Mega Dilemma,
I am sitting with a copy of today's Straits Times classifieds section in front of me (as I am busy working expat) and I would like to give you some concrete advice (in terms of figures) as opposed to yes it is enough/no it isn't enough. Evaluate for yourself.
US$12,000 is approximately S$22,000 (which equates to S$264,000 per annum).
The most expensive apartment I can find in today's issue is S$19,000 per month for a 6 bedroom, 4,800 sft penthouse in 7 Nassim (wherever that is?). (I found a Balinese house in Andrew Road for S$30,000 per month, but assumed that you wouldn't want to spend more than your husband's income just for a roof over your head.) I am sure that this would be ideal for a family with three teenage children, but would only leave you with S$36,000 to live on for the rest of the year. This would probably not even cover your tax bill, so I can safely say that this is not the best option for you.
The cheapest that I can find is a room to rent for S$250 per month, which would leave you with a massive disposable income of S$261,000 for the year, although I am guessing that this would be alittle cramped, especially if you are looking for a maid as well. So once again it can be ruled out as a serious option.
So on a more sensible note, let us conside other options. You can choose to live in the Centre of Singapore, the East, or the West. You could aslo choose to live in the centre or the North, but nobody else does.
Let us look at a variety of options in these areas.
Central: A four bedroom townhouse with private garden close to Somerset MRT station for S$8.5k per month (neg). A little expensive at first glance, but it does come with membership to the Pinetree club, or Fort Canning. And it also gives you discounts at the Ritz Carlton, the Conrad, and the Regent hotels. Or alternatively, you could opt for something a little less salubrious such as a 4 bedroom apartment in Central Green opposite an MRT station. It is a high floor unit for a paltry S$4,400 per month.
West: Holland Village area, 4 bedrooms, f/furn, S$4k up. Not much of a description I admit, but Tuesday isn't the greatest day for house hunting.
East: Astoria Park, adjacent to Kembangan MRT, high floor, 4 bedrooms, 1200sft, pool, clubhouse etc., f/furn. S$2.5k per month.
It is open to a no doubt lively (and snobbish) debate as to which of these options would be most suitable, but it is a very subjective question. Personally, I think that Holland village is too full of expats and nowhere near an MRT. And I also feel that living in amongst the concrete of the CBD would be too over bearing. I happen to live on the East Coast, and find that Siglap has a "village" feel to it, and that the East Coast Park is good for family outings at weekends. Although, possibly not as much for teenagers. But I am sure that you have read the countless protestations on this site that there is nothing to do here other than shop and eat anyway.
You said that you are quite prepared for public transport, so if it was my money (which it so clearly isn't) I would opt for the Astoria Park option. It allows you S$19,500 left over each month from your husbands salary. The gate to the place is 10 yards (literally) from the MRT station, which also has a taxi stand and bus stops.
Having said that, I also find in the calssifieds today, that a 2 litre MPV Dion (ideal for that family of yours) can be leased for S$2500 per month.
So, just for the sake of argument, for S$5,000 per month, you could be living in a 5 year old, 4 bedroom condo with pool etc., right next to an MRT station (yet without the noise I hasten to add, as I know people that live in this particular development) that has a taxi stand and bus stops attached, and also be driving a vehicle of your own.
So what can we spend the remaining S$17,000 per month on? Well, don't forget to put aside 15% for taxation purposes, which is S$3,300 of your husbands gross salary, leaving you with just S$13,700 to live on each month.
I do not have a live in maid, but I seem to remember being told that one can be enslaved for as little as S$600 per month, so assuming you overpaid, that would leave you with S$13,000.
Club memberships vary greatly, but I recall seeing membership to the British clud advertised recently on an instalment plan which worked out at less than S$1000 per month, so you would still ahve S$12,000 per month from which you would need to exist.
I am sure that you are going to need cable television, and broadband access for your children's internet gaming (or possibly educational) needs, so this combined with mobile telephone bills for them (as they wouldn't want to be embarassed at school by not having the latest Nokia) and electricity and water bills, should come to no more than S$1,000 per month.
So now we are down to S$11,000 and here is where I seek advice from those of you that have children in school here (or more importantly those of you that have to worry about what it costs to put children into private educational facilities here).
But being as that I am a busy expat with lots of work to do, I have just searched the
Independent schools database in the UK, and discovered that it costs, on average, approximately £7,000 per year for public (private) schools in the UK. So using this as a benchmark, that would give us a figure of S$4,500 per month to be set aside for school fees for your children.
Which brings us down to a rather worrying S$6,500 per month on which to survive. Once we have taken two annual family holidays into account at a cost of S$15,000 each, and a weekend in Bintan each month at a cost of S$1,000 each (staying at Bintan Lagoon, not the Banyan Tree), then you are left with only S$3,000 per month (or S$100 per day) for food, and petrol for your MPV.
And all this without being able to go to Prada, Ferragamo, Gucci etc to keep up with all the other expats worrying about how to survive on a salary equivalent to the national debt of a small country.
So to all those of you that mock this lady's mega dilemma, just take heed that it is not easy to survive. But it all depends on the lifestyle that you want to lead.
Maybe you should go for the S$250 a month room and forgo the MPV and the maid. Also consider the possibility of sending your children to local schools, or maybe even of sending them out to get jobs. And forget going on holidays. Singapore is a wonderful place to be after all. Because that way, you will be able to shop and dine in all the right places, and be seen to go to the right parties and live a fulfilling expat life.
From whence I originate, this is called "fur coat and no knickers (panties)" syndrome, but at least you will be able to survive....
All joking aside, I wish you every luck in your new posting (if it comes off) and I think that US$12,000 should be manageable for a family to live on. But it really does depend on the lifestyle that you want to lead.
