A bigger home, more space for the kids and a school environment that suits them better. How much would those changes be worth to your family?
For one Singaporean father of five, moving to Johor came with higher expenses, but he feels the benefits make it worthwhile.
Monthly expenses increased after moving
According to Stomp, citing Berita Minggu, Noor Sobri Mohamed Noor relocated to Iskandar Puteri with his wife and five children in 2022.
His family’s monthly expenses rose by around 10%–20%, largely because of international school fees that can reach RM3,000 per child.
Despite that, Sobri appreciates being able to live in a bigger house within a gated and guarded neighbourhood. For him, the lifestyle makes the additional spending worthwhile.
He once disliked living in JB
Interestingly, Johor wasn’t always somewhere Sobri wanted to call home.
As a child, he lived there with his Singaporean family and woke at 5am to travel to school in Singapore. He returned to Singapore at 18 for National Service.
Years later, his perspective changed.
As I grew up, I started to see Johor through a different lens,” he said.
Berita Minggu’s original report explained that Sobri wanted more living space and a more relaxed, well-rounded education for his children.
All five, aged five to 13, now attend an international school in Tebrau.
He said they previously struggled with the pace of Singapore’s curriculum, with his eldest son’s mathematics results declining.
After changing schools, his son began enjoying learning more and achieved excellent results without regular tuition.
