
Hey, at least you are brutally honest.UnexpectedAdventurer wrote:Hi Dan,
Making the decision to relocate is tough, especially sight-unseen.
We've been in Singapore for 14 months and we're planning to leave. The rent is so high here that we're not saving. We love our tiny little house but the commute is killing me. It's only an hour each way, but the waiting around time and the rudeness of the local commuters is just too much for me. Plus, it's only 12 minutes to get to work in a taxi, so the inefficiency of it all is grating.
HDB flats look horrible. They're concrete dog boxes and the lifts smell like toilets. I didn't even consider them.
I would strongly suggest you jump on a plane and come to Singapore to have a look at the housing options, feel the heat here (I HATE it) and go visit some schools. I would NOT expect a child to commute one hour to school, that's outrageous. Nor could I afford to shell out for an International School. Our daughter isn't 2 yet, so we didn't have to make schooling choices.
I have found working and living in Singapore to be hot, sweaty and soul destroying. You really need to love your job or be paid a lot to work here. And have a company car.
I'll probably get a lot of flak for posting this. But that's my advice from our year and a bit of living here. We'd visited Singapore many times as tourists, and relied on advice from colleagues and online forums. But only you know what you can put up with/enjoy.
Best of luck!
movingtospore wrote:Just my 2c, but IMHO if your company is sending you here they owe it to you to put you on a decent enough package that you can 1) put your kids through school and 2) save a bit for when you're old and grey. If they want an expat managing their office here that's part of the cost of doing business. It is NOT easy to get a spot in local schools these days for expats, and as the posts above mentioned there are costs there too. So, if I were you I would take a proposal to your company that they pay for schools, period. The other stuff is gravy - expats don't need all the ridiculous extras they have had here over the years. But schools and good health insurance are a must.
As soon as the gahmen kicks out most of the foreign talent and the foreign "talent."revhappy wrote:Singapore's cost of living especially the rental has now gone through the roof. I feel Singapore has lost its attractiveness as an expat destination.
I am really hoping a strong recession hits here and crashes the property market.
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