Is S$100-200K enough to live comfortably in Singapore? — Canadian man who dreams of raising his family in SG asks

SINGAPORE: A Canadian with a dream to one day move to Singapore to raise a family took to an online news forum to ask how much money would be needed to live comfortably in the country.

An online user from Canada turned to Singaporeans in a forum on Monday (June 24) to get some insight on how much is needed to live comfortably in Singapore. “I’ve always dreamt of living in Singapore,” the Canadian citizen shared.

“How much money would I need to live there comfortably… like an upper middle class type of lifestyle? I want to raise kids there one day. $100k Singapore dollars? 200k? I dont want them to feel like they are poor like I was growing up.

Also how would immigration work?” he asked.

Singaporeans say comfort is subjective

Many online users responded to the post, with some arguing that comfort is subjective.

“Very subjective,” said one. “Upper middle suggests a private flat (not public housing) plus a car. If two kids (in local school) I would say S$400,000. Our family lives in public housing. We spend about $180,000 a year – kids in local school, no tuition.

We live and eat (!) well. No pension so must also save for retirement…”

Another wrote, “You mentioned no car so that brings down your sum needed significantly since public transport is very affordable here.

Food-wise I don’t see anything above, but if you go local and eat at coffee shops, it can be very affordable as well. Also mentioned above is education for 2 (or more?) kids in international school, this will be your major expense.

Rental if you can do with a three-bedroom public housing that’s about 3k per month. Slightly cheaper than a condominium. For the above specs, personally I estimate you will need about 150k, but with minimal retirement savings.”

Still, a third shared, “To live comfortably after putting away 20% mandatory monthly for your CPF, you would need SGD $10,000/month and above.

Some of the comments below have valid points of the amount you need per month just for rental of the entire unit of three to four rooms per unit.

Expenses are subjective as you will really need to be frugal since most restaurants and services does have mandatory 9% GST.”

Read also: “You need at least S$15K a month to live in Singapore,” netizens advise expat who found a job in Singapore

Online users share figures

Other online users shared their two cents on the S$200k figure mentioned by the Canadian man. “I’d probably put it at 200k for a regular 3BR condo, international school, regular grab/taxi and moderate spending on fancy restaurants,” said one.

“British ex-PR here,” shared another. “$150k was not enough, and that was living in HDB. You’re going to need upwards of $200k.”

Read also: ‘How’s your rent so cheap?’ — Netizens ask US expat in SG who appears to humblebrag his $5K/month expenses

Featured image by Depositphotos