The International Schools Review Forum

What would be an ideal salary to live comfortably and simply in Singapore?

Housing is paid for so please take that out of the equation. Thank you!

Hi

I lived in SG for 7 years and know it well.

Housing allowance should be provided (as you mentioned) - this needs to be at least 3000 SGD per month.

Salary should be minimum 6000 SGD per month with either a retirement plan or gratuity and a flight home every year.

Hope this helps.

I'm in Singapore and would agree with the above. As a general rule of thumb, I'd say look for an overall package which equates to at least $10,000 SG per month.

I would disagree with the above. I have lived in SG for 7 years and have 6 digit savings that's with adding about 500$ top-up on rent every month for central apartment (you don't have to do that!), and for 6 of those years my salary was below 6K.
And I shop in the "western" stores for groceries. I like to drink alcohol. And I have a video game habit too. And have travelled extensively in these 7 years.
Retirement plan?! Ha! Nope....
Flights every two years and gratuity every year.

Having also lived in Singapore recently, I’d fall in between the other posters. Singapore is expensive, but the big international schools will pay you enough to live well and save. A good school will pay S$6000-$8000/mo plus a rental allowance and gratuity. Housing allowances are being cut at many schools and I’d argue $2500 for a couple might be sufficient depending on area and your demands.

My partner and I vacationed well, bought mostly western food, and ate out about once per week and were able to save an entire salary every year. Big expenses that will eat into your savings would be a car and a helper.

I was really nervous about savings potential when we took the job in Singapore. I shouldn’t have been — it was the best financial move we ever made. If you were able to save in other locations, you’ll be able save (most likely more) in Singapore. The average salary more than covers a good, expat-geared living standard.

Had similar experience. Savings were way better than Europe. Probably Bangkok offers best savings in the region with the Malaysian Ringgit taking a beating.

Its very difficult to find independent housing in SG thats not a share for under SGD$2500/mth. The bottom of IE is around SGD$5000/mth (and some ISs have 10 not 12 month contracts). At about SGD$10K/mth with housing you would be doing well. With housing anything above SGD$5K/mth will allow you a decent standard of living. Vehicle ownership in SG is extremely expensive. Domestic help is more than other places but not prohibitive.

Rents have come down in Singapore in the last few years. I moved last year and was paying 2500 for a two bedroom. You can check rental prices on the PropertyGuru website. You’ll see plenty of one and two bedroom options for 2000-2500. They won’t be downtown condos but they are in liveable areas. You can choose your district on the site and I just did a search for districts around some of the major international schools and found two bedrooms under 2500. I was also able to negotiate my rent down a few hundred from the asking price both on the initial signing and the subsequent renewal due to falling prices.

Who are you disagreeing with? I wrote "Its very difficult to find independent housing in SG thats not a share for under SGD$2500/mth", I didnt claim you needed SGD$5K/mth for housing.

I’m disagreeing with the idea that

PsyGuy wrote:
> Its very difficult to find independent housing in SG thats not a share for under
> SGD$2500/mth.

It’s not difficult to find a one or two bedroom condo for under 2500. You would not be sharing.

Hi again, I think your current situation family-wise makes a difference to the responses given. We have two children, and I'm the sole working parent. Hence, I see the figure I quoted as what I feel is necessary. If you are without family, advice from the other posters is realistic.

Thank you so much for all of your expertise on living in Singapore. The advice helped!

@National

Your clarification is a better one, I should have wrote it to the effect that youd be spending about SGD$25000/mth for housing.