When to cease relocation negotiations

[zzm9980]

I am also stunned at how never-ending the work can be. In California, I usually start my day at 5:30 a.m. and I'm done by 3 p.m. Here in Singapore, I start at around 6 or 7 a.m. to deal with U.S. and APJ colleagues. Then in the early afternoon, the emails from Europe start coming in; before I know it it's the early afternoon and the U.S. folks are back on line.

Sounds like my day! Work from 7am-10am, then a lull until about 4pm.

As for your husband and the original question, I think the answer is whenever it makes the most sense. I'm butting up against this exact same issue in my company right now looking at internal transfer options out of Singapore. The offers back in California are compelling, but relocation assistance is minimal.

I'll throw this at you right now also, as it has become a huge pain point for me: If you ever transfer out of Singapore and have unvested stock or stock options, you *will* have to pay tax on those unvested earnings as if they had vested 30 days before you leave. Know about that now, so you can make sure that *that* tax is taken care of by your company during your transfer. If you owe taxes at all (including this) IRAS will not let you leave the country.

[JR8]

@JR8, I hope you're right that taking on work that spans three continents will one day bring in lots of $$$!

Via the experience you gain, I think it does. It's like going from being a small fish in a big bowl, to a big one in a small bowl, to, hopefully, back to a medium fish in a big bowl

p.s. Those days, 'book-ended' morn and eve by NYC calling you in bed.... how I don't miss 'em.

[PrimroseHill]

Thank goodness, home vs work life balance (knock on wood) has been alright here.
I was med fish in big bowl in London.
Would love to be big fish in medium/small bowl here, but content with what I have currently

[JR8]

Thank goodness, home vs work life balance (knock on wood) has been alright here.
I was med fish in big bowl in London.
Would love to be big fish in medium/small bowl here, but content with what I have currently

That used to be a career strategy in my last, well, career.

Big bowl experience is valuable to small bowls. So get as much of the former as you can, and then as you start to wind-down your employment you can flip to a small bowl, and earn a significant premium due to your experience.

I nearly took a position in Moscow based upon this theory... but am now rather glad I didn't.

[Wd40]

I am the luckiest as far as work hours go. I am absolutely sure no one can have it as good as me.

I go to office at 9:30AM. My team lead in the US calls me and tells me what to do for the day. I leave office at 11:00 AM and come home and have lunch and then during the afternoon work from home. Typically the actual work only takes like 2-3 hrs. I just drag it until 6, in between playing with my child, having a power nap, doing facebook, financial news site and yes ofcourse this forum

Actually the only reason I go to office in the morning is to feel the connection that I am indeed employed and the fact that I love riding my bike

These are some advantages of working in very large organizations. My entire team in Singapore has been asked to leave or left on their own and I am the only one left and I report here locally to a person, who is completely unrelated with my work. The people with whom my work really matters are in the US and they don't care how I work, where I work as long as do what needs to be done. Of course good things don't last forever. My role here I expect it will last until end of Q1 next year or may be early Q2, after which it will be offshored to a cheaper location.

[zzm9980]

I am the luckiest as far as work hours go. I am absolutely sure no one can have it as good as me.

Probably not the luckiest, but up there from what I've seen in SG. I have a similar arrangement, except I am the lead for the region. I set the goals and priorities for the region, and make sure the operational stuff is dealt with. As long as I succeed in that (Which I do easily), communicate and keep everyone on both sides of the Pacific happy, my group's management pretty much leaves me alone.

I can WFH (or a cafe hah) whenever I'd like, schedule travel as I deem appropriate (off to Tokyo tomorrow!) and I'm not getting outsourced in a few months

Of course, the negative: I have to live in Singapore. And that's enough to accelerate my exit strategy.

[henrycc]

In regards to housing, I told my husband we could just find a place with the rental money we'll earn from our house in the U.S. Granted, we would definitely wind up in a smaller place, but I'm thinking the whole point of moving abroad is to experience a different culture and lifestyle.

And yes, education is another money pit, but putting both of our kids in an International School would be slightly more expensive than their current day care in the States.

I understand that we will lose money in the short-term and I'm ok with that. I feel this is an investment into raising globally-aware children and building international work experience. If we were to get higher-education degrees, we would be spending a lot more!

Unfortunately, my husband's mindset is very kiasu. He just found out that a new hire from the U.S. received a better package to relocate to Singapore, so now he's digging in his heels even further. Blah.

You bring up a great point and which is really true about kids being globally-aware by living here. I have a 4 year old son and the little guy has been to more places then most people we know have been in their entire lives. In fact in a couple weeks ago we are taking him to Myammar and next summer plan is to go to New Zealand and take a helicopter ride over the glaciers of Milford Sound. So that in alone is worth the move here.

As for your husband I am a little surprised they are so rigid in the offer. I would stick to my guns if a new co-worker received a better offer then him. This will only make him bitter if he takes it.

[zzm9980]

As for your husband I am a little surprised they are so rigid in the offer. I would stick to my guns if a new co-worker received a better offer then him. This will only make him bitter if he takes it.

Now that I know where her husband works (from other thread), they likely won't budge in any meaningful way.

I think it's too late, but I know a few things her husband could do...