Suggestions needed: Dubai to Singapore move

[IndianInDubai]

Hi All,

I currently work in Dubai in a mid management role with a tax free salary of 12K SGD + 4K Housing Allowance + 1.5K Schooling Allowance + Bonus (so a decent salaryfor a mid management role).
Apart from that my wife gets home around 7-8K from her banking job (5K fixed + bonus).

As a family, we live quite a upper middle class lifestyle (maid, car, small 3BHK rowhouse) and still save close to 80K SGD.

Now, all of this sounds fascinating (esp. for an Indian family) but we don't enjoy life here because we always feel like an outsider here. Dubai is not 'home' enough. It is great for money but not so good for life.

Due to this, when this role opened up, I was keen and my wife is fine with leaving her job and moving with me. And we assumed that they will match up my salary and even raise it a little as SG is considered 15-20% costlier than Dubai.

Now, to the questions:
1. Can a UPPER middle class family save at least 5K per month out of a 12K monthly SGD salary, excluding a housing allowance of 2.5K?
2. How easy is it to get a banking job in Singapore? What kind of salaries do account managers / relationship managers make?
3. How much do full time maids / nannies cost? I pay around 1K SGD here.
4. Company is offering a schooling allowance of just 1K. Is it reasonable for a private International School? It seems quite low.

Money is not my priority but lifestyle definitely is. I don't want to compromise on the way I live even if it means less savings.

I request answers from only those people who have moved from Dubai to Singapore. Other people might misinterpret as a brag-post. Only those people will be able to understand my dilemma.

Awaiting answers.

[PNGMK]

1. Yes if you don't want to live in a high end area.
2. There are very few banking jobs here now. They're all in India. (Back office anyways).
3. A little less. ~600 to ~800 / mth.
4. That's a f...g joke. A school here is anywhere from $2k to $3k per month BUT you also have entry fees that are around $10k in first year. "No local school for filthy foreigners" is the MOE motto by the ways so forget using the local system. Also those international fees need to be paid by semester and upfront so get your cheque book ready for ~$22,000 to $30,000 for the first semester if sweet precious wants to go to Stanford or SAS or Tanglin.

Oh and if you want to "belong" then go home. You're no more home here than anywhere else as an expat (I'm not being mean). If you want to feel at home you need to migrate to a migrant ghetto say in Brisbane or Vancouver or SanFran as an Indian. There is less racism here as there are no racist arabs (or very few) but there are still racists... pick your poison I guess. I did not live in Dubai but spent enough time in Oman to understand your dilemma. I hate Dub@1.

[IndianInDubai]

Thanks for your honest (and rather blatant) opinion. I am negotiating for more salary and schooling allowance based on your recommendation.

Regarding the racism part, you are bang on. I am hoping that the poison in Singapore is more palatable.

[PNGMK]

Good luck. Indians tend to stick to Singapore like shit on a shovel so you'll probably be back here posting "'why can't I get PR on my first application"!

[mohamed66]

Hi,

I am in a same situation that I work in Dubai now and I want to move to Singapore since I am married to a SC. Yet to apply my LTVP and I am not sure whether its a right decision to settle in Singapore over Dubai. The reason remains same "Dubai is not 'home' enough. It is great for money but not so good for life". Lets try our best.

[PNGMK]

You and your family and descendants can (luck and God willing) become a citizen in Singapore with enough tenacity. In Dubai you'll only be a filthy goondoo no matter how many generations you are there.