Kammy786

Hi everyone,

Stumbled across this site whilst trying to look for advice about Singapore.

I recently received a job offer, for an office position with an Oil company in Singapore, I have been working offshore and living in the UK all of my working life so this would be a completely new experience for me.

The one thing that is really concerning me is the cost of living, I am sure this has been mentioned a million times on this forum, but it really is the only thing stopping me at the moment from signing on the dotted line.

I currently earn 65k before tax in the UK, which works out around £3800 in my bank every month, I live fairly comfortably, rent a nice apartment, eat out, drive a nice car etc etc.

The company is offering me S$10000 a month, plus a pension and private healthcare, everything else I need to provide myself like housing etc. I am married, have no children, and was I to move, would have no outgoings in the UK, my wife is a primary school teacher so hopefully she would be able to find work reasonably quickly out there which would help a lot.

Do you guys think S$10000 a month is a healthy salary to live a decent lifestyle, I do not drink, I realise that I probably won't be able to afford a car but this really doesn't bother me, all I am looking for is a nice apartment pretty close to the city, and to be able to eat well and have the home comforts such as internet and satellite TV.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Kam

ex reg

So the company is offering you a lower salary in Singapore than they are paying you in UK?????

Is that 10k after tax?
A suitable 2 bed average apartment will cost you S$4Kpm - a lot higher than that if you wanted to pay it and also below it but you'd be a long way from the city if that's where you will work.

Yes you can do it and especially if the wife gets a job but you won't be rolling in cash.

A new 1.6 l car will cost you S$130k ish.

If you will be gaining experience in a job you want to progress in in future then it's an OK deal.
If it's a job you've been doing for years then you might want to reconsider or at least press for a higher salary or accommodation to be included.

These 'local terms' contracts are now the norm so accommodation included only happens for top guys or guys doing jobs that locals don't have experience in.

Where will you work btw.
A lot of the oil and gas construction jobs are out in the west coast although HO might be in the city.

Oil companies who trade in oil have their offices in the city though.

Just on the internet and TV thing.
We pay about S$60 pm or thereabouts for internet, 1Mbps free connection with the TV set top box, which is fine for everything even watching sport live over the net and there are enough TV channels for me anyway included in that. Even BBC Entertainment and ITV something or other.
Of course you can get internet of 100Mbps, 200Mbps and even 1Gbps.

And finally, we live in the UK for 6 months each year and here for 6 months each year.

We find for food, consumables etc that Singapore is about 10% more expensive.
You can eat out very cheaply or if you want to hideously expensively. There is plenty of choice.

Kammy786

Thanks for the reply.

No the salary is 10k before tax, but I am told it will be around 8%?

I am 24 years old so this is very much a first step into a junior management position and there will most certainly be room for promotion in the coming years.

The companies office is in North avenue 3, D11. Can you recommend some good websites when looking for apartments? i seem to have found a few nice ones for the 3k mark in the d9 d10 d11 d12 areas?

Cheers

ex reg

There are a few North Ave in Singapore.
Serangoon North Ave, Bedok North Ave.

Property Guru might give you alternative properties.

Try to get your company to put you up in a hotel or a Serviced Apartment for a month or so when you arrive. That will give you time to look around for somewhere to live. Do not rent an apartment just by seeing it online.

If you think this job will give you a good foot on the ladder and give you loads of good experience then it looks a good choice, but don't hold me to that

Condos/apartments are usually subject to a 2 year lease here with a break clause after 14 months although you might find aperiod less than that if you want.

BTW when I worked in O & G here I found it very cut throat.

Kammy786

the company have said they will put me up for 3 weeks in a hotel and give me a months wages for relocation, which i think is a pretty fair deal.

The main thing was will this be enough money to live off, and I think if I budget and think about money a bit more than I am used to then it should be, until my wife finds work and things get a bit more comfortable.

what is singapore like in terms of job opportunities for Engineers?

ex reg

Lot of engineers here or available from SEA and India.

You have to have a specialty which isn't easily found in these countries.

I thought your wife was a teacher??

Kammy786

Yes my wife is a teacher, I am an Engineer, in the Seismic segment of Oil and Gas.

It is a huge decision for me to take, but itll be a lot easier once I visit the place and get an idea of the living costs.

dean350

On S$10,000 per month you will have about S$9300 per month left after tax. Budget about $3500 a month for an apartment and about $350-$450 a month for electricity, internet and TV. Find somewhere that's an easy MRT commute to the office and then you don't have to bother with a car. It may be best for your wife to approach international schools in Singapore now. They may be able to offer her a position with her own Employment Pass. Otherwise she will get a Dependent's Pass and she will have to persuade an employer to apply for a Letter of Consent from the Ministry of Manpower.

Kammy786

Thanks for the advice Dean350

She has already started to apply and phone schools, so hopefully something will come of it before we move over.

xizzles

I reckon you'll be plenty comfy on $10,000/month - the national average wage last I checked was $3,500/month - and if you're not terribly choosy with the housing, you could easily get a 2 or 3-room apartment in what they call the "HDB" estates (which is similar to public/council housing, but somewhat neater, cleaner & without the riff-raff: after all, approximately 80% of the locals live in HDBs) for approximately $2,500/month or thereabouts (depending on the location, of course).

Rental prices are expected to fall dramatically next year (because of an anticipated over-supply of new projects and the local government's "cooling measures" to keep a check on runaway property prices), so you'll be spoilt for choice.

You'll be alright, mate. Just take the plunge and enjoy the experience!

ex reg

Just a few points:

the average wage for ex pats might be a better comparison.

Renting HDBs is not as straight forward as xizzles makes it appear, imo

a dramatic fall in rental prices here might be a max of 5% such is the market in Singapore. And I've never met anyone who has yet predicted correctly how the rental market will progress.

And finally 'take the plunge and enjoy the experience' is fine to say but if things go wrong returning to a job in the UK might not be so easy.
I've done a lot of plunging in my time sometimes into very physically dangerous circumstances as far as jobs go but it's not for everyone.

The more research the better.

xizzles

Fair points, ex reg.

However, it's comparatively harder to get statistics on wages for ex pats, hence I quoted what was available - truthfully, if "they" can live on a $3,500/month salary, I'm pretty sure an ex pat making $10,000/month with the potential of the wife contributing more to the household piggybank can survive comfortably.

When I first came over, I had no problems getting an HDB lease - but, things might have changed somewhat (and not always for the better, I dare say) since then (admittedly, that was many moons ago).

Depending on who you speak to, the "experts" (and I emphasize the "experts" in "inverted commas", ) here seem to think that rentals will plunge by anywhere from 10% - 30%, such is the projected over-supply of apartments and the anticipated drying up of incoming ex pats (there's been a bit of a backlash against the perceived laxity of quality and quantity control of ex pats/foreign talents into Singapore by the citizens, and the government is reacting to that outcry by clamping down on quotas).

I whole-heartedly agree: the more research the better, but don't be bogged down by it, like I have. I've been researching a move to Australia for the past 5 - 7 years, and I'm still researching it... sigh.

Kammy786

Hi Xizzles,

Cheers for that, I think I'm just going to make the plunge, the wife moves over with me in March and she has a couple of Interview lined up already, so hopefully it won't be too long until she is working, I think if I budget half my salary for living and the rest to do whatever with it should be fine, I'm only really going to know once I get there, you only live once ey! haha

balams

how long is your contract ?

Balams

Kammy786

its a permanent position not a contract

cheers,

kam