Better life-style in Singapore compared London?

[Carla London]

Thank you all.

We can't wait to be in Singapore now and to escape from British weather Singapore number 11 on the quality life and UK is number 29, wow, that's a bit of a difference! definately it will be an improvement for us to move to Singapore then.

[rattlesnake]

To put it in a better light Singapore is number 11 on the quality of life rankings, the UK is number 29

Actually comparing city v city Singapore is 32nd compared to London 38th:
http://www.finfacts.ie/qualityoflife.htm

The United Nations Human Development Indicies has Singapore at 28 and UK at 21:
http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/

Mercer's Quality of living has Singapore 32nd and London 38th.
http://www.mercer.com/referencecontent. ... nt=1307990

That aside - who cares where they are on a table. I love Singapore and love UK. I also love US and Australia. All have their relative good and bad points.

[CJ_2009]

carla,

I have been staying here for 8 years as a foreigner. our famaly income is much less then yours, to be frankly. but, hehe, it's common in my industry. we can have a very happy and relax life here, so I am sure that you will enjoy your time also. em..... $5000 rental fee is too high, you are looking at private condo. if you rent HDB house, which is local gov house, it will only cost you less than 1.5k permonth depending on location.

[jc2000m]

I just arrived recently and the rental is more expensive than Ldn ( ldn rent went down a bit after the financial crisis), but $5k will be more than enough. food is cheap here, unless you cook western food ( u will find these type of food are expensive, e,g, a block of butter for $7). cloth shopping wise, international brands are more expensive. I was also surprised to see cosmetics being more expensive than uk ... Although this might largely due to the low exchange rate.

[Vaucluse]

Anyone mention the tax rate difference? I'd say SG wins hands down on that front

[SGBoyxxx]

"earning around S$13000/month "

in fact this amount is quite good .

seriously without owning a car here .

You can enjoy quality life here.

cheap foods only available at hawker centres

[revhappy]

@SGBoyxxx: Salary figures are relative S$13,000 may seem high compared to the average, but what if the OP was earning 8000 pounds a month in London. In that case S$13k is low.

Although taxes here are lower than any other country, UK I believe, you dont have to pay anything for a doctors visit. As soon as you enter the country you need to just register with a nearby clinic and then everything is free I believe.

But then food and transport are very expensive in London. A weekly train pass costs 40 pounds! Hell we dont spend more than 15 SGD a week on our ezlink cards.

In Singapore, speaking about eating out, Hawkers prices are cheap and I eat out every afternoon spending about S$5 per meal for Indian cuisine and doesnt hurt me at all. Even on weekends we go to pasta mania or pizza hut and spend like 30$ for a couple. I think its tough to get these kind of prices in UK. People there either cook at home or live on sandwiches for lunch. Real pity.

I also heard that Taxis are expensive for even the locals of London, imagine how previledged a Singaporean will feel when he/she hears it .

[SGBoyxxx]

@SGBoyxxx: Salary figures are relative S$13,000 may seem high compared to the average, but what if the OP was earning 8000 pounds a month in London. In that case S$13k is low.

Although taxes here are lower than any other country, UK I believe, you dont have to pay anything for a doctors visit. As soon as you enter the country you need to just register with a nearby clinic and then everything is free I believe.

But then food and transport are very expensive in London. A weekly train pass costs 40 pounds! Hell we dont spend more than 15 SGD a week on our ezlink cards.

In Singapore, speaking about eating out, Hawkers prices are cheap and I eat out every afternoon spending about S$5 per meal for Indian cuisine and doesnt hurt me at all. Even on weekends we go to pasta mania or pizza hut and spend like 30$ for a couple. I think its tough to get these kind of prices in UK. People there either cook at home or live on sandwiches for lunch. Real pity.

I also heard that Taxis are expensive for even the locals of London, imagine how previledged a Singaporean will feel when he/she hears it .

yup what you mention is true.

even in aust also expensive to dine , watch movie outside.

I am not sure just heard from my uncle , seem he sometimes do travel to aust for business.

He has aust friends staying there .

well to the locals is still acceptable the price wise.
many locals still can afford to eat , movies , shopping during weekends.

[QRM]

Anyone mention the tax rate difference? I'd say SG wins hands down on that front

UK are trying to or have implemented that same tax structure as the US you have to declare and pay tax on your global income?

[Saint]

Anyone mention the tax rate difference? I'd say SG wins hands down on that front

UK are trying to or have implemented that same tax structure as the US you have to declare and pay tax on your global income?

Will never happen

[QRM]

Anyone mention the tax rate difference? I'd say SG wins hands down on that front

UK are trying to or have implemented that same tax structure as the US you have to declare and pay tax on your global income?

Will never happen

http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/issues/non_dom ... duals.html

[Saint]

UK are trying to or have implemented that same tax structure as the US you have to declare and pay tax on your global income?

Will never happen

http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/issues/non_dom ... duals.html

Ok I should have said, it will never happen as the US

[thefurz]

My thoughts on London-Singapore costs comparison:

Rent: Singapore is probably more expensive for a similar standard of property.

Eating out: hawker centres are cheap $5ish so yes you can eat out more. Restaurants are probably the same price as London.

Buying food: Cold storage is probably the Sainsburys of Singapore so not the cheapest but I would say a bit more expensive than the UK. Buy "western" foods and brands it it will be even more expensive.

Transport: buy a car and the costs shoot up. It is easy to survive on public transport and taxis - cheaper than London.

Alcohol - more expensive in Singapore. £7 a pint! Small can of tiger £1.40.

Recreation: 100 balls at driving range £2.70. Squash court £3.

So overall I would say the costs are about the same as the UK but factor in the much lower income tax and I would say you may be slightly better off. Your lifestyle will change as well so nights out drinking alcohol will be substituted for cheaper events!

Weather - this splits opinion. I miss seasons and a bit of cold! Walking isn't really done and it an get a bit tedious living in an aircon world. Saying that it is nice to sit outside any time of the year without the need for a blanket!

[jpatokal]

Rent: Singapore is probably more expensive for a similar standard of property.

Perhaps in terms of living space, but in Singapore you don't have to deal with 100+ year-old badly maintained, drafty Victorian houses with moldy carpets, and it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg to have a plumber drop in to fix something.

So overall I would say the costs are about the same as the UK but factor in the much lower income tax and I would say you may be slightly better off. Your lifestyle will change as well so nights out drinking alcohol will be substituted for cheaper events!

Costs are about the same if you insist on living precisely the same lifestyle (Western food and lotsa booze in fancy bars) as in London. The more local you get, the cheaper life in Singapore is.

[jaypee]

This is my first post/reply. I would like to thank everyone for all the effort that you have put into this forum. I am moving to Singapore soon.

Is 13K enough? Huh? That is almost double the average household income in Tokyo. I don't mean to be mean, but seriously, if you are earning double the avg. household salary of the most expensive place in the world and living in Singapore you are probably going to be OK. I don't know what your "needs" are but I think you will probably have enough.