Moving to Sinapore

[mum&bub]

I'm about to move to Singapore from Sydney with my husband & 6 month old baby, as my husband has received a promotion to a regional role based from Singapore.

Can a family have a reasonable standard of living on $150K sgd?

Are there playgroups for mums & their baby's? (Mother's not maids) Would love to be able to meet other mum's in similar situation.

Thanks

[jpatokal]

I'm about to move to Singapore from Sydney with my husband & 6 month old baby, as my husband has received a promotion to a regional role based from Singapore.

Can a family have a reasonable standard of living on $150K sgd?

No -- because you will be, by Singaporean standards, filthy stinking rich. (There are people in this country making less than $15k.) Welcome to the jet set.

[katem]

Hi

Yes you can quite live quite well on SGD $150000. It would do about the same as in Oz really. Is your accommodation included? If not, rent will be your biggest killer- depending on area- but if you want to be close to the city it would be $3000 a month up. Food is generally about the same as Sydney- if you are prepared to give up beef and lamb which are really expensive here. We eat more pork, fish and rice definetely. If you want to eat the same brands and food as in Oz you can buy them here but they cost more.

Cars are a huge killer- with one kid living close to the city you can get away with not having one- lots of people do- cabs are real cheap and the public transport is cheap and easy.

School fees are the huge killer- so if you aren't having to worry about that you should do fine- and there is heaps of things with mums and bubs- regardless of what you hear, there is lots of people who do look after there own kids - I have a miad and she looks after the house I look after the kids- and that is how heaps of famillies work- don't worry about that too much you can sort that when you get here. There is a New Mothers Support Group that runs talks and social events for mums, St Georges church run playgroups (not religous) and there groups are strictly mums and bubs no maids allowed. Singapore also has to be known as THE place for child enrichment classes. Everyhting from gymbaroo to drama classes to painting and sports and everything in between is available and lots of parents take there kids.

The Australian association (ANZA) also organises social groups and parent things. Singapore is an amazing place to meet people. I think I know more people here than in Oz now.

I hope I have reassured you- Singapore is a great place for an expat posting- and the money means you should be able to do ok and save a bit probably!

[Mum&Bub]

Thank you Katem, that was the kind of informative information I was after.

Our rent is not included (unfortunately), $3,000SGD is roughly what we had factored in, it's around what we pay in Sydney!

It sounds like my little one & I may enjoy our time in Singapore!

Thanks again

[happyhere]

we here as a family of 3 on 50K pa - sing dollars and it is definitely enough for us :

in reply to another thread, these were my tips -

1. live in a comfy 2 bedroom fully furnished apartment for under $2K a month - but this is out of town and definitely out of the Orchard Road, Bukit Timah and East Coast area. there are many many apartments for the taking for under 2 K if you are willing to take a two year lease and don't look like you are likely to wreack the place !

suggest you look into a"heartland" areas like Hougang, Pasir Ris, Serangoon Gardens, Ang Mo Kio, Jurong ,Yishun and Woodlands. Try to stay within a 20 minute walking distance of the mrt station - this isnt too difficult - a lot of the private condominiums nestled in HDB (public housing) estates are located quite close to the MRT stations.

As a bonus, many of these condominiums are beautifully landscaped with swimming pools , gyms and tennis courts. i know - a friend just paid $1.9 k per month - it's a compact 2 bedroom apartment but certainly adequate if your hobbies don't run into woodmaking ! and he has card security, basement parking (he doesn't have a car !) a georgeous 50 m pool in landscaped grounds - yeah -it's 40 mins, mrt to town - it's in yishun - but if you are retired or working from home - hey, take advantage of this !!

2. eat and shop as the locals do - if like my boss whose wife spends a fortune at jasons, $50 K isn't enough. but if you shop at the nearby HDB estates - the lo0cal NTUC and GIANT or shop and save supers - yup, your 50K goes a long way.

and shop at the housing estate malls - my favourite is Hougang Street 21 (they call it Kovan Mall now) and Ang Mo Kio town centre. there's always a food centre, some fastfood restaurants, some local restaurants, a wet market, some supermarkets, lots of household shops and a great (and safe) local scene to drink it all in. at local prices for whole families who live frugally but well on half of your 50K !

3. learn to cook local - this is a great place cos there are many places you can learn at most economical prices - besides learning new skills, my family is delighted.

4. don't drive - cab. no matter how you calculate it - the car's got to be the major expense here. but local transport is good - the buses are frequent and empty !! and if you are travelling duriong off peak - the mrt is a breeze.

5. and yup, this is the place to be when you want to buzz about the region. the economy airfares advertise aggressively - haven't tried them but those fares are incredible. my fave chillout activity is the night train - first class to KL for a weekend - two in an a/c cabin ! and then back on sunday night. book in advance. this isn't a well-kept secret - guess it's cos it's cheap and great fun!


but you don't need them - at 150 K - you will have plenty to spare and suggest you take advantage of another not so well kept secret in Singapore - fulltime maid service - it costs about $1,000.00 a month ($350 gov levy or thereabouts, $350.00 salary and the rest for her food expenses ) i don't have a maid but my more affluent friends do - i do so envy the time it affords them and invariably, the maids are lovely people from Sri Lanka or Indonesia - trat them well, they will look after you beautifully and you gain a loving family member who cooks your meals, cleans and does the laundry !


hey - have a lark here and hope you enjoy the local life - great food and people - try to get out of the expat circle every so often - i've joined cooking classes at the local community centres - for under $150.00, i've attended an 8 session course in chinese restaurant cooking - made local friends and was invited to homes and have hosted my new friends ..


h.


so YES!!! come on over and have a great time !

h.

[ally's mum]

I have found out today that my husband has been posted to Singapore, from Melb. We also have a six month old, so the thought of moving is very daunting, but with all the advice posted I am almost excited about the prospect of moving! hope all goes well for you.