Why Singapore? My initial NUS experience.

By Holly Scholfield, National University of Singapore, Singapore

When deciding where I wanted to spend my year abroad, I had two main considerations beyond academics: finances and travel opportunities. Both led me to put the National University of Singapore (NUS) as my first choice.

After two months here, I have had the chance to experience both sides of student life in Singapore, from eating at hawker centres and navigating the huge NUS campus, to travelling around Southeast Asia. Here is why I think Singapore is the best choice for a year abroad.

Finances: Is Singapore really that expensive?

If you have watched Crazy Rich Asians, you might assume that Singapore is an extremely expensive place to live. While it can certainly be more expensive than some other countries in Asia, I have found that, compared with the UK, everyday life in Singapore is actually surprisingly affordable.

Of course, how much you spend depends heavily on your lifestyle, but there are plenty of ways to keep costs down.

Eating on a budget

Food is probably one of the expenses you will encounter most frequently as a student, wherever you study. Fortunately, Singapore has a plethora of affordable options.

One of the things that makes Singapore unique is its hawker centres: large food courts filled with independent stalls selling everything from local Singaporean dishes to Chinese, Malay and Indian food. It is easy to get a full meal for under S$5 (around £3).

Hawker centres are a staple of student life. Exchange students and locals are always suggesting new ones to explore or returning to their favourites, making them both a cheap way to eat and a great excuse to discover different parts of Singapore. As one local told me, “hawker centres are never far away”, which is certainly true.

There are also plenty of inexpensive options on campus. University Town (UTown), where a lot of student life takes place, has two food courts, Fine Foods and Flavours @ UTown, with stalls serving Japanese, Chinese, Korean and other cuisines. Most meals are under S$6 (around £3.50).

For fellow coffee lovers, you can also find iced coffees for around £1, which is considerably cheaper than the Luckin Coffee and Starbucks on campus.

Outside UTown, Supper Stretch is another popular option. This collection of food spots stays open late and is popular with students after evening sports practices. There is even an acai shop which is definitely the best sweet treat. 

Accommodation and meal plans

Another major factor in keeping costs manageable is NUS accommodation.

My accommodation, Sheares Hall, cost S$2,506 (around £1,480) for Semester 1. Most halls and residential colleges also require students to purchase a meal plan. Mine was S$671 (around £395) for the semester and provides breakfast and dinner six days a week.

While the meal plan does not offer quite the same variety as Singapore’s hawker centres, I have really enjoyed having it. It is extremely convenient on days when I don’t want to go out for dinner, and it means I don’t have to worry about buying groceries or cooking every day.

If cooking is an important part of your university experience, however, it is worth considering your accommodation carefully. Cooking facilities in on-campus accommodation are very limited, ie. a microwave and a fridge…, so private accommodation may be more suitable for someone who enjoys cooking regularly, although it is less subsidised.

For me, the combination of the meal plan, affordable hawker food and relatively inexpensive accommodation has been ideal and is one of my favourite features of Singapore.

Getting around

NUS is massive. My hall is around a 35-minute walk from UTown, and walking across the entire campus can take close to an hour which is slightly mortifying when you are dealing with Singapore’s humidity!

Luckily, NUS provides free shuttle buses around campus. They are frequent, easy to use and make getting between lectures and accommodation much easier.

Outside campus, Singapore’s public transport system is equally convenient. The MRT and buses are clean, air-conditioned and cost less than £2 per journey. Compared with public transport in the UK, I have found Singapore far better.

Travel: The biggest reason I chose Singapore

While finances were an important consideration, the main reason I chose Singapore was its location since Singapore is ideally positioned for exploring Southeast Asia, and travelling has become a huge part of my experience at NUS.

Most exchange students are here for just one semester, with British students being one of the exceptions, so there is a real sense that everyone wants to make the most of their limited time in the region. This makes it incredibly easy to find people who want to travel at the weekends or during university breaks.

Being here for a full year also gives me a little more flexibility. Rather than feeling like I have to fit everything into six months, I can take my time, settle into university life and think about when different destinations might be best to visit.

Exploring Southeast Asia

So far, I have travelled to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for a weekend and visited Bali and East Java in Indonesia during reading week. I went with two completely different groups and had so much fun exploring, eating great food and getting closer to the people I went with.

I also have weekend trips planned to Hoi An, Kuala Lumpur and Koh Samui, while over Christmas I will be travelling through China, Vietnam, Laos, Sydney and Thailand before returning to Singapore.

Being able to travel this much feels very unique to studying in Singapore. Changi Airport is incredibly well connected, and flights to other countries in the region are far cheaper than travelling from the UK.

For someone like me, who had only left Europe once before arriving here, this was a huge part of the appeal. Not only are flights relatively affordable, but the cost of travelling once you arrive in many Southeast Asian countries is significantly lower than in the UK. In some destinations, you can find meals for around £1 and good-quality hostels for around £10 a night.

The result is that travelling becomes a normal part of your student experience, aided by the lessened academic pressure if you are only on Pass/Fail, as most exchange students are.

Making the most of your year abroad

If you are considering Singapore for your year abroad, I would definitely recommend saving as much as you reasonably can beforehand. The opportunities to travel are one of the biggest advantages of being based here, and having savings gives you the freedom to take advantage of them.

One thing worth knowing is that the student visa does not allow exchange students to work or undertake an internship in Singapore. While this means you cannot supplement your finances with a part-time job, it does also leave you with more freedom to travel at weekends and during university breaks.

After only two months at NUS, I have already travelled to several countries, explored parts of Singapore that I had never heard of before arriving and made friends from all over the world.

For me, that combination of affordable student life, an incredible campus experience and being on the doorstep of Southeast Asia is exactly what made Singapore the right choice for my year abroad. 

Mount Bromo Sunrise Hike !!