Boiling

[Spacecadet]

Well technically speaking the new home is Singapore, and a temp serviced apartment. Got a few weeks to scout out different areas and buildings (Advice welcome), thinking as much as possible we'll go for space and comfort over being in the expat areas, or super central.

Most of my experiences are in the east of the city, out by Tampines and the much newer Sengkang.
In both area's you shouldn't be short of choice. They also have enough local shops, cinema's, restaurants, bars etc... for you not to have to bother going into the center if you don't want to.

The one thing which takes some time to get used to though is the prevalance of the high rise apartment buildings all looking almost identicle.

[snaw]

What are salaries like? In particular what's IB pay like?
Also rents/mortgage/house prices costs.

Salaries - we're getting more here than we did in London, and paying less tax - and if you contract you pay even less, they ... wait for it .. try to encourage small business, so tax wise you're even more ahead.

Mortgage nfi, rental we're looking at a 3 bedroom (With a maid room) and it'd be in the £1400 - 2000 a month bracket, which gets you a nice place, good size, facilities (Most places in last 10 years have pools, gyms, tennis/squash courts, and usually some other bits and bobs) and near two of near transport, a park or water. Relative to salary locally it's reasonable - think it used to be loads worse here before the GFC.

IB has changed out here from what I understand, companies are hiring contractors rather than perms, which is quite radical since I was told that usually contract is seen as 'lower status' so didn't pay as well. But actually now with reduced headcounts they're using that as the way to get staff, and paying well. Better than permie, but not as good as contract to permie diff was/is in UK.

Plus I feel more optomistic here, just the general background noise (I been reading loads about it before we got here) seems way more postive. Regionally I think Asia Pac is going to be very strong, and SIngapore is very well placed.

[AtW]

Salaries - we're getting more here than we did in London, and paying less tax - and if you contract you pay even less, they ... wait for it .. try to encourage small business, so tax wise you're even more ahead.

Mortgage nfi, rental we're looking at a 3 bedroom (With a maid room) and it'd be in the £1400 - 2000 a month bracket, which gets you a nice place, good size, facilities (Most places in last 10 years have pools, gyms, tennis/squash courts, and usually some other bits and bobs) and near two of near transport, a park or water. Relative to salary locally it's reasonable - think it used to be loads worse here before the GFC.

IB has changed out here from what I understand, companies are hiring contractors rather than perms, which is quite radical since I was told that usually contract is seen as 'lower status' so didn't pay as well. But actually now with reduced headcounts they're using that as the way to get staff, and paying well. Better than permie, but not as good as contract to permie diff was/is in UK.

Plus I feel more optomistic here, just the general background noise (I been reading loads about it before we got here) seems way more postive. Regionally I think Asia Pac is going to be very strong, and SIngapore is very well placed.

Translation: Snaw was lured into a trap and now spends his time in a prison dungeous writing on forums trying to get 10 suckers to follow him, only this is how he can gain his freedom back and escape the meat grinder at the end of his corridor...

[DimPrawn]

Votes Labour all his life, waits until Labour have destroyed the country and then pisses off abroad and raves about how cheap he can get a maid and how little tax he pays and how small business is encouraged.

What a ****!

[AtW]

Votes Labour all his life, waits until Labour have destroyed the country and then pisses off abroad and raves about how cheap he can get a maid and how little tax he pays and how small business is encouraged.

What a ****!

Just wait for Peoplesoft Bloke to announce he did the same and bought lots of legal firearms once he landed in a truly free country - I bet he'd continue voting Labour from abroad as well

[sasguru]

Salaries - we're getting more here than we did in London, and paying less tax - and if you contract you pay even less, they ... wait for it .. try to encourage small business, so tax wise you're even more ahead.

Mortgage nfi, rental we're looking at a 3 bedroom (With a maid room) and it'd be in the £1400 - 2000 a month bracket, which gets you a nice place, good size, facilities (Most places in last 10 years have pools, gyms, tennis/squash courts, and usually some other bits and bobs) and near two of near transport, a park or water. Relative to salary locally it's reasonable - think it used to be loads worse here before the GFC.

IB has changed out here from what I understand, companies are hiring contractors rather than perms, which is quite radical since I was told that usually contract is seen as 'lower status' so didn't pay as well. But actually now with reduced headcounts they're using that as the way to get staff, and paying well. Better than permie, but not as good as contract to permie diff was/is in UK.

Plus I feel more optomistic here, just the general background noise (I been reading loads about it before we got here) seems way more postive. Regionally I think Asia Pac is going to be very strong, and SIngapore is very well placed.

Thanks for that, Snaw.

I bet the education system is much better as well - you have kids don't you?
Thats the main draw for me TBH. Either that or spend thousands on a private education here. Although if you go to expat school you're probably going to spend thousands anyway. Still I bet the local schools are better than your average comp here.

[Sysman]

Did I mention you can get a maid here for about £200 a month, cook, cleans, babysits/nannys and if yer a real ***** you only give her a day off a month (That's what the local chinese do). It's mental. We paid £100 a month for a cleaner to turn up once a week in London for 3 hours.

My 'socialist' credentials are taking a battering.

A word of advice there. Do what the locals do and don't go soft by paying too much or giving too much time off.

It may be hard to get to grips with but you will get used to it.

[snaw]

Votes Labour all his life, waits until Labour have destroyed the country and then pisses off abroad and raves about how cheap he can get a maid and how little tax he pays and how small business is encouraged.

What a ****!

Oi. I never voted labour in my life.

To be fair I probably would've vpted for Blair in 97 if I'd been living in the UK, but I was SNP in Scotland and I voted *cough* liberal in London. I even helped my local tory MP get in!

[AtW]

I even helped my local tory MP get in!

TMI

[snaw]

Thanks for that, Snaw.

I bet the education system is much better as well - you have kids don't you?
Thats the main draw for me TBH. Either that or spend thousands on a private education here. Although if you go to expat school you're probably going to spend thousands anyway. Still I bet the local schools are better than your average comp here.

Unless you're local you have to send your kids to private.

But generally yes, they're way better - think Singapore pupils are the highest maths achieving pupils in the world (Sure I cam across that somewhere). Sure the private sector reflects that also.