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It is quite telling that many Singaporeans own vacation homes up and down the east coast of Malaysia (where I live), and use Malaysia for their vacation time. Why travel to a vacation spot when you can live there (and find good work also)?
A while ago, I came across a news about a modern KL woman who drank beer in public in Pahang? or Trenganu? that have different laws from KL; she was found guilty and canned publicly. What do you prefer - One country, one standard, one justice system for all?
A while ago, I came across a news about a modern KL woman who drank beer in public in Pahang? or Trenganu? that have different laws from KL; she was found guilty and canned publicly. What do you prefer - One country, one standard, one justice system for all?
She hasn't been caned yet dougie86. Malaysian justice is fun to watch, in a way, because they want to enforce the religious laws (to look Islamic enough), and yet they don't want to look backwards to outsiders (foreign investors). So, in the end, they try to come up with a compromise ala King Solomon and the two women who were arguing over a baby.
They decided, after all, not to cane her (suspended sentence), but she said "No, go ahead and cane me; I am repentant and want to pay." Since it is OUT of the news now, I suspect that it was settled quietly with a small fine. This is religious law, you realise, not civil law. Sinkapoor enforces the No-gum-chewing law on everyone, even expats.
Don't forget to flush: Big Brother is watching you. I am not THAT negative on Sinkapoor; I just like to tweak them because of their pretentiousness when they visit our east coast.
i'm from singapore...i do not think singapore is the BEST place to live for various reasons - high cost of living, high level of stress, quality of life not great unless you are very rich.
but i must say singapore is SAFE, the (public/private) services are top notch & highly dependable and goods/services are very accessible...good education system....and there's fairness in the system.
if you are a civic minded and socially gracious person living in singapore...you wouldn't worry too much about the "FINES" for spitting, not flushing toilets, eating gum, littering etc anyway. while it's a joke indeed that the govt has to resort to fines to prevent people from doing these stuffs...but hey, i know i'd be pissed (no pun intended) to walk into a dirty toilet or step on spit/gum on the floor.
of course there'd be some SG idiots who'd cross over to our neighbouring countries to spit/litter/load up on cheap gas and antagonize our friendly neighbours by sprouting all kinds of superior egoistic nonsense...but remember that NOT ALL are like that.
anyway....back to the threadstarter's question....i personally wouldn't move to singapore if the pay package ain't great 'cos the cost of living is quite high in singapore. housing is expensive (more costly than in the states) and car is expensive too. the only inexpensive thing is food...in my opinion.
so if you are used to staying in a big house in the states....be prepared to have to put up with staying in small apartments or public housing rentals....unless you are getting a huge housing allowance from your employer. based on what i'm paying for rental here in the states for a close to 2000sqft house, i doubt you'd even be able to rent a small private apartment for the same amount of money. most probably, you'd only be able to afford to rent a tiny flat (public housing apartments) probably not a lot more than 1000sqft.
but most expats that i know of who have worked/lived in singaapore tend to love it there 'cos of the generous pay package that they receive. and with a generous pay package...life would be really easy in singapore...'cos there's everything you'd ever need - in terms of creature comforts, accessibility to goods/services. and you'd get to travel easily to all the beautiful neighbouring countries!!
i'm from singapore...i do not think singapore is the BEST place to live for various reasons - high cost of living, high level of stress, quality of life not great unless you are very rich.
but i must say singapore is SAFE, the (public/private) services are top notch & highly dependable and goods/services are very accessible...good education system....and there's fairness in the system.
anyway....back to the threadstarter's question....i personally wouldn't move to singapore if the pay package ain't great 'cos the cost of living is quite high in singapore. housing is expensive (more costly than in the states) and car is expensive too. the only inexpensive thing is food...in my opinion.
but most expats that i know of who have worked/lived in singaapore tend to love it there 'cos of the generous pay package that they receive. and with a generous pay package...life would be really easy in singapore...'cos there's everything you'd ever need - in terms of creature comforts, accessibility to goods/services. and you'd get to travel easily to all the beautiful neighbouring countries!!
With the exception of the biotechnology industry, which Singapore is still trying to promote, aren't the number of these expat pay packages in the decline? In Malaysia, they are actively replacing foreign expats with locals once the technology has been transferred.
With the exception of the biotechnology industry, which Singapore is still trying to promote, aren't the number of these expat pay packages in the decline? In Malaysia, they are actively replacing foreign expats with locals once the technology has been transferred.
they were trying very hard to push biotech...but i really don't see the industry moving anywhere honestly. i'm sure the expat pay packages are in the decline everywhere within SEA....but for a qualified expat applicant..i'm sure there are still good opportunities within singapore. somehow, for key positions...they still feel that expats appear more qualified or perhaps at least more credible. not that i agree with it though.....
I'd heard the generous expat packages in Singapore are on the decline. You could look into a PEP; those are not tied to specific employer and are good for five years (but are a one-time deal). Don't limit yourself to just American companies, either. There are some other specialty passes and permits to look into, too. I don't know any of this through personal experience, other than we briefly looked into the possibility of a Singapore move. I think the easiest way to get a job is to get one of the passes and then move there and look for work, although that wasn't feasible for us. That's how my father-in-law got his job in Singapore.
the PEP (Personalised Employement Pass) is definitely better to have 'cos it offers some degree of flexibility...such as change of employer or if you are in between jobs (not more than 6mths period of unemployment). but you'd have to meet certain prerequisites to apply for the PEP i.e. earn at least $7,000 month, previously held other types of employement passes etc. actually...one can always just go over to singapore as a normal tourist and just look for a job when you are there.
Thank you! We were thinking of Singapore because we would like to live in Asia and our Mandarin is not good enough to work in a non-English environment (yet!). We hope to take more Chinese classes while we are there so our options open up.
Also- thanks for the info on the employment pass. My husband was thinking only a US company would be able to get him a work visa- but it appears that it may be possible to first get the employment pass, and then apply to a diverse group of companies. I will be reading more about this.
Besides monster.com Singapore, are there other job portals to search for jobs or is it better to use a headhunter?
ya...the expats usually get very attractive remuneration packages in singapore i.e. relocation costs, paid housing, paid children's education, paid vehicle/chauffeur/domestic helper, fat income/bonuses...on top of all that, the tax situation is extremely favorable for foreigners i.e. no taxes on capital gains, low property/income tax etc.
unfortunately, the same doesn't apply to singaporeans going to the states for work. hell, my spouse's employer didn't even offer to pay for our relocation cost upfront (we had to ask for it)......
maybe when we were to obtain our US citizenship...we too can return to singapore to enjoy the "expat pay package". kinda funny....when i think of it.
the economy is picking up again in singapore/hong kong....so it shldn't be that difficult to find a cushy job over there now. good luck!
well,getting a work visa in the US is the same as someone in singapore getting a work visa on their own....not sure if you mean a US company sponsored your work visa and gave you a job,but then no benefits or move expenses,etc?
But,not everyone who goes to singapore to work does get a cushy renumeration package or even job security.
Like OP said,those days seem to be waning....for everyone.
In any case,i guess it's always the supply/demand chain-what skills are needed where,and how attractive a location is to people.
Singapore has become so attractive to many,that paying them in perks to be there is no longer as necessary.
Also,be sure to check out singapore expat forums online for additional job and company links.
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