What's the cost of living in Singapore like?

Hi Kate

We have been living here since July 2011. Singapore is expensive, no doubt. Alchohol, sigarettes and any form of red meat is very expensive. Housing is a serious consideration and you should do proper homework based on your individual needs. It can range between $2500 - $5000 for average rental. Electricity is cheap in comparison but the fact that you have to run air conditioning full time adds to the bill. Our average bill is around the $500 mark. Forget about buying a car unless you have loads of money. Cars are very expensive. Monthly groceries for two is round the $500 mark excluding the previously expensive items. Food courts are very reasonable to eat in but any Western restaurants tend to be quite expensive. Once you learn the ropes here you can shop around and live quite comfortably. Check out my Blog for more info and housing postings


Singapore is a fun, clean, very safe country to live in with an excellent public transport infrastucture. Every thing here is super effecient. Offcourse it tends to be hot but you do get used to it withing a ,month or two.

http://eviltwininsingapore.blogspot.com/2011/08/different-singapore-houses-photos.html

Hi Kate - as Pierre has already said, the cost of living in Singapore certainly isn't cheap. For a break down of what you can expect to pay in the country, you can have a look at our Cost of Living in Singapore page.

Hey guys, thanks for the advice - I'll be sure to check out the two links you've sent me. So excited to embark on this adventure to a new country!

Hi Kate, I am a property agent in Singapore specialisation in expat relocation. Basically I helped expats like yourself look for accomodation in Singapore. Cost of living is high in Singapore and the core of it comes from housing. The average rental as pierre had mentioned ranges from $2500- $6,000 or more depending on the type of housing and location. In Singapore we have the HDB Flats and private apartments. HDB Flats are government housing and an average 3 room flat will cost you about $2500 per month or more depending on location.For private apartments, you will be expecting to pay from $3,000 onwards. Location plays a major role in determining the final price that you will be paying. Most often than not, properties close to town, train stations & amenities will cost more. The Prime residential areas in Singapore are district 9, 10 & 11 ( Orchard, Bukit timah, river valley, holland & novena ) You can look them up in the map to get an better understanding. For private apartments, the age of the property also determines the price of rental. New developments will definitely cost more than the older ones. Hope the above serves useful information to you and not a deterrent from coming to Singapore. Do feel free to contact me should you have any further queries. Jen ( mobile: 9692 5599 )

Its not the rental thats the killer when you first move to Singapore, The agent fee`s and deposit can be a problem, 2 year rental agreement based on worse case scenario = 2 months deposit one months in advance and 1 month to the agent! so be prepared to negotiate.

Hey Kate, well done on your big move. It's worth it for the cultural experience and travelling around the area too !!! I have lived in Singapore for 7 years and have seen the prices rise and rise. depending on your pay package, I know people around the 3.5k - 4k mark won't be able to afford an apartment. There are studios going for 1.9 k but these are small and really not nice (I have visited a few) First off you may need to rent a room as buying a whole apartment is very pricey. Mostly a condo room is anything from 900 - 1400 sgd, depending on location ect. Check out "easyroomate.sg" as I found you see the pictures and house mates description before you journey all that way to see that room. Also if you are alone in sg, it's nice to live with people at first and get on your feet. Food is also getting expensive, and restaurant meals are anything from 10 - 30 sgd for average western food. Food courts are great for saving money and decent-ish food. Around 6 - 8 dollers for something decent filling. Buying a car is super expensive. Even the road tax alone will be enough to put you off, just take buses and mrt. They are really good and clean. The big shock for me was the price of drinking in Singapore. Expect a glass of wine to be around 9-14 sgd in most places. And a beer in a bottle around 12 sgd. if you want to buy a bottle of wine from the supermarket the price is around 24 sgd for average wine mostly we would buy duty free coming in and have house parties first before heading out to the expensive bars. Mostly I would say you need to be on 2.2k to "survive" in sg with a small room and all your bills and food ect... And not saving anything. Which is not so fun, as most things here that are fun cost money. So check your pay first. Let me know if you want to know anything else ? I am now moving to Hong Kong- if you want to have a shock over rental go there :)

That why Singaporean is asset rich not cash rich ,because everything's is expensive. They import nearly everything's

I must say that overall I am really impressed with this blog.It is easy to see that you are impassioned about your writing.

I must say that overall I am really impressed with this blog.It is easy to see that you are impassioned about your writing.

All Data in your Article is complete and Informative. It includes so many interesting facts.Hope we can become good friends, and exchange and to help each other Buy Fifa 15 Coins

If looking for a legal part-time cleaner, try sendhelper android app (download sendhelper from googleplay) - takes less than 15 secs to place an order. (To get iphone beta app, text your email ID at 93875891)