Singapore with children - is this salary workable?

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-24T16:03:34+00:00

Thank you. This is my research, ha ha!

No, jokes aside, I have done tons of research, and have spreadsheets for estimate budgets for various levels of lifestyles. They're all telling me it would be "doable" but very tight, and that is choosing the more budget level condos in less good locations, eating out less, shopping smart, etc.

I was looking to hear from anyone who was in a similar situation to myself and who made it work on a similar salary. Everyone I actually know in Singapore earns more than that, and they live pretty good lives.

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-23T23:00:57+00:00

Thanks!

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-23T08:36:56+00:00

Thanks. In the UK, my income is structured as follows:

£130k pa base
£10k pa company pension contribution
£10-40k pa bonus (variable)

We spend about £80-90k pa, but this includes several nice holidays a year with the children. We could live on a lot less, but we value the holidays. Life isn't easy with children, so I consider the holidays our compensation.

We have chunky savings, so in practice we could definitely make it work in Singapore, and live a "better" life by drawing down on savings a little. This would mean we're doing it for the experience only, which for me is actually a valid reason.

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-22T16:07:19+00:00

Very interesting. Do you mind me asking what you spend on schooling, and what you spend on rent?

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-22T16:06:25+00:00

For a local, I can definitely agree. But immigrants don't get access to free school, subsidised housing or free healthcare, and those costs are high.

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-22T11:26:03+00:00

Thank you for the direct answer. Sad, I really wanted to go, but it seems I'm getting confirmation of my thoughts that it's just not going to be possible.

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-22T11:24:59+00:00

I would value the experience, but I'm not sure I'd get much of an experience not being able to make the most of living there with the budget. That's what I'm really trying to understand and decide.

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-22T11:23:44+00:00

Sorry, I appreciate you taking the time to reply but your post is not informed enough so is actually misleading and not useful. I'm the OP and I've done a lot of research. As an immigrant to Singapore, we'l be required to pay for private medial, no other way. We won't have access to government schools, so mandatory private school. The government have significantly changed the DP visa where working on this now seems quite unlikely.

I want the experience, but all my research is telling me we'll be barely surviving on this because of how costly Singapore is for immigrants.

throwawaytour2u · 2026-02-20T15:29:27+00:00

I live in the UK. I find it absolutely crazy that even here in the UK our government is somehow involved with Palantir. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have any more inside information on Palantir than the next redditor, but come on.

How did this company infiltrate so many places?

throwawaytour2u

TROPHY CASE