# Living cost in Singapore



## bojan

Hello

Im a single professional. I was offered a net salary of 4500 Singapore dollars. I will move there alone. My questions is if this 4500$ net are good salary? How much I can save a mount with this salary when I for example rent a studio not in the center. Any advice?

Thanks


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## BBCWatcher

"How long is a piece of string?"

It's quite difficult to answer your questions with any precision. What are your other lifestyle expectations? What profession are you in, and what experience do you have? $4500 could be an excellent salary, a terrible one, or something in between depending on the answers to those questions.


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## bojan

Well. Im moving alone , so basically I like healthy lifestyle , means going to the gym, cook my lunch at home and take to the work. Going to not expensive restaurant but nice food like once a week. Im robotics engineer and got position and Project Officer (Research Engineer) at National Technical University in Singapore. I have more than 10 years experience as an Engineer.


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## BBCWatcher

OK, you can get by and save a bit within that lifestyle description. Whether S$4500/month is a good salary in professional terms is harder for me to answer.


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## glick

*mr*

thinking of retiring in thailand need info . where can i obtain same thanks


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## bojan

i was thinking to spend around 200-2500 per mount.. would be that possible with renting a studio not in the city..


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## BBCWatcher

Did you mean Nanyang Technological University? NTU isn't "in the city" -- it's not anywhere near the downtown core.

I think you're going to need to spend slightly more than that, inclusive of taxes, unless you're willing to share an apartment. Right now I only see a couple studio apartments vaguely near NTU that might work within your budget. There's a studio apartment listed at S$2000/month at The Summerdale, another listed at S$1900/month at The Rainforest, and a third listed at S$1850/month at The Mayfair. They're exceptions, though, and they might not be genuine listings. Rents of about S$2300/month look more realistic currently.

You mentioned a gym. Check to see whether your employer offers one, and use that if possible. (Probably yes.) If that works out, then you could expand your apartment search to include HDB units that don't come with typical "condo amenities" (pool, gym, etc.) HDB buildings don't have many studio apartments, but they do have larger units that would rent at lower rates, oddly enough. (Studios are kind of a "weird" part of the Singapore rental market.)


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## bojan

Yes, its Nanyang Technological University. How about room in HDB units near NTU? Do HDB units have air conditions ?


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## BBCWatcher

bojan said:


> How about room in HDB units near NTU? Do HDB units have air conditions ?


Yes, most HDB units have air conditioning. It looks like there are a few smaller HDB units ("3 rooms" or smaller) available in the general area of NTU for about S$1500/month currently.


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## bojan

But I dont wonna rent whole 3 room HDB unit. Only one room in that unit. So still will be 1500$ per month?


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## BBCWatcher

If you have one or more roommates then the rental cost per person would obviously be lower.


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## bojan

I mean flatmates not room-mates, So, I don’t wonna share a room but just a flat. Would be in that case the prize around 1000$


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## BBCWatcher

bojan said:


> I mean flatmates not room-mates, So, I don’t wonna share a room but just a flat. Would be in that case the prize around 1000$


OK, but you're going to be sharing both. You won't have your own kitchen, for example.

If, for example, you're sharing a S$1600/month HDB unit with each person paying an equal share of the rent then you would each pay S$800/month. Just do the math. Note that such arrangements have some risk. The other person might not pay his/her share.

Note that NTU has some faculty and graduate housing. You could ask the university whether such housing would be available.


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## bojan

I found some studio in western suburbs for 1300...


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## maddie90

bojan said:


> Hello
> 
> Im a single professional. I was offered a net salary of 4500 Singapore dollars. I will move there alone. My questions is if this 4500$ net are good salary? How much I can save a mount with this salary when I for example rent a studio not in the center. Any advice?
> 
> Thanks


Hi bojan, 
I was offered SGD$3000 - gross income, with insignificant allowances. Well for sales consultant there is commission scheme or something, but I assume I will need to be careful about spending, even though I'm pretty low-maintenance - living might be struggling. Anyway, I'm having headaches with the whole renting thing. 

I've been wandering around the net, and I believe with your SGD$4500 net you will be fine,
check the Cost of Living in Singapore on numbeo; if you're not the party people type, you can save some. 
Do you perhaps thinking of sharing HDB apartment?


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## simonsays

bojan said:


> But I dont wonna rent whole 3 room HDB unit. Only one room in that unit. So still will be 1500$ per month?


Yes, you can, and it will be less than that. 

if master room, about 1,200 or so, common room - 900 or so.


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## simonsays

maddie90 said:


> Hi bojan,
> I was offered SGD$3000 - gross income, with insignificant allowances. Well for sales consultant there is commission scheme or something, but I assume I will need to be careful about spending, even though I'm pretty low-maintenance - living might be struggling. Anyway, I'm having headaches with the whole renting thing.
> 
> I've been wandering around the net, and I believe with your SGD$4500 net you will be fine,
> check the Cost of Living in Singapore on numbeo; if you're not the party people type, you can save some.
> Do you perhaps thinking of sharing HDB apartment?


For S$ 3000 basic salary, plan to stay in a room, if you want privacy. Budget about 700 to 1,200 depending upon your choice.

If you don't mind privacy, you can find shared rooms for even less,  it is called "bed space"


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## maddie90

simonsays said:


> For S$ 3000 basic salary, plan to stay in a room, if you want privacy. Budget about 700 to 1,200 depending upon your choice.
> 
> If you don't mind privacy, you can find shared rooms for even less,  it is called "bed space"


Hi simonsays, 
Thanks for your rep, I appreciate that. 
For a girl, safety and privacy are two most important. 
next is the price )
I'm crossing my fingers now in the tiresome searching for room....


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## BBCWatcher

maddie90 said:


> For a girl, safety and privacy are two most important.


Only for girls?


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## maddie90

BBCWatcher said:


> Only for girls?


Guys too XD. Well, humans in general then


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## simonsays

maddie90 said:


> Hi simonsays,
> Thanks for your rep, I appreciate that.
> For a girl, safety and privacy are two most important.
> next is the price )
> I'm crossing my fingers now in the tiresome searching for room....


Set your budget and then start looking.

In tough times like now, where the property agents and landlords are upset about falling rents, if you don't set a budget, the chances of you paying very high is there.


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## simonsays

Dave_Phils said:


> you can actually get a 1-rm HDB for S$1500 or less.. it all depends on the amenities included


Excluding illegal rental / locked room, where are these 1 room HDB ?


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## andyaom

you can either look for property agent or you can google up rooms for rent singapore, and you can see lots of them


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## NgWeiKhang

It is totally depend on your lifestyle & the area where you prefer to rent room. Before that consult any property dealer or you have Google for your every answer. I hope you will get here what you are looking for.


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## MADstud

bojan said:


> But I dont wonna rent whole 3 room HDB unit. Only one room in that unit. So still will be 1500$ per month?


No, a room will not be that expensive. Usually lesser than $1000 for HDB, but also depends on location.


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## kyrakim

If you need to rent just 1 room it will be between $600 to $800 depending on the location


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## Ayamas

Most of the time while the salary looks good, the package is questionable. Good salary sometimes ‘hide’ your real compensation needs, because that’s what a normal working person always think of first , that is “salary” only. As an expat your real needs is different...


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## Emmasky

if you are looking to rent on the outskirts like Woodlands or Tampines you can easily get a studio for $1.4k sgd


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