Company looking to post me abroad

[rism]

Looking for some honest feedback on living and working in Singapore.
Company looking to send me to either Singapore or Dubai to manage $6b construction in Dubai or $several hundred million in Singapore.
Package circa £100,000 basic plus living and education expense for family.

Have Spanish wife and 3 kids (twins of 8 and eldest of 12 years - all 3 boys)
I was born in Singapore when father was in British Armed Forces and am dual national. Will this have any benefits or pitfalls?

Any feedback on the pros and cons and package value vs cost of living in Singapore would be greatly appreciated, or any feedback on Dubai from anyone having been there.

Richard

[kaz101]

Hi Richard,

If you haven't already done so have a look around the Dubai forum as well since you may find some answers there.

Regards,
Karen

[newexpat123]

Hi, I'm also considering the offer given to me by a construction firm to be stationed out of singapore...

I have 2 kids so should i request for kids allowance? and how much is it usually?
Should I also ask the co to pay for my relocation cost?
What should be a good medical coverage?

thanks

[KanD]

Hi Richard & Newexpat,
we are in Dubai and are moving to Singapore in two months, having lived in Dubai for 4 years. Both places have pro's & cons. the biggest con in Dubai is;

CONS
1. the constant building work everywhere
2. Traffic - an absolute nightmare and incompetent drivers
3. Rent - if company is paying then not a problem.
4. Summer heat - 40-45C high humidity
5. Government inane procedures
6. Not really that much to do except shop and eat out

PROS
1. Cheap fuel
2. Cheap cars
3. Cheap alcohol and cigarettes
4. Dining out is wonderful

we have friends in Singapore and went last year for 2 weeks. cannot comment on living there yet, but we immediately saw the difference between what an expat lifestyle we were living and what we wanted. Singapore was wonderfully, green, clean and finished. it was great not to see roadworks everywhere and thousands of unfinished projects.

it sounds as though you have a great package on offer Richard and in both places you would live like a king.

average cost of things in Dubai would be something like the following;

4 bed villa in 'good' area - AED300,000 - 400,000 pa - paid up front
Toyota Prado 4L - AED135,000
Fuel - AED7 a gallon
Laptop - AED3,000 - 8,000
meal for four in classy restaurant (no booze) - AED500 - 2,000
Bottle of wine in restaurant - AED125 - 600
School Fees - AED15,000 per term per child (3 terms per year)


we are hoping we are choosing wisely in going to Singapore and i believe the cost of living is roughly equal although Singapore is No.14 and Dubai 32 in the world's most expensive cities.
obviously cars and rent is a premium in Singapore.
we like all things Asian such as food and the people so moving to Singapore is a great centre for further exploring the region for us.
we had BUPA for 3 years but the yearly increases of 14% & 28% made us give this policy up as it was getting outrageously expensive. we had the top policy at a cost of about $3,000 per year per person

hope this helps and be happy to exchange further ideas and advice in the future.
Kev

[ExSA]

Hi there

Interesting choice. I cannot speak for Dubai, but have been happilly living in Singapore for two years now, and can tell you the following:

I would definitely ask the company to pay for relocation. I think that you'd find it's cooler in Singapore in summer than in Dubai. Plus I can think that in Singapore for you as dual national, to apply for PR status, would be far easier, which entitled you far quicker to buy property in Singapore, it's a market where you cannot lose out, since prices simply keep going up. It's a fantastic investment to make.

Generally the cost of living can be high, but your package should easily match that.
We came over on a "normal" ie non-expat salary package, and the two of us plus two cats are happilly living in landed housing on the East Coast. I know the normal expats packages are far higher in value, but you would need to check that with the company, don't be scared to talk nitty gritty, this concerns not only you but your entire family.
You would find that some things are more expensive, some are far less, it all equals out in the end, plus, you have the rest of the world's best exports coming through Singapore, so you do eat like kings, both of us have gained weight.
As for schooling, it can get pricey, but not overly so and there is a large variance in schools, types, focuses, and the education is top notch, plus, they focus on education from early on, and the standards they hold is really high, kids walk out of their schools with a decent education.

Cars are more expensive here due to extra charges, they are looking at keeping the number of cars on the roads down, which is why they have top class rail and bus services, imaculately run, ranking amongst the top in the world. And cheap, too, to accomodate the vast majority who do not own cars, and do not need to with public transport being as good as it is.

In Singapore you are also central to so many places, and can travel on holliday all over.

Like Dubai, there is always construction everywhere, knocking down the old to bring in the new. Roads and things get fixed immediately, public safety is top priority.

4 bed villa in 'good' area - S$3000-15000pm, and you pay three months in advance for security before moving in. To buy you need to have PR status, as well as having contributed 2 million to the economy by then.

Toyota Prado 4L - D$60 000-120 000 depending on the age of the car plus the value of the Certificate of Entitlement to use the car on the road, one of the costs that add so much to what one spends on cars. (then there is parking, due to scarcity, a company may charge S$30-40 per day to park on their premises during working hours.)

Fuel - S1.50 (approx) per liter

Laptop - S$1500 - 4000
meal for four in classy restaurant (no booze) - S$450-1000
Bottle of wine in restaurant - S$125 (general approximation)
School Fees - Primary S$145 Secondary S$210 Junior college S$350. For children of Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents and dependants of Employment Pass and Skilled Work Permit Holders, the monthly school fees payable for the first 2 years are S$3.50 for primary, S$6 for secondary, and S$7 for pre-university levels. For the third year onwards, the school fees payable will be determined based on their citizenship status.
You need to contact Ministry of Education - MOE Customer Service Centre at DID (65) 6872 2220, Fax No (65) 6776 4617 or contact (at) meo dot edu dot sg.

I apologise for the jumbled information, I hope it helps.

[maneeratc_apac]

Plus...being in S'pore is easy for you to travel to Thailand and countries in SEA. Most of my S'porean friends always come to Thailand for shopping and exploring the living culture and adventure of course. That's another benefit.

[chinglish]

I suspect that RISM might already have made his decision by now but my comment would be that Education should be another consideration, not only the cost but also the availability.

Dubai schooling is very over-subscribed and the best schools have long waiting lists. Unless the company sponsoring you has significant pull with the school, your kids might not get in to the schooling of your choice, or may have to join very large classrooms.

The other family consideration is whether the Spouse will want to work. Both Singapore and Dubai local companies, or international companies hiring at admin/junior level prefer a 2nd language as well as English (mandarin or arabic).