Housing would be game-changer

The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore the most expensive city for expatriates.

Not included in its survey was housing, which is normally the largest expense for expatriates.

Without housing, transport cost probably became the largest expense, and this worked against cities where cars are expensive.

If housing were included, we would likely be ranked lower as rentals in many cities are higher than those in Singapore.

For reference, Mercer's cost of living survey last year, which included housing, ranked Singapore the fifth-costliest city in the world.

Ng Ya Ken

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