Cost of Living
As with most things, the cost of living n Singapore goes in cycles. For example, at the time of writing, the cost of housing and apartment rental is soaring, having risen over 20 percent recently. We can therefore only give an outline to daily and monthly costs for, which will also be largely dependent on your lifestyle and budget.
Apartment Rental
As with other major cities, a full range of accommodation is available to suit most budgets. Even though housing in Singapore has recently seen a sharp rise in cost, it still remains relatively affordable and most housing types are open to foreigners, even the Government built Housing Development Board flats (HBD) and if you choose to rent such a property, you may well find yourself renting a 4 bedroom flat for the same price you'd pay for a 1 bedroom property in the private sector.
Generally speaking, you can rent a one bedroom fully furnished condominium type property with community facilities such as swimming pool and gymnasium in a good area for less than 2000 SGD/month. If you're on a tighter budget, you could share a HDB flat with someone else for around 700 SGD/month.
Bills
These are a rough guide for a single person living alone (monthly)...
Household utilities 100 SGD
High speed Internet 50 SGD
Mobile phone 50 SGD
Food
As with many Asian nations, seafood is always on the menu and good value. You can eat out for very little money and if you like to cook at home, shopping at local markets can save you even more. You could even head down to port and buy directly from the boat for the ultimate in fresh seafood. On average, expect to pay less than 120 SGD per month on food, unless of course you are into dining at fine restaurants and hotels (of which there are many in Singapore) with other expatriates.
Alcohol is very expensive, especially in venues that expatriates frequent. Buying from a supermarket is somewhat cheaper.
Transport
The public transport infrastructure in Singapore is excellent and very cheap to use.
See also Living Costs in Singapore on the forum.
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