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Salary to live 'comfortably' for 21 year old expat-gradu

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frenzal
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Salary to live 'comfortably' for 21 year old expat-gradu

Post by frenzal » Fri, 28 Mar 2008 1:16 pm

(I'm copy-pasting this from the expatsingapore forum, where i posted it. However, there's too many trolls on there so I'll try here :p)

I see this thread all the time, but not often is it for a young person without many obligations.

Some facts about me:

* Moving from a large Australian city
* Single (well, have a girlfriend but I think we'll break up for when I come over to Singapore to live)
* No mortgages/very little credit card debt which I'll pay off before coming
* I drink and party on weekends
* Don't go out much to fancy places to eat (maybe once every 1-2 weeks)
* Don't mind sharing accommodation (i.e. sharing an apartment, but not sharing a room. I'd also prefer my own bathroom. Room should be big enough to fit and view a 32" LCD TV)
* Would like to travel a bit out of Singapore during my days of leave

How much do you think I should aim to get per year (including bonuses)?

I actually have a job already in mind, and I know what the salary would be, but I'd rather see what people's opinions are without them trying to fit a budget around the figure I give.

Thanks so much in advance :)

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:48 pm

You haven't indicated whether you will want your own transportataion.

You haven't indicated whether you will try to save any money and how much you want to save/month.

You like to party, but what do you drink? How much?

Can you eat local food or must you eat western foods?

However, I think you are trying to put the cart before the horse. I can tell you that you can do it for S$2,500/mo. (We have Malaysians doing it all the time, but it might not be quite what you are thinking with regards to the life-style.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

frenzal
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Post by frenzal » Sat, 29 Mar 2008 7:25 am

sundaymorningstaple wrote:You haven't indicated whether you will want your own transportataion.

You haven't indicated whether you will try to save any money and how much you want to save/month.

You like to party, but what do you drink? How much?

Can you eat local food or must you eat western foods?

However, I think you are trying to put the cart before the horse. I can tell you that you can do it for S$2,500/mo. (We have Malaysians doing it all the time, but it might not be quite what you are thinking with regards to the life-style.
Here are the answers:

Transportation: I'm going to aim to live very close to an MRT, so that I can just catch the train to work. I don't drive, so won't be purchasing/renting a car. I may use taxis, but primarily to get home when it's late at night.

In terms of saving money, I don't have any set criteria, but it would be great to afford one trip in 2009 somewhere in Asia, then another trip in 2010 to the world cup in south africa. The more I can save the better :)

I tend to drink premixed drinks such as gin and tonic/vodka + lemonade, and occasionally beer. I drink quite a bit, and spending $100 on a night out in Singapore isn't too much of a stretch. So, I guess this means that I should save about $100/week booze budget.

I love the local food, but occasionally the pull for crappy fast food comes through :p 80% of the time I'll try and eat local, though, as I love Asian cuisine.

$2,500 sounds quite good, though, as my offer is above that and I'd be able to save quite a bit per year.

How much should I put aside per month for rent. I would want to live on the north-going MRT line anywhere between Harbourfront and Yishun. A master bedroom would probably suit me best as I have a lot of stuff that I'm bringing up, and my own bathroom is also almost a necessity.

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 29 Mar 2008 4:30 pm

If you can find a MBR in an HDB flat they have attached bathrooms. You should be able to find something in the region of $800/mo (airconed). If you are cool on Asian cuisine then you are probably pretty sussed out already. Normally your utilities would be included in your rental cost (unless you tend to leave your aircon on all day when not home - then you might have to top up). You can take public transport virtually across the island for 250/mo easy. I live in Serangoon North/Yio Chu Kang and work in Bukit Batok and use a combination of bus/mrt and that's about all I spend. If you are working centrally then you should be in good shape. Allow additional $20 bucks a night for transport when pubbing (taxis fared recently went up, up, up and now it's almost impossible to figure out what the fare is gonna be. I recently took a cab home two days in a row, 20 minutes apart and the fare went from 15 to 23 bucks!

Food, well it can be done on $20/day but I'd allow a wee bit more. Say 600-700/mo. That should leave you around 800/mo less $400/mo booze, Gives you about 400 surplus for incidentals, sundries, clothes, and hols. Not a lot but do-able. If you are getting 3K+ you should be all right.

Rent are cheaper the further out you go. If you are in town working it's only about 30-40 minutes from any extremity to the Central Business District. (You may even find something cheaper further out - in the $5-600 area.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by frenzal » Sat, 29 Mar 2008 5:44 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:If you can find a MBR in an HDB flat they have attached bathrooms. You should be able to find something in the region of $800/mo (airconed). If you are cool on Asian cuisine then you are probably pretty sussed out already. Normally your utilities would be included in your rental cost (unless you tend to leave your aircon on all day when not home - then you might have to top up). You can take public transport virtually across the island for 250/mo easy. I live in Serangoon North/Yio Chu Kang and work in Bukit Batok and use a combination of bus/mrt and that's about all I spend. If you are working centrally then you should be in good shape. Allow additional $20 bucks a night for transport when pubbing (taxis fared recently went up, up, up and now it's almost impossible to figure out what the fare is gonna be. I recently took a cab home two days in a row, 20 minutes apart and the fare went from 15 to 23 bucks!

Food, well it can be done on $20/day but I'd allow a wee bit more. Say 600-700/mo. That should leave you around 800/mo less $400/mo booze, Gives you about 400 surplus for incidentals, sundries, clothes, and hols. Not a lot but do-able. If you are getting 3K+ you should be all right.

Rent are cheaper the further out you go. If you are in town working it's only about 30-40 minutes from any extremity to the Central Business District. (You may even find something cheaper further out - in the $5-600 area.
Thanks for the info: that was very detailed and useful.

I would want to live within 20 mins to work, and wouldn't like to catch buses, just trains. I've worked out that Yishun should be as far as I move. Luckily housing prices aren't too bad there. My other main requirement is that the MRT should be on the same line as the station for my work.

Looks like I'll be living quite comfortably on my salary :) No idea how other grads could afford living in Singapore at 2k/month though

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sun, 30 Mar 2008 3:06 pm

Community sharing where several jointly rent an HDB outright or most new grads if local still live with their parents thereby eliminating the need for laundry, rental, utilities, even meals - just about the lot and just give the parents a token sum say 2~$300 a month. As renting their own place is prohibitive on that salary and they cannot buy an HDB flat until they are 35 (if single) it's the done thing here.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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