or kindergarten?
$8k for housing + car. That might sting if you say live in town back home and drive a Porsche/Merc etc. Even the lease on a Suzuki Swift might cost you say S$2k a month. So I'd perhaps consider what car you
need, cost it (lease?), then from that derive a baseline housing budget. I don't see the point in owning a flash car in SG, and many/most people seem to get by without owning a car at all.
Having a baseline figure for housing then leads you to consider where you can afford a place that fits your needs. If you look at the template here ... ->
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/viewtopic.php?t=101985 considering that will help you triangulate candidate neighbourhoods and perhaps even candidate
condos. It will also get you in the right frame of mind for house-hunting which will make briefing a rental agent far more efficient. You don't mention agents fees, presumably from your own pocket? [side-note: If any agents read this topic and start sending you unsolicited Private Messages offering 'help' I'd suggest reporting them to the Moderators, as it is strictly verboten].
Is the 1 week trip really a 'home search' trip? As that would really be pushing it to the absolute max. Esp. considering you have up to 60 days in temp accommodation on offer too. Most places to let are for immediate occupation, so it's not like you'll visit for a week to sign-up a place for when you move over some time down the road. Or is the 1 week more of a look in, see the office, meet your future colleagues kind of thing? If that's what it is then I'd completely leave aside home-searching at that time as, as is, you'll have more than enough to be getting to grips with.
60 days temp accommodation. Where, hotel, apartment-hotel, budget, as that will be $$$? A home-search can take as long as the time available to do it. But for most people (and esp with children) the novelty wears off pretty quickly, more than 30 days can become a real grind. So maybe, arrive and enjoy week one and find your feet, week two hook up with an agent or agents. I'd be surprised if you'd take more than 2-3/max weeks to find a place. But you have lots of additional buffer which is nice. The longer you spend in temp accom also means the closer your freight will have come. In an ideal world you'll have got your freight into your new home prior to moving in, but it's not usually that seamless.
Welcome to the forum and let us know how you're getting on.
