Discuss about where to live, renting a property, tenancy issues, property trend and property investment in Singapore.
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rodimus
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by rodimus » Fri, 01 Aug 2008 3:54 am
Hi, any help appreciated
I am thinking of taking a job offer in Singapore and was wondering if anyone could say roughly how much we should budget for on a monthly basis? i.e. for food and utility bills etc.
I also have two dependents: wife and daughter
Thanks very much
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sundaymorningstaple
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by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 01 Aug 2008 9:37 am
Type "cost of living" into the search function at the upper lift of this page just under the Profile link and tick the radio button for topics and then start reading. If you then have specifics, please ask and we will try to help. We like helping those who try to help themselves.
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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Saint
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by Saint » Fri, 01 Aug 2008 3:35 pm
The cost of living depends on how much you have to spend, that might sound strange but it's true if you think about it
There's plenty on the forum to get you started as SMS has mentioned, but we are always here to help and advise

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rodimus
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by rodimus » Fri, 01 Aug 2008 8:00 pm
ok guys, I'll have a look and get back to you
cheers
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rodimus
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by rodimus » Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:00 pm
Back again
So we've taken the job and will be in Singapore on the 21st of September!
Initially staying at Fraser Suites on River Valley Road for a month before trying to find our own flat to rent
Any suggestions for good agents appreciated?
Also - we're looking at shipping companies at the moment and I noticed some positive comments on the forum about Crown Relo. Had a quote from them but would like to compare, anyone able to suggest another firm based in the UK?
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Saint
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by Saint » Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:35 pm
We're using a company called Specialist Moving Services (SMS) Ltd. Can't actually comment on the complete service yet as they aren't coming until Monday to pack our stuff.
What I can say is that their quote was very reasonable compared to others we got. Very friendly and helpful on the phone. We went for the full packing service but we requested if they could deliver some boxes before hand so we could make a start. They duly did and we got carried away and have actually packed about 90% of our stuff already

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rodimus
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by rodimus » Sat, 30 Aug 2008 3:45 am
thanks Saint, I'll have a look at their website later
got 2 quotes so far:
Allied Pickfords £900 for 165 cuft
Crown Relo £1200 for 165 cuft
no idea why they would be so different (although the person at Crown seemed much nicer and more professional)
any fresh opinions on these two anyone? (seen some negative stuff about Pickfords elsewhere on this forum...)
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road.not.taken
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by road.not.taken » Sat, 30 Aug 2008 9:17 am
Whoever you choose be very thorough with your inventory and take lots of photographs to document what you ship. Three friends recently had catastrophic shipments to and from Asia: water got into one container (90% of the items were damaged), another container was dropped (all their furniture was splintered into multiple pieces) and another whose container fell off the delivery truck, then rolled down an embankment (100 % loss). Of course you'll have insurance, just document it all very well. And cross your fingers.
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QRM
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by QRM » Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:17 am
rodimus wrote:thanks Saint, I'll have a look at their website later
got 2 quotes so far:
Allied Pickfords £900 for 165 cuft
Crown Relo £1200 for 165 cuft
no idea why they would be so different (although the person at Crown seemed much nicer and more professional)
any fresh opinions on these two anyone? (seen some negative stuff about Pickfords elsewhere on this forum...)
Check to see if Allied Pickford has an office and staff in Singapore otherwise they subcontract the work to someone else and that means you will be dealing with two set of people.
We used crown and they have their own set up here, I only ask as I have never seen Alllied Pickford here.
I just googled and they do have an office here...
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Callalily
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by Callalily » Sun, 31 Aug 2008 9:04 pm
Hello
We used allied pickfords and they were really excellent.
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rodimus
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by rodimus » Wed, 03 Sep 2008 4:42 am
so it turns out the Pickfords here in the UK have been bought by a firm called 'Team Allied' and are called 'Allied Pickfords' in Singapore
anyway...we're going with Team Allied now, a reasonable £1000 (the £900 from Pickfords was actually incorrect pricing he later informed us!)
thanks for advice, also going for insurance and itemising everything too - so fingers crossed should be covered!
will be arriving in Singapore on the 21st of Sept!

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pixel8
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by pixel8 » Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:56 am
There should be some reference points to compare eg. Big Mac Index (
http://www.economist.com/finance/displa ... d=11793125)
eg. How much is :-
Big Mac
Starbucks frappachino
cab fare minimum or surcharge
cinema ticket
Here is a world ranking for cost of living
http://www.finfacts.ie/costofliving.htm
Saint wrote:The cost of living depends on how much you have to spend, that might sound strange but it's true if you think about it
There's plenty on the forum to get you started as SMS has mentioned, but we are always here to help and advise

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