Anyone here from Singapore?

goron59

There's a chance I might be moving out there later this year and was after any advice!

LisaJayne71

It's supposed to be an amazing place to live!! Apart from that I can't help! Sorry!

Mando55

I'm not but I've been there a few times. One of my favorite places I got to visit while I was in the Navy

keeponcrushinit

Ive been there its ultrea clean..I have a friend who lives there and loves it!!

JeninBelgium

my husband used to travel there often on business and said he enjoyed it as it was a nice break from Indonesia and VIetnam but all in all thinks it would be a boring, souless place to live (perhaps too clean and organized for him :-) )
I have a colleague that has been there many, many many times (5+ times per year for many years, plus I think it is one of th places he was schooled (along with NZ, AUs, Hong Kong and the UK) anyway - he says it is not a boring soulless place you just have to know how to get lixing with the average joe and the "local" migrant workers instead of the Singaporean elite and expats- so I guess it is a place for all tastes if you are willing to work at it

JeninBelgium

hi again

maybe you an get some advice from the forum here:

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/

more specifically here:
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/forum33.html&sid=e2f6d9a37741aaff1864042d997828d1

goron59

Thanks for the shout-outs and links!

I do think it might be a bit dull given my current lifestyle, but I suspect my lifestyle will change. Eg, I'm currently not happy if I'm away from my car for too long, but having a car in Sing is stupidly expensive.

Health and foodwise, I think I'll be ok, as I love Malay/Chinese/Indonesian/Indian food.

The deal I have is to move from London, doing same job at no cost to me and more or less on the same money, so could be a great opportunity!

JeninBelgium

Thanks for the shout-outs and links!

I do think it might be a bit dull given my current lifestyle, but I suspect my lifestyle will change. Eg, I'm currently not happy if I'm away from my car for too long, but having a car in Sing is stupidly expensive.

Health and foodwise, I think I'll be ok, as I love Malay/Chinese/Indonesian/Indian food.

The deal I have is to move from London, doing same job at no cost to me and more or less on the same money, so could be a great opportunity!

remember housing is more expensive in Singapore than London- I know it doesn't seem possible but it is- so that deal better include rent

kunibob

I lived there for two years in 1997-1999, so a lot of what I knew has changed since then (that city changes SO quickly!!) but I can still give some general advice.

My biggest advice is to be prepared for Singlish. I know the gov't has been trying to stomp it out in recent years, but I imagine people still speak it, and it can be extremely hard to follow at first because it borrows so many grammatical rules & words from the other languages in the region. There is a specific grammar to it, so once you catch on, you'll be golden. Don't be afraid to try speaking some yourself, too -- I used to have problems with taxi drivers understanding me until I got it through my head that to them, *I* was the one speaking with the thick accent. Once I adapted to Singlish pronunciation of place names, etc., and mastered a few expressions, I had no problems communicating. Overall, just keep your eyes and ears open to pick up on the local customs and ways of speaking, and even if you accidentally make a cultural gaff here and there (I made several!), people are fine about it if you're gracious and friendly. Sometimes, what's polite to our ears is not polite in Singlish, and vice-versa, so it can be a bit confusing until you catch on. (eg: not sure if this is still the case, but when I was there, asking "can or cannot?" after a question was considered polite because it offered a choice, whereas my "Does that work for you?" was bossy in Singlish because it didn't offer an option for refusal! Here I though people were being abrupt with me, and they thought I was being abrupt with them!)

Be prepared for the heat (it is intense!), the sudden gushes of rain during the rainy season and the occasional “kiasu” attitude rearing its ugly head (it's an attitude that's kind of like a mix of greed, a fear of 2nd place and general wanting to one-up others – people can sometimes get competitive in surprising ways.)

On the positives, be prepared for DELICIOUS food, a very organized and safe city, easy access to travel throughout SE Asia, a beautiful clean cityscape, tons of sunshine, exciting hustle and bustle and broad splashes of culture. And the people! Very hard working, very curious, very friendly. There are a ton of expats there, too, and while there's the usual contingent of xenophobic snobs among them, there are many people who have embraced the culture, and they are a wealth of information about what to do and see.

Overall, I feel like I left a piece of my heart with that city and I'm extremely jealous that you have this opportunity. I hope you have the chance to take advantage of it, and that you fall in love with it as much as I did. If you have any particular questions, I would love to try to answer them, but do keep in mind that things have probably changed a ton since I lived there.

Idhzaar

Hi, I'm a Singaporean. . If you need any advice or places to go, i try my best to inform you. . Hope you achieved your goal weight. . Take care. .