11/22/2011

The cost of returning home

Two young Singaporeans having settled down in America for a few years could have bought a decent landed property for $300k or $400k, driving around in a fairly big car for $30k, and have a decent savings of perhaps two or three hundred thousand bucks.

If they were to return to paradise, selling their home for about the same amount and with a net cash of three quarter of a million, they could at best buy a private condo and still having to take a few hundred thousand bucks in loan. Eventually the private flat is going to cost them perhaps $2m in total. And they need to buy a small car that is going to cost at least $100k.

Their net financial position is negative, with a big mortgage and hardly anything left in their savings. This is the price of returning home. And there is job hunting to do. It is like being robbed of a couple of million bucks on returning home to stay. Yes, they can go and rent a flat and live like FTs.

In the case of a foreign talent from the neighbouring countries, most of them would not have much of a property anyway. They came, got a job, rented a place and started savings. Few years down the road, placed all their savings for a public flat and service them with their CPF. The value of the flat can only go up, like a savings account with guaranteed 5% to 10% interest rate equivalent, maybe more. Then they start to count the days when they could cash out and return home to be a rich man, or in the US or Australia to start life with a reasonable good cash holding from the sale of their public flat.

The two tales tell of the comparative advantage of Singaporeans returning home to pay a huge ransom for something less and a foreigner who came with nothing much but leaving with a pretty nice cash hoard. And this is not far from the truth. The cost of living is a heavy price to pay. The only good option is to cash out and move out. But his option is not so attractive to Singaporeans who called this island home.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

The logical solution would be for the returning Singaporean to become & behave like a Foreign Talent.

1. Renounce Singapore citizenship.
2. rent a place
3. start savings
4. "Buy" a HDB flat
5. and etc. & etc.
6. get rich
7. cash out
8 leave Singapore and return to USA

We have built a business in Singapore.
We have not built a country or a nation.

The truth is out there.

Anonymous said...

Don't waste time coming back.

agongkia said...

Go nearby country,get a mistress.Work here,sleep and spent there.No need to give up citizenship or home.Wife happy,mistress happy,you also happy.

Anonymous said...

What a great idea,so what the F u still here? Move to USA pls : >

Anonymous said...

Agongkia is not gong at all huh.

Make his pile of Sin Money and
spend it at Johore, KL, Penang, Jarkata, Surubaya and Ho Chi Ming, all connected by budget airlines. Cheaper than taking a train ride.

Btw, it is a damn good idea from Agongkia; for the price of a 3 rm HDB Unit, a singaporean can get a big apartment at most other nearby countries. Since transportation and communication(think skype, internet) are so cheap, it very viable and practical to take up the suggestion. It may prove to be a blessing.

Anonymous said...

fark you lah. always ask people to go away.

Anonymous said...

Talk bad about own country,since other place is better as you mention,pack&move please. Why waste time here?

Anonymous said...

Me say you fark off if you don't like what redbean said.

Anonymous said...

Why write yourself in blog & comment?

Anonymous said...

I'm staying in S'pore to fark with you & your cronies.

GE 2016 - Out you go!

Tick Tock

Better hurry and grab all the GRC contracts you can get right now.

agongkia said...

anon 12.55
This one not play play.You still can keep your 3 room and citizenship.Bring your SIN wife to stay together with the mistress under one roof in JB.She will be happy that she can do gardening,play chap Ji Kee,sing karaoke,without mata come knocking the doors.Neighbours are friendly.No money can eat potatoes.Simple life,no stress,no one to teach you how to spend your money.No one to bankrupt you.You can even live longer.But dun let Garmen know or they may stop me from having mistress.Dun know why they jealous .

Anonymous said...

Loser,talk negative but refuse to move,really an insult to this nice place. GE2016? Why not GE2011? Loser alway dreaming

Anonymous said...

GE 2016.

Light bulb expiry date.

Anonymous said...

To compare cost, USA cost of living is much much cheaper than that of Sing. Your COE can buy you almost 5-8 cheapest cars in USA. To rent a car, you pay only $15-30 a day. You can buy take away food for $5-7 that can last you for 4 meals due to big portion. Even luxury goods, branded garments, handbag, household items are more than half what you will pay for in Sing. If you spend some time to look for sales items, you can get a pair of branded shoe for $35-45, a branded wool coat for $30-50, a pair of branded jean for $15-20. A pair of probably best in the world B&W speakers 802D for only $14,000 as compared to $26,000 in Sing. You can have a 4 courses proper dinner for $15-30 a person. You can get a steamed whole lobster with lots of potato chips, vegetables for only $20. How much is a dish that contains one lobster in Sing? Steamed whole lobster could cost you $100 in Sing restaurant.

If you are working as an engineer in USA, your pay could easily be 2-3 times more than that of Sing. After tax take home pay could well be 1.5-2 times more than that you can get in Sing.

Those who have stable job in USA will be too silly to come back to this rock. Do not forget climate change effect. Sing government has never disclosed anything on the effect to the rock. Last heard rumors were to build a high wall around the rock to mitigate sea water rise.

So, do not come back.

Anonymous said...

The problem is not Singapore.

The problem is the "Party Against People."

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Hi everyone, I was a bit busy setting a new biz so was tied up yesterday. I just came in and see that there is a winner visiting this blog and telling the losers to bunk off.

All of you please put your hands together to welcome this big winner here. Oops, my friends told me that winners would not be here to talk rubbish to make a living. I quietly agree.

But let's be polite to the winner who is showing us how successful and happy he is: )

Anonymous said...

Why come back to Sin to listen to distorted musics played by warped records. Oh, I mean old dirty records.
B&W 802D Speakers! Give it an audition, You will never long for another.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Ya, B&W are great speakers. But not the Black and White politicians: )

Anonymous said...

There is an untold story of talented Singaporeans choosing not to return. And of course nothing to worry about as they can be replaced by more foreign talents.

Anonymous said...

What we really need.

Replace the "Party Against People".

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

You guys are looking at this all wrong. Living in Singapore and overseas need not be an "either-or" proposition.

You can have both.