Hmm I did a quick search for New York - Downtown, as I figure in terms of status and location that seems comparable to Singapore.<p>The prices seem to range from 3k to 15k &#x2F; month. This is like living in a Condo in Singapore.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;streeteasy.com&#x2F;for-rent&#x2F;downtown&#x2F;beds:2" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;streeteasy.com&#x2F;for-rent&#x2F;downtown&#x2F;beds:2</a><p>Feel free to correct me, I&#x27;ve only been to America a couple of times, so I don&#x27;t know the most appropriate place to search for comparison.<p>Rent would be considered a lot for most Singaporeans, however being ang moh I automatically pay more anyway. I know people living in my building who pay half what I pay in rent simply because they are Singaporean.<p>Also young Singaporeans live at home with their parents well into their 20s, and often get engaged and order an HDB which they start paying before they get married. They are not allowed to move in (by law) until they are married, and can only buy as a single if they are over the age of (35) i believe.<p>This is to encourage marriage. Likewise the lack of single bedroom HDBs is to encourage starting a family by having the rooms available. etc.<p>----<p>I pay $2600&#x2F;m (divided by 2 because I live with someone else) for a 2 bedroom hdb, that&#x27;s bigger than the $2800 2bedroom apartment I had living in Sydney.<p>My power bill in Sydney was about $210&#x2F;m while in Singapore its about $110&#x2F;m.<p>Internet in Sydney was about $120&#x2F;m for ADSL2+ (that connected at 2.5mbit) while in Singapore I pay $59 for uncapped, unthrottled, 1gb down &#x2F; 500mbit up.<p>Taxi in Sydney cost me $27 to get to work in the morning. In Singapore, it takes 3x as long to get to work in a taxi and costs $10.<p>Train in Sydney cost me about $7&#x2F;day and because it was only a few stops it would cost more to get a monthly or yearly pass than to just pay each day. Singapore costs me $1.18 to get to work and $0.90 to get home.<p>Basically my cost of living has significantly dropped living in Singapore. I&#x27;m not saying its like that for everyone. People I work with live in Condo&#x27;s and pay a lot more than I do.