You have been offered a position overseas, or are contemplating moving to Singapore by yourself, but what are the advantages. Is it really worth it?
We often receive questions from people asking us whether their salary offer of $xxx isn't too low. It seems that the only factor that decides whether moving to Singapore is worth it, is the amount of money it brings. But consider this: The experience itself is also valuable! If you have no kids, you can easily live here with $80,000 per year, so, if your company offers you $100,000 per year for your posting in Singapore, your question should not only be "Is $100,000 enough? I might be able to get $120,000 if I stay home". You should also ask yourself "What is the experience worth?" Many people will move to Singapore because they get a higher salary here, but many other people will happily take a salary cut to be given the opportunity of an overseas experience.
When moving overseas, a whole new world will open for you. You will live a whole new life, of which probably 85% is better, more exciting, more enriching, more luxurious and more diverse than your current life.
Well, the far majority of people will find distance to be one of the downsides of living overseas, but for some people this is a big advantage. You may have gone through a traumatic experience back home, a nasty divorce, perpetual conflicts with your parents or other family, a terrible boss, the loss of your loved one. Whatever the reason, you may be looking for an opportunity to leave all that behind and start afresh in a different environment far away.
To be honest, the days of fat expat packages are disappearing fast, and many expats now work under reasonably modest (local) terms, but no matter how you look at it, your life is more luxurious here. If you have been offered a position here, you will very likely benefit financially too. Most expats enjoy a higher salary than their peers at home, a large house with private pool or trendy condo with full facilities, housing/car allowances and annual return tickets home. On top of that, Singapore taxes are quite low (extremely low compared to most of Europe.) In Singapore, you can expect to pay around 12-15% income tax and 5% goods and services / value added tax (GST)
When living and working overseas, you will be exposed to business environments and business relationship networks from and in different cultures. You will learn how to negotiate with the Chinese, oversee a production plant in Taiwan, sell products in the Philippines, deal with Indonesian red tape, etc. etc. This experience is invaluable for your further career. If you ever move back home, the international (Asian) exposure will most certainly give you a very strong competitive edge compared to your peers (or job vacancy competitors)
Having said all this, please do know that there are also downsides of living overseas which you have to consider before you decide to move to Singapore.
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