Expats rank Singapore 1st, fourth year in a row

Singapore has once again been placed 1st in expats’ good books to live and work in the island nation, according to HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey 2018. However, it brings with it, its own share of high living costs.

About 45% of the respondents said they moved to Singapore to advance their careers and 38% said they moved to enhance their salary package. About 78% of those interviewed said they would recommend Singapore to anyone who has been thinking of moving abroad.

More than half of the expats in Singapore said their work-life balance in the country has been the same as at home or worse. Stress levels are also higher for 46% of the expats.

The high living costs sometimes dampen the expat’s spirit wherein two out of four cannot afford to buy property in Singapore and prefer to use the same cash to purchase a house in their home country. However, 65 percent of the expats said they have more disposable income thanks to a 29% increase in the salary. At the same time expenses such as children’s education are also higher than back home.

Even though the cost of education is on the higher end, 75 percent of expats with families cite that their children’s quality of life, health and well-being is much better in Singapore.   

The average income of an expat in Singapore is SGD 221,522. Switzerland, the US and Hong Kong actually pay their expats the highest salaries as compared to other countries.

About  56 percent of the expats fall in the 35-54 age group and about 41 percent of the total have children. Most of the expats move to Singapore for job opportunities and 86 percent of the expats interviewed are employed.

While 36 percent of the expats in Singapore are originally from Europe, only 13 percent are from South & Central Asia. Moreover, 32 percent of the expats have moved from the Far East region to this relatively small territory that boasts about sophisticated infrastructure and the third rank in the world for its economics.