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Chinese Expat Compares Life In SG With China, Cites High Cost Of Living Among Reasons Why It Feels Like "A Cliff-Drop In Social Class" Living Here
A Chinese expat living in Singapore made a viral post about life here and the high cost of living. But a Singaporean living in China tells 8days.sg it's a matter of perspective and life in China comes with its own set of challenges too.
Bryan Wong
21 Mar 2026 at 15:00
www.8days.sg
A Chinese expat's candid take about her life in Singapore is making the rounds online.
In the viral post, the woman described how two years here left her feeling like she had taken a step down in life, despite what many assume about working in Singapore. "In what outsiders see as a land of wealth, I’ve been experiencing what a cliff-like drop in social class really feels like," she said.
It is unclear what her age is or what her occupation is.
Her tipping point? A late-night moment in the CBD.
“I instinctively opened the Grab app. Seeing the surge pricing that felt almost like daylight robbery, I hesitated by the roadside for three seconds, then quietly turned and walked toward the MRT,” she wrote.
She then went on to say how she misses her life in Shanghai.
“Back then, I’d just call a private car whenever I went out. I’d come home to a freshly cooked four-dish meal. On weekends, I’d drive around Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai for short road trips and fresh air. Friends and family all thought moving to Singapore meant I’d 'made it'. But only I know the truth. I came here to struggle and tough it out,” she lamented.
She also said that in China, owning a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes was normal for the middle class.
“Here? The cost of a COE alone could cover a down payment for a home in my hometown in Shanghai. Seeing an ordinary Japanese car priced at S$100K–200K was a slap in the face. In Singapore, owning a car isn’t a middle-class symbol, it’s an entry ticket to the truly wealthy. For regular working people like us, public transport is the only realistic option,” she said.
The woman also felt that housing here was pricey, saying the rent she collects for her Shanghai apartment was not enough to rent a master bedroom in Singapore.
I used to live in a spacious apartment. Now, I’m squeezed into a tiny condo unit. Every month when I pay rent, it genuinely hurts. That suffocating feeling of cramped living, no amount of shiny CBD office badges can offset it,” she said.
As for food, she says her daily meals are mostly carb-heavy hawker food that is oily and salty.
If I want a proper meal from home cuisine on weekends, the final bill with GST and service charge feels like I just swallowed gold. Even buying durian now requires serious budgeting. Is this really the 'high salary, high life' people talk about?” she asked.
“I worked so hard, thinking moving here meant levelling up. Instead, it feels like I’ve gone back to square one overnight. On paper, the salary in Singapore dollars looks great, but in reality, I’m living like a 'refined poor person',” she added.
She also admitted that social media doesn’t help, and seeing friends back home going on weekend getaways, such as camping, taking road trips makes her unhappy with her life in Singapore.
“This so-called ‘overseas elite’ identity I have feels like a thin cover that’s about to fall apart under Singapore’s sky-high cost of living.
Still, she acknowledged Singapore’s upsides, including safety and stability.
“You can leave your bag at a hawker centre seat. But when that “sense of security” comes at the cost of a significant downgrade in quality of life, I can’t help but ask myself: is it really worth it?” she wrote.
She ended her post asking if anyone is like her, quietly struggling in “invisible poverty”.
If she was expecting sympathy, she didn’t quite get it.
Many netizens were quick to push back, with some saying her expectations were simply mismatched.
“Does it feel like wearing a brand name but empty pockets?” one commenter quipped.
Others were more direct, with one writing: “If the lifestyle doesn’t suit you, leave”.
“It's not too late, you can go back now, maybe this is not for you, because people in Singapore don't care about this kind of thing,” another netizen wrote.
“If you keep this mindset for much longer, you may get depression. Why not just quit and go back to Shanghai?” asked a netizen.
On the flipside, Anna, a Singaporean in her 30s who has been working in Shanghai for about two years, who spoke to 8days, has a different take: The expat isn’t entirely wrong, but she’s not seeing the full picture either.
Anna agreed that, although Shanghai is one of China’s most expensive cities, the cost of living is still generally lower than in Singapore, and convenience is hard to beat.
“Food delivery can arrive in 30 minutes or less,” she tells us.
But that convenience comes with its own price.
“It can be really competitive in China. The pace of work can be more intense than in Singapore, and there’s very little work-life balance,” she added.
Anna also pointed out that Singapore isn’t exactly unlivable, and it just depends on how you approach it.
“You can still get affordable meals at hawker centres. And travelling to nearby countries is a plus with the strong currency,” she said.
“In general, if she is not happy, then just change it,” Anna added.
