" We might be moving to Singapore (job related)and would like any information on living over there ex. cost of living, cars, doctors, etc. Anything that would help us. Thank you. "

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" Hello, We lived in Singapore from 1995 to 1997. Overall, it was a great experience. Cost of living: It is high - check out http://www2.homefair.com/calc/salcalc.html for an idea, at least on a high level. The most expensive thing in Singapore is housing, followed by cars. Otherwise, things aren''t all *that* expensive in general. If you can get an apartment near public transportation (the MRT is great), and your jobs are close to the MRT or bus stops, you can do without a car easily. Singapore is small, and easy to get around with public transportation. Taxis are also easy to find, and cheap. The problem with cars is that they limit the total number of cars on the island to about 200k. In order to own one, you have to bid (in a dutch auction) for a ""COE"" - certificate of entitlement. The COE costs go up or down with demand, and vary with the engine size. When we were there, a COE for something like a 2.0 liter car would be around US$35,000 for 10 years. A car to go with it, like a Honda Accord, could approach US$50k-100k. You can buy a LOT of taxi rides for that! Doctors: health care in Singapore is cheap - much cheaper than any other place I''ve lived, and is quite good. You can go to local hospitals (we lived right next to Tan Tock Seng hospital by the Novena MRT), and wait in line to see a doctor. There are clinics in town. Or, you can go to a private doctor that specializes in expats (based on the prices, that is). What was best about Singapore? Well, of course, we got to see another part of the world. It is a great place to leave from when you go visit places throughout Asia. Great airport and connections. Everything works. It doesn''t necessarily work *outside the box*, but it works. For example, taxes (15% on income, 3% on sales) - I was able to clear up an annual tax bill in one 20 minute meeting at the tax authority. The country is generally very efficient, as long as they don''t have to thing outside the box. (More on this later). It is also a very clean city. I compare Singapore to Disneyland. It doesn''t seem real in some regards. (In contrast, I compare Hong Kong with New York. I guess you can be either a New York kind of person, or a Disneyland kind of person...) The food is among the best in the world. You can get great food at hawker stands - very cheap (about US$2 for a meal), and very good. That is the thing we miss the most. The nicer restaurants can be quite expensive, especially if you have wine or beer, which can double the bill. However, the quality at these places is usually exceptional. Now, for the negatives: The people are extremely driven to ''upgrade'' (the local term is ""kiasu"" - or fear or losing out), and the social graces are not very compatible with this. It can get on your nerves at times. The government is stifling at times. They tell everyone what to thnk, look at, do, listen to, etc. The people listen. This does not encourage innovative thinking, and in my work experience (mainly software development), this was the biggest limiting factor to *real* success. Censorship is everywhere - which can really get on your nerves. I don''t want someone to tell me what to watch - even though I may not want to watch it anyway. I did experience one ""election"" in Singapore, and hope that I never see it again. The people were literally told that if their neighborhood didn''t vote for the PAP - the People''s Action Party - their government-owned housing would not be ''upgraded'', and they''d fall behind their peers in other neighborhoods. Nothing like playing directly to their fears. Expensive items can be things like ""real"" name-brand clothing (especially in larger sizes), books, and some food items. We bought clothes back in the USA, used books or shipped from Amazon, and food at hawker centers, and expenses were limited. Good luck! If you have any other questions, please don''t hesitate to ask. I can also suggest some great restaurants... :-) Regards, Steven M. Casagrande Technical Solution Manager IBM China/Hong Kong Limited casagrs@hk.ibm.com Office: +852 2105-2184 Fax: +852 2802-0011 Mobile: +852 9622-1475 IVPN: 851-2184 "

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" Hi, here is some info that could help you out on costs. The numbers are compiled for a household of two and are shown in Singapore dollars unless otherwise noted: Purchasing a new 4D Honda Accord will run you around US$40,000. A new Audi A6 will run you about US$80,000. This is inclusive of the Cert. of Entitlement (allows you to have a car on the road), plus first year registration and insurance. Generally speaking, a car is allowed to remain in Singapore for 10 yrs (that is how long a COE lasts). You can rent cars that are in good shape and have about 3 years left on their COE for about S$500 to S$700 per month, all inclusive of insurance and maintenance. This service is not available through the major rental companies, but through local businessmen. I can give you further detials if you like. Having a car is nice, but certainly not necessary in Singapore. Public transportation is quite inexpensive. If you live central to the island or near an MRT station, and make use of both the MRT and taxi''s, you can expect to spend about S$200 - S$300 per month. If you rely more on taxi''s alone, or live further away from the city centre, you could expect to budget upwards of S$400 per month in taxi fares. The flag fall for a taxi is S$2.40 and an average taxi ride runs around S$6.00 per trip. Grocery shopping is relatively inexpensive. Excluding alchololic beverages, a monthly budget of S$300 to $400 will fill your fridge amply, allowing for a combination of local and imported foodstuffs. Most everything is available here and Singapore has the closest thing to what you would expect of a western style supermarket. Dining out can be quite cheap if you eat at the local ""hawker"" centres - generally outdoor eateries serving fresh food in a variety of styles ranging from Malay, Chinese and Indian. A dish will average around S$3 - $4, a meal for two including soft drinks will run about S$10 - $12. Dining out in restaurants is quite expensive. Lunch will run you S$10 - 20, Dinner S$100 and up. Drinking is also very expensive. A couple beers and a couple glasses of wine in non-happy hour sessions will run you S$50 a round. A bottle of Australian or California red wine will cost from S$25 up in a grocery store and around S$40 up in a restaurant. A non-happy hour beer (Heineken) will run about S$10 - $12, a little less for the local brew, Tiger. Golfing runs about S$150 - $200 all inclusive of green fees, caddy fees, round trip ferry tickets (most courses are either in Malaysia or Indonesia, and are accessible by a 45 minute ferry ride)and some food and drinks. Movies are S$8 per person. You could safely budget S$1500 to $2000 a month for Entertainment Rents are on the rise again with the recovery of the economy, but are still reasonable in relative terms. You can find a 3 bdrm/2 bath, 1300 square foot apartment with facilities and balconies, centrally located from S$2500 to $3000 and up. A 3 to 4 bdrm/2 bath w/ maid quarters, at around 1600 square feet, high rise apartment, facilities, sea view on a mid to high floor will start at $3500 to $4000. These figures allow for furnished or semi furnished apartments. Bungalows, or small houses, with 3 bdrms/2 bths, 1600 square feet and garden can be had starting from $2500, but are usually unfurnished. Real estate agent fees are payable by the landlord. Rental deposits are generally 2 months in advance. Rental contracts are usually 2 years and often have a one year break clause. Utilities will run you around $200 per month if you tend only to use the a/c in the evenings while sleeping. If you run the a/c 24hrs triple this figure. Both figures will also cover water and gas. Maids will run you $10/hour for a part-time, non live-in. The cost of a full time, live-in maid depends on where she''s from. My advice is to stick with the Filipina maids (or Thai''s, but they are hard to come by) and stay away from the Indonesian or Bangladeshi''s. This is a general rule only. A Filipina housekeeper will run you about $700 all-inclusive of the monthly salary, gov''t levy and insurance. Food allowances are sometimes paid over and above if you want to keep her groceries/food separate from yours. Hope you find this information useful. "

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" Hi there! Well, Singapore is a very expensisve place to live. everyday living is okay (e.g. food, electricity, water, etc.) But clothes, cars, house rents, EVERYTHING is expensive. From taxi fares to a cocktail drink. You might want to know the convertion rate: US$1 = S$1.68 The education system is great (If you have kids you might be needing this information) so you dont have to worry about it. Its very safe here. You wouldnt feel very foreign coz everybody comes from someplace else as well. I dont know what you wanted to know right off the bat but feel free to ask me. Krizelle "

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" I''ll reply about software jobs, since I just spent an extended amount of time looking for a job. I''m a fresh computer engineer and electrical engineer wishing for a digital design job here. As a software person I found tons of local jobs available setting up web servers, dbs, pages, etc. They''ll usually offer you about $3K a month Singapore with a one and a half or two month bonus annually. For a more stable job with MNCs like tech support or whatever I think they are competitive, but will offer less for you if you get a job directly in Singapore. If you can get attached to Singapore then you can get a much better deal. An MNC will hire you for about 2.5K to 3K in S''pore but will be competitive with your local market and include extra incentives if you can get hired from your country. If it is a local company that is well funded and backed by government investment/deals you can get up to $4K if its in their budget and you have needed skills. Most local MNC''s have mixed internal feelings about hiring foreigners and in general this makes interviews uncomfortable. I have had long ""friendly"" talks about this with people who I/they knew weren''t going to hire me. Basically, they know that attached people get paid much more and have a superiority complex when working in S''pore. They will assume the same for you, and be personally biased against hiring you. True or not. There is also a mixed open jealousy of not being able to afford cars and designer clothes like other people doing the same job for the same company in another country. Overall I did interview with a mix of MNCs, most for hardware design and I would have to say this is typical thought. Local companies are much more direct, if they interview you they are either wondering why you are in S''pore or are really interested in hiring you. I''ve had a few interviews, because I am so young, where people say ""We didn''t plan on hiring you, but I just wanted to find out why you are here."" I think local web companies are your best bet if you are inexperienced, some are way over funded. They are looking for the next greatest web tool/language in your resume. If you know about it, your pretty much going to get a job offer. There is a lot of competition, but many people in software don''t have enough stuff on their resume to get interviewed. Most non-web locals want either less than a 4 year degree (diplomas) or 5 years experience. Hardware is almost impossible as the local school turns out to many grads and whether they are better or not, they are much cheaper. Engineers here get the shaft, being paid about $2.5K if they are lucky. If you forget about owning a car and look into renting a SHIFT?? flat that is setup for foreign talent it is pretty cheap to live here. Check out www.gov.sg it has the entire government and needed info. Personally, I was quite disturbed by the local market. I am working on a personal project here instead. Best of luck, Chris Hamilton "

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" Hi lawrence, You mentioned that you can rent older cars at $500 - $700/mo. Could you pls share some details on that ? Thanks, TU "

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