# What is the expense of Living in Singapore?



## Akkhndlwl1

I am getting an opportunity to work in Singapore and need to know few things:

1. Cost of Rented Accommodation.
2. Cost and availability of Indian & Veg Food.
3. Standard of Living.
4. Taxes.
5. Anything important that needs to be known for an Expat.

I am a single male living and working in Delhi NCR, India as Supply Chain Consultant with 4 years of experience and earning Rs. 40000/month. I save more than 50% of my salary here in India after rent and other expenses.
Thus, I need to know what salary should I expect in Singapore for decent living and maintaining the same life style as I maintain in India.
The company is offering me S$4000, will it be enough?


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## Nishant Dundas

Akkhndlwl1 said:


> I am getting an opportunity to work in Singapore and need to know few things:
> 
> 1. Cost of Rented Accommodation.
> 2. Cost and availability of Indian & Veg Food.
> 3. Standard of Living.
> 4. Taxes.
> 5. Anything important that needs to be known for an Expat.
> 
> I am a single male living and working in Delhi NCR, India as Supply Chain Consultant with 4 years of experience and earning Rs. 40000/month. I save more than 50% of my salary here in India after rent and other expenses.
> Thus, I need to know what salary should I expect in Singapore for decent living and maintaining the same life style as I maintain in India.
> The company is offering me S$4000, will it be enough?


Rent: depends on area, but you can expect around 2bhk for 2000sgd is outer city areas.

Indian food is almost available everywhere though not as much as Chinese stalls. Keep in mind that whenever you go to eat, confirm that there is no meat, and ask specifically no chicken no pork no meat no egg. Chinese veg food also contains meat even though they call it veg.

Obviously its good.

Taxes are pretty low. First 20000 is exempt. Check IRAs.gov.SG for details

Have medical insurance from day one. Before arrival confirm the insurance cover your company will give. I would reccomend you buy medical insurance at least for first 6mns before arrival itself. Medical exps are pretty high here.

Expect 1500-2000 in rent assuming you want to live good. Another 1000 a month in food and transport and other things. Probably you will save around 1000sgd min. If u live in shared accommodation expect rent to notimcrease over 600-700 a month.

Anything else, let me know

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Expat Forum


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## Akkhndlwl1

Nishant Dundas said:


> Rent: depends on area, but you can expect around 2bhk for 2000sgd is outer city areas.
> 
> Indian food is almost available everywhere though not as much as Chinese stalls. Keep in mind that whenever you go to eat, confirm that there is no meat, and ask specifically no chicken no pork no meat no egg. Chinese veg food also contains meat even though they call it veg.
> 
> Obviously its good.
> 
> Taxes are pretty low. First 20000 is exempt. Check IRAs.gov.SG for details
> 
> Have medical insurance from day one. Before arrival confirm the insurance cover your company will give. I would reccomend you buy medical insurance at least for first 6mns before arrival itself. Medical exps are pretty high here.
> 
> Expect 1500-2000 in rent assuming you want to live good. Another 1000 a month in food and transport and other things. Probably you will save around 1000sgd min. If u live in shared accommodation expect rent to notimcrease over 600-700 a month.
> 
> Anything else, let me know
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 7 using Expat Forum


Thanks for the detailed answer Nishant 
I have few more queries:

1. Do you by any means know what salary should I expect in Singapore as a SCM Consultant with 4 years experience? Basically, I need to understand if S$4000/month is a decent salary or I should negotiate?

2. I checked IRAS website and got to know that tax is 7% of the bracket of S$40000-80000, assuming I will earn S$52000 a year the tax is not less as in India we have 10% and even have ways to save tax. Is there any way to save tax in Singapore too?

3. Currently I live in a 3bhk apartment in a society with facilities like Swimming pool & Gym, what do you think a similar facility will cost in Singapore given I live in sharing?

4. My company will be providing Medical Insurance & Outpatient claims, is there anything else that should be required?

5. I read some where that Singapore has CPF like we have PPF in India, can you shed some light on it? 

Regards,
Akash


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## manishkumar

Akkhndlwl1 said:


> Thanks for the detailed answer Nishant
> I have few more queries:
> 
> 1. Do you by any means know what salary should I expect in Singapore as a SCM Consultant with 4 years experience? Basically, I need to understand if S$4000/month is a decent salary or I should negotiate?
> 
> 2. I checked IRAS website and got to know that tax is 7% of the bracket of S$40000-80000, assuming I will earn S$52000 a year the tax is not less as in India we have 10% and even have ways to save tax. Is there any way to save tax in Singapore too?
> 
> 3. Currently I live in a 3bhk apartment in a society with facilities like Swimming pool & Gym, what do you think a similar facility will cost in Singapore given I live in sharing?
> 
> 4. My company will be providing Medical Insurance & Outpatient claims, is there anything else that should be required?
> 
> 5. I read some where that Singapore has CPF like we have PPF in India, can you shed some light on it?
> 
> Regards,
> Akash



HI,
just giving answer to some of your Question
CPF is same as PPF but CPF is deducted for a citizen of Singapore or if you are a PR(Permanenet Resident). so if you are a EP holder , dont worry about that.
2. About your Staying if you wan to live like the way you live in India (Delhi) it will cost you around 2000sgd on sharing basis i.e you will be staying in CONDO..
3. Salary depend on yours type of Pass whether S pass or EP HOlder.
its depend whether you want oto save money or enjoy.
if you want to enjoy then 4K is ok..
but if you want to save then you have to cut down on some of the things...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

like instead of saying in a condo stay as a PG take a master bed room on rent you will get it around 1000$ with AirCon..but that's depend on your location.

just let us known where your office would be..
say another 150$ on travelling...500$ on your food..

so you can save around 1500$ every month..

let me know if i answered your query or post..


Manish


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## Nishant Dundas

Akkhndlwl1 said:


> Thanks for the detailed answer Nishant
> I have few more queries:
> 
> 1. Do you by any means know what salary should I expect in Singapore as a SCM Consultant with 4 years experience? Basically, I need to understand if S$4000/month is a decent salary or I should negotiate?
> 
> 2. I checked IRAS website and got to know that tax is 7% of the bracket of S$40000-80000, assuming I will earn S$52000 a year the tax is not less as in India we have 10% and even have ways to save tax. Is there any way to save tax in Singapore too?
> 
> 3. Currently I live in a 3bhk apartment in a society with facilities like Swimming pool & Gym, what do you think a similar facility will cost in Singapore given I live in sharing?
> 
> 4. My company will be providing Medical Insurance & Outpatient claims, is there anything else that should be required?
> 
> 5. I read some where that Singapore has CPF like we have PPF in India, can you shed some light on it?
> 
> Regards,
> Akash


Am not aware of the salary range but I suggest you check on recruitment websites. Job street.com, hay.com.SG or maybe just google it and you may get an answer to it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Expat Forum


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## Akkhndlwl1

manishkumar said:


> HI,
> just giving answer to some of your Question
> CPF is same as PPF but CPF is deducted for a citizen of Singapore or if you are a PR(Permanenet Resident). so if you are a EP holder , dont worry about that.
> 2. About your Staying if you wan to live like the way you live in India (Delhi) it will cost you around 2000sgd on sharing basis i.e you will be staying in CONDO..
> 3. Salary depend on yours type of Pass whether S pass or EP HOlder.
> its depend whether you want oto save money or enjoy.
> if you want to enjoy then 4K is ok..
> but if you want to save then you have to cut down on some of the things...
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> like instead of saying in a condo stay as a PG take a master bed room on rent you will get it around 1000$ with AirCon..but that's depend on your location.
> 
> just let us known where your office would be..
> say another 150$ on travelling...500$ on your food..
> 
> so you can save around 1500$ every month..
> 
> let me know if i answered your query or post..
> 
> 
> Manish


Thanks for the reply Manish.

The interview process is still going on and I do not know the name of company or its location. Once I know them I will share it here for with more specific question.

Also, you mentioned that "3. Salary depend on yours type of Pass whether S pass or EP HOlder.". How is salary attached to visa type? Do I get a choice between S pass or EP ?

Other then that, when we rent a condo or be a pg do we need to sign a 1 year contract?


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## Akkhndlwl1

Nishant Dundas said:


> Am not aware of the salary range but I suggest you check on recruitment websites. Job street.com, hay.com.SG or maybe just google it and you may get an answer to it.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 7 using Expat Forum


Thanks, will surely try these websites.


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## beppi

Akkhndlwl1 said:


> How is salary attached to visa type? Do I get a choice between S pass or EP ?


Which type of pass you are eligible for depends on your education, work experience and salary. You cannot choose, but your employer can apply any of the two, or only EP (if they want to save the S-Pass levy).



Akkhndlwl1 said:


> Other then that, when we rent a condo or be a pg do we need to sign a 1 year contract?


Two year contracts are most common, anything shorter than that difficult to find.


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## incognito6174

I would love to know which condo rents out apartments for $2k with facilities like a gym and swimming pool. If this is true, I clearly haven't been searching properly for over half a decade


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## junedc

Condo should have gym and pool by default. But prices are quite high lately 3 years ago the rent is around SGD 2,500.


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## simonsays

junedc said:


> Condo should have gym and pool by default. But prices are quite high lately 3 years ago the rent is around SGD 2,500.


2500 for a condo ?

Really ?

Care to share where such condos exist in Singapore?


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## honest_john

Try woodlands. Rental has fallen a fair bit over recent months


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