# Salary Advise



## SGMY

Dear All,

I am new to this forum. 

I am from Mumbai, India. I am been offered a job in Singapore with a salary of 11k/month. I have few questions in before accepting this offer
Is this amount is sufficient for a family of 3 - I have a two years old daughter.
what is a normal cost of living in Singapore.
Which area do I prefer if my office is located near The Strategy business Park.

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions.

SGMY.


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## BBCWatcher

What are your lifestyle expectations?


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## SGMY

I live a normal medium lifestyle.I can live without car for initial few year.


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## beppi

The average household income in Singapore is S$7000/month - and the average local family also has two adults and a kid, similar to you.
But there is one big difference: Rent! The average local buys a (government-subsidized) HDB flat and pays the mortgage off from his/her CPF (social security) payments, thus without feeling any financial burden. You, however, have to rent, which will cost you S$3000/month or more.
International schools fees might also interest you in a few years.
Check numbeo.com for more information about living costs.
The average local household has no car, which would cost another S$2000-3000/month (if leased, or S$1000/month after initial buying costs of S$100000 - no typing error: one hundred thousand! - for a small Japanese car).


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## simonsays

SGMY said:


> Dear All,
> 
> I am new to this forum.
> 
> I am from Mumbai, India. I am been offered a job in Singapore with a salary of 11k/month. I have few questions in before accepting this offer
> Is this amount is sufficient for a family of 3 - I have a two years old daughter.
> what is a normal cost of living in Singapore.
> Which area do I prefer if my office is located near The Strategy business Park.
> 
> Thanks in advance for all your suggestions.
> 
> SGMY.


that's Jurong

Rental is not high in that area, if you are ok with a HDB house

cost of living, do some search here and there

Condos are not too expensive in the nearby vicinity too

You can make do well well, in that salary bracket.

Just start saving sufficiently as once your child goes to pre school / KG, that can cost upwards of 1,000 $ a month

And if she starts schooling, in International / Indian International, it can go up ...

which area ?

I know people who fell in love with Jurong east and still stay there though their office is in Changi, opposite end of the country

And vice-versa

When you come here, do scout along, and unless your work starts at 7 AM or so, like in Shipyards, staying a bit away, as long as your like the environment / convenience etc .. is ok

and likewise, if you are not expected to work pretty late, you can look a bit way

Some areas, like Bukit Batok, are more cooler, with less concrete, and more garden like feel, as is Bukit Timah area

Some areas, like Bishan/Ang Mo Kio, at times can make you feel more hotter than it is, as the area, despite large gardens/parks/activity area, due to the large concentration of apartments ..


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## beppi

SGMY said:


> I did some research on Propertyguru.com for condos in Bukit Batok area and seems like rent varies from 2200/- to 3000/-.


Those are probably HDBs (governmentally built public housing), not Condos (private-built apartments, usually more luxurious).
You need some luck to find an HDB at or below S$2000/month (and endurance of the downsides it unavoidably has).


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## SGMY

How about a luxurious 1 BHK condos. Can someone please share experience of house search for same.

Thanks in Advance!!!


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## beppi

One-bedroom-Condos are very rare in Singapore and thus cost the same as 2-bedroom ones. You might find one in an outlying area for S$2500/month, but not a luxurious one.


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## simonsays

SGMY

If you do some research, you will know your answers 

Ask specific questions after that, please

For a start, Condos don't go below 4k, and 4k condos aren't accessible without a car etc

HDB is rarely less than 2,500 now for 2 bedroom units, and 2 bedroom units are rarer, and next up 3 bedroom units are above 2.5k

Do search ST property, property guru and the likes again.


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## SGMY

Dear Ecurilex

Appreciate your feed back.

I know some of my questions was not specific....reason being one can not visualize situation being at remote location. 

I guess that's a whole purpose of having these kind of forums - to help people who are in confusion like me.

I am currently negotiating an offer where I need to understand the reality to calculate cost of living before taking any major decision of relocation.


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## BBCWatcher

ecureilx said:


> For a start, Condos don't go below 4k, and 4k condos aren't accessible without a car etc.


Really? That's at least overstated, I'd say.

It depends on what you mean by "condo." If your definition of condo includes a big pool, private gym, function room, BBQ pit, tennis courts, full furnishing, and a building less than 5 years old (as examples), I think I'd agree with you. If you're willing to set aside a couple of those amenities, then you've got some more affordable options.

We're doing pretty well at the moment, by Singapore standards anyway. At our last lease renewal opportunity we decided to do without a couple amenities I just listed, hold the total space constant, keep the brand new construction aspect, move a bit closer to the office (in public transportation terms at least), and give up the "expat neighborhood" vibe (though if anything we moved to a much more interesting neighborhood). Consequently we reduced our monthly rental cost quite a bit, though not down to HDB rental levels.

We looked at some HDB units, and some of them are really quite lovely. I'd recommend at least looking at some. The only major, general criticism I would have is that the bathrooms tend to be very small and few in number. Unless the owner is particular clever the bathroom situation can be a bit challenging. (It is possible to create some really lovely bathrooms in HDB units, but it takes some money that most owners don't spend.) If you don't value bathrooms so much, no problem, but we wanted something a bit better than the norm among HDB units, and that was an amenity we were willing to pay for.


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## simonsays

Bbcwatcher, units minus condo facility or some of the facility are called 'private estates' 

With the tightened rental ruled for HDB, condo rentals are going up, though at a slower pace considering the reduction in foreign labour being rolled in.


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## BBCWatcher

Well then, OK. We're quite happy with our "private estate." 

It really underscores the point that the rental real estate market in Singapore is fairly well separated that way. There really is a significant premium you must pay if you want a private pool in your building, for example. (The same is true with hotel rooms -- that pool is a valuable amenity that demands some premium.)

If you really want a swimming pool, there are community pools in Singapore. Look at "private estates" or HDB units near those community pools. Then you can decide whether the several hundred dollars per month that a pool typically adds to your rental price, other things being equal, is worth the higher price versus paying a dollar or two each time you visit the nearby community pool. (And also whether the community pool is any better or worse than a private condo's pool.) It just depends on how you personally value amenities, that's all -- there's no universally "right" or "wrong" answer here.

One thing that doesn't matter at all is whether you have north, south, east, west, or combination facing windows. The sun rises at about 7:00 a.m. and sets at about 7:00 p.m., every day, all year. South facing isn't sunnier than north facing, or vice versa. It's all sun, and it's overhead. This is equator living, or at least close enough. Don't worry about that. If you've got windows and a clear view of the sky, there will be sunshine. Noise is a much bigger factor -- and make sure you have something in your lease that allows you to break the lease if there's construction nearby that starts after the lease does. (That's a reasonable, standard clause in leases, but only if you demand it.)


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## beppi

Although nobody seems to know that in Singapore, "Condominium" (or "Condo" in short) is a legal term for a estate where individual owners have the right to use and sell a certain unit, while common facilities (ground, corridor, facade, pool, etc.) are commonly owned.
HDBs have a different legal ownership structure, and individually owned houses on separate plots ("landed property") are also not Condos. Everything else is, regardless of facilities.


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## simonsays

BBCWatcher said:


> Well then, OK. We're quite happy with our "private estate."






> If you really want a swimming pool, there are community pools in Singapore. Look at "private estates" or HDB units near those community pools. Then you can decide whether the several hundred dollars per month that a pool typically adds to your rental price, other things being equal, is worth the higher price versus paying a dollar or two each time you visit the nearby community pool. (And also whether the community pool is any better or worse than a private condo's pool.) It just depends on how you personally value amenities, that's all -- there's no universally "right" or "wrong" answer here.


then again, the way things are going, foreigners may be charged higher rates, much higher rate, than residents.

Like the Sportshub facilties .. 

If Swimming pool, Gym etc are a must-have, go condo

If they are not needed, then get a HDB unit, on a 1 year lease, to figure out stuff, and then see if you want to upgrade or stay HDB, is my 2 cents..

SGMY, define Luxurious ??


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