# Planning to move to Singapore



## Canuck_Sens

Hi Folks,

I have been giving a serious thought about moving to Singapore. I am Canadian and luckily in my life I was able to work in different countries and along the way learned new languages. Today I am living in Dubai.

I started giving a serious thought about making a move to Singapore. I would appreciate if you folks could give some advice in terms of negotiating a good salary package and explain to me the differences

Here with my employer, I get these:

1- Lodging (The company pays my rent. I live in a decent place)
2- They pay children school fees (Although I don't have any)
3- They offer round trip tickets to all family members
4- There is 1 moth of paid vacation
5- Health insurance and life insurance
6- Salary is free of income tax

I would appreciate if you folks could give me some hints about the market practice and what should I negotiate if the case.

I also heard that it is not a good idea to have a car there. Is it true ? (by that I mean there is quite a fee if you want to have a car)

Thanks a lot,


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## bryann

Canuck_Sens said:


> Hi Folks,
> 
> I have been giving a serious thought about moving to Singapore. I am Canadian and luckily in my life I was able to work in different countries and along the way learned new languages. Today I am living in Dubai.
> 
> I started giving a serious thought about making a move to Singapore. I would appreciate if you folks could give some advice in terms of negotiating a good salary package and explain to me the differences
> 
> Here with my employer, I get these:
> 
> 1- Lodging (The company pays my rent. I live in a decent place)
> 2- They pay children school fees (Although I don't have any)
> 3- They offer round trip tickets to all family members
> 4- There is 1 moth of paid vacation
> 5- Health insurance and life insurance
> 6- Salary is free of income tax
> 
> I would appreciate if you folks could give me some hints about the market practice and what should I negotiate if the case.
> 
> I also heard that it is not a good idea to have a car there. Is it true ? (by that I mean there is quite a fee if you want to have a car)
> 
> Thanks a lot,



Hi CS,

There's tons we can write to answer all those questions, the scope is a bit extreme. I suggest you start off a little higher upstream and tell us why you'd like to come to Singapore. What is it about Singapore you heard that makes you want to switch your decent lifestyle for living in Singapore?

I'm not being facetious or condescending, on the contrary, I'd like to see if your objectives, wants and desires are at least somewhat in synch with reality. On this basis, we can assist you more effectively with the specific questions you've posted.

Incidentally, I reckon it would be a good idea to browse this forum a little bit on some of the items you mentioned so you have a nice foundation on which we can then build.


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## Canuck_Sens

bryann said:


> Hi CS,
> 
> There's tons we can write to answer all those questions, the scope is a bit extreme. I suggest you start off a little higher upstream and tell us why you'd like to come to Singapore. What is it about Singapore you heard that makes you want to switch your decent lifestyle for living in Singapore?
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> Thanks Bryann.
> 
> I am planning to move to Singapore because I feel the market is more advanced in my area compared to UAE. Nothing more.
> 
> I just want to have an idea about the market practice for packages. I do not need to know the salary ranges (I have that info already and I am aware of the tax brackets), but I would like to know what kinds of other benefits are usually included or should be negotiated. I am also aware of renting there are tons of posts about this.
> 
> Cheers


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## bryann

Canuck_Sens said:


> bryann said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi CS,
> 
> There's tons we can write to answer all those questions, the scope is a bit extreme. I suggest you start off a little higher upstream and tell us why you'd like to come to Singapore. What is it about Singapore you heard that makes you want to switch your decent lifestyle for living in Singapore?
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> Thanks Bryann.
> 
> I am planning to move to Singapore because I feel the market is more advanced in my area compared to UAE. Nothing more.
> 
> I just want to have an idea about the market practice for packages. I do not need to know the salary ranges (I have that info already and I am aware of the tax brackets), but I would like to know what kinds of other benefits are usually included or should be negotiated. I am also aware of renting there are tons of posts about this.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CS,
> 
> Packages nowadays are not as lavish as they once were. When we were here in the 80's, Singapore was still known as a hardship location, so expat packages were very generous; big salary, medical, first class tickets for the whole family, car allowance, school allowance, rental allowance, private club allowance, you name it.
> 
> Of course Singapore is no longer counted as a hardship place. Rather, it's more of a vice versa scenario we see now, i.e. expats come here to fortify their CV, gain experience, plus maybe see more of Asia. So now more expats are hired on "local" packages.
> 
> That said, most of these are so-called "local 'plus' packages", probably still a fair bit more attractive than most locals get.
> 
> Still, in the end you may not gain as much financially, but you're likely to more than make up for it through your improved career opportunities later on.
> 
> Keep in mind though that above will come at a price, you'll have to make some adjustments, as it's quite sedate here. Then again, perhaps you're used to that, given your UAE background.
> 
> Let me know if you need some more info.
Click to expand...


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## Lenochka

packages, as mentioned below, are no longer "fully fledged"...
anyway, it depends on a lot of things what you will be able to get...

industry, position, experience....same company or new company etc etc...


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## Singapore Saint

I disagree to some extent with some of the comments above, in that some companies are still offering fully-fledged packages depending on how high up the food chain you are, covering all that you mentioned, except for the tax-free salaries. 

I agree that the packages are not offered to all and sundry any more, but to have a chance of getting a package like this you would need to move over here with your current employer and be high up the chain... to get this package from a new employer, you would either need to be in very high demand, or have pictures of the CEO in a compromising position with a goat...

Cars are expensive to purchase, but having lived here for 5yrs without one, I gave in a year ago. It's very easy to live without a car, especially if you live centrally, but when a boxer puppy arrived, we needed to drive to places where he can run around. It's frightening looking at the purchase prices - I am shortly moving to Tokyo where I can purchase a 2nd hand BMW X3 with 45,000km for 25% less than I paid for a Hyundai Tucson 2.0 with 58,000km... that said, because of the COE system, when I sell it in a few weeks time I am likely to get back a much larger chunk than I would in other countries. I don't think leasing costs are much more expensive than in some Western countries. (However, to settle in on the roads, you will need to ignore any road rules you are used to and just drive as if you are the only person on the road..! ;-)


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## Bake

What is the COE system?


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## Lenochka

Certificate of Entitlement 

basically an option/right to buy/drive a car......

COE for beginners


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