Singapore is 14th most expensive city to live in!


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Klose

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Feb 15, 2005
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SINGAPORE: Singapore has jumped three places to become the 14th most expensive city in the world for expatriates.

This is according to a Cost of Living Survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

The survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative costs of over 200 items.

These include housing, transport, food, household goods and entertainment.

The cost of living Index for Singapore rose from 92 points in March 2006 to 100.4 points this year.

Mercer says the spike in house prices and climbing transportation prices have contributed to the higher ranking on the global list.

Moscow remained as the world's most expensive city for the second year running while Asuncion in Paraguay ranks as the cheapest for the fifth consecutive year.

London is second on the worldwide list, scaling three places compared to 2006.

This is due to the stronger British pound against the US dollar and steep property rental costs.

Mercer added that the strengthening of the Euro has resulted in some European cities moving significantly up the chart this year.

Four of the world's top 10 costliest cities are in Asia and they are Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Osaka.

Within Asia-Pacific, Singapore moved up one spot to be the fifth most expensive city. - CNA/yy

Interesting :eek:
 

I can certainly attest to that... am looking for a new home at this time and it ain't pretty being a buyer.
 

I want to migrate to a fresh air country where lifestyle is more relaxed...
 

Report says:
"SINGAPORE: Singapore has jumped three places to become the 14th most expensive city in the world for expatriates."

I say:
If its 14th most expensive city for expats, then its probably one of the most expensive city for CITIZENS! That's cos Citizens dun get expat package. We dun get housing allowance, transport allowance, childcare allowance, etc etc allowance.
We have to pay for world's most expensive housing through our own pockets while having 20% deducted from our pay to go to it or keep it till we get old if we are fortunate enough not to have gotten stressed to death before then.
We have to pay from our own pockets and have to dig it deeper and deeper every other year to top up our EZ-Link card more and more frequently becos transport fares are ever increasing and dun even start to dream about owning a car cos that is like bombs going off in your pockets.
And the best thing? In July 2007, we are gonna have to pay more for EVERYTHING becos GST goes up by 2% but all we can do and will do is shut up and pay and pay... and pay!
SIGH!!!!!!!
 

i am thankful for the clean environment, food, water, security and housing. I just wish things will get a bit cheaper to be affordable for the low income group. We are close to paradise status, just need to work a bit more to tame inflation.

;)
 

more expensive than NYC and SF
heck, i thought those places were already killing me.

You have to see whether these surveys include the cost of owning a car. Singapore is one of the most expensive place to own a car, and that would push Singapore's ranking up even further.
 

Actually, Singapore is not that expensive. Yeah, really.
Those of you who would've travelled to Europe, Japan and other developed nations can vouch for this.

The prices of basic commodities are the cheapest. Milk, bread, sugar, rice, vegetables, meat etc. are priced quite low and I don't remember seeing the price of bread (just an example) change in the last 10 years. If you cook your meals yourself, you can live on very little money (and much healthier too than eating in hawker centres)

Public transport is not too expensive either and fairly comfortable too. Try travelling in a suburban train in Mumbai or Chennai. Taxis are cheaper than anywhere in Europe or Tokyo.

Yes, agree that cars are most expensive but then you should compare against cities like Tokyo and even Shanghai. Shanghai too has a similar system as our COE - to discourage car buyers in Shanghai. They call it the carplate or something like that. A carplate in Shanghai costs upto RMB 40,000 (SGD 8,000) whereas in a neighbouring province it would be in the 100s. Parking fees in Shanghai along Huaihai road is almost the same as Orchard Road in Singapore.

Cost of apartments in Shanghai is higher than an equivalent HDB apartment. I've seen 100odd sqm apartments in Pudong going for more than RMB 2 million (SGD 400,000). Of course, some of the apartments are much much nicer than apartments in Singapore. And there is so much variety and they all look so much different.

We do have relatively pollution free skies here. When was the last time you saw gray skies for a month ? I spent 2 weeks in Shanghai this month and I didn't see the blue sky a single day.

What I can't stand in Singpaore is the 'artificially' inflated property prices. I simply can't understand how an apartment that was costing 300K last year can cost 600K this year. I simply can't.
 

Salary never increase but the cost of living also increase... expats earning more than us and already expensive to them... we die lor
 

Note "for expatriates"
 

Depends on what's the definition of expatriate...

I know of expatriates who come with 'all expenses paid'. Live in a palatial house, two cars, a driver, maid(s), kids go to international schools, travel business class for the whole family to their home country. Even if they need to change a light bulb, can call an electrician.

And I know of foreigners who are here on Employment Pass (or even PRs) are earning the same salaries as locals - live in HDB flats, but are still called expatriates.

You think the former lot has a reason to complain if let's say - MRT fares go up or cable costs more ?
 

Salary never increase but the cost of living also increase... expats earning more than us and already expensive to them... we die lor

Some selected groups do have salary increment, I think about 25% for the top notch and about 5% + 2% bounus for the working class.
 

Some selected groups do have salary increment, I think about 25% for the top notch and about 5% + 2% bounus for the working class.

Indeed, apart from the selected the other groups are only getting like 5% or less increment. But when the prices of everything else goes up, the real income of the majority of folks in singapore goes down - so its kinda like a pay cut. Unless of course your increment is more than enough to cope with the rising prices.

Then again, that is the price we pay to live in one of the safest countries in the world. And we are paying for many other things that comes along with the package.
 

Actually, Singapore is not that expensive. Yeah, really.
Those of you who would've travelled to Europe, Japan and other developed nations can vouch for this.

when you take Singapore Dollars and spend in Europe and others developed natoins, it is natural that we will feel the pinch.

A can of coke in Sweden may cost you $1.1 Euro. If you convert to Sing Dollar it will cost you $SGD 2.00
But the earning power or GDP per capital of developed nations are generally higher than ours.
According to the hamburger theory, the cost of a hamburger should be the same throughout the world.

When we compare cost of living, we must also factor in the standard of living.
Living and working in sweden is definitely not the same as working in Singapore.
In Sweden you work 35 hrs a week and in Singapore you have to work 72 hrs to earn the equivalent amount of money. Plus another 72 hrs to make up for differences in exchange rate.
A bus driver in Australia earns AUD$3.5K. Assuming minimum wages of AUD$18 and 50hrs work week.
A Singapore bus driver earns SD$1,500 per month = $68 per day = $7 per hr. He/She has to drive another 200hrs OT to earn SD$3,500, plus another 40hrs of OT for the exchange rate.

Also not forgetting the social benefits of the developed nations.

Also those houses are freehold + landed and not like our HDB (bird cage) 99 years lease and 10 years COE for the car.
 

Indeed, apart from the selected the other groups are only getting like 5% or less increment. But when the prices of everything else goes up, the real income of the majority of folks in singapore goes down - so its kinda like a pay cut. Unless of course your increment is more than enough to cope with the rising prices.

Then again, that is the price we pay to live in one of the safest countries in the world. And we are paying for many other things that comes along with the package.

Yes, I agree with you, real income increment matters most.

Again you are spot on, we are paying for useless packages.
Like, the GPS for the bus system. With that, it is not going to cut short the waiting and travelling time during peak hours.

Also, shortly after the biometric passport, now we are going to have system that recognise faces. Already identified terroist is not a problem, can the system identify terrorists to be?
Don't how much my passport will cost when due for renewal.
 

certainly not a good time to buy now. if time is not a issue, i suggest renting for a while and watch the property market.

I can certainly attest to that... am looking for a new home at this time and it ain't pretty being a buyer.
 

Public transport is not too expensive either and fairly comfortable too. Try travelling in a suburban train in Mumbai or Chennai. Taxis are cheaper than anywhere in Europe or Tokyo.

We always like to compare with the third worlds or the developing nations to blow our little achievement out of proportion.

How does our transport system compare to thoes in Hong Kong?
 

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