Interesting exchange going on in expatsingapore forums. The forumers there are discussing if Singapore is getting too expensive for expats to stay:
Move:
We find it is getting more expensive to live in Singapore. Rent has been skyrocketing. Also, more expenses incurred after GST increase (eg. maid asked for more pay, increase in food prices). Package is now on local deal (not expat deal as when you just first moved here). AUD is now stronger than SGD so effectively earning less than before. Some people we know of have moved back. Got told that it is unlikey that AUD will get weaker against SGD in 5 years. Wondered if people have considered a move back??
We are going home:
We have been here about 2 years and have decided to go home - as it's just not worth living here anymore - true, the low tax rate is great - but we will now have to pay over SGD6,000 a month for a same place we have been paying SGD2500 for the past 2 years and our paychecks have not increased by that much over 2 years. Also with strong AUD against SGD, we are not really that better off in Singapore.Also, the long working hours have started to cause a problem in our marriage (I was working almost 12 hours a day, almost every day at a bank).
We too:
We're going home too. It's not worth it anymore.
not a dollar chaser:
Singapore Inc is all about money. The people are obsessed with it, and you can't do anything without spending some of it. Most conversations here involve money and you will find that even if you think you came here to experience the "culture", your life will be consumed with the thought of money.We're going home too. I don't want my kids growing up in a place that values cash and "prosperity" over all else.
Sensei:
To Only One.........I always say we're memory rich and cash poor. I've worked at various times through ten years, fairly well paid at local rates, but in real terms if you look at my husband's income we're now worse off financially. Circumstances have changed in that he's on a contract basis rather than company employee, but we've chosen to stay away from our home country because, just like you, it's for the experience. He's lived and worked in six Asian countries, I've been in three and we've been happy in each one. And we've been able to travel further afield several times - we think we're really lucky to have done so.Our two kids have had amazing opportunities but have never had that Expat Brat style, we just didn't allow it. Never had a maid (just a cleaner once a week) so the kids had to pull their weight in the house. They didn't have the pocket money that many friends did but it didn't matter, they've grown up into sensible and well educated young adults. And we're comfortable but not rolling in money, despite the perception many people have that Expats are darn near millionaires. I hate it when we visit our home country and they think we're made of money.
To Elizamango, I'd say think VERY carefully before committing to Singapore. I feel you'd enjoy the experience but don't compromise your standard of living. Make sure you have enough for comfortable accommodation, enough to take a few trips around Asia and to get you back to Australia to keep up family/friends ties each year, enough to have a social life without worrying about overspending. And be sure you have very good medical coverage, hospitalisation in Singapore is expensive.
To the OP, we were fortunate in that we had two properties which have been rented out all the time. We'll go back eventually to a roof over our heads in a nice town, a small pension, and we'll have great memories to look back on. But starting out now - well, we'd think twice about it which is sad
One year is enough:
We came to Singapore, as corny as it sounds for the experience also. We wanted to travel and that's what we did. For both of us, it was not a career move, and financially we are not that much better off here as we spend a lot more (on traveling & eating out!).I'd say, if you have a chance to move here, do it - sure the working hours are crazy (I found that most Singaporeans just stayed back to look busy because that's what just everybody seemd to do here) but if you want to and try to make the best out of it, you will enjoy it.
professional expats:
We hold EU passports but had not lived in any country for more than 5 years for the last 30 years. There is no country that is "home" to move back to. It might be more expensive in Singapore now than in the last year but we are still saving far more than if we were to be posted back to Europe. We were just there for 4 weeks for the summer and eating out cost a fortune and taxes are a nightmare. For those who don't have an expat package and have a home to go back to, I guess leaving would be a better option for you. Having said that, I know some teachers at our children's school who are pretty content with their relatively humble packages. How big a slice of the pie does one want and when one gets it, can one have it and eat it too?
Dr Phil:
professional expats, you miss the point.Most Expats accept their package and those who do not materially benefit greatly, accept the trade-offs which gives them a beautiful country, lifestyle, security, first-rate services etc.
Most Expats rely on the confidence Singapore has earned to negotiate an Expat package and whatever the margins they feel sure there will be no unexpected upheavals.
Similarly with business, contract negotiations require confidence or stability in many things such as currency, interest rates, exchange rates etc.
When during the course of one year we get "stiffed" for 40-100% rent increases and we have really no option, then that is underhanded and unfair and shakes ones confidence in the infrastructure here. Particularly when a small minority benefit compared to an overwhelming majority of people who are relatively poorer (that includes 99.9% local population).
Its not the quantum of the loss but the principle.
Spot on!:
This is spot on - there is no question about the risk of being an expat - but moving to a self-proclaimed First world country and seeing third world market conditions is a rather worrying situation.There is a strong denial in government circles - the view is that there is more cash coming from tourists than from expats... but there is also a very limited understanding of market dynamics... once people start leaving, replacing them won't happen - companies will post people elsewhere. We've already stopped bringing families here due to the cost increase of both rental and schools... and this is not the end of it...
Well said:
Well said! Ask any foreigner here today (renting, ie, most) how they feel and the answer will be anything from 'shocked and amazed' to 'disappointed'. Foreigners aren't going to accept the 100% increase in living costs that has happened in under 12months. The majority are planning to leave based on my conversations.And yes, then expat rents will fall ... followed by prices.
