Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > World Forums > Asia
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-20-2013, 09:03 AM
 
6,837 posts, read 10,894,131 times
Reputation: 8388

Advertisements

Starting today, I started putting my resume out for openings in various places in Asia.

Last 3 months or so, I've really been feeling a bit down about living in the United States and I truly am not happy with living here anymore as great as my city Washington is, I want for this to be a chance to try something new.

I just got off the phone with my father, he's been living in Singapore for the last year and a half, as he's on a project there with Accenture and he told me to just come over as soon as I can as I can always stay with him until I get my life out there started. I'm thinking about going ahead with it but I don't know if Singapore is going to be any sort of permanent stop for me.

Initially in the United States I've always wanted to live in New York and Miami and I still plan on buying a condo here in Miami in the next year or so, it'll be my first investment on a property on my own and I'm looking forward to it. New York's realistically the only city I could see myself trading up to live in over Washington and well to put it bluntly, living there is not in the cards for me in the immediate years coming up.

I am curious about the living conditions in Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai (already lived there), Hong Kong, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, Penang, Pune, Bangalore, Seoul, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, or Singapore (my hometown).

Could you guys, preferably ones with living experience in any of these shed some light on some of these places and what you think about life there. Would that city be worth it?

As for immigration, yeah I'll sort it out but right now I'm just in the planning stages.

Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 02-20-2013 at 09:11 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-20-2013, 10:48 AM
 
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,803,323 times
Reputation: 11862
I think it would be easier to focus on which country you'd want to move to first, rather than which city. That would obviously largely decide most things. If you moved to Japan to work, for instance, you'd have to invest a lot of time.etc learning Japanese, Japanese business.etc. Do you know any other languages? Mandarin, Hindi.etc? Obviously Singapore or Malaysia or possibly Hong Kong might be the easiest to adapt to, if you just the Asian experience, and you could regularly visit those other cities from there too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2013, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Macao
16,265 posts, read 42,992,750 times
Reputation: 10231
Quote:
Originally Posted by valentro View Post
I am curious about the living conditions in Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai (already lived there), Hong Kong, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, Penang, Pune, Bangalore, Seoul, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, or Singapore (my hometown).

Could you guys, preferably ones with living experience in any of these shed some light on some of these places and what you think about life there. Would that city be worth it?
I've been to most of those cities. Since the question is so broad, I can't help but think I'd/we'd just tell you what you already know.

Indian cities - I'm sure you already know what living in one would be like, as you lived in one already. You'd probably already know it's probably going to be work centered around Call Centers.

Chinese cities - business types of work, export jobs, teaching english, etc.

Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka - I've spent many years in Korea and Japan. Basically teaching english work. As you'd probably already guess, the quality of life is better than china or india.

Your question is difficult to answer actually. You seem to want a comparison of cities, and for us to choose a city for you. But, I'd imagine you'd already know the differences between an Indian city and a Japanese one. If they are all on your list, I'll assume you already have your own reasons for putting them on your list.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2013, 12:10 PM
 
9,240 posts, read 9,691,124 times
Reputation: 3310
Experience in China is more marketable for your future, even if it is just teaching English.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2013, 02:18 PM
 
3,757 posts, read 5,274,915 times
Reputation: 6177
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bettafish View Post
Experience in China is more marketable for your future, even if it is just teaching English.
Marketable for what? Teaching more English in China? Teaching English as a Second Language is a fairly dead end career unless one remains in the parts of Asia that pay a decent wage. Those places are fewer, BTW, and include mostly South Korea, Japan, and a few of the larger Chinese cities. For example, a couple of years ago a large TESL group (NOVA) went bankrupt and shut down, leaving several thousand TESL instructors scrambling for work in Japan.

If you have to live in Asia, learn the language so that you can move UP the ladder in terms of opportunities using the national language.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2013, 03:29 PM
 
3,757 posts, read 5,274,915 times
Reputation: 6177
Quote:
Originally Posted by valentro View Post
Starting today, I started putting my resume out for openings in various places in Asia.

I am curious about the living conditions in Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai (already lived there), Hong Kong, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, Penang, Pune, Bangalore, Seoul, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, or Singapore (my hometown).

Could you guys, preferably ones with living experience in any of these shed some light on some of these places and what you think about life there. Would that city be worth it?

As for immigration, yeah I'll sort it out but right now I'm just in the planning stages.
I have lived in Kuala Lumpur. Commuting is a BIG issue there. One can either live in the 'burbs and join Commuter Hell every day, or else try to get a downtown apartment (very expensive) whereby one can walk to work. What sort of work do you expect to get? Expat salaries are harder to come by these days, but if you can land one, then you should be able to enjoy life. If you sink to the level of English teacher, then good luck. Since you say that you are a native Singaporean, I would say that you might enjoy KL a bit more than some of the other cities that you mentioned since you would find the culture and food similar.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2013, 04:54 PM
 
6,837 posts, read 10,894,131 times
Reputation: 8388
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer View Post
Your question is difficult to answer actually. You seem to want a comparison of cities, and for us to choose a city for you. But, I'd imagine you'd already know the differences between an Indian city and a Japanese one. If they are all on your list, I'll assume you already have your own reasons for putting them on your list.
Nahh, not like that at all.

I already know if I do go with it then it's one of these places. I already know it's going to be Singapore first because my father is there and from there I'll see what my options are.

The reason I'm asking people to explain their living conditions in any of the mentioned cities is not because I want you guys to pick a city for me but to describe what it's like living there for me to getter a better understanding of the place.

Yeahh Trimac20, I speak English, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, French, and a bit of German and learning a new language is always an option for me overall.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2013, 09:16 PM
kyh
 
Location: Malaysia & Singapore
381 posts, read 1,264,394 times
Reputation: 146
Singapore would be good since you're already a Singaporean. Good opportunities and perks everywhere if you're a citizen and have a good qualification. India has a great potential too since you speak a few Indian languages and it is greatly developing now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-21-2013, 01:01 PM
 
Location: Macao
16,265 posts, read 42,992,750 times
Reputation: 10231
Quote:
Originally Posted by valentro View Post
Nahh, not like that at all.

I already know if I do go with it then it's one of these places. I already know it's going to be Singapore first because my father is there and from there I'll see what my options are.

The reason I'm asking people to explain their living conditions in any of the mentioned cities is not because I want you guys to pick a city for me but to describe what it's like living there for me to getter a better understanding of the place.

Yeahh Trimac20, I speak English, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, French, and a bit of German and learning a new language is always an option for me overall.
Singapore sounds best than.

I lived in Korea and Japan, both for many years. But, personally, I think you'd have to have a strong interest in Japan to live in Japan. It's a very expensive place, and it's worth it, if you like Japan. But, if you are indifferent with Japan and Japanese culture, why bother? It doesn't seem you have any particular attraction or interest in it.

South Korea is really best for English teachers. Not much other opportunities around for foreigners. For teaching English, South Korea pays relatively well compared to most countries on the planet, with many set benefits for teaching English. That being said, it's a hard culture to work and live in. One of those things that ESL teachers do, because it pays better than most. But if ESL work isn't your history/past/future, than I'd cross it off the list.

Singapore seems like it has the most variety of jobs, combined with your father's background. Definitely I'd go with SINGAPORE.

Regarding India and China. Those two I haven't lived in. But, India seems best if 'call centers' is a line of work you're interested in pursuing. China has a lot of options, but more strongly for extremely low-paid teaching english work, or business and business networking, etc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-21-2013, 08:05 PM
 
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,803,323 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer View Post
Singapore sounds best than.

I lived in Korea and Japan, both for many years. But, personally, I think you'd have to have a strong interest in Japan to live in Japan. It's a very expensive place, and it's worth it, if you like Japan. But, if you are indifferent with Japan and Japanese culture, why bother? It doesn't seem you have any particular attraction or interest in it.

South Korea is really best for English teachers. Not much other opportunities around for foreigners. For teaching English, South Korea pays relatively well compared to most countries on the planet, with many set benefits for teaching English. That being said, it's a hard culture to work and live in. One of those things that ESL teachers do, because it pays better than most. But if ESL work isn't your history/past/future, than I'd cross it off the list.

Singapore seems like it has the most variety of jobs, combined with your father's background. Definitely I'd go with SINGAPORE.

Regarding India and China. Those two I haven't lived in. But, India seems best if 'call centers' is a line of work you're interested in pursuing. China has a lot of options, but more strongly for extremely low-paid teaching english work, or business and business networking, etc.
I think valentro expressed he had a deep interest in Japanese culture.

I agree Singapore would be the most practical. It has that urban life.etc you crave and it'd be most familiar.

I don't imagine many Westerners move to India for lifestyle reasons. Only if they're there for work. It's an incredible country though, fascinating to visit, but I don't think I'd want to live there even if I was rich.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > World Forums > Asia

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top