Is this enough money in Singapore?

[tomhazard]

To my surprise I've been offered a job in SG that I wasn't expecting. Have lived there before but circumstances were different so just wondering if you think this would be enough- we would like to save too.

My job - 6k per month plus 2 school places for my DC at 25% fees. This would be 4K per year per DC (I have 2)
DH job- between 10 and 12k depending on negotiation.

We would want a helper and a condo on the west of the island ( not orchard or river valley type prices)

Worth doing financially?

[Saltedcaramellavacake]

If it was only your salary it is not enough (imho). Even a cheap condo (3k?), helper (1k), food, health insurance and school fees would eat up that salary. Also, school fees increase every year here... salaries don’t!

[MoonieMoo]

Area 10? Very expensive!

We’ve just moved here and found the upfront expenses 😱....luckily we had savings in sterling!. We had to pay three months rent upfront to move (so imagine 6k x 3) and the international schools want a ‘registration fee, plus all the fees paid when you enroll (think at least £20).....

We were lucky we had savings (to pay all the costs and high salary) and had a lot os help in the relocation package.

If you didn’t......👎🏼

[S0upertrooper]

We're coming over in June to have a look. DH has been asked to relocate. No kids, but 2 cats. The bond for rent might be a deal breaker for us. OP is that £6k or $6k? We're expecting to pay $6k just for rent!!!

[S0upertrooper]

Sorry OP, just noticed you have 2 salaries. Good luck with the move-I'd appreciate any tips for our 'suck it and see' week!

[Saltedcaramellavacake]

The bond will be two months rent, plus stamp duty.

[Saltedcaramellavacake]

Plus one month’s rent in advance!

[S0upertrooper]

So 3 months rent plus stamp duty @Saltedcaramellavacake ? How much is stamp duty? How long does it take to get the bond back at the end of the contract?

[Saltedcaramellavacake]

0.4% of the total rent over the term of the lease.
Singapore landlords have a reputation for taking a good chunk of the bond for wear and tear/minor repairs but you’d expect to have some back after 2 weeks or so. Don’t forget that you’ll also have to pay for minor repairs during your contract (usually up to 150 per repair, then the landlord steps in for amounts over that). It is different from England where the landlord has to fix things.

[Rickytickytembo]

OP, I think that would make for pretty tight living, though doable.

I don't understand your school fees - are you receiving $4000 a year per child (not good) or you only having to pay $4000 per year per child (great)?

[tomhazard]

Ricky only paying 4000 dollars a year.

[SingCat]

With those school fees, it's definitely doable to live comfortably on those salaries. I guess whether it's worthwhile depends on what you'd be earning/spending in the UK in comparison and how you weight the other benefits of living in Singapore (great schools, holidays in the region, extremely safe for kids etc.)

[TerrorAustralis]

It's doable on that salary, as long as you don't expect to live high on the hog.

One of the biggest costs (after rent and school fees) can be health insurance. If you've got reasonable coverage through your or your DH's work, you would avoid that cost.

I'm guessing where your work would be - depending on where your DH works, you could get a 3 bed condo in D22 for under $4K.

[Rickytickytembo]

Got it.

Agree with the others, it could be done on that salary.

Have a look on the property guru app to give you an idea of rental prices. Note that those prices are before negotiating. We have renewed our lease and are now paying 12% less than our original terms. Prices are generally lower.

[tomhazard]

Thanks everyone. I've actually just been offered another job in SG with a Jan start- the package is better as it includes 3.5k towards a condo and 2 completely free school places and medical. Salary on top is 7k and DH will be on similar so I think this is pretty good! So I'm going to take job two and can't wait to get back in Jan.
We plan to live Upper Thomson Way or possibly Upper Bukit Timah so hopefully the accommodation offer will cover or almost cover the rent.
Can't wait!