Cost of living Singapore - 2007

I have been trying to get realistic picture of "cost of living in Singapore" before I moved in here. i searched many blogs & yahoo answers. I surely got some idea, but it was hard to find the close the approximate feel of how much does it costs a couple with one child or for a couple to live in Singapore with moderate expenses NOW !!.

As it is very important for us to know the cost of living in a new country or city before we move-in, so that we are financially & emotionally prepared to live there !!.

Now that I have already been living in Singapore for more than 3 months, I guess I can put some math around for other people who are in search of the same question "How much does is cost to live in Singapore?".

Again what I am trying to put here is something based on my experience & my lifestyle(which call as Moderate).

I will try to update more on this as I get more data based on my experience here in Singapore.Now let me explain some of the expenses in short to avoid any confusion.

Local transport will cost around $100 for commuting daily to office by MRT/Bus

Fixed Expenses

These are some of the expenses you will have on a monthly basis.

Variable Expenses

These expenses can be different for some months, but most of you will have these as well. Now again here is the lifestyle comes into picture, someone using more of Taxi or eating out frequently will have more amount spent in this category.

Rent

Rent is the major expense in singapore & it ranges from $1000 to $1500, depending where you stay in Singapore. Staying closer to the CBD(or city area/downtown area) is more expensive. So one needs to decide a cap on this before you try to find a good house to stay. The HDB(developed by Singapore Govt) are the most economical & do serve the purpose.

There are 3 types of housing·

• HDB Most of the housing is HDB. Economical & most people prefer this to start with. Choices are 1,2,3,4,5 Bed Room flats in most of areas of Singapore.·
• Condo These are expensive housing schemes by govt or private builders. They are few in all areas & provide facilities like Swimming pool, gym, guarded security etc. But the rooms generally are smaller & you have to pay more for it.

Settlement Expenses

Consider some settlement expenses when you arrive, following are based on my experience·

• One Month rental as Deposit (e.g. $1300)·
• 50% of the per month rent as Brokrage to Agent (e.g. $650)·
• Most of the HDB/Condo flats will have furniture, but sometimes you might have to buy something. Furniture is expensive depending on what you want to buy (e.g. $500 for a Queen size bed)·
• Buying any electronics items like Mixer Grinder/Vaccum Cleaner etc will cost more here.·
• Indian style Kitchen utensils are expensive here (e.g. $50 for a 4 ltr Aluminum Hackings cooker)·
• Any other item you want to buy which is not there in Flat you rent or required.

Some other points about Singapore

• All Indian vegetables/grocery are available in Mustafa 24 hour shop· Little India(a Place in Singapore) has most of the other Indian Stuff & food items.·
• No need of Car as pubic transport is very effective & cheap to travel all around Singapore·
• Weather is not extreme..humid climate·
• Lots of Indians for community help·
• Roundtrip to India is about $700-1000 per person
• Deposit to Schools for registration (e.g. 1 month fee or around $1000-1500 for Indian Schools.
• There are 2 Indian Schools : Bhavans & DPS !! Having CBSE system.

Some useful websites·

• http://www.ecitizen.gov.sg/ - Singapore Govt Site·
• http://www.mustafa.com.sg/ - Mustafa where all Indians go every weekend :)
• http://tt.ecitizen.gov.sg/index.htm - Transportation Info

Related Post

• Cost of Living in Singapore - 2008