Relocating to Sigapore

[Hamid]

Iam planning to move to singapore with a family ,wife and a baby..What should be my minimum compensation for a fairly decent living.Does Sing$4000 be okay.
Please respond Immediately.This is very urgent.

[rich2000]

Is S$4000 housing allowance?

[Guest]

S$4000 Pm is my complete package.This does not include housing,tax or any other allowances.

[YUP!]

Hi there,

you have picked the wrong place to ask this question. It seems a lot of expats think less than 100,000 is pitiful.

My husband earns this much, and we have two kids. We live in a nice condo (nowhere near Orchard road and afore mentioned expats) and have a good lifestyle. You won't be able to afford a maid or car, but we have survived without these so far. I think it can be done.

Just bear in mind that locals live on FAR less than that. Live like a local rather than as you would at home and you will be ok.

We have found our biggest costs have been baby products (milk formula is really expensive - if your baby is on formula milk expect to pay around 15-20 a tin) and western vegetables for the baby's food, esp. potatoes (paid $2 for 5 spuds yesterday).

Shop at wet markets, avoid orchard road and try to ignore the posters who will tell you it's impossible. It's not.

enjoy.

[living standard]

I'm sure it is quite possible to live on S$4000 per month -- but, if I were you I would just make sure you are not significantly lowering your current living standards in whatever country you are coming from. If possible, visit here and get a good look at the type of housing you will be able to afford so you can make a good judgement about whether or not you will find it suitable. If you can't afford to live a lifestyle that is reasonably close to what you have now, I would not make such a move if I were you. Good luck with everything.

[happyhere]

Tips from a family of 3 – our per annum doesn’t exceed 50K -


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!

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

[Hamid]

Thank you all for the reply..

[cook]

To happy here: Just saw your post regarding many tips for frugal living in Sg. I'd love to learn how to cook local dishes could you give me any tips on where/how to learn?

[Joe1]

Hi, I would be relocating to SG in next 6-9 months and currently is working out how much will my cost of living there. We are a family of 3 and my kid is 8 years old. Can someone advise me how much it will cost for a family of 3 for an accomodation in the East Coast area: Meaning rental, utilities like (elec, gas, water, etc) and foods.