Singapore – most liveable city in Asia

Rising six places in a worldwide ranking of cities with the most outstanding quality of living, Singapore had surpassed cities like San Francisco and Honolulu in the US and Paris in France. Ranking in the 26th place, Singapore also exceeded all its Asian neighbour countries, thus making it the top performer of the region in the Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, the latest survey which the human resource consultancy Mercer conducted.

Like the star atop of Christmas tree, the Republic of Singapore also ranked 1 in the Mercer’s list of cities with the world’s best infrastructure. It proved to be superior in many areas, including water supply and electricity, mail and telephone services, traffic congestion, public transport and a wide array of international flights from the local airports.

According to Asia Pacific global mobility leader of Mercer Ms. Cathy Loose, even though it is frequently assumed, infrastructure in the country “has a significant effect on the quality of living experienced by expatriates”. The developments of Sentosa Cove and Marina Bay as new waterfront district areas seem to have boosted the position of Singapore in the standings.

Mr. Derrick Kon, Mercer’s Singapore global mobility leader, said “Singapore already has excellent housing, but now its new ocean-front and seafront living options have allowed the ranking to move even higher”. He also said that the “excellent selection of appliances and furniture” for residents and the “high-quality houses and apartments” available for rent truly aided Singapore to lift its quality of life. Mr. Kon said that the other element that helped improve Singapore’s higher position in ranks is the presence of “many good schools” in the city.

“Singapore has always had a lot of good schools and international schools, but now there are also more private schools offering university degrees”, said Mr. Kon. “If expatriates come here with their children, this is one area they would be looking at, and in Singapore they would have a lot of options, with international programmes and university programmes”.

According to Mr. Mark Ellwood, the managing director of Robert Walters (another human resource consultancy), the strong position of Singapore in the quality of life rankings could hold the country in a good position as the present financial breakdown continues.

With companies seeking to reduce prices, most individuals are localising their expat compensation packages and decreasing the number of international assignments wherever possible. This means the “hardship” benefits or allowances, which are mainly offered to expats who need to reside in cities with lower quality of life, will not be given out.

“There is perhaps less of an argument these days that Singapore is a hardship posting, so you don't have to give many expat benefits in terms of additional bells and whistles”, Mr. Ellwood said.