Moving to Singapore from India : Questions Answered !!

Thanks to my readers in 2011 who ask me questions via email or comments. I try to respond to as many as I can and to my best of knowledge.


There is this one particular question which I get asked in different ways. Look the following! :


Question 1) : I am Mr. X salary offered to me is SG$6000/month

• What will a 1 Bed Room condo, in a reasonably close by area, cost?
• Should I take an additional 10% margin over the numbers posted in your 2010 blog for 2012 cost of living?

I am paid close to INR 120,000 pm (After Tax and monthly saving of 40,000) in India do you think the salary offered in SG, I can meet a similar/better life style with the similar savings?

Question 2)  Is it enough for us to live comfortably with that salary in Singapore as we do live a very sophisticated and comfortable life in Chennai/Bangalore/Mumbai/Pune !.

My Answer :   First of all there is no simple answer to these questions!. But I will try to make your decision simple as I have gone through similar stage in my life when I was moving to Singapore. What you need to is to  breakdown your questions in to different logical ones rather than defining them like 'Comfortable' , 'Similar' or 'Reasonable' !!.

Most important is to understand that moving to a new country is your decision and you are trying to do this for your better prospects in life/career. You are moving to Singapore because you decided so and not due to the fact that you could not move to USA/UK or Australia!!. Once you are clear in your mind about the objective of moving to Singapore. The questions related to money part can be sorted out quickly.

Now coming back to comfortable salary and maintaining similar lifestyle as in your present country/city.

Questions you need to ask yourself :

1. What is present Salary + Perks ?
2. How much do I spend today per year ?
3. How much do I save today per year ? Yes per year makes more sense!
4. In my current occupation/job, what is my growth potential ? 
5. What is my current lifestyle ? here are some examples!
• I go and party every other week
• Play a game or Swim everyday
• My kids go to some activity every other day and that costs more than 30k INR p.a.
• I like to travel every 2 months and spend INR 1 Lac on each trip
• My Grocery bills in India goes up to INR 30k p.m.
• I enjoy driving and have 20 Lacs worth car which I drive!

Does above questions makes you more confused? Should not !! ..In fact these are the questions which will put value against the terms like 'Comfortable', 'Sophisticated' etc .

Now coming back to moving to Singapore from India. The biggest question readers ask is "How much I would be able to save if I get $xxxxx.xx Salary ?".

This depends on following lifestyle options you will choose to when you start living in Singapore! :

1. Accommodation : Condo or HDB, 2 BHK or 3 BHK ..Remember there is no 1 BHK!
2. Grocery : From Fairprice(a branded Shop in Singapore) or from Mustafa only. Indian Vegetables only or will have local ones.
3. School : Local or Indian International or US/AU International.
4. Transportation : Local Public Transport(Bus,MRT) or Private Car or Taxi!
5. Activities : Club Membership, Gym, Swimming etc
6. Outside Food : Indian or Local or International Cuisine.
7. Recreation : Going to Pub, Movie every week, Fine Dining every 2 weeks!
8. House Maid: DIY or Keep one! . Singapore has given an excellent choice in this area but it sets you back by $700 pm.

I hope this gives you more insight into Singapore Lifestyle!. Also comparing lifestyle in India and Singapore is different when it comes to overall facilities. Singapore is an International country with most sophisticated and modern facilities to offer but with a cost. So if you think that you can maintain similar lifestyle as in India, please do some comparison based on above questions and you will get a fair answer yourself.

Most of the time we calculate cost of living for basic necessities only like Accommodation, Grocery, School etc. You need to consider that when you start living in for longer duration(within 2 months infact!) you would need other things as well in life to live 'Comfortably' :)

You surely need to define the most important question of all, that is "Savings per year". If you keep this goal very clear in mind and with realistic calculations(they are still approx!). You will be able to meet your goal fairly good. Remember don't keep savings goals on per month basis rather on per year basis. This makes life easy!

Best of luck for your moving decision to Singapore and Happy New Year 2011!. 

Please email me on the above email address and I will respond

 Related Posts :

• Cost of Living in Singapore 2010
• Cost of Living in Singapore for Bachelors
• Cost of Living in Singapore 2008
• What is comfortable Salary in Singaopre ?

Cost of living in Singapore 2010 for married couple with one kid

Its been long time I have written about cost of living in Singapore. 2010 is mid way and I guess it is right time to share some more information with my readers!. In start of 2010 in Singapore, not much rise in rents is seen. But now I heard from my friends that rents are increasing as they are trying to renew their contracts. For long time I wanted to share this post about cost of living in Singapore for married couple with 1 kid. As many of my readers were looking for this information. It is easy to search now a days with google, but if you get something handy it works best :)

If you look at cost it is not much changed from 2009 for most of the things except rent which is increasing in few areas. As I have mentioned in my earlier post too, rent is something you can control too by staying away from city center. As commute in Singapore is very well managed, you reach office pretty fast with combination of MRT and Bus in peak hours.



Kids Expenses : Kids are expenses are something one need to calculate with some flexible budget as most of the activities you are not aware that you will start or not. It also depends how old your kid is when you first arrive in Singapore. As the time goes, kids expenses does go up in any country. In Singapore you have lots of activities for kids which are all year round, like Swimming, Skating etc ..Which normally in India are restricted to warm seasons!. So make sure that you make a good estimate of kids expenses before decide to jump on a plane to Singapore!.

Indian International Schools in Singapore: This is very important decision for Indian Kids. I get lot of emails of readers asking for information on fees and why Indian International School etc. About fees, I have already provided that information, but you need to verify from School websites as these things do change yearly. If you plan to stay in Singapore for short term(3-5 years) I would recommend to go for Indian International School for your child. Although it is expensive as compared to Singapore Local Schools, it makes life much easier for the kid when he/she returns back to India. All the the Indian International Schools in Singapore are affiliated to CBSE. Based on your location you can decide the school. In my personal opinion NPS is a good school which is started recently there. DPS and GIIS are also well managed schools.One good thing about these schools is that generally you get admissions easily whenever you need and fees are published on websites. There are no donations, just refundable deposits.

I hope this helps you. Please do email me if you need any more specific information.

Related Posts :

Cost of living in Singapore in 2010
Preparing for Moving to Singapore
What is comfortable Salary in Singapore

What is comfortable salary in Singapore ?

Recently I am getting lot of comments which in my Cost of Living in Singapore post around comfortable salary in Singapore. Also some readers directly give their salary they are being offered in Singapore and ask whether this is enough. Most of these questions are covered in my Readers Mailbags

Even then I do get questions like these. So I thought of writing about it.

Q: What is comfortable salary in Singapore ?

A: Now do you think any one can answer this ? Meaning of comfortable can be different for everyone because it actually depends on what your are earning now and what is your expectation when you start living in Singapore. Singapore offers comfortable living to all levels of people who come here. So defining what is comfortable for you is upto you. If you are a bachelor and sharing apartment with 4-5 friends then you save big amount on rent. This way your comfortable salary comes down as compared to someone who is married and not sharing the apartment.

More than earning comfortable salary, I believe people are looking for more and more savings when they are moving to Singapore or for that matter USA. It cannot be like that. Earning and savings are two different things as it all depends on how much you spend(expenses) over a period of time. So always try to put the savings for a period of 1 year or 3-5 year term rather than trying to see how much you will start saving once you land here or any new country.

Q: I am going to get $3500 or $2500 will it comfortable for living ?

A: This is a typical question again. As you can understand that there are some basic costs involved in any country you live in. You can only reduce some of the stuff like Rent, if you are sharing with someone. But some other costs like Grocery, School Fees, Utility Charges, Commute etc is something for which you must budget some minimum amount depending on your own lifestyle.

So the answer to above question is something you need to figure out by researching the facts(Google is your best friend!) and probably asking questions to your friends.

If you still have more specific questions, I will try to answer as much as possible based on my own experience. Which will provide good starting point for you to research further.

cheers




Related Posts :

Tips for Renting Good Apartment in Singapore
Cost of living in Singapore for Married Couples
Cost of living in Singapore for Bachelor not sharing Apartment
Cost of living in Singapore for Bachelor sharing Apartment
Cost of living in Singapore for Married couple with one kid

Renting House or Apartment in Singapore : Some tips!

If you are renting a apartment or house in Singapore, you would find this post useful..hopefully! ..Also by writing this post I want to attract more readers to share their experience while renting flat in Singapore. By doing this many people who are new to Singapore will get to understand how the flat rental process works in Singapore.

• In most of the cases you have to find a good Agent(Individual or Company)
• Try to reach to your friends or colleagues to get reference for a good Agent/Broker to find a flat for you.
• Decide in advance about the Rent you are comfortable to pay for a flat in Singapore. Keep 5-10% tolerance in case you find something too good!
• Be clear in your mind about HDB, Condo and Landed Property facilities. This helps you narrow down your search. There is no point in searching both HDB and Condo.
• Only rent an approved unit with stamped agreement in place.
• Have frank and open discussions with your agent to avoid any trouble later during finalization of the deal for rent.
• Use Google Map and narrow down on the area in which you would like to rent a flat. Anything between 45-60 mins of commute is normal in Singapore!
• Look for these facilities near to your flat:
• MRT Station should not be more than 3-4 bus stops away
• Bus Stop should be near by
• If you have kids make sure that school is not too far - Specially you are planning to put your kid in Indian International School, you need to make choice of school first and then decide in which area you would like the flat to be.
• Make sure that you view at least 5-6 flats in the same area before you make a final decision.
• Do not make hasty attempt to finalize something just in case Agent/Broker is pressurizing that this the Best you can get!
• There are ample flats(both HDB and Condo) in Singapore and no need to hurry.
• Make sure that you understand the terms and conditions in the contract. If any doubt take your time and take help of someone who understands the contract.
• General guideline is that if you are doing 6 months contract you need to pay 6 months rent in advance. If 12 months contract, 1 month rent in advance. You need to pay 2 months of rent in advance to owner if you are going for 2 years contract.
• Please check all the details(furniture, lighting, electronics, fittings, fridge, TV etc) before you finalize the deal and contract. Make sure to click a photograph of the flat in detail for your and owners records.
• As far as possible do not pay any money to either owner or agent in cash. Use Cheque (if you have a savings account, you can always order Cashier's Order from Bank) or Bank Transfer.
• Do not pay more rent in advance than it is normally given. e.g. if you are renting for 12 months, pay only 1 month rent as advance deposit. Do not pay more than that even if the owner is ready to lower the monthly rent. If you feel that you are being cheated or asked for more money just back out from the deal and look out for another flat.

I can't think of anything else at this point. Hopefully my readers will add some more points. I will add some more if I think through.

enjoy
Sandeep


Search Words : Singapore flat rental , Singapore house rental , Tips for renting flat in Singapore , House rental in Singapore , Information about renting house in Singapore

Reader Mailbag # 5 : Cost of Living in Singapore posts!

Sorry for not being able to update my reader mailbag for sometime. Also I would like to request my readers to have more detailed information in case they want a specific query to be answered. This is my best attempt to answer what I feel about the query and should not be taken as it is. Do your own research before taking any decisions.

Hope you enjoy reading my posts and get some value out of it. Please feel free to comment and share your experiences with other to help them out!

Will 60000 Singapore dollars per annum sufficient for a couple to live in Singapore and save some pennies for home.....
-Swami

I believe it is good salary to start with if you are looking for a change and would like to move to Singapore from India. Although as I have said earlier, the cost of living depends on many factors and it is important that you do your own math before classifying anything to good, decent or fair. As that helps you to set the expectations right and no surprises when you land in new country with changing times. Please go through my earlier Reader Mailbags and posts to find more.

Hi Sandeep ,

I am looking for 2 bedroom hdb now , but not getting anything less than 2k.
-Chandra

I do have any details on what rent prevails in which area in Singapore. But if you give more details probably I can help out. I personally feel that rents are coming down a bit in some areas in Singapore. Also rent in any area depends on many factors like renovation in the flat, proximity to MRT, Malls. You need to give some hard try before reaching any conclusion. As I have speak to many people who come to Singapore ..I find that they do give up on searching and settle on something they have found. This happened to me as well. So do some more search and you should be able to find a HDB flat in your budget. ..good luck !

Hi Sandeep,

Thanks to you for so informative blog. Just wanted to know, whats the difference between a Condo,a HDB and Landed accommodation. I also find that people give on rent their single rooms.Is that a common practice in Singapore.

Also what are the central locations in Singapore. Please advise. Regards.
-Anonymous

Thanks for reading my posts and commenting. A Condo privately build gated apartment complex with security and also amenities like swimming pool, gym, party hall etc. HDB aparments do not have gated security and other amenities attached to apartment but at same time offer good accommodation and proximity to schools, malls, MRT and Bus stops. Landed property is a row house or a independent house....in India we call it Row House or Bungaow or Villa!

Yes it very common practice to get Single rooms like Master room or 1 bed room by families. It is cheaper and good option if you a bachelor.

Singapore is built nicely all over to provide all amenities to public. By central if you mean the Business District, then it is Marina Bay, raffles place, suntec city, river valley road etc etc ...

Hope this helps!

Enjoy ..Sandeep

Reader Mailbag # 4 : Cost of Living in Singapore 2008

Hi Sandeep,

we are planning to rent out this house at HDB Bukit Batok, 177 Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, Singapore 650177, The rent is SGD 1700/ month, you think it is a good area and a decent rent??
-Bijal

Bijal thanks for commenting on my blog.

Well, as I said earlier in my posts that all areas in Singapore are good in terms of accessibility, food options, grocery, shopping malls etc. So finally it comes to your choice of location in terms of commute to office and how much you want to pay as rent!.

So go ahead if the HDB flat is not too far away from MRT Station - may be 3-4 bus stops is a good idea.

About rent this looks like good rent for 3-4 room house. But again as I lack details in the question, can't comment on that. Again it depends sometimes, some people prefer small but well furnished flats and some prefer bigger flats like 3-4 bedrooms.

Hi Sandeep,

hope all well with you.
Could you please advice in which areas the rent is not high. Am a business men and planning to open a office in Singapore so would like to shell out less funds. I would be moving with my wife. Are the rents payable very month or its taken in advance for 12 months. Are there any security deposits while renting.
-Sachin

Sachin thanks for posting a comment. Rents are payable monthly most of the times unless its a lease(again I have not seen anybody personally doing so). Advance rent depends upon your contract terms, for 1 year rental agreement the advance would be 1 month rent in advance(wow that gives relief if you are coming from India where we pay 10-12 months rent in advance!)

The rent in advance itself is a security deposit. Most of the rent agreements has a clause to for either party to vacate or ask to vacate after 6 months by giving 1 month notice. So need to check the agreement carefully before you sign in.

About rent being high or low in areas in Singapore. You need to search based on your office location and commute time you want to spend. Once you decide on location for example Senkang, Ang Mo Kio, or Tampanies you can try searching flats in those areas and generally rent varies depending upon type of flat and renovation done.

cheers
Sandeep

FREE VOIP Calls from Singapore and to Singapore too !

You must be searching in Google for "FREE Calls to India", "FREE VOIP Calls in Singapore", "VOIP Calls from Singapore to USA" or "FREE 2 way calls from Singapore to USA" etc etc ...

In this world of Microsoft and Google we want everything free ! .. Although Google Talk/Yahoo Messenger has given us a way to talk FREE by using our PCs. But again this puts us to the restriction of using PC to PC calls only. Well not right ..There is one more service called Fring which allows one to call Mobile to Mobile anywhere in the world just by using the Free WiFi or GPRS!...But we want more ! ..We want the convenience of traditional good old phone to phone dialing without worrying of setup's of WiFi / GPRS or complex setup of some Java based software in our Mobile.

In USA I know my friends were using Vonage to use this so called free calling to international destinations.

So now for Singapore what is the option ? ! ..I did some research and found out this :

• PC to PC works the best
  
• With Internet changing our lives, everybody with laptops and PCs with broadband. PC to PC calls using Google Talk/ Yahoo Messenger / Skype works the best in my opinion.
• But we loose this option is either of the party is not having PC or not equipped to do the first time setup of installing software, using broadband, buying headset etc etc
  
• Fring - Mobile to Mobile VOIP using WiFi or GPRS
  
• This works good too in Singapore. As in Singapore we get to use Free WiFi Zones
• Many Malls have Free WiFi Access
• Most of the homes will have WiFi
• I have tested this and it works great. Specially when using the good signal broadband connection at home. As any way you are trying to make FREE calls sometimes only when you are at home.
• Free or subscription based VOIP Providers
• There are plenty when you search google like : www.ipzoo.com
  
• Some offer free calls back to Singapore or other countries
• But mostly they have charges like 6/7 cents per min to most of the destinations like India.
• I am not very comfortable using these kind of services as they are not reliable and involves subscription which is higher or equivalent to what I can get via a Calling Card like Mustafa or others available in Singapore
• 100% FREE Unlimited Calls to any destination
• Now this is something worth exploring
• I did some research in this area and found this company called Nexustel
• I know few people in Singapore using this.
  
• Although I am not sure whether this is legal to use this way in India
• I called the person to check the details
  
• You have to buy 2 VOIP Adaptor - Yes TWO
• One you install at your home in Singapore with your broadband connection
• Second you send to India or any other destination in world and install/connect to broadband internet there too
• Connect normal Phone to the VOIP Adaptor at both ends
  
• Now once you are connected, the person in India or any other destination can call the Singapore Nexustel Phone Number and the phone in Singapore will ring for FREE unlimited time.
• The Cost of 2 Adaptors is I guess in the range of SGD 400-500. So this is the one time investment you are making.
• There is monthly subscription also. As you will be making use of this VOIP Phone to make calls to Singapore Locally too which is around 2-3 cents per minute.

So with all these options you are set to explore the VOIP world in Singapore!.

Well some points to take care before you jump

• Always use good company for VOIP as once the subscription is done you are locked with the company if the voice call quality is bad.
• As we are talking about Digital Voice here, the broadband connection reliability matters most here - any compromise on this will frustrate you !
• Check the legal terms on using VOIP in your country before opting for any options.
• GPRS is expensive!
• Check call rates or plans for calling international destination with your Mobile or land line service provider first to see you get any good plan

cheers
enjoy VOIP !

Cheap Phone Calls to India : Airtel Call Home !

Airtel is ringing Singapore NRIs finally!. I have been tracking various players in this pre-paid card business for last 2 years. Airtel and Reliance started their India calling services in USA. But in Singapore we were limited to Mustafa Calling Card(which offers the best rate of 120 minutes for SGD $6.90). There are other pre-paid cards too but most of them will cheat you on minutes and hidden connection charges. I hope Airtel will do its best to get maximum attention from Singapore NRIs.

Check the page for Airtel Call Home for the offer of 70% extra talk time. So for $10 pre-paid card purchased you get 162 minutes of talk time which comes to 6.2 cents per minute. This is great!.

I have been getting marketing calls from some Indian Companies too which offers 7 cents/minute for India calling - both land line and mobile. Which is good too. But we need to remember following points before we jump and take the offer!:

• Check your local Mobile plans for any offers for FREE IDD rates
• e.g. Starhub now offers FREE IDD for India too! - so that means you only pay local charges for calling India. Depending on the plan that could be 7 cents/minutes too.
• Make sure that the prepaid card does not charge any connection fee
• Check whether it allows PIN less calling - Phoenix Card in Singapore allows that. It makes life easier.
• When you use prepaid card you also pay the call charges from your landline and mobile. Landline is pretty cheap but mobile means more 7 cents/minute apart from prepaid. So you end up spending 14 cents/minute for a India call.
• Some cards have different charges for mobile and landline in India.

I know many use Google Talk or Yahoo Messenger for calling India, which is the best option if PC is there on the both sides. But for many occasions we still need some IDD or prepaid card service to call India.

Enjoy!

Related Posts

• Cost of Living in Singapore for Bachelors
• Cost of Living in Singapore 2008
  

Reader Mailbag #3 : Cost Of Living Singapore 2008

I am getting more comments for the cost of living post and I am making efforts to answer them. Readers please post comments to share your ideas too to help these people in their decision. Again as mentioned earlier, you need to do your own research before taking any decision. As moving from one country to another country involves lot of cost and also other factors like change in job, culture, climate and many other things. Also for most cases the decision once taken cannot be changed very easily in short duration. I am glad that I am able to provide some help in this process. enjoy reading!

Hi Sandeep,

Thanks for the information.

I have got an offer of 5000 SGD per month from singapore. I am bachelor and I would like to know whether this is a good salary or not? I am an S/W engineer having around 4 years of experience.

Please let me know.

-Rahul

Rahul, I like you read the following post of mine here. In my personal opinion SGD 5000 is a good salary to save enough money if you are going to share the apartment with few more bachelor's like you.

Best of luck !

-Sandeep

I am a software engineer with 5 years of experience. Recently I got an employment offer from a Singapore based company.

Basic Salary : SGD 2850

Accommodation : SGD 350

Transportation : SGD 100

Meal Subsidy : SGD 150

Customer Services Subsidy: SGD 50

Total Salary per month will be SGD 3500. I am also entitle to AWS in year end, equal to or prorate of 1 month basic salary, upon confirmation of employment.

Q1)Is it a good offer comparing to the Singapore standard ?

Currently I am working in Bangalore,India and drawing a salary package of Rs-8,50,000 per anum. I'm able to draw around Rs-53,000 in hand per month (after tax). I am a newly married and my wife also earns around Rs-20,000 a month. Normally our family expense (rent Rs-10000, food and travel) wont go beyond Rs-22,000 per month.

In Singapore, I would like to go for a HDB flat (minimum 1 bedroom, 1 living room, kitchen and toilet) and I don't want to share the accommodation.

Q2)From the given data, Whats your opinion on my relocation to Singapore? Is the offer financially beneficial for me?

My wife is .net/C#/VB software engineer with 1+ years experience in an MNC.

Q3)Whats her chance of finding similar job in Singapore?

Q4)What salary range she can expect in Singapore ?

Q5)With the double income option, Whats your opinion on my relocation to Singapore?

Please send me your reply to

Thanks and Regards,

-Ravi

Ravi,

A1)As you might know,there is nothing called as Singapore Standard or for that matter India/USA standard when comes to salary package , it all depends on various factors like company you are joining, your skill level, need by the company and your negotiation skills for getting good salary package. You can have an idea about Singapore Wages here :

Ministry of Manpower Singapore Data on Salaries in Singapore

A2) This is an average salary. You need to define your goals for savings in Singapore as compared to what you are saving in Bangalore. I believe savings of around of Rs.50k(Rs.72k salary - expenses of Rs22k) is considered good in Bangalore. You should consider some other companies in Bangalore or in India to see what is being offered for your exp.+ skills. This will help you to take the decision better.

A3) Yes she can get job with some time of searching.

A4) Salary range could be checked in the report I have provided link earlier.

A5) Yes double income surely helps!

Hope this helps.Best of luck!

regards

-Sandeep

I would request readers to comment in more details, in case they are looking for any specific information. This would help me to provide better feedback. Also whatever I write is my personal opinion and cannot be taken granted. DYWR(Do You Own Reseach!)

Reader Mailbag #2 : Cost Of Living Singapore 2008

Hiii sandeep ur blogs have been highly informative and are a great help. i wanted to know about tax filing in singapore and India. Are u required to file returns only in Singaore or also in India how do u manage to do it??? 

-Bijal

Thanks for the comments Bijal. It is a very good question. I believe most of the people who get relocated to the new country from India must be thinking about this. Well the simple answer to this question is that you need to file Income Tax in Singapore as long as you are eligible for it. For more information checkout the informative website : Singapore Income Tax Website. Regarding Income Tax in India. You need to file returns with Indian Income Tax authority and pay the required Income Tax if you have any income in India. This is also applicable for people who have NRI status. 

Now with India providing various ways to file returns electronically it is much easier to file IT returns in India. Please read more about this at : RBI on NRI Rules on Income Tax

Hi Sandeep, many thanks for this information. Really you are doing a great work.I am planning to move to Singapore in Dec 08 along with my spouse. I would like to know more about master room (facilities, area, access to this room, cooking facility etc). Whether cooking is allowed? Thanks 

-PU

I assume you are talking about renting only the Master Bedroom out of 3 Bed Room HDB Flat or a Condo. Well generally speaking this kind of arrangement is more suitable for bachelors. But there are couples also who share HDB/Condo flats like this. Generally it requires lot of understanding between 2 parties sharing the flat and also requries some flexibility from everybody who is sharing the flat. The Master Room is the one which is having attached bathroom and toilet. Three bed room HDB flat have 1 Master room with attached bathroom and toilet. The other toilet is either near the Kitchen or having access via the living room(this is mainly true for new HDB flats which are less than 6-7 years old). Whether cooking is allowed or not depends on the owner of the flat. Most of the times the kitchen is well equipped with Fridge, Microwave Oven, Rice Cooker and some utensils too if you are lucky!..Best of luck for your house search !!

Cost of living in Singapore 2008 : For Bachelors / Single !

I have been getting lot of comments from my bachelor readers to find out what is the "Cost of living in Singapore for Bachelors".Most of them will start like this "hi...i have received an offer of S$3050 from a PR firm in Singapore and m thinking of relocating. I'm currently single and would appreciate your advice on whether it is possible to live comfortably on this salary... - Anonymous"

My blog post about "Cost of Living in Singapore 2008" get around 1-2 comments from people asking questions like this. My idea of sharing this information is to give some understanding for people who are trying to relocate to Singapore. I hope they get some idea from these posts. But most important thing to note is that I am not trying to advice here about anything. What I am putting is my frank personal opinion about "Cost of Living in Singapore". As I said before too, this depends on your lifestyle and how you continue to live here in Singapore. Also things might change over a period of time either on -ve or +ve side of it. So please do your own assessment before you take any decision.

With this let me explain about how much an bachelor would need in Singapore $ to live comfortably. Again this would depend now many things like,whether you are sharing the accommodation or not, how much do you spend on lifestyle products like iPhone!, how many times and where do you go out for eating etc etc.

Here is the sample chart to show how much an bachelor will probably spend here in Singapore for living.

Assumptions

• 4 Bachelors / Singles living together in HDB Flat!
• Sharing Grocery Expenses
• Cooking at least 1 meal daily at home !
• If a single person not living in Shared Accommodation - then the cost increases - But its a matter of preference for many. Remember it is good to live the life the way you want rather than savings some bucks :)

So for a Single it turns out to be very good as they can save good amount of money!. Again in this one needs to add a cost of travel for holidays or back to home country needs to be included. But that another post !

Enjoy Singapore!

Related Posts

• Cheap India Calling options from Singapore
• Choosing Cable TV in Singapore
• Choosing Internet Connection in Singapore
• Choosing Mobile Connection in Singapore
  

Reader Mailbag #1 : Cost Of Living Singapore 2008

In this series I will try to address the questions asked by my readers specially on Cost of Living in Singapore. This helps me to consolidate the questions and answers by me. Also it helps readers to find the answers they are looking for quickly!

The reason of for having this series is that I would like to help readers and want to protect their identity in case they put their email in the comments. Also this is a great way to share ideas !

I am getting an Offer from company to pay me SGD $3000 and rental provided by the company. I have two kids, one goes to nursary and other is neonatal.How it would be to move to Singapore from India and earn some money..plz reply back me on at yahoo.com.
- Vidyanath

I would personally avoid to give any recommendations or advice in this case. But at the same time I would like to share some facts so that it helps you to take the decision better.

If you are planning to move to Singapore from India. It is important for you to assess what you are saving there per month and how much is your expectation when you settle down in Singapore after 6 months of moving in. As there are expenses when you move in, so the first year's average savings reduce. I would suggest you to do some fact finding based on your current spending habits and savings per month in India. Also factor your current job and its potential to grow in India.

Nursary costs depends on where you put your kid. The range is between $300(decent one)-$750 based on my research in this area.

hi Mr.Sandeep ...good work ..I have got a offer from Singapore and they are offering me $1200 for housing and $2800 for other expenses. My husband and 2 yr old son will move with me. my husband is a marketing manager and I hope he will get a job in Singapore..I am really confused if I should take up the job ..what do you think ?
-Praveena

I picked up this question from my readers comment too as it similar to what I answered earlier. But this has another important aspect. It happens many times that either of the spouse finds a job and they have this tough question to decide whether to move in with that and then find job for other one later when they land in.

In this particular case again its a tough decision to take. But if you do your research right and plan properly this is something worth exploring. You would get 2 Bed room HDB apt in Singapore for $1200, although it depends on area and how furnished the flat is. Living with a family of 3 with $2800 is tough on budget, but if your spouse is confident on getting job here in Singapore in 3-4 months timeframe. The idea is worth looking at.

Singapore job market looks promising at present. So getting a job if you have right skills in demand is not difficult.

Please refer to following archives for more information on this subject:

Cost of Living in Singapore Posts

Small Savings on Grocery Items in Singapore - 2008

With Grocery taking almost $300-$400 of the monthly budget. It is important that we save on some items which makes sense.

• Go with House Brand!
• This is my favorite of all!. I was at the NTUC(FairPrice) recently and found that Detol Hand wash costs around $5+ whereas similar quantity House Brand Anti-bacteria hand wash costs only $2.50+. We always know Detol or some other brand which is shown on TV, but are unaware of simple house brand alternatives!..Check out similar house brand items at Carrefour too ..Personally I like the Jams there !
  
• Buy from your favorite Shop
  
• This is a no-brainier but it is important that you buy in bulk only from the shop which offers discounts and priced fairly. I am still unable to understand how same brand of Fresh Milk costs $5.20 in One Shop whereas same costs $4.90 in other ;) ..checkout few stores like Cold Storage, Carrefour, NTUC FairPrice etc and you will come to know where to shop more !. My Personal preference is to buy Fruits from FairPrice and Carrefour(whenever possible).
• Order Online if possible
• We order the Indian Groceries online in Singapore using website Online Groceries
• It makes more sense to order online whatever you can specially when you know that the stuff you are ordering is going to be of a same quality as you buy it from the store personally.
• Specially bulky items like Milk Cartons, Rice , Atta flour etc. As you have lot of convenience to get these delivered at your door step. Saves Taxi trip, queue at Taxi Stand, weekend time !
• FairPrice also offers Online Shopping
  
• Compare prices before you buy some items
• This is again common sense but we ignore and assume sometimes.
• A very nice example of Umbrella I had yesterday when I went to FairPrice Xtra at Hougang Point. We bought good quality Umbrella for $2.60(Aluminum frame and light weight) only. I remember buying a similar kind of Umbrella from a local shop for $13 sometime back. Even in Little India I have never seen Umbrella below $5 and they are the heavy ones. Although its a small item, but we keep loosing them sometimes!
  
• Make a reserve list for promotions!
• Always have some items to buy during promotions. Recently I saw promotions of Cock Brand Groundnut Oil for around $7+ whereas same trades at some shops for $10+. So it is a good idea to buy few items from some of the shops which keep offering promotions for the same.
• Buy cut fruits from Grocery Shops !
• You are one of a kind who likes to eat Fruit everyday during lunch or in the evening !. If you are lucky to have a carrefour or FairPrice shop near your office. You should buy the cut fruit from them instead of buying from the Fruit stall as the difference makes a lot of sense. Fruit stalls are good for juices!

Happy Shopping in Singapore !

Related Posts

• Cost of Living in Singapore 2008
• Cost of Living in Singapore 2007
• Reader Mailbags on Cost of Living in Singapore
  
• All cost of living posts of mine
  

FAQ on Cost of Living for Singapore

I have been getting many queries from people around the world for cost of living in Singapore. It is tough to a answer to the question "I have been offers $xxyy, would that be enough for decent life for a couple?" ..Well answer to this is mainly tough as cost of living really depends on how you really live, spend your money in various things over a period of time.

If you are living frugally, you might save some money based your income and expenses. But sometimes this can get tricky ..for e.g. if you make a trip back to India or your home town after 6 months of stay here in Singapore. Your average monthly expenses is going to go up. So this is math.

I would still like to help my readers with their queries, wherever I can. So please if you are asking a specific question, leave your email-id like "xxvvbb at gmail.com" or "djhj at yahoo.com". This way I can reply back to you if time permits. Otherwise for somebody who is desperately looking for some answer, either they have to check back the blog back to see whether I have tried giving the answer. Also sometimes the question is asked in some other post of mine, while the query is related to the cost of living post! ..So you see this is tricky and time consuming for me to manage ..

My objective is to help people who are trying to get information about Singapore.

Again this is all my personal views and should be taken with caution before taking any decision.

Hope this helps ...with this I will try to put some posts soon to have some of the common queries.

Enjoy !

Become aware of Medical Costs in Singapore

Become aware ! ..sounds like a yogi giving an advise. But this is something based on my experience so far. One must be aware of the costs involved whenever going for medical consultation in Singapore. When we are new in a country, we are not aware of how the charges are made up!. Let see this real life example :

I had been to a hospital here for medical consultation. My first visit to this hospital was 8 months back. Now when I went there again this time, I had changed the Dr. for some reason(basically I wanted to get second opinion and I was not convinced the way Dr. treated me last time). So when I was billed this time, the cashier gave me bill of $97 as against $75 for a patient for subsequent visit !. As I was aware of this fact as written there on the reception. I asked her why I am charged for $97 being a subsequent visitor to the same hospital. She said it is because I changed the Dr. :) ...I mentioned her very assertively that what difference does it make as it is still the same hospital .. She resisted a bit but eventually changed the bill to $75.

I was surprised to see this kind behavior from a reputed hospital.

Refer to : Saving on cost of Medical consultation in Singapore

Savings on Home Entertainment in Singapore

I thought of writing this post to help people to choose better Cable TV and Internet for their home usage. As with all services we must be careful with choosing the right vendor and package. As once we are into the contract, we cannot exit without penalty. Also you can only upgrade your plan from the existing one, no downgrade of plans possible !


Cable TV

We have two options for Cable TV in Singapore.

Starhub

Starhub is one of the major provider of Cable TV Services in Singapore. They have more subscriber base than their competitor Singtel MioTV.

• Starhub has all popular channels with them like Discovery, HBO, Star Movies, Sony etc
• It is more popular with Indians as they have Zee TV, Sony, Star Plus and Star Gold Hindi channels
• The cable tv is delivered via traditional Cable point in the flat..generally available in all HDB/Condo flats
• The quality of service is good.
• Hindi channels are International version of the same channel in India to suite timezone and interest.
• Around 6 local channels are offered free.
  

Cost

• You need to choose 3 basic groups plus any additional channels
• They have value packs to suite the needs to many people
• Hindi World value pack costs $44.94 at present which has Star Plus, Sony Entertainment and Zee TV
• The charges for other exclusive channels like HBO, Star Movies, Cinemax are higher.

Sintel MioTV

Recently MioTV is trying to compete with Stahub. Though they do not not have same channels as Starhub but do offer good price plans and other channels which Starhub may not offer.

• The delivery of MioTV is using ADSL Router!
• One needs to have Telephone line from Singtel too to have this offering.
• Quality is good
• Some good channels for Indians are NDTV 24x7 News channel, NDTV Profit and Zee TV.
• They have EROS Bollywood Movie(Video on demand) channel as well which offers 15 movies to view from!
• Again 6 local channels are offered free!

Cost

• Cost is very competitive
  
• The minimum charge per month is $16.05 !
• You can pay on per month basis too. This is something Starhub do not offer as of now.

If you are really not watching channels like Discovery, National Geo, HBO etc ..Then Singtel mio TV is best for you. Although you need to buy a telephone line in order to have the Cable TV, still the competitive price plan offered by Singtel is very cost effective. Specially if you are only watching news and also would like to get the good news channel from India like NDTV 24x7 you should go for mio TV. Also NDTV Profit is also a good channel if you like to keep upto date with Indian Stock Market and business!

I was having starhub for last 1 year and now enjoying Sintel mio TV!.

One thing you need to remember that for Starhub cable TV there is a minimum contract of 3 or 6 months. But Singtel mio TV is pay per month basis. So it all depends on your choice of channels to make the choice for Starhub or mio TV

Always check with promotional offers at the time of contracting..that really helps to cut the cost things like initial charges, set-top box or any other discounts they are offering.

The best thing is to get a connection transfer from someone whose contract is near to end!.

Hope this helps!

Saving cost on airfare to India from Singapore !

Everybody wants to save costs on airfare as that is the major cost when you are living away from your family/relatives. If you are visiting 1 or more times in a year to India from Singapore, its important that we understand what are the ways we can reduce costs on airfare. Also a better planning will help you to get the same preferred airlines of yours with reduced cost !

In order to understand airfares to various destinations from Singapore, goto http://www.airfare.com.sg. This website provides us good overview of all the types of airfares and airlines available for the various destinations. This is a starting point just to get an idea.

Other travel agents who provide competitive fares to India and other destinations are :

• Mustafa Air Travels
• Serangoon Air Travel Located at Tekka Mall @ Little India

I have used Serangoon Travels and my experience has been good with their service and competitive fares. But one needs to do this planning just before you are looking for the fares for which you have finalised the dates. This helps a lot as fares are dynamic and change due to seasonal requirements. e.g. fares are higher during school holidays.

Following are the airlines who offer flights to India on major destinations : Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Jet Airways, Air India, Indian Airlines, Silk Air, Srilankan Airlines, Tiger Airways etc .

Some points to note :

• Most of the time Air India / India Airlines provide the best fares
• Lookout for deals from Singapore Airlines from time to time in newspaper
• Point to Point international flights are cheapest e.g. If you take Singapore - Hyd flight, it is cheaper, but if you book Singapore - Hyd - Pune it is expensive. Rather book Sin-Hyd flight from here & book the Hyd-Pune flight separately in India.
• Lookout for code flights schedule. e.g. Air India operates with Singapore Airlines. So you fly Singapore Airlines by paying Air India fare :)...this is the BEST TIP !
  
• Avoid budget airlines if your schedule likely to change later.
• Check for baggage allowance with airlines, as budget airlines offer less baggage allowance and no wavier most of the times.
• As far as possible keep one airline, that helps to build the miles and also frequent flying helps you in case of wait listing or priority boarding !
• Book in advance as far as possible to avoid paying higher fare for preferred dates(e.g. friday night flight)

Hope this helps ...please comment and share your experience with other people on saving cost on air fare and some more tips to manage air travel better !

Saving cost on furniture purchase in Singapore

Last weekend I spent almost entire day in searching for a good queen size bed plus mattress for our guest bedroom. I have never been to any furniture shop here in Singapore. My criteria for the bed was simple :

• Simple queen size bed frame
• Pocketed Spring mattress(this is the most firm type of mattress)
• Total cost : $500-600

My first step was to look in Salvation Army Stores . The only thing you can buy from here is the Bed Frame, that too if you are lucky to get a good one. As most of the stuff is second-hand, they are either old fashioned or not good. There is no point in getting mattress from here as they are very old. Well I was not lucky to find what I wanted :(

Then I went to a shop near by who was claiming upto 80% discount :). The furniture was good in this showroom, but I was not sure whether the prices were reasonable. Well here I got one tip from the showroom guy that it is tough to get King Size bed + mattress in Singapore in less than $1000 if you are looking for good brands like KingKoil (the most advertised in radio's here!). Also he explained me the difference between all types of mattress available & their relative cost.

After this my last stop was IKEA. As I know that the IKEA stuff is really nice and quality one. But whatever you like there visually, it is more than $500 just for the bed frame !. Also I did not find the type of mattress I was looking. They have pocketed spring mattress but I did not find them as firm I saw them at the other shop I visited earlier. I was really hoping that I could finish my search for good bed here :). I liked bed frame at IKEA. This is a very simple bed, which is priced at $99(just the bed frame). Whereas till now whatever bed frames I saw were in the range of $300-$500.

Well so my search for bed frame is ended. But I could not find the type mattress I was looking for in IKEA. So finally I went to the other shop I visited earlier for the mattress.

IKEA has excellent stuff for home furnishing. There bed frames with $175-200 tag too which are good.

Here are some of the Tips while you search for furniture in Singapore

• Decide in advance what you want(Bed size, frame type, mattress type) - This will save lot of time while shopping.
  
• Be firm on the price tag while you are shopping - this helps in bargaining and making decision faster
• Type of Mattresses are many and confusing :) ..So research for that first
• The most important part of the bed is the mattress ..so spend more on that rather than spending on the bed frame(I am not saying bed frame should not be good!)
• Bargain for FREE delivery of bed from shop. Also some shops give good discount on cash purchase
• IKEA charges $40 - $50 for he delivery and 5% of the cost for assembly. It is worth if you like the IKEA stuff.
• Try to look out for factory outlets(Like Defu Furniture(this shop has lot of variety for all type of furniture etc ) and SALE in malls to get an idea.
• So a good bed will cost around $500(Simple bed frame + pocketed spring mattress(this is the most expensive type ..apart from contour mattress :)
  

I hope this helps!

Please comment to help others...

Enjoy shopping !

Cost of living in Singapore 2008

Update : Cost of Living in Singapore 2010

As the new year has started, I thought its a good time to update "Cost of Living" details about Singapore. I have been getting lot of hits on my "Cost of Living in Singapore" posts. I am glad that I am able to provide some idea to people who are planning to move in Singapore for short period or long term period.

So here I am updating my details on cost of living in Singapore. I will also try to address some of the common queries I have as comments from readers. I hope this helps !

Again as a word of caution here. The cost of living chart I am giving here is as a guideline only for a family of couple or couple with 1 child. For bachelors the cost will be shared, so it will be quite less in total on a individual basis.This is based on my own personal experience so far. As everybody knows that it depends on their lifestyle as to how much they spend on things they like. So someone may like to live in Condo rather than HDB for their specific needs, then the cost of living will go up. Also for HDB it depends where in Singapore you are trying for rental HDB flat. HDBs near to central/downtown area is expensive.

Rent: Rent has gone up overall. But for renewal HDB rentals what I have personally seen is that, if you have good relationship with owner, the % increase is around 10-15%. Again it depends on the area. For new HDB rental contracts you need to search and negotiate well to get good deal. Checkout the website : http://singapore.roomsdb.net/ to get an idea of rent in Singapore.

Grocery: Grocery is a variable expense. So can be controlled a bit though GST is 7%. I don't see a major change in our grocery bill. The key is to buy from shops like Mustafa, FairePrice, Carrefour etc.. as they offer discounts most of the times on many consumer products.

Furniture: If you need to buy furniture in Singapore. There are ample choices from low cost to luxury. Visit Ikea to get an idea on typical furniture costs. Ikea furniture is good at the same time having reasonable price tag for normal furniture items for your home. If you want to buy some old but good usable furniture like Sofa Set, Bed Frames, chairs etc ..have a look at the Salvation Army Stores. They offer good, but old furniture for very low cost. For example my friend got a nice 3 person Sofa for just $100!. Also the money given to Salvation Army is for good cause too.

School: Pre-school's are located everywhere in Singapore. So you can choose something near to you to avoid transportation cost(around $100/pm) and hassle for your child. The pre-schools with Montessori pattern are slightly expensive than others. For primary schools there is ample choice again. There are 2 Indian schools :

• Global Indian School
• DPS International School

Taxi: Taxi fares have gone up recently during the peak hours. But for short distance it does not have much impact. As with excellent public transportation, you can go anywhere using MRT, Bus and Taxi combination. So that way taxi usage is minimum.

Outside Food: If you need to eat outside food during office lunch hour. Most of the places will have food courts catering to every bodies need. You will get variety of food like veg and non-veg. In general the charge is i the range of $5-$8 depending upon your order. Most of the places you will find a Indian stall having south/north Indian food.

While comparing cost of living between different countries and Singapore. Remember that things are different in each country. In Singapore the public transportation is of great advantage. You don't really need a car to get around Singapore.

Overall I like Singapore for clean surroundings, green all around, excellent public transport, parks specially for kids and Indian food availability !

In my next post I will consolidate the queries I have had from my readers..

Do comment if you still have any doubts, I am glad to share my experience in order to help others !

Related Posts

• Cost of Living in Singapore 2007
• FAQ on cost of living in Singapore
• Readers Mailbag on Cost of Living!
• Cost of Living in Singapore for Bachelors
• Tips of Rental Flats in Singapore!
  

Saving on Cost of Medical Consultation in Singapore

In this post I would like to give some idea on medical consultation costs in Singapore.

Consultation with GP(General Practitioner)

If you are visiting a GP in your area for ailments like cold, cough, fever etc, make sure that you do a survey with your friends about various clinics and their consultation charges. For general ailments listed above, it does not matter whether you go to a GP in HDB area or to a well known hospital. All matters is the Dr !

Tips

• Try to survey locally before heading towards hospital
• Mostly the charges are same in clinics operated near HDBs
• Try to visit the same Dr. always - it helps to build relationship and he/she knows the history well.
• Most of the clinics will provide medicines
  
• Avoid Antibiotics at first instance, as they are expensive.
  

Cost : $18 to $60

Consultation with Specialist(e.g. Orthopedic, Skin, ENT etc)

Singapore hospitals are well equipped and world class facilities for all treatment services they are offering.

Tips

• Survey - post to Ezlink yahoo groups for recommendations before visiting Specialists Medical Professional
• check whether the cost if taken care off by your organization
  
• Before going for any long term treatment(e.g. physiotherapy), please check for alternatives

Cost

• Depends on the hospital/clinic
• $50 - $90 for Consultation
• $50 - $100 for Physiotherapy per session!
  
• Other treatments/Tests as prescribed
  

I always keep in mind that 'Expensive fees for consultation does not mean better consultation / diagnosis anywhere in the world" - This is based on my own experience so far!

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