It would be wise to know what the cost of living is in Singapore before taking the big leap. Singapore is definitely a more expensive city to live in compared to Manila. Based on the Cost of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings 2006 by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Singapore is ranked 17th (from 2005’s 34th) for cost of living. Manila is ranked 141. Dig that.
When Mr. Tsiken came up with a figure for his salary expectation, he based it on the price of a Mc Donald’s big-mac meal in Manila compared to what it costs in Singapore. (Not so much rocket science.)
We had the following estimates ready at hand:
- Rent
- Monthly Transportation cost
- Utilities
- Groceries
- Miscellaneous (Clothes, Entertainment, etc.)
- Savings - (set an arbitrary figure of how much you want to save every month)
- Education - if you have children (we don’t have any yet)
Add all that up, subtract that from your salary and see if you can still buy a big mac meal as often as you could had you been living in Manila. That basically sets your expectations of how much you’re going to enjoy living there.
Below are typical prices of what you would spend for everyday:
Transportation
- Bus fare - S$ 0.67 (with an ezLink card) / S$0.90 (no card)
- MRT fare - Check it out here.
You can save on transporation costs in the long run if you purchase an ezLink (pre-paid) card. With this card you get discounted fares at bus and MRTs and you don’t need to lineup at the vending machine everytime.
Food
- Hawker Meals - S$3 - 7
- Food Court Meals - S$7 - 10
- Fancy Restaurant meals - S$15 and up
Utilities
- For average Household Consumption for Electricity, Water and Gas - click here.
Groceries
- For costs of groceries, you can refer to Cold Storage’s online website. It would probably be cheaper in other supermarkets but their price can give you a pretty good baseline. I do my groceries in bulk and since Mr. Tsiken and I don’t have a car in Singapore, grocery shopping can be pretty exhausting. So often I just shop online and have my groceries delivered right at the door. Delivery charges are pretty much the same had I taken a taxi home and I don’t even have carry all that heavy stuff.
Addendum:
Mr. Nelson does have a point. How could I forget that which keeps me occupied 24/7. The only thing I asked for from Mr. Tsiken when we decided to move to Singapore was to give me a decent internet connection to keep me sane. So here’s more information about Cable, Mobile and Internet.
Cable, Mobile and Internet
Starhub gives freebies for new subscribers so we subscribed to starhub for our cable, mobile and internet. For that we got a free Samsung DV recorder plus 10% off monthly fees every month since we subscribed to all 3 services.
Our total monthly bill for all services is around S$170. Your bill, of course, will depend on which package you subscribe to so checkout the website for package rates.
Singtel also offers a good service for those who expect to do a lot of keeping in touch with loved ones in the Philippines through the Kababayan prepaid card - a tie up with Globe Philippines. Globe subscribers can text Singtel subscribers for just P1 /msg and Singtel to Globe text messages for just S$0.05. You can get the card at dealer stores in Lucky Plaza or at Singtel Hello! stores.
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14 responses so far ↓
1 nelson // Jun 25, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Ms. Tsiken Rice,
ma’m,
your website is quite informative. I suggest you include
in your cost: phone bills (landline and cellphone) and internet
connectivity. A lot of our kababayans are techies being
pirated by Singapore outsourcers.
Some blog entries on unusual/funny incidents that illustrate
local color would be nice.
thank you!
nelson
Another techie hoping to be pirated!!!
2 Ms. Tsiken Rice // Jun 26, 2007 at 9:31 am
Thanks for the suggestion! I will sure keep note of that.
3 redd // Jul 6, 2008 at 12:18 pm
boss,
My wife and I is planning to work at Singapore and it would be of great help to us if you could give us an idea of the tution fees there in Singapore (our son will be ready for school next year). Thank you
4 Ms. Tsiken // Jul 7, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Hi Redd,
Hope this entry helps you.
http://pinoyinsingapore.info/2008/07/07/studying-in-singapore/
Ms. Tsikens last blog post..Lucky Money Remittance to the Philippines: Remit, text and call too!
5 rain // Jul 22, 2008 at 8:44 am
mam,
can i ask how much is the average monthly rent of apartment there? Me and my friends plans to look for a job there. thanks
6 Ms. Tsiken // Jul 22, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Hi Rain, the rent differs depending on its location. Usually the closer it is to the city, the more expensive it gets. Also HDBs are cheaper but if you are on a tight budget, you can also opt for room rentals.
My friend just moved in to a 3-room HDB furnished unit in Sengkang (pretty far from the city) for P2100/month.
You can also check out this entry: http://pinoyinsingapore.info/2006/11/15/looking-for-a-place-to-stay-in-singapore/. There are other useful links in there.
Good luck to you and your friends!
Ms. Tsikens last blog post..Batman The Dark Knight
7 rain // Jul 22, 2008 at 1:57 pm
whoa? that was too expensive… im just wondering and estimated that my salary will range in 2500-3000 SGD but if 3-4 person will fit in that room then it will only cost 525-700SGD. can you give me an information on what room rentals look like? is it a board and logging type? which you just go there to sleep… much like a bedspacer type? or a room which can a family live? and that 2k+room which is far from city is already expensive how much more if its near the city?Im just wondering, researching and estimating thanks for the info.
8 Ms. Tsiken // Jul 22, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Singapore just experienced a boom in real estate which explains the soaring rental prices.
I believe most of our kababayans who are single just rent a room or share a unit amongst themselves. For room rentals, it depends whether you’re renting the master’s bedroom which has it’s own bathroom or just the regular rooms in which case you’ll have to share the common bathroom with other people in the unit.
The 2k+, I mentioned is well furnished and looks like a condo inside. I’m sure you can find cheaper units but they’re probably not as well maintained. And it will really depend on your budget. If you’re still looking for a job, I’d suggest you find a friend you can stay with first while you’re looking, or start with room rentals.
You also have to note that you’d normally be asked for 1 month deposit, 1 month advance, 1 month current rent, plus agent’s fee if you went through an agent. So that’s about 3+months rent upfront.
If you follow the links in the entry I gave above, you can find classified ads for rental units so you more or less have an idea of going rental rates.
Ms. Tsikens last blog post..Uniteller: Wider Remittance Reach for Filipinos
9 Ms. Tsiken // Jul 22, 2008 at 2:18 pm
BTW, there’s going to be a job fair in August. You might want to try going for a vacation here during that time. http://pinoyinsingapore.info/2008/07/17/jobs-central-career-and-learning-fair-2008/#more-140
I also suggest that you start sending out resumes while you’re still in the Philippines so you can get a head start.
Ms. Tsikens last blog post..Uniteller: Wider Remittance Reach for Filipinos
10 yvette // Jul 23, 2008 at 11:57 am
hi, thank you for the information… it was really nice
11 yvette // Jul 23, 2008 at 12:28 pm
hi… is a S$900 pay/month enough for a single woman who want’s to live and enjoy life in sinapore? thanks
12 Ms. Tsiken // Jul 23, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hi Yvette,
It depends on your definition of “live” and “enjoy” and what your current lifestyle in the Philippines is.
If you are a professional, I honestly doubt you’d enjoy living in Singapore on a S$900/month salary. Rent alone, will eat into your salary. And you will have to spend for food and other necessities. There will be no more left for savings.
But I’m pretty sure there are others who can survive on S$900 salary in Singapore. Our beloved domestic helpers might get lower wages than that but they are mostly stay ins and don’t have to pay for rent.
You can check out this article for more information: http://pinoyinsingapore.info/2008/07/22/a-guide-to-working-and-living-in-singapore/
Hope this helps
13 Bam // Jul 28, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Me & my wife are planning to live & work in Singapore. We actually have an offer to work there. Me, as an aircraft mechanic & my wife as a customer service rep in a telecom company, which is the same work as we have here.
I want to weigh things out first before hasting into any decisions. So help me to break down all the cost of living expenses in singapore compare here in the Philippines.
Thanks in advance.
14 Ms. Tsiken // Jul 29, 2008 at 9:42 am
Hi Bam,
Cost of living would be different for each family because it will depend on the lifestyle you are willing or not willing to settle for.
For example, me and my husband agree that we don’t want to live with other strangers in the same house so we chose to rent a single unit for ourselves which costs more than just renting a room which a lot of couples do. Would you be eating hawker food or gourmet? Do you want to go home on Holidays? If so, will your salary allow it? How much savings do you want to set aside? You need to compare what you want with what you can afford, then ask yourself if you’re happy with it. There may be luxuries you take for granted in Manila that you cannot afford in Singapore - like cars, spas, salons, etc.
Note that Singapore is the 4th most expensive city to live in in Asia and Manila is way down in the list.
Then you’d have to also put a cost on some of the sacrifices you’re going to do like maybe having to leave your kids in the Philippines, or being away from your aging parents and not being able to take care of them.
So the only way I can help you is to point you to references. But you will have to determine your own cost of living when you move to Singapore.
Since there’s two of you working, odds are it’ll be easier for both you and your wife to adapt because you can pool your resources. But it’s highly recommended you still do the numbers.
Here is a good reference that shows the basic price of most everything: http://worksingapore.com/2008guide/articles.php?article=live_1
http://www.PinoySg.com is also a good place to do survey. There are many kababayans there willing to help out other kababayans.
Good luck to you and your wife!
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