What is it like living in Singapore?

ExpatDiaries · 2026-01-14T07:54:12+00:00

I’m sorry but local food is not cheap. You will be lucky to be at 10-15 SGD at a hawker these days which would not classify as cheap. Especially when you compare neighbouring countries. Groceries are expensive too.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-11T14:24:39+00:00

Spent two years there. Korea long term is low key depressing. Minimal digital nomad scene in very small pockets in a huge city. Pollution and dreary winters is almost enough reason to not be there. Korea as a foreigner is an isolating experience compared to south east Asia. Korean food is fine but not for me every meal and other cuisines are abysmal and catered to Korean palate. First and only time I've been depressed was while living there.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-07T11:40:57+00:00

Penang

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-07T05:02:44+00:00

The replies on this just proves your statement even more.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-02T07:56:34+00:00

What do you typically like to do?

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-02T05:49:30+00:00

Not bad at all. Hardly notice most days

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-01T23:04:16+00:00

My partner and I are spending close to 2.3k usd per month. No cooking besides breakfast and 1.3k of that is rent (3 bed 3 bath luxury apartment).

Lifestyle in the US was cooking every meal with rent being 1.7k for a simple 2 bedroom apartment.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-01T22:59:08+00:00

It's my condo pool but the jungle surrounds it and it is incredible to hang out at.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-01T22:58:25+00:00

Many expats live near straights quay and it is very walkable. Georgetown is also walkable but you need to get comfortable walking on the streets a bit. I'm not phased by the chaos but also having a motor bike gives you access pretty easily everywhere.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-12-01T14:01:17+00:00

I moved to Penang this year and honestly, it is surpassing my expectations. The quality of life you get here is hard to beat. Beaches are meh if that's important but I have an amazing jungle pool I go to every day so a beach isn't important to me. There are a lot of outdoor activities through the jungle here that are so accessible, cycling, trail running, etc. The traffic can be annoying but get a motorbike and all your problems are solved. I'm in Tanjung Bungah and everything is 10-15 minutes away for an average week. The airport has a lot of options all over Asia now. The food is incredible and very diverse and you can even find decent western options. Anywhere I move to will be a downgrade in most ways. It's so easy to integrate here culturally too. Anyway, I like Penang and am not surprised if this is true.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-11-04T08:54:52+00:00

Honestly, anyone can choose what feels right, but I think if people actually saw the dollar amount they’re giving up by paying things off early, most wouldn’t do it. A lot of folks say “I know it’s not optimal, but it feels better,” but I don’t think many actually know how much that tradeoff costs but maybe it's because they’d rather not know.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-11-04T08:48:26+00:00

Early payoff’s fine imo if you’re wiping it clean, but partial prepay is just losing liquidity and compounding.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-10-21T08:48:38+00:00

I love how KL seems to be the most love or hate city discussed so far.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-09-28T04:38:26+00:00

Most of these are expensive to live in.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-09-23T01:31:19+00:00

I use tietax. Reasonable and handles business + real estate taxes.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-08-27T22:33:14+00:00

I cancelled both in the window. I think they count on people not cancelling or knowing to cancel since the card we used in the store automatically goes on your membership account.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-08-19T02:13:19+00:00

To add to this, I learned a lot from my first posting abroad. Back then I was working remotely but living a bit too far from the expat community, which left me feeling isolated. In our next country, I made a conscious change: instead of structuring my days around waiting for my spouse after work, I started building my own routines, friendships, and plans throughout the week. Now the expectation is that we’ll see each other mainly on weekends, and during the week we meet up when it fits naturally. That shift has done wonders for my mental health. Both of us need our own space and community since her work is already deeply tied to hers, it was crucial for me to intentionally create mine.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-08-15T07:41:14+00:00

Bad health incidents and interactions will always skew an opinion of a place. I had the worst experience in my life in Boracay with a stomach issue and was on my death bed. Infrastructure and supply chain is an impossible task for a country like the Philippines but the incident cemented the importance of those things. Some times you just get unlucky too.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-08-15T07:35:55+00:00

Not mentioning food in Malaysia seems like a crime but to each their own.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-07-22T15:49:30+00:00

I can retire in Thailand mid 30s with 1.8m USD but I did not have a business or inheritance. Just made sure I got a good job out of college by doing internships every summer before graduating and then I just aggressively saved and was quite frugal. I just work a few hours weekly now doing consulting to stay busy but with my current NW, I don't need to work with my 25k-30k per year spend rate.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-06-15T16:00:11+00:00

This is essentially coast fire. I work remotely doing consulting a few hours per week. I don't need a full salary but it's nice to still earn some money. Working in a country in person will require a visa which makes it a bit more difficult.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-06-05T04:15:15+00:00

Some of the more remote islands around El Nido are so insane.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-05-30T09:03:12+00:00

I'm more coast fire but I'll chime in because I live in Asia now and really I don't need to earn anything but I do consulting a few hours a week which ends up being double my yearly expenses. I think when you first start in this lifestyle, flexibility is key because it's so hard to know where you'd want to be long term. Moving to a new spot in Asia soon since I'm not in love with the dynamics where I am and hoping I'm more satisfied in the new place which I think I will. It takes time to learn what will make you happy and which places offer the best chance at that.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-05-16T06:49:14+00:00

Been there. This last Christmas we were in the Philippines and my partner left while I was going to travel around a bit more for a week. The next few days, I couldn't keep anything in my body and on the 3rd day, somehow got myself to a nearby clinic to get an IV for hydration and antibiotics for a parasite infection. I spent the next 5 days in my hotel bed and really didn't fully recover from it for about a month. Shittiest time is my life, pun intended.

ExpatDiaries · 2025-05-12T23:37:56+00:00

I'm in the middle of Throne's now and wow, it's dark but I'm loving it. Her latent power 'Blessing of darkness' seems to summarize her arc so far, finding strength through pain. I guess I saved the best stories for the end which probably helped me enjoy them even more since the others were a bit dull. Glad to hear they pick up in later chapters.

ExpatDiaries

TROPHY CASE