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San Fransisco, Boston, and New York are the most expensive cities in the world. Following those, London or Geneva maybe.
This Bostonian has traveled to Paris and was shocked at how much more expensive things were there. You can easily add 30 to 40% on to everything you eat or buy in Paris compared to Boston.
Singapore is number one, according to the list - and i have to agree with them! We are way too expensive, in terms of cost of living such as food and transport! I don't ever remembering spending so much on just food and transport while living in Australia - and just to clarify, i do not and rarely eat out in Singapore, i mostly eat home meals and only use the transport just for going to work.
London is more expensive than Paris so this list seems odd to me ... maybe because they consider the entire city limits and London's are huge but still
Singapore is number one, according to the list - and i have to agree with them! We are way too expensive, in terms of cost of living such as food and transport! I don't ever remembering spending so much on just food and transport while living in Australia - and just to clarify, i do not and rarely eat out in Singapore, i mostly eat home meals and only use the transport just for going to work.
When I came to Singapore in 2005, it is still not that expensive. Rental for 2BR apartment was only S$800, now is almost S$2,200. The first time I heard about Mercer, Singapore was ranked somewhere in the 20-ish. Now it's been number 1 for how many years?
When I came to Singapore in 2005, it is still not that expensive. Rental for 2BR apartment was only S$800, now is almost S$2,200. The first time I heard about Mercer, Singapore was ranked somewhere in the 20-ish. Now it's been number 1 for how many years?
Its has been ranked number 1 for about 2 -3 years, oh, how i miss the mid 2000s! things were so much cheaper then.
Based on my own memory, prices really started shooting into the stratosphere from 2009 - 2011; transport, housing, but most of all, food and consumer goods.
I used to remember $2.20 for a plate of nasi lemak back in 2009. These days, you can get them for maybe $4-$5 at the very least.
Car costs have driven up a lot too; many wealthy immigrants from all over the Asia-Pacific region, I don't remember seeing so many Ferraris, Lamborghini, and Maserati before 2009. These days, if you walk past MBS, Shenton Way or Orchard Road, there is at least a 95% chance you would see a Ferrari roar past you at least once.
And owning a sports car in Singapore is not the same as owning a sports car in other parts of the world; in Singapore, right now, a Toyota Prius will costs around $160,000 to $200,000 - in US dollars. A BMW 6 series can cost somewhere around $300,000 (if your're lucky) to maybe $400,000 or more - in US dollars.
Last edited by tigerbalm1985; 03-09-2015 at 11:12 PM..
as a singaporean i am finding it more and more unbearable to live in Singapore. Retirement age keeps getting pushed up( going to be 67) but the fact is older workers can't get work ... and the govt talk like it is singing song that people should work till 67.
Expectations and demands for pupils in schools academically, the singaporean people about the government and the government abt the people is crazy and sometimes unrealistic.
I heard of science and maths teachers in Secondary schools find themselves not able to teach their primary schools going kids the subject that they teach, and parents attending seminars organised for parents to help them understand the current sch syllabus so that they can guide their children better.
as a singaporean i am finding it more and more unbearable to live in Singapore. Retirement age keeps getting pushed up( going to be 67) but the fact is older workers can't get work ... and the govt talk like it is singing song that people should work till 67.
Expectations and demands for pupils in schools academically, the singaporean people about the government and the government abt the people is crazy and sometimes unrealistic.
I heard of science and maths teachers in Secondary schools find themselves not able to teach their primary schools going kids the subject that they teach, and parents attending seminars organised for parents to help them understand the current sch syllabus so that they can guide their children better.
and in pte sector it is all dog eat dog world..
Singapore has become ultra-competitive recently; there is a problem when south korean expats posted to Singapore tells me that working in Singapore is too stressful.
i think a serious issue is that people seem to be feeling that they are stuck where they are no matter how hard they work; perhaps because there is suddenly a far greater display of wealth that is suddenly attained; people see the wealth and they wonder how come they work so hard and yet so frustrated; look at F1 Singapore Grand Prix; to be frank, I am a hardcore motorsports fan and I follow F1 keenly, but I was truly shocked when hundreds of Ferraris and Lamborghini suddenly appeared all over Marina Bay and suntec area (during the 2009 Grand Prix).
Don't get me wrong, I love events like F1 and much of what Singapore has done over the past 6 years has really put us in the mind of UHNWs. It is just, sometimes, it is so stressed.
Last edited by tigerbalm1985; 03-10-2015 at 07:13 AM..
Singapore has become ultra-competitive recently; there is a problem when south korean expats posted to Singapore tells me that working in Singapore is too stressful.
i think a serious issue is that people seem to be feeling that they are stuck where they are no matter how hard they work; perhaps because there is suddenly a far greater display of wealth that is suddenly attained; people see the wealth and they wonder how come they work so hard and yet so frustrated; look at F1 Singapore Grand Prix; to be frank, I am a hardcore motorsports fan and I follow F1 keenly, but I was truly shocked when hundreds of Ferraris and Lamborghini suddenly appeared all over Marina Bay and suntec area (during the 2009 Grand Prix).
Wow, even Koreans find working in Singapore too stressful. That's just bad.
Wow, even Koreans find working in Singapore too stressful. That's just bad.
there are some good points; i mean, Singapore is economically surging ahead for a nation of its size and population is not supposed to; economically and commercially speaking, it is sprinting ahead like its the olympics.
It takes quite while to understand Singapore's economy; for example, Singapore just built a financial hub at the Marina bay area, attracting mega-banks and finance corporations to set up shop and bringing thousands of banking and finance professionals from all over the world. What happened was that because it is right in the heart of the city centre, often appearing in tourism ads. what happened is that many western expats think that foreign banks are the beating heart of Singapore's economy.
But it is not; on the other end of the island, there is a mega-hub of petro-chemical refinery complexes built all over, and underground over an artificial island; there is nothing like it in the whole of south east asia; that hub is the heart of the petrochemical industry in all of South East asia and parts of asia-Pacific as well. Its profit is close to the GDP of some nations.
But western banking expats don't go to that area (it is a restricted area) and they think that banking and finance is all there is to Singapore's economy.
Same goes for biologic manufacturing factories, aerospace hubs, the oil rig manufacturing facilties and so on.
Unarguably, Singapore's economic strategy is beyond outstanding but it creates a lot of stress; sometimes, I look around and ask is this really the place i grew up in?
However, I would rather Singapore is economically strong and prosperous than anything else - i am glad of Singapore's economic prosperity, it is just that, sometimes, I look around and feel a little lost.
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