bakedbean

Reported by the BBC, the Economist Intelligence Unit reckons that Singapore is the most expensive city in the world currently

I suppose it depends how you work the figures out, though the report does mention the costs of running a vehicle, and I think we all know that Singapore is the most expensive place in the World for that.

It's certainly been getting more expensive in recent years and I am just going by visits, as I don't live there anymore.

The BBC article is here: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26412821

Englishmum

At one time my husband's employer used to purchase company cars (these days they now give a car allowance to lease a car instead).

The first time we moved to Singapore was in January 1995 and the company car was a Toyota Corona saloon/sedan (they were called 'Carina' in the UK). The invoice was in the glovebox.... a whopping S$142,000 It was more than our house was worth at that time in the UK!

On our last posting one of our neighbours on our floor was a Taiwanese businessman; he owned 5 cars in Singapore, including a lime-green Lamborghini which was always being parked at the front entrance of the St. Regis Hotel....

ex reg

Back in 1993 when I was a big boss I bought half a dozen cars for the company I working for. They were all around about S$160,000 and well above the budget but there you go.

When we sold them a couple of years later we akchewlee made a profit on them.

HannahJ38

I read that average cost of some household items in Tokyo are around:

Loaf of bread: $9.06
Bottle of wine: $15.95
Gallon of gas: $7.46
Pack of cigarettes: $5.57

Now cigarettes and wine not necessarily essentials, but just to put into perspective..around $9 for bread though, ridiculous

bakedbean

Hannah, are you talking Singapore dollars here?

Bocat

Not much of a shock to those of us who live there/have lived there!

Pupsiecola

This article sums up nicely what they've done for this survey. You can live a lot cheaper there as a local. I agree though for ex-pats it is crazy expensive. And that's reflected in the way half a dozen sales assistants would flock around you when you entered a store.

http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-...o-not-reflect-

Yorkieabroad

I think that's the problem with any of these surveys...especially in a country like Singapore where the range is just so huge. When I lived there working for a major oil company, they paid for a massive 50th floor penthouse apartment, with an 8000sqft lawn. When I left the company, and started paying myself, I still went for a penthouse, but it was half the size and one-seventh the cost. we would go out for hawker food on a Friday night and have a damn good meal for a couple of dollars a head, then on Sunday we would go to one of the big hotel brunches at $50 or $60 a head....with the hawker food we'd have $2 bottles of Tiger, then go down to Boat Quay or Emerald Hill and pay $20 a jug ... The extremes were just phenomenal, and I don't know how any of these surveys can take account of that.

ex reg

I'd be interested to know where that is?

Yorkieabroad

International Plaza on Anson Rd. The building itself was crappy and old, but the 50th floor is, and I suspect will always be the most awesome apartment I have ever lived in/will ever live in. Absolutely loved it.

ex reg

Some nice restaurants in there especially Japanese iirc.

bakedbean

A 2 dollar beer those were the days eh?

Yorkieabroad

We used to go to a decent Japanese noodle place on the 3rd(?) floor, but to be honest, we didn't eat much in there because it was gloomy, felt a bit grimes, and always had an odd smell we did spend a lot of time in the Coffee Bean and Tea leaf by the main entrance though.....

Yorkieabroad

And that was for the big bottle.....had to add ice though, cos that price didn't get you refrigeration..

HannahJ38

American, that was just taken from an article I read