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trying to relocate from UK

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malcontent
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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by malcontent » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 1:28 am

margaret44 wrote:
Thu, 15 Jul 2021 9:33 pm
The idea behind it is that our son starts school next year so we ideally wanted to be settled over there before that.
Do you know how much it costs to attend International School here? Do you know that many International Schools have waiting lists?

Local schools also have insufficient spaces to accommodate foreign students and are no longer cheap, roughly half the price of international. And even if you manage to get into local school, you’ve got to factor in extra cost for tutors just to keep up in the local system.

Life can be a real struggle here unless you have an employer that takes care of everything for you - then you’ll be on easy street… potentially.
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by margaret44 » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 1:40 am

malcontent wrote:
Fri, 16 Jul 2021 1:28 am
margaret44 wrote:
Thu, 15 Jul 2021 9:33 pm
The idea behind it is that our son starts school next year so we ideally wanted to be settled over there before that.
Do you know how much it costs to attend International School here? Do you know that many International Schools have waiting lists?

Local schools also have insufficient spaces to accommodate foreign students and are no longer cheap, roughly half the price of international. And even if you manage to get into local school, you’ve got to factor in extra cost for tutors just to keep up in the local system.

Life can be a real struggle here unless you have an employer that takes care of everything for you - then you’ll be on easy street… potentially.
Yes I’ve done lots of research on everything and well aware of the school situation.

I’ve planned our whole lives out there even down to where I will walk my dog haha

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malcontent
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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by malcontent » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 10:54 am

You sound like the type of person that enjoys planning, even down to the details… similar to me. In my case, I had a very compelling reason to move here… my wife-to-be. I quit my job, sold my car and and moved here, sight unseen, with a one-way ticket, no job and no visa, just two suitcases and a social visit pass. Sounds crazy, but it was all well planned. I signed an HDB room rental contract on the same day I arrived and was eating a plate of Wee Nam Kee chicken rice later that evening. Of course, things never go totally as planned. I ended up jobless here for 9 full months. But it was all worth it because 25 years later, I’m still with my wife and we also have kids now - that is all that really matters, location is arbitrary… grow where you’re planted, make the best of what you’ve got because there are always pros/cons.
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by Myasis Dragon » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 11:25 am

"malcontent"... strange name for one with such a positive attitude about life.

malcontent wrote:
Fri, 16 Jul 2021 10:54 am
You sound like the type of person that enjoys planning, even down to the details… similar to me. In my case, I had a very compelling reason to move here… my wife-to-be. I quit my job, sold my car and and moved here, sight unseen, with a one-way ticket, no job and no visa, just two suitcases and a social visit pass. Sounds crazy, but it was all well planned. I signed an HDB room rental contract on the same day I arrived and was eating a plate of Wee Nam Kee chicken rice later that evening. Of course, things never go totally as planned. I ended up jobless here for 9 full months. But it was all worth it because 25 years later, I’m still with my wife and we also have kids now - that is all that really matters, location is arbitrary… grow where you’re planted, make the best of what you’ve got because there are always pros/cons.

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malcontent
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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by malcontent » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:13 pm

Myasis Dragon wrote:
Fri, 16 Jul 2021 11:25 am
"malcontent"... strange name for one with such a positive attitude about life.
I wouldn’t have survived 25 years here had I not learned to turn my frown upside down!
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by tiktok » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:17 pm

If you're still renting that HDB room, that's an epic achievement!
I not troll/wacko/spammer.
Me no expat. Me foreigner.

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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by smoulder » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:51 pm

malcontent wrote:
Fri, 16 Jul 2021 10:54 am
You sound like the type of person that enjoys planning, even down to the details… similar to me. In my case, I had a very compelling reason to move here… my wife-to-be. I quit my job, sold my car and and moved here, sight unseen, with a one-way ticket, no job and no visa, just two suitcases and a social visit pass. Sounds crazy, but it was all well planned. I signed an HDB room rental contract on the same day I arrived and was eating a plate of Wee Nam Kee chicken rice later that evening. Of course, things never go totally as planned. I ended up jobless here for 9 full months. But it was all worth it because 25 years later, I’m still with my wife and we also have kids now - that is all that really matters, location is arbitrary… grow where you’re planted, make the best of what you’ve got because there are always pros/cons.
Sounds like there's quite a few folks here who put down roots because of a spouse!

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malcontent
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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by malcontent » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:52 pm

tiktok wrote:
Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:17 pm
If you're still renting that HDB room, that's an epic achievement!
LOL… no, the rent they were charging was way too much, it was end-1996, the peak just before the Asian crisis. Two years later I switched to renting a nice aircon room in a bungalow for the same rent! After that, I had a 7 month assignment in the US, but still on Singapore payroll.. a “full package expat” in my home country! When I returned, rental prices had sunk to an all time low in 2002, so we kept renting until the next crisis in 2008. At that point, interest rates were so low that buying a place was a no-brainer, and that is exactly what we did. Although today I’m house poor, at least I’m building a good amount of equity.
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by Lisafuller » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 1:05 pm

smoulder wrote:
Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:51 pm
malcontent wrote:
Fri, 16 Jul 2021 10:54 am
You sound like the type of person that enjoys planning, even down to the details… similar to me. In my case, I had a very compelling reason to move here… my wife-to-be. I quit my job, sold my car and and moved here, sight unseen, with a one-way ticket, no job and no visa, just two suitcases and a social visit pass. Sounds crazy, but it was all well planned. I signed an HDB room rental contract on the same day I arrived and was eating a plate of Wee Nam Kee chicken rice later that evening. Of course, things never go totally as planned. I ended up jobless here for 9 full months. But it was all worth it because 25 years later, I’m still with my wife and we also have kids now - that is all that really matters, location is arbitrary… grow where you’re planted, make the best of what you’ve got because there are always pros/cons.
Sounds like there's quite a few folks here who put down roots because of a spouse!
Exactly the case for my father. Moved here from Miami decades ago to be with my mother.

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Re: trying to relocate from UK

Post by smoulder » Fri, 16 Jul 2021 1:09 pm

^ I stayed put here because I met my wife. Or else I was trying to get out.

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