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 ?

Choosinng Cable TV, Internet, Phone, Mobile Contracts in Singapore

I discovered it little late. So would like the people to understand this concept very well when they try to subscribe to any New Cable TV, Internet, Mobile, or Land Phone services from any of the companies in Singapore.

Being coming from India the concepts from getting into contracts for new subscriptions was little new to me.

For all the above services there are several companies like :

1. Starhub - http://www.starhub.com - Mainly for Cable TV
2. M1 - http://www.m1.com.sg/ - Phone + Internet
3. Singtel - http://www.singtel.com.sg - Phone + Internet

All the companies run "promotions" all the time. So this is very important to know that these companies run it all the time. They offer lot of discounts/gifts etc when they run promotions, one needs to choose between the discount & gifts they offer.

So points to remember before you finalize your contract with any of these companies :

• Research well to to understand which service you want & who is the best provider in your area
  
• Always look for best option in order to minimise the contract period & penalty in event of you breaking the contract
• Generally the contract is for 12 or 24 months
• The 24 months contracts is always better sometimes & offer maximum gifts like even Laptops in some cases !!
• Try to understand your need & subscribe based on that, not on the based on what you are getting as a part of contract ..e.g. One company is giving away Laptop(they say worth $1500) for your 24 months contract with them for taking 3 services(Cable TV+Internet+Phone). But if you break the contract within 24 months, you might have to pay $1000 back :) ..So decide what you want...
• Look for your needs - e.g. You want to make more local calls or IDD Calls.
• Some companies will offer Free IDD calls to India, USA etc for a fixed minimum rental per month. So if you are going to make more calls to that IDD destination make use of this facility.
• Generally breaking the contract is never profitable :(
• Never rush for the promotional offer or discounts, there is always something hidden in it. So take your time & then go for it.

Some more general Information for these services :

• Starhub Cable TV has only 3 Hindi Channels - Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony
• Internet Services by Starhub is advertised at upto 6000 kpbs speed. So it might vary, it is not a dedicated speed.
• Singtel promises to provide better Broadband than Starhub - I have personally not used it.
• Generally - the Local calls are charged at .15 cents per minute
• IDD to India from Starhub mobile is expensive, instead buy a calling card which gives upto 80 minutes for $10 value
• M1 has a 384 kpbs anywhere wireless broadband service which is cheaper & good if your Internet usage is not much : http://m1.com.sg/broadband/m1bb.htm

Disclaimer : The above points are written by me based on my own experience & may change depending on the offer going on by the company at any given time. So please check the offer before deciding.