Singapore - cost of living

I've seen references saying that the cost of living in Singapore is very high compared to many other countries. I would have to disagree with that in some aspects (based on living there for one year).

What is high:

Rent. Depending on location and quality, prices can pretty high. Although if you stay out farther on the edges of the island and not in close proximity to a train station, you should be able to get a more affordable place.

Vehicles. If you're not very rich, don't bother. Singapore tries to limit the number of vehicles on the island, so they only allow a certain number of vehicles to be purchased every year. This is done by auction, and the permits are likely going to be more than the cost of most cars. The public transport there is excellent, and taxis are widely available. There really isn't a need for a car. Its purely a status symbol there.


What is not high:

Education. I was quite surprised how cheap the islamic kindergartens and primary/secondary madrasa seemed to be.
Food. In most cases, I found the prices of groceries to be similar to what you would see in Malaysia once you convert SGD to MYR. Eating out is not much different as well.
Transport. Public transport isn't too expensive.
Internet/utilities. I don't remember these being very high either.