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Hi from Singapore/Florida!

Madison Smith
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Madison Smith

Madison Smith

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12 hours ago, KennethT said:

I love Singapore and have fantasies of moving there when I retire... I'd love to hear your thoughts about the realities of living there as a US expat...

The living costs here are actually quite expensive compared to the States - certainly not the budget retirement some Western folks would think of. Singapore is a very vibrant city though, and English literacy is great here! 

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KennethT

KennethT

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Right - it's definitely not a budget retirement place for sure.  Being from NYC, it seems (from my few short trips there) that the cost of living for an expat is relatively the same, although some things like local food are much cheaper, and other things, like keeping a car, are much more expensive. The cost of living is much cheaper for citizens though, as they have access to the much cheaper government sponsored housing, even though I gather prices of those are going up also.

 

But I would love to hear more about the realities of living there.  Obviously, everyone living there has their own specifics, but I'd like to hear more about everyday life there, as opposed to what you see as a tourist.

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Madison Smith

Madison Smith

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On 3/9/2020 at 8:38 PM, KennethT said:

Right - it's definitely not a budget retirement place for sure.  Being from NYC, it seems (from my few short trips there) that the cost of living for an expat is relatively the same, although some things like local food are much cheaper, and other things, like keeping a car, are much more expensive. The cost of living is much cheaper for citizens though, as they have access to the much cheaper government sponsored housing, even though I gather prices of those are going up also.

 

But I would love to hear more about the realities of living there.  Obviously, everyone living there has their own specifics, but I'd like to hear more about everyday life there, as opposed to what you see as a tourist.

 

Cost of living is indeed high here, buying a car is usually out of the question as it has the most expensive car prices in the entire world. Public transport and Grab (the SEA version of Uber) is cheap and efficient though. Food costs are lower compared to Florida.

 

HDB housing is indeed a great step forward for any high density countries from what I see here, as it allows youngsters to actually have any glimmer of chance of buying their own property. We stayed in Hong Kong for awhile before this, and nobody could afford any property there without their elders helping out financially. 

 

Glad to share more about life here! I'm still exploring around, although admittedly slower with the recent Coronavirus pandemic around. 

 

 

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