Tips for a student doing a six-month internship in Singapore

[mauzeh]

(Cross-posted from Flyertalk, please PM me if this is an issue)

Dear fellow travelers,

From May 1st I will be in Singapore for a six-month internship. I'm a Dutch engineering Msc student, and I'm 24 years old. My wage will be S$2400 per month, flights from AMS are payed for as well, and I would like to get a general idea of my (financial) situation. I really want to make the most out of this opportunity and not only develop myself professionally, but also meet new people and explore a bit of SE Asia.

- I've seen accommodation starting at S$1000 per month. I would like to have a private bedroom and I'd like to share the other spaces with people in a similar position as me so that I can make new friends to hang out and go out with. For me the social experience is very important. I welcome new experiences and different perspectives so I'd love to be around a diverse group of people who are around my age. Do you have any suggestions on where to look for rooms that fit this profile? Perhaps I should first book a couple of nights in a hostel and use that time to look for a long-term room? That way I can actually meet potential roommates first. What do you think?

- Taxes are to be handled by me. I've seen sources saying that incomes lower than S$20.000 per year have a 0% income tax rate. Is this true? Does this rule apply to me? I will be making 6*2400 = S$14400 over the six-month period, but perhaps they extrapolate the figure to a yearly one? Which then would be S$28800…

- Do you have an idea about how much I would spend on food and public transport? I am thinking about S$20 per day for food (= S$620 / month) and about S$5 for MRT passes per day (= S$155 / month). I might occasionally use taxis or buses. My office is very close to the Somerset MRT station.

- Overall, would you expect me to live a modest lifestyle (cooking myself, bringing lunch to work if needed, mostly eating/drinking out during the weekends) without having to chip in from my savings? If necessary I will use my savings for trips within SE Asia.

- Is there anything you recommend I do to meet new people around my age quickly that are fun to be around? Should I consider becoming a member of certain groups, sports clubs, or anything else?

- There is a ton of information available for people who stay in Singapore short-term. However, anything like a Lonely Planet won't quite fit the bill for me. Therefore, do you have any good experiences with certain books or web sites that really provided some good and reliable information for you if you've been in a similar position as me?

Thank you so much for your ideas!

Maurits

[Mad Scientist]

Try using the search button at the top hand corner under the profile link and you can type all you queries as it has been discussed at length, one of them is below

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic ... t=expenses

For Taxes try www.iras.gov.sg

For transport , tenancy agreement go to the same search button

[sundaymorningstaple]

One the tax side of things, just make sure you are here a MINIMUM of 183 days from date of arrival. Otherwise you will be taxed at flat rate of 15% of the gross salary. Over 183 days you will qualify for resident rates which means your tax liability will be zero based on the info given.

[mauzeh]

Thanks for the tips guys! Will make sure my stay is at least 183 days

[RobinC]

Maurits

Im already in singapore for 1,5 months now. Im also doing an internship here. If you want to know something or drink a beer, you can contact me at [email protected]

Robin