Irish family moving to Singapore......advice needed!

[C_mcnam]

Hello...
I am a mum of a 2 yr old boy, 4 yr old girl and baby no 3 on the way!
I am desperately seeking some advice regarding a potential move to Singapore.

My husband has been offered a job in Shanghai. The plan is to move to Singapore and he will commute/stay over a few nights a week. I am terrified of the move.......I am worried about the 1. Cost of living/accommodation 2. Cost and waiting list of International Schools. 3. Being homesick and not having family to depend on especially with a small baby. 4. Being lonely.....

Has anyone been in my situation before and can they offer any advice.

I would REALLY appreciate it!

[Addadude]

I am not at all sure how your planned living arrangement will work. Is your husband going to be based here or in Shanghai? If he is not going to be working here, he won't be getting an Employment Pass. Which means you won't be getting a Dependent's Pass to live here. While I have no doubt that Singapore is a far better place to bring up kids than Shanghai, from the sounds of it, I don't think your plan is feasible.

Moving on to your questions. Staying in a condominium (with communal facilities like a swimming pool, playground and gym,) will set you back a minimum of $3k to $4k a month for a 2 bedroom apartment. In your personal circumstances, with your husband overseas so much, don't even think about going the HDB route. (If you don't understand the terms I'm using like condominium or HDB, please use the search function here. It will save you a lot of frustration and confusion.) in terms on International Schools, the search function will answer your queries. But, since your eldest is only 4, I don't think formal schooling is an immediate concern.

Frankly, I don't think your plan is workable. Even assuming that you can live in Singapore while your husband works in Shanghai, this not a wise choice to make. 1, you are already worried about loneliness while he is away. Expat wife loneliness is already a big problem when the husband is in the same country (just check the search function for this). It will be infinitely worse if he is not really based here. 2, let me be very blunt. Shanghai will have a LOT of temptation for your husband. I'm sure he loves you deeply and is totally loyal to you. But you are still asking for trouble if he spends so much of his time there without you and the kids.

If your husband is dead set on working in Shanghai, then you should be moving there. Not Singapore.

[Strong Eagle]

Like Addadude said, your biggest problem is getting passes to reside in Singapore. Unless your husband is employed by a firm in Singapore, and paid in Singapore, and then travels to Shanghai, he will not get an employment pass, and you will not get a dependent pass.

[ScoobyDoes]

My husband has been offered a job in Shanghai. The plan is to move to Singapore and he will commute/stay over a few nights a week. I am terrified of the move.......I am worried about the 1. Cost of living/accommodation 2. Cost and waiting list of International Schools. 3. Being homesick and not having family to depend on especially with a small baby. 4. Being lonely.....

If these are your worries about moving to Singapore you may as well just take the next smaller jump and all head off to Shanghai (regardless of the legal rights about staying in SG rightly pointed out already). You'll have exactly the same concerns but save money on flights and additional accommodation.

Shanghai has a pretty good support network also especially with other parents in similar situations, getting together with other mums will be your best first option. There are a lot of foreigners there now and plenty of options for things to do.

[Hannieroo]

I know a family with your nationality and amount if children who have just come here ( baby was born just after arriving) from Shanghai. They were really happy there, there is a large Irish community. People help. So, no matter where you go 3 and 4 won't be a problem. 1 and 2 are down to budget.