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Cost of living in Singapore way higher than expected

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boffenl
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Post by boffenl » Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:53 am

Hi Segue,

Not sure how long you've been in SG, but we've been here over 5 years. I live in an HDB and take the bus and MRT to work everyday (around $4 per day). I am very, very familiar with wet markets and NTUC.

My per month cost of gas and maintenance in the US for my car was about $100USD--I lived 7 miles from my office and had free parking there. My commute was also about 10 minutes.

Please don't mistake my experience with others from the US--it's all relative, right?

But we all make sacrifices to be here. I understand your experience and salary here has allowed you to save money. Coming from the mid-west we kept our two homes and have saved zero during our time in the Garden City.

Everyone's experience is different.

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OpenGL
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Post by OpenGL » Sat, 28 Jan 2012 8:30 pm

Can this be serious? I mean the lifestyle of 28k per month is almost unimaginable. I have a pretty comfortable life here and my wife and I spend under 2,500 per month. What are you doing? Bathing in Cristal? Snacking on Caviare?

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boffenl
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Post by boffenl » Sat, 28 Jan 2012 8:46 pm

Do you rent a room in an HDB? Our HDB rent is $1700 for a three room (2 bedroom). Just wondering how you make it on $2500--unless you're local and live with your parents and have no rent or transport costs.

I'd love to hear how you do it!

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Post by Sir » Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:18 am

also interested! my share of the rent for a 2bed HDB which is cheap comapred to whats on the market is gonna cost over 1/3rd my take home.

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Post by Segue » Thu, 02 Feb 2012 4:49 pm

boffenl wrote:Hi Segue,

Not sure how long you've been in SG, but we've been here over 5 years. I live in an HDB and take the bus and MRT to work everyday (around $4 per day). I am very, very familiar with wet markets and NTUC.

My per month cost of gas and maintenance in the US for my car was about $100USD--I lived 7 miles from my office and had free parking there. My commute was also about 10 minutes.

Please don't mistake my experience with others from the US--it's all relative, right?

But we all make sacrifices to be here. I understand your experience and salary here has allowed you to save money. Coming from the mid-west we kept our two homes and have saved zero during our time in the Garden City.

Everyone's experience is different.
Yes, everyone's experience will be different. I've been here almost 7 years and I've lived in rented CBD condos the whole time. No, I don't have a rental allowance.

My rent is much more than it cost to own my house in the last placed I lived in the US. Its just that I had so many more expenses, and stuff that I was compelled to buy to support the American Dream that more than made up for the difference. Instead of going to Home Depot on the weekends, we now go for a walk exploring or doing something outside.

Back to the cost of a car, its a lot more than fuel and maintenance. Its the hidden costs that you forget about - insurance, cost of capital, depreciation, unscheduled repairs, etc. Its true that you can save a lot of you drive a 15 year old car, but no way its going to be less than public transit in Singapore.

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ecureilx
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Post by ecureilx » Thu, 02 Feb 2012 5:05 pm

Segue wrote: Back to the cost of a car, its a lot more than fuel and maintenance. Its the hidden costs that you forget about - insurance, cost of capital, depreciation, unscheduled repairs, etc. Its true that you can save a lot of you drive a 15 year old car, but no way its going to be less than public transit in Singapore.
Actually, in Singapore, the older the car is, you may pay a lot and a lot more .. including no full insurance for cars beyond 10 years .. though the purchase price drops ..

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 02 Feb 2012 5:09 pm

Hey squirrel, you ever own a car here?
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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Post by ecureilx » Thu, 02 Feb 2012 5:17 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:Hey squirrel, you ever own a car here?
Yah, I did, and then was given a company car and was driving the company van too for customer site visits / delivery .. and I know how painful it is when you are on third party, when you have to pay for dents, broken / chipped windscreen .. and when my then company van's roof speed-light used to get bumped when I forget the height limitation .. and have to fix the 'hole in the sky' ..

Small small amounts that amount to a lot when you realise you have to pay out of your own pocket.

Now ? no, I am happy to drive only for my association when needed .. and when somebody needs me to drive for them...

Oh, I also now graciously refuse when people ask me if i can 'baby sit' their cars, when they are overseas .. !!! unlike before ..



So, SMS, what was your question ??

And yes, tough to believe that wierd looking and not so funny (in your books atleast) guy like me could have afforded to have a car, and also at one time baby sitting and doing concierge service for an ex-boss of mine, dropping his Cayanne for servicing and picking it up at Eurokars and also keeping his E170 running when he was away from Singapore for extended periods of time ..

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Re: Cost of Living in SIngapore

Post by petrov » Wed, 08 Feb 2012 2:23 pm

mummy mantras wrote: Of course, I took it one step further and actually married a local guy and moved into a HDB flat... and I've got 2 kids in preschool (just like the OP) and I used to live in a big city (London, not New York). But I've survived just fine! :D

mummy mantras, i guess i have to look for a local guy too as my income is getting lower as the years go by...

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zzm9980
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Post by zzm9980 » Wed, 08 Feb 2012 3:14 pm

I'd love to hear an update from the original poster. I hope she didn't have to cut Internet access to keep her budget under $28k/month!

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