Singapore - Tips for a student doing a six-month internship in Singapore

Dear fellow travelers,

From May 1st I will be in Singapore for a six-month internship. I'm a Dutch engineering Msc student, and I'm 24 years old. My wage will be S$2400 per month, flights from AMS are payed for as well, and I would like to get a general idea of my (financial) situation. I really want to make the most out of this opportunity and not only develop myself professionally, but also meet new people and explore a bit of SE Asia.

- I've seen accommodation starting at S$1000 per month. I would like to have a private bedroom and I'd like to share the other spaces with people in a similar position as me so that I can make new friends to hang out and go out with. For me the social experience is very important. I welcome new experiences and different perspectives so I'd love to be around a diverse group of people who are around my age. Do you have any suggestions on where to look for rooms that fit this profile? Perhaps I should first book a couple of nights in a hostel and use that time to look for a long-term room? That way I can actually meet potential roommates first. What do you think?

- Taxes are to be handled by me. I've seen sources saying that incomes lower than S$20.000 per year have a 0% income tax rate. Is this true? Does this rule apply to me? I will be making 6*2400 = S$14400 over the six-month period, but perhaps they extrapolate the figure to a yearly one? Which then would be S$28800…

- Do you have an idea about how much I would spend on food and public transport? I am thinking about S$20 per day for food (= S$620 / month) and about S$5 for MRT passes per day (= S$155 / month). I might occasionally use taxis or buses. My office is very close to the Somerset MRT station.

- Overall, would you expect me to live a modest lifestyle (cooking myself, bringing lunch to work if needed, mostly eating/drinking out during the weekends) without having to chip in from my savings? If necessary I will use my savings for trips within SE Asia.

- Is there anything you recommend I do to meet new people around my age quickly that are fun to be around? Should I consider becoming a member of certain groups, sports clubs, or anything else?

- There is a ton of information available for people who stay in Singapore short-term. However, anything like a Lonely Planet won't quite fit the bill for me. Therefore, do you have any good experiences with certain books or web sites that really provided some good and reliable information for you if you've been in a similar position as me?

Thank you so much for your ideas!

Maurits

Hey guys, I'm also gonna post this on the singaporeexpats.com forum as that seems a more appropriate place. I still value your opinions though!

Hi Maurits,

Just some of my personal opinion to some of the questions you have posted. Views and preferences from others contributors may differ but would get you a more holistic approach to your move here.

Housing:
Check out property sites such as iproperty.com.sg or sg-house.com. no harm dropping an email with your requirements and see what throws up. Agree that you should make temporary lodging arrangements so that you can suss things out first. I had a friend once stay at Metropolitan YMCA (@ Stevens Road, a couple of bus stop from Somerset MRT station) throughout the 3 months he was here for his internship even though it was meant to be just temporary.

If you're looking at areas to stay at, those nearer Orchard Road and Somerset are generally more expensive than the suburbs. but suburbs these days have good transportation networks and foreigners from everywhere, which makes opportunities for shared housing. Reckon that areas such as Holland Village/Road, Ghim Moh, Tiong Bahru, Toa Payoh, Bedok may fit your budget. You can even go further out east to Simei or west Bt Batok. They may be further away but considerably cheaper and if you get a unit next to the MRT stations, than you're set for life.

Transportation:
if you're taking a train/bus and just heading to work and back, it's probably about $5-6/day. taxis are way too affordable and accessible here, which makes it deceiving. a third of my salary generally goes to cab companies ;)

Taxes:
I don't think you have to worry about that since i don't think you'll be taxed at all.

Cost of Living:
Standard of living in Singapore is generally quite high.

For a household of 2, i generally spend about $70/week on groceries which usually includes a 6-pack somewhere. but $70/week means i eat breakfast everyday, junk food and snacks and dinner abt 3 times a week for 2. when eating at hawker centres, expect to spend about $6-7/meal and about $10 at food courts. Macdonalds cost about $7/meals. I reckon you'll be quite comfortable if you eat at home or at hawker centres on most weak days and splurge on the weekends. If you're eating at a cafe, the price ranges from $30-40/meal with an alcoholic beverage. Expect to pay twice the amount at a more fancy restaurants.

Social Activities
I suppose you'll meet people at work who will introduce you to their friends and their friends friends. That's what i've noticed amongst my friends who are from overseas. I've friends who go wakeboarding by themselves at first but make friends from that circuit. that's possible but wakeboarding may not be too cheap.

I think you'll have a good time from just socialising with new people, discovering a new place and trying local cuisine and what Singapore has to offer first.

As to travelling around the region. It may be a little tight if you depend solely on your salary. I'm sure you'll be able to squeeze in Malaysia, Bali and Bintan.. but otherwise there's always time to come back later on.

Good advice there, I'd just add in that you'll want to check the flat share section of the Singapore Expats site.

Also, cooking for yourself is almost certainly more expensive than eating out in Singapore, since hawker food is so cheap: especially in the 'burbs you can get a meal for $2, or even $1 for breakfast (nasi lemak, noodles, etc). Many, perhaps even most, Singaporeans eat out 3x/day. As an expat the main reason to cook for yourself is to eat things you can't otherwise, like fresh salads or spaghetti that's not overcooked and cut up with scissors...

Last but not least, check out Wikitravel: http://wikitravel.org/en/Singapore

Agree that you should make temporary lodging arrangements so that you can suss things out first. I had a friend once stay at Metropolitan YMCA (@ Stevens Road, a couple of bus stop from Somerset MRT station) throughout the 3 months he was here for his internship even though it was meant to be just temporary.

Wow that actually sounds like a lot of fun. I probably won't stay in a hostel that long but it still is a comforting backup plan.

If you're looking at areas to stay at, those nearer Orchard Road and Somerset are generally more expensive than the suburbs. but suburbs these days have good transportation networks and foreigners from everywhere, which makes opportunities for shared housing. Reckon that areas such as Holland Village/Road, Ghim Moh, Tiong Bahru, Toa Payoh, Bedok may fit your budget. You can even go further out east to Simei or west Bt Batok. They may be further away but considerably cheaper and if you get a unit next to the MRT stations, than you're set for life.

This is great advice, thanks!

As to travelling around the region. It may be a little tight if you depend solely on your salary. I'm sure you'll be able to squeeze in Malaysia, Bali and Bintan.. but otherwise there's always time to come back later on.

That sounds very reasonable. I do have about EUR2000 of wiggle room to spend in addition to my income to perhaps I may use that for some trips.

Good advice there, I'd just add in that you'll want to check the flat share section of the Singapore Expats site.

Will certainly do this!

Also, cooking for yourself is almost certainly more expensive than eating out in Singapore, since hawker food is so cheap: especially in the 'burbs you can get a meal for $2, or even $1 for breakfast (nasi lemak, noodles, etc).

Interesting, in that case I probably won't bother too much with cooking myself :)

Thanks for your advice so far guys, this really puts me at ease as I feel it's quite a big step for me! :)

Maurits

As an expat the main reason to cook for yourself is to eat things you can't otherwise, like fresh salads or spaghetti that's not overcooked and cut up with scissors...
/en/Singapore[/url]

haha. food cut up with scissors is such a singapore thing!
that's a good one. very sad but true =P

- Taxes are to be handled by me. I've seen sources saying that incomes lower than S$20.000 per year have a 0% income tax rate. Is this true? Does this rule apply to me? I will be making 6*2400 = S$14400 over the six-month period, but perhaps they extrapolate the figure to a yearly one? Which then would be S$28800…

Check out http://www.iras.gov.sg to understand your tax obligations
Very useable site by the tax authority which you can load up on.

Some practical house hunting advice for the OP. Do not just look for houses near the MRT stations. Those will be pretty expensive.

Get the address of a prospective room, esp the Postal code. Go to htp://www.gothere.sg. And search for <postal code> to <office building name>. You will get the bus options and travel time. Provide a custom time of 8:30 AM to find time taken by bus during rush hour.

I used to be an MRT station. WHat makes the bus as convenient as an MRT is that now in SIngapore you can find out when the next bus for a particular route will arrive at your bus stop. Availabile as an iphone app. Takes the uncertainty out of wait times.