Sydney vs Singapore

[pete66]

What is the comparable salary in Singapore for someone who is on A$100K in Sydney?  (excluding housing and car)   Does this increase proportionately for someone on $150K?  

[Bewildered]

Very roughly I'd say SGD100k. This is a little simplistic, although your take-home pay in Singapore will be a lot more due to the much lower tax rate, the difference will be pretty much eaten up by higher living costs (as have been discussed many times on this Board). If you have kids who you wish to send to an international school in Singapore, and if you wish to run a car, then add SGD20k for each kid and another SGD20k for the car.

[Karena]

I disagree.  I think Singapore is twice as expensive as Sydney and therefore a comparable salary (taking into account the cost of phone calls, flights and living away from home) to be double the Aussie salary.  This should just about cover it.

[mari]

Have seen this subject debated ad infinitum. Have been here awhile now and find it difficult to see how this country is twice as expensive as Sydney. Having lived in Sydney for 15yrs with 5 yrs in London, it just does not calculate. Looking at past posts will probably give you both sides of the equation though.

[mari]

Have seen this subject debated ad infinitum. Have been here awhile now and find it difficult to see how this country is twice as expensive as Sydney. Having lived in Sydney for 15yrs with 5 yrs in London, it just does not calculate. Looking at past posts will probably give you both sides of the equation though.

[Karena]

Well Mari, although I won't write an essay, here's a few supporting examples of my point of view:

Housing

3 bed flat, 15 mins from centre of town, nice area

Sing= $5,000 per month
Syd = $2,500 per month

Food

2 litres milk
Sing = $5
Syd = $2

Bread
Sing = $3 for half loaf
Syd =  $2.50 for full loaf

Car

Mazda 323 1992

Sing = $25,000 for 2 years usage
Syd = $7,000 for as long as you want  

Petrol
Sing = $1.50 a litre
Syd = .80 cents a litre

Dinner at mid-range restaurant with bottle of wine between two.

Sing = $110 (e.g Michallangelos)
Syd = $60-$70 (e.g any Italian in Leichhardt

Kids activities

Gymboree
Sing = $30 a session
Syd = $12  (Gymbaroo, Glebe)

I look forward to seeing your comparisons.

[Mari]

Karena

You only need to trawl through history of this site to see some very pursuasive arguments both ways.

1/If you are paying $5000 for your flat 15 minutes out of the center, I suggest you look again. My fiance and I are paying $2000 semi d. Checked out rent in the eastern suburbs lately? Can get stupid as it can here or anywhere. Seen how much places with condo facilities cost these days in Sydney? You are no chance to get into Seidler's Horizon at your listed price. It really is Sydney's equivalent to some of the condos that expats live in here. Conversely if you choose to live as the locals do, it is $700/mth under the shift scheme.

2/My taxes here are 10% flat no matter how much I make as opposed to 48 in Sydney! For those not in trading arena it will be capped at 28%(if you manage to earn $400 000).

3/$5 for 2 litres of milk? You need again to shop around. Ditto for half loaf of bread. My fiance is saying you are getting ripped off. Even he knows the price you suggest is over the top.

4/Dinner for two at Grappa in Norton st came to $150, that was BYO! Dinner for two at Balzac(opposite Randwick Ritz cinema) $130. Dinner for two at Sean's Panorama $95 BYO again. Pizza and fish on Campbell pade $90 BYO. Same as going to Indochine+++.

You also forget that most locals eat for a whole lot less. Just put up a notice and see the responses.

Movies,domestic help, public transport, street parking, electronics, taxis, flying anywhere, cable tv...have all cost me less here than in Sydney.

I say again though that looking at past *** will enlighten the enquirer much more than we have provided.

 

[Mari]

Karena

You only need to trawl through history of this site to see some very pursuasive arguments both ways.

1/If you are paying $5000 for your flat 15 minutes out of the center, I suggest you look again. My fiance and I are paying $2000 semi d. Checked out rent in the eastern suburbs lately? Can get stupid as it can here or anywhere. Seen how much places with condo facilities cost these days in Sydney? You are no chance to get into Seidler's Horizon at your listed price. It really is Sydney's equivalent to some of the condos that expats live in here. Conversely if you choose to live as the locals do, it is $700/mth under the shift scheme.

2/My taxes here are 10% flat no matter how much I make as opposed to 48 in Sydney! For those not in trading arena it will be capped at 28%(if you manage to earn $400 000).

3/$5 for 2 litres of milk? You need again to shop around. Ditto for half loaf of bread. My fiance is saying you are getting ripped off. Even he knows the price you suggest is over the top.

4/Dinner for two at Grappa in Norton st came to $150, that was BYO! Dinner for two at Balzac(opposite Randwick Ritz cinema) $130. Dinner for two at Sean's Panorama $95 BYO again. Pizza and fish on Campbell pade $90 BYO. Same as going to Indochine+++.

You also forget that most locals eat for a whole lot less. Just put up a notice and see the responses.

Movies,domestic help, public transport, street parking, electronics, taxis, flying anywhere, cable tv...have all cost me less here than in Sydney.

I say again though that looking at past *** will enlighten the enquirer much more than we have provided.

 

[Mari]

Karena

forgot to ask you where to get 80 cent petrol in Sydney, 95 cents three weeks ago when I was last there.

[bobbydazler]

Whilst I have lived in Sydney and also Singapore I do find that it is more lucrative to live in Singapore. Salaries are much higher and the tax rate is less. I easily make 100% more than I would in Sydney for the same job. Honestly I find shopping, dinners, rents not really that much different. However I do spend significantly more than in Sydney just to enjoy life. In Sydney a trip to the beach or the Blue Mountains costs next to nothing. In Singapore to have a half decent weekend with fresh air in a quite and beautiful environment away from constant contructions, traffic, and people you have no choice but to go to Bintan, Bali, Malaysia or Puket etc. This type of weekend for a family of 2-4 is just very expensive. So if you are happy to be a homebody and not live as wonderful and healthy a life as you would in Sydney chose Singapore as you will have significantly more money. Whatever you do don't ever live in Singapore for any other reason than the money.

[bobbydazler]

Hi,

So to follow up I think to ask the question "what is a comparative salary" I think the best answer is that for a similar job in Sydney you should at least double or triple it if you work in Singapore. Not because this is what you nesessarity "need" but it is easily what you should expect to get from an employer here.

[OK]

We come from a cheaper city in Australia and it is more expensive here because many of the groceries are imported from Australia.Karena is infact correct about prices even if you do shop around...milk varies..imported whole Aussie milk is about $2 a litre but if you want UHT it is cheaper, if you want Trim fresh milk then alot more expensive. Lamb leg $13 to $17 per kilo. Beef $10 to $29 per kilo. Take into account if you have children...school fees $10000 to $20000 per year and if they have established eating habits you'll see your food bill sky rocket.You eat hawker food and it's cheap but buy a few meat dishes and it isn't really cheap but a little more expensive than home (fried rice and noodles are so cheap and so are satays and roti...just to name a few). Bread... if you want decent bread of the Baker's delight type Karena is right....she has probably quoted high end but that's better than under estimating.....on the other hand eggs are $1.20 up for 10 and bok choy and some fruits and veg are cheaper than home but some aren't.....

[Mari]

Ok

dont know what city you lived in, but like anywhere there is a diversity in price.

1/ School fees-if you were to send your child to the Sydney equivalent to somewhere like UWC, don't think for a second it is any cheaper. Don't believe me, ring St Catherine' s or Cranbrook.

2/ Bread-you are just wrong.

3/ Hawker meat dishes is cheaper vs even the cheapest and nastiest take away in Sydney.

etc...But the point I am trying to make is that Singapore living does not require twice the salary as Sydney(especially with the taxes), which was the original assertion. It makes almost no difference that eggs are $1 more or less, even if you eat 500 cartons a yr.

[Can Help]

Pete I was on $110K AU living in Sydney.  Here I am on S$150K....tax rate and my money doesn't go as far as it did in Aus.  Of course it depends on your lifestyle - this involves a few nights out a week, alcohol, dinners, movies, the odd show, weekend away etc.  I am late 20's, single, sociable, and increasingly poorer every day!

[Bewildered]

Perhaps I could give a slightly longer response than my previous one. This is really a topic where there is no right or wrong answer. As we have seen different people have different perceptions, and more importantly different spending patterns which can make the situation different in each case.

If you earn A$100k then your after-tax pay will be around $5400 pcm (assuminfg the 8% SGC is additional and not part of the 100k). If you earn SGD100k then your after tax income will be around $7400 pcm (or A$7700 at current exchange rates). Again this assumes no CPF.

Whilst I am certain that in general costs in Singapore for a typical "basket" of goods and services purchased by an expat family is higher, the question is whether the substantial difference in take-home accommodates this.

For example, if you wish to run a car in both countries then you would be worse off in Singapore. If you are happy with public schools in Sydney but wish to use private schools in Singapore then again you'll be better off in Sydney. If you have no kids, and are happy without a car then you'll be better off in Singapore - your living costs will be higher but not enough to account for the take-home pay difference, unless you consume copious amounts of alcohol and only eat imported food.

This is a long-winded way of saying that there is no right answer. How much you need to earn in Singapore to maintain the same lifestyle as someone earning A$100k in Sydney depends heavily on individual circumstances.

I haven't tried to calculate how much extra one should be paid to "compensate" for the "inferior" lifestyle in Singapore v Sydney. That really is entirely impossible to generalise about. In fact, I have met people who prefer Singapore to Sydney, so it is a case of horses for courses.