Hi,

Question for the experts around here.

I've recently gotten an offer that comes with I think OK salary plus a small housing allowance of SGD870 per month. It's an engineering position, office is somewhere in Jurong. Salary still negotiable but I'm wondering if it would be worth it.
Reason being, I'm not at all keen to share a place with other people, unlike where I am now where I can stay comfortably and cheaply.
The cheapest place in Singapore I can find online to rent a whole unit of HDB is like SGD2000 to SGD2500, whereas a private apartment is something like SGD3500. Are my numbers correct? Would appreciate if you guys can let me know if otherwise.

Also, I'm wondering if there are any legal rules that prohibit the renting of whole HDB flats to foreigner (i.e. PR, non-PR), and thus I must rent a private apartment/condo only which will be much higher than my current estimate? Assuming I'm staying alone, without a partner, parents or otherwise. I'm wondering because HDB flats are after all provided for the purpose as public housing...


Thanks!

Great thank you.
No I'm not going to do something illegal, just checking if my budget calculations are correct. I'm budgeting 2.5k actually, so looks like it should be ok. Thanks again.

Great thank you for the link. Didn't think to look deeper into HDB ownership as I'm not qualified.

No, it's a personal choice and I'm staying alone. I like my privacy and space, and just am not comfortable to share with other people. You can say I'm not a social type. And I would really hate having to deal with people issues after work.

Got it. It's just there are so few ads for renting out whole units than rooms for rent that cause me to wonder...

By the way, I'm still considering the offer. I read somewhere that says Engineering role aren't as "hot" in Singapore, compared to those in finance & banking sector, which means I just won't be paid as well, plus have concern on career growth. That and the really small accommodation space is sort of a put off for me. By small I mean below 600sqft (assuming I can find the small units). So overall my first choice is not Singapore.

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Added on February 25, 2012, 10:42 pmI apologize, looks like I missed 2 earlier posts.
I've considered and rejected that option. Coz I would occasionally work till very late, and I've no mind to travel through custom at midnight or at odd hours in the morning. I mean, the thought of that would made me think oh I need to go back by XXX everday, and thus put a limit on the time I have at my disposal to deal with my work. And much of my work cannot be done from home. That plus the everyday time wasted on traffic is almost as bad as asking me to share a place.

Yeah I did. But considering the small size of a studio unit (400sqft or less), I would much rather pay more for a comfortable long term stay. It's really a personal thing again, but as I'd spend most of my time at home (when I'm not working), I imagine a small space will start to feel cramp after a couple of months, and I am looking for long term stay after all. 1 or 2 rooms unit would be ideal, gives you a sense of space and still allow partitioning to different areas.

This post has been edited by tgrrr: Feb 25 2012, 10:42 PM

Just sharing back. Here are some good sites I've found while considering the move to Singapore (which I rejected btw).

These are based on data released by the MOM (Ministry of Manpower, Singapore), thus I believe they should be much more accurate the those salaries surveys (assuming there's no mistake in the calculations or translation), though of course they are not as up to date.
2011 Household Income
2010 Monthly Income based on age, gender
2010 Salary Guide

And personally I think a 5.5k / 6.5k conversion offer is too low, especially since you need to support a car. The offer I've gotten and rejected is 0.97.

Well I got better offer elsewhere.

But seriously, my calculations shows at best case it'll be no change for me to move to SG in terms of savings. With the projected increase in living costs in SG, much higher probability I'll ended up worse a few years down the road. My calculations is based on renting a whole apartment instead of a room (which I'll consider as a downgrade from my current living condition).
That and I feel there's something wrong with SG. The top 10% are earning much more than the rest. The median household income is 4k. And to afford private housing is recommended to have starting household income of 15k. Oh yeah I'm judging based on my preference on being single, which doesn't seems to be supported in SG. All in all, feels like it's a rich man island for the 10%, and the rest will be stuck in the race. I just couldn't feel I want to stay there for the next 10 years.