Having some time over here are some answers (opinions if u so will)
- Rent - I can look into this myself (aware that it is fairly expensive)
It all depends how you want to live but I imagine that when you come to the equator you would like to have a pool and maybe a gym so a
condo apartment would be a natural choice. Prices vary, a place to get a feel for prices is to look at
www.ura.gov.sg where there are lists of recent rental transactions
- Do I need private health insurance (if so, how much does this cost)?
Not sure, in my case the employer handles that. I have an allowance of 2k(3k?) SGD per year and 500SGD for dentist
- It appears that a pension is not paid into (is this typical)... so I guess I need to make an allowance for that (anyone offer any advice on how much)?
I am on a PR visa so pension is handled automatically, if you are not then you need to save yourself - can't help u there.
- Seems that leave allowances are smaller in Singapore (I currently get 30 days)
That is correct, I have 16 days in my current job, 21 days after 3 years and that would be pretty typical - if you are not on an expat package.
- Do they have public holidays in Singapore (how many)
They celebrate hindu,muslim,christian,buddhist holidays however its like one day except Chinese New Year were you may get two days off. If a holiday happens on a weekend you often get that credited as an extra leave day or a free Monday - depends on your employer.
- food and drink costs (is there really much difference between Singapore and the UK)?
If you want to eat Western food, its expensive and similar to any Western country if not a bit more pricier, if you are content with the local cuisine the cost is much lower e.g. at one place I frequently had lunch it cost for Nasi Beryani $2.30 plus $1.00 for freshly pressed orange juice. Not too bad. But if you like a decent steak you would pay 30-40 SGD for it.
- What deductions are taken from my salary.... is it just tax (and is this 10%).
That's about it AFAIK, if you are PR like me they subtract pension money into something called CPF which besides pension can be used to various other things like medical and
property.
- travel - I believe there is no real need for a car in Singapore (and they are expesive).
In your case, no children no wife, taxi would probably be quite enough. It is fairly cheap to go by cab here and quite easy to get one. E.g. 15 min for 6 SGD (very rough estimate it depends on peek hours and other variables)
Buses and MRT are very good here in Singapore and cheap, so if depending on where you live you may just take the that. Personally I prefer taxi but I have had a period when I took the bus bu the commute time was 1h in one direction.
(The 300SGD per month would probably cover taxi costs if you are not living too far away).
What else should I consider? Are there any other costs I need to weigh up/factor in?
alcohol - very expensive here, especially if you go out drinking a night. If you buy a can of beer in Cold Storage (
www.coldstorage.com.sg) it costs you 3-4 SGD, in a bar the same volume could costs 10+ SGD.
also electricity here is quite expensive, at least compared to my home country Sweden. So if you insist on having all your aircon units on 24x7 it may set you back quite a considerable amount 1-2k/m. Best is to learn to live without aircon or just have it on a couple of hours a day.
clothes here are relatively cheaper but the quality is also inferior, the problem is that in this climate leather and other things don't last very long (if you don't have aircon on all the time or have very sunny rooms).
i could go on, but there are probably better written accounts here on this site to look at as well.
good luck