[amya]

Originally Posted by dj_2006

I don't think we should close this thread, anyone relocating to Singapore can get good information here. Members can also ask other related questions. I found this thread very useful when I was moving to Singapore

I agree with you bro.
Mods: can we change the title to something more appropriate? Indeed some of the guys have given really good information. Else, let it just continue. Thanks.

[HappyWheels]

Where was this thread hiding!!!

Originally Posted by DCEite

What are the options for food in Singapore. I mean to say are there any tiffin services available for bachelors/singles ? How is the hygiene level of the outside food ? And does Singapore have mosquitoes ?

DCEite,

As mentioned you have food courts at regular intervals. Very hard for a person to die of hunger over there!

And do not worry about hygiene. The Singapore government agencies are very strict about that. Especially since there was a food poisoning case which lead to few deaths, things have been more strict!

And mosquitoes, what are they???

[revhappy]

Hi Guys!

I am delighted to see this thread in Team BHP. I have been offered a job at Credit Suisse in Singapore. I am a software engineer with 7 years experience and making 12 lacs pa in Bangalore. I have been offered 6500 Singapore dollars. Is this salary good enough considering that I am already making 12 lacs in India?

I am married and would be taking my wife there after 6 months. I want to go there alone and test the waters. My office is going to be in Changi Business Park . Could you guys let me know if I can rent a common room nearby ideally with indian neighbours, for about 500$?

Whew! lots of questions!

Cheers,
Revhappy

[neeraj_infopark]

First- Congrats on the offer you recieved!!. Did you recieve an offer directly from Credit Suisse or through some Consultants??
That is a decent salary. Please IM me if you require any info. I was in singapore for a year from Sept07-Oct08, working there as a Business Development Manager - IT Sales. I would provide you few of my frends name and number. They would help you to get a shared accomodation and help on other things as you just enter in there. S$500-S$600 would be fine for shared acco.

Regards,
Neeraj

[DocG]

Originally Posted by revhappy

Hi Guys!

I am delighted to see this thread in Team BHP. I have been offered a job at Credit Suisse in Singapore. I am a software engineer with 7 years experience and making 12 lacs pa in Bangalore. I have been offered 6500 Singapore dollars. Is this salary good enough considering that I am already making 12 lacs in India?

I am married and would be taking my wife there after 6 months. I want to go there alone and test the waters. My office is going to be in Changi Business Park . Could you guys let me know if I can rent a common room nearby ideally with indian neighbours, for about 500$?

Whew! lots of questions!

Cheers,
Revhappy

1) I assume you mean 65K SGD a year. Well that is a bit more than a 50% raise.
2) Amount you spend on living in Singapore really depends on your lifestyle. For example I spend more money on regular home stuff here in India than I ever did in Singapore.
3) Accommodation for $500 is fine if you are looking at a room as a paying guest or something. But if you're looking for an apartment, then I believe the going rate is like 800 SGD for a 2BHK in Bedok. Since you'll be working at Changi, I'd suggest you stick with Bedok Reservoir or Bedok North due to the huge Indian population there.
4) One of the best things you can do for accommodation is talk to the HR execs at your office there. They will be able to help you immensely in the matter. Sometimes they know of places which are real close to the office, which is great.

Cheers,
DocG
PS: Feel free to PM for any help. (I'm an Ex-Citizen and have been living there on and off for the last 19 years )

[nithi]

6.5K is a very good salary.
If you are a member of orkut, join the community "Indians in Singapore" in orkut, and there is a thread on "Post all rental/HDB/Room for rent". You might find a room near bedok/Tampanis for around SGD500.
Gone are the days a 2BHK was available for a rent of 800 SGD. Now they'll cost anywhere between SGD1300-1500. But with 6.5K salary, you dont have to worry about that.

Regards!
Nithi.

[revhappy]

Thanks a lot for your responses guys! They are really encouraging! I will PM you guys for my home search!
@Neeraj_infopark: The job is through a consultant called E-Businessware.

@DocG: It is 6.5k a month(78K a year).

Cheers,
Revhappy!

[given2fly]

One question to the Singapore residents. How do you deal with torrents. I know that they shoot the people who are caught doing any piracy. So do they have any policy regarding torrents and downloads as well?

[HappyWheels]

ROFL! Nope, they have not yet started the policy of shooting.

Torrents are throttled by all the providers, but people have claimed various ways of going around it, none of which has worked as far as I asked to people I know.

But with StarHub package, I found that you can download, with good speeds attained at late nights / early morning. Rest of the time, it is a shame! You will certainly needs patience. (I am taking about the 2MBps package).

[dj_2006]

Originally Posted by nithi

6.5K is a very good salary.
If you are a member of orkut, join the community "Indians in Singapore" in orkut, and there is a thread on "Post all rental/HDB/Room for rent". You might find a room near bedok/Tampanis for around SGD500.
Gone are the days a 2BHK was available for a rent of 800 SGD. Now they'll cost anywhere between SGD1300-1500. But with 6.5K salary, you dont have to worry about that.

Regards!
Nithi.

6.5K is decent for a bachelor. You can probably visit this Sandeep's Blog !!: Cost of living in Singapore 2008 : For Bachelors / Single ! link for more insights on cost of living in Singapore

[MadRash]

Originally Posted by given2fly

One question to the Singapore residents. How do you deal with torrents. I know that they shoot the people who are caught doing any piracy. So do they have any policy regarding torrents and downloads as well?

Shoot at sight order is applicable only to crows not to humans. But Singapore is famous for the caning punishment. I even heard that they use some machine for caning.

[revhappy]

Originally Posted by dj_2006

6.5K is decent for a bachelor. You can probably visit this Sandeep's Blog !!: Cost of living in Singapore 2008 : For Bachelors / Single ! link for more insights on cost of living in Singapore

Thanks! Initially I will be a bachelor there for 6 months, during that period I am hoping my rental would be 500$(common room) and other expenses around 500$ to a 1000$. So I should be able to save about 4.5k to 5k a month.

After 6 months my wife will join me and I am hoping to rent a 1 bedroom home for less than 1.5K and my wife will cook so I dont think my total expenses including rent will cross 3k even after my wife is here, so hoping to save 3k to 3.5k a month. Out of my salary of 12 lacs PA in india, we save about Rs 80k a month as we stay with parents so no rental expenses or food expenses. So I will be a bit disappointed if we are not able to save atleast 3k a month in singapore.

I would also like my wife to get a job there, she is a Java programmer with 2 years experience. I hope the job market improves after 6 months and she gets a job there, otherwise she will be terribly bored; thats my main concern.

Cheers,
Revhappy

[McLaren Rulez]

Haha nobody cares about those stupid piracy laws even in Singapore. I've been there as a student for two years now and I download plenty of movies. Plus my Malaysian friends get tons of awesome quality pirated stuff from their country

[given2fly]

Well, it is not good not to care about them, because if you are found with a pirated media at the airport, it could lead to severe punishment. I heard about too grave punishments, but what I wanted to know was if the Internet there is as unrestricted there as ours in India or is monitored by some body and censors in place.

[MadRash]

Originally Posted by revhappy

Thanks! Initially I will be a bachelor there for 6 months, during that period I am hoping my rental would be 500$(common room) and other expenses around 500$ to a 1000$. So I should be able to save about 4.5k to 5k a month.
Cheers,
Revhappy

Revhappy:
6.5K SGD is not good if you are getting Rs. 120K. For the first 6 months more deductions will be there towards tax/welfare. But if you stay longer you can claim the money you paid earlier (something like PF).
After spending 2 years in Singapore I found (4 years back) it’s not a good place to earn more money (at least in IT industry). But you can enjoy your life in a different manner in a foreign country.