My second crib: They personal properties in Singapore. So why are they renting overseas?, Life-style Information

SINGAPORE – On the verge of burnout, Chin Wen Nyen was prepared to depart her job as a product supervisor at a expertise firm in October 2024 when her boss provided her the choice of working remotely for 3 months.

The 30-year-old seized the chance, packed her baggage and moved to Bangkok, whereshe rented a 31 sq m condominium house in Ladprao for $1,000 a month, turning it into her short-term base from which to work and reside. The northern Bangkok neighbourhood is situated close to the favored Chatuchak Weekend Market.

During these months, she realised her life within the chaotic Thai capital afforded her one thing she had struggled to seek out again residence: a way of calm.

She returned to Singapore in January 2025 and give up her job in May 2025.

Six months later, in November 2025, she returned to Bangkok and signed a one-year lease for a 31 sq m one-bedroom house in the identical Ladprao condominium for $600 a month.

Many younger Singaporeans who don’t but have mortgages or different main commitments tying them to Singapore have moved overseas to work remotely, because of better office flexibility at this time.

Others have moved to locations like Australia, Japan and the United States looking for completely different profession alternatives or a way of life they really feel fits them higher.

But more and more, some – like Chin – are discovering a center floor: sustaining a house in Singapore whereas renting a second property overseas.

Chin acquired married in September 2024 and owns a four-room resale flat in Punggol together with her operations supervisor husband.

The couple share a month-to-month mortgage of roughly $2,000, alongside recurring bills together with utilities and automobile mortgage funds for his or her Subaru sport utility automobile.

These days, she splits her time between Singapore and Bangkok, spending about two weeks in every location, whereas working as a contract social media supervisor and content material creator.

For her, the association is an added monetary dedication she considers definitely worth the whereas.

“I need my own space to recharge and enjoy making content in a space that I’m 100 per cent responsible for,” she says, including that her husband is totally supportive of her residing preparations.

Growth in cross-border curiosity

While there aren’t any publicly out there statistics on the variety of Singaporeans renting overseas, the variety of Singaporeans residing overseas grew from about 213,000 in 2016 to greater than 221,000 by the tip of 2025, in line with the Department of Statistics.

Malaysia, particularly, has seen rising curiosity from foreigners seeking to set up a longer-term base by means of its Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme. The government-backed initiative permits eligible foreigners to reside in Malaysia on a long-term, renewable multiple-entry visa.

Data from MM2H consultancy Asia Home Services reveals that the variety of candidates soared from 1,902 in December 2024 to 12,495 in March 2026. The high 5 supply markets have been China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the US.

Singaporeans type a small however fast-growing share of this pool. The variety of candidates from Singapore searching for to relocate to Malaysia quadrupled from 96 in December 2024 to 383 in March 2026.

Some Singaporeans are wanting even farther afield for a second property. In July, Singaporean content material creator Rachell Ng posted on social media platform TikTook that she had rented a four-room condominium unit in Guangxi, China, for $520 a month.

In her video, Ng, who’s married and lives in a Housing Board flat together with her husband, says they determined to hire in Guangxi as a result of they journey there “almost every single month” for work.

The couple spent between $9,000 and $10,000 on minor renovations, reminiscent of including vinyl flooring to their rental unit.

@aglimpseofrach

Finally staying in our personal home in Guangxi this journey!! 🙏🏼🤭 520 sgd per 30 days for a 4 room rental with superb view! 🥰 can’t wait to indicate yall the home tour!! Top ✨

♬ original sound – Rachell

Renting for respite

For Chin, the attraction of residing in Thailand was not merely about escaping the workplace. It additionally gave her a reprieve from the pressures she related to life in Singapore.

She says: “Burnout was one thing, but more crucially, I was constantly comparing myself with my peers and I think the pressure was getting overwhelming. You know, the whole Singaporean grind? I kept thinking, ‘Why have I not got a house or a car or a promotion yet?’

“I felt that not as many individuals discuss these items in Thailand. Instead, they discuss their hopes and desires.”

Part of her decision to move was for the chance to get away from what she had come to see as decisions made under peer pressure. The couple had registered their marriage earlier than planned, in September 2024, so they could purchase their flat.

“When we discovered our place and needed to begin paying for it, I started questioning why we had made such an enormous resolution and if it was due to peer strain,” she says. “That made me wish to run away.”

Chin applied for the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), which was approved in April.Launched in July 2024, the DTV is a five-year multiple-entry visa that allows eligible individuals such as digital nomads, remote workers and freelancers to stay in Thailand under a flexible, long-term arrangement.

Individuals who plan to participate in approved cultural, educational or professional programmes in Thailand – such as muay thai training or music and cultural festivals – are also eligible for the visa. According to official sources, these courses should typically have a minimum duration of six months to support the application.

Chin, who is learning muay thai at a local training school, did not have a concrete plan when she moved to Bangkok.

Initially living off her savings, she soon found out that living expenses abroad could add up to a hefty $1,600 a month, including rent, food, utility bills and transportation. To ensure her lifestyle would remain financially viable, she looked for freelance social media management work and secured a few international clients.

Now, having settled into the rhythm of her unique lifestyle over the last four months, she finds that she is more relaxed and enjoys having a second home abroad. Plus, it is cheaper and more convenient than staying in a Thai hotel, she says.

“I depart my garments there, and I’ve two of all the pieces like my cosmetics bag and trainers – one for Singapore and one for Bangkok – so I by no means actually must journey with any baggage,” she adds.

Still, she does not see herself staying in Bangkok long term. For now, she expects to extend her lease for another year until the end of 2027.

“Now that I’ve taken time for myself, I really feel higher. I not really feel the load of the pressures that when burdened me. I can return and really feel genuinely blissful,” she says.

More space, less spending

While Singaporeans like Chin may be renting overseas for respite, others are using the lower cost of living in neighbouring countries to stretch their earnings.

One such example is Jim Ng, 31, who has embraced geoarbitrage – the practice of earning income in a higher-wage economy while living in a country with a lower cost of living.

The strategy is most viable for those whose income is not tied to where they live, such as remote workers, business owners and retirees. By widening the gap between income and living expenses, they can potentially increase their spending power, save more or enjoy a higher standard of living.

Ng and his wife, Catheryn Wong, 32, run digital marketing agency Best Marketing Singapore. They also own a three-room flat in Admiralty, which they bought through an HDB Sales of Balance exercise in 2018.

In May 2024, they rented out their flat to a Filipino family of three for $3,200 a month before moving to Medan, Indonesia, for work.

The couple then signed a two-year lease for a 129 sq m duplex condominium in Medan at $500 a month. But after a short trip to Kuala Lumpur (KL) in June 2024 to attend a concert, they began reconsidering where they wanted to live.

“We felt there was a cultural mismatch and a language barrier. After we visited KL, we realised that Malaysia was the higher selection for us,” Ng says.

They broke their lease in July 2025, forfeiting almost a yr’s price of hire, and moved to Malaysia.

After viewing models in townships well-liked with Singaporeans, reminiscent of Mont Kiara and Desa ParkCity, they determined to enterprise farther afield, finally discovering a 250 sq m two-storey home within the gated township of Gamuda Cove in Selangor.

“It was almost a 3rd of the costs we noticed in different townships, though I’ve to drive round 40 minutes to succeed in the town centre. But not residing within the metropolis centre provides us higher entry to nature, and we don’t actually need to go downtown day by day anyway,” he says.

The numbers were compelling to them. Their 68 sq m Singapore flat generates $3,200 in monthly rental income, while their Malaysian house – which is nearly four times the size of their flat – costs $900 a month.

Ng adds: “Essentially, our HDB tenant pays for a landed home we might by no means dream of affording again residence, and nonetheless leaves about $2,300 in our pocket each month.”

The couple bought a Tesla Model 7 for $70,000 in KL and spend about $100 a month on electric-vehicle charging, having installed a charger at home. They estimate their total monthly living expenses in Malaysia to be about $2,500, roughly half of what they used to spend in Singapore.

Their move has also been shaped by the mobile nature of their work.

The couple qualified for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel Card in August 2024, which facilitates business travel between participating economies. The card is valid for five years and allows holders to stay in Malaysia for up to 90 days a visit.

While in Malaysia, they met prospective business partners and hope to expand their agency’s client base there. They return to Singapore roughly every three months to see family and friends, and run errands.

The couple do not plan to have children and see Malaysia as a potential long-term home, although their plans beyond the validity of their APEC cards remain uncertain.

“As any person who used to go to Malaysia weekly, I believe I grew to become very taken by how we might obtain extra affordability, affluence and spending energy by simply crossing the Causeway,” he says.

Costs of living differently

For all the appeal of living abroad, Chin, Ng and Wong acknowledge that living abroad comes with trade-offs beyond needing to maintain and manage two homes. Some of the everyday conveniences and infrastructure they took for granted in Singapore are not easily replicated elsewhere.

For Chin, one such frustration is making payments in Thailand. As she is there on a tourist visa, she is unable to open a local bank account, leaving her reliant on alternative payment methods.

“The most popular mode of cost right here is card-free, utilizing a QR code, however as a result of I’m on a vacationer visa, I can not open a checking account and on a regular basis funds are made harder,” she says.

She is also getting used to the vagaries of Bangkok’s weather. “I miss the infrastructure in Singapore typically. In Thailand, when it rains, it floods, and it may be very troublesome to get round for months,” she says. 

The cost of living also varies considerably depending on where and how one chooses to live.

While accommodation outside major city centres is relatively affordable, renting a well-located condominium – particularly on a short-term lease – quickly narrows the savings gap.

“If you propose to remain in a pleasant condominium in Bangkok – worse nonetheless, keep on the town – then you may anticipate hire to go as much as $1,800 a month. If you wish to keep quick time period, your choices may be restricted and it’s far more costly than signing a year-long lease,” Chin says.

For those willing to live farther from the city centre, however, there are cheaper alternatives.

Civil servant Tanya Ong, 32, lived in Nakhon Pathom, about 90 minutes from central Bangkok by public transport, between March 2024 and September 2025.

While working in a Thai higher education institution as an administrative staff member, she earned about $2,000 a month and paid $460 a month to rent a 29 sq m condominium studio there.

Her other monthly expenses, including food, transport and bills, added up to about $650.

She reflects that living farther away from the city centre did not necessarily mean she was able to save more.

“My charge of accumulating financial savings was quite a bit slower and fewer snug than in Singapore as a result of I used to be incomes much less.

“But living overseas exposed me to a wider range of people from different backgrounds that helped shape how I thought about living a meaningful life,” Ong says.

For Ng and Wong, the trade-offs in Malaysia are much less about price and extra as regards to security, comfort and proximity to household.

“The land here is big and the nearest police station can be many kilometres away. We don’t have the same level of reassurance and confidence in law enforcement as we do in Singapore, and that’s definitely a trade-off,” says Ng.

Although each their dad and mom are wholesome and impartial, the couple additionally recognise that residing throughout the Causeway makes it more durable to reply if one thing pressing occurs in Singapore.

For now, nonetheless, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks.

Ng says residing in Malaysia has given him and Wong the chance to expertise a way of life past their means in Singapore.

“Landed properties in Singapore cost millions. In the next five to 10 years, I don’t see myself forking out that kind of money,” he says.

“If I continue to live in Singapore, I’m not sure if I will ever experience living like this in my lifetime.” 

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This article was first printed in The Straits Times. Permission required for replica.