What's the job market like?

[Barnsley]

I thought a "chinaman" was the ball bowled by a left arm wrist spinner in cricket....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-arm_unorthodox_spin

I had no idea it was a derogatory term as how else would you describe a man from China?

Paul Adams comes to mind. What a funny action he had .



Are you following the world cup? Which team are you supporting? Me, I don't even need to say

Paul Adams had a great action , wasnt even looking down the pitch when he bowled.

I was hoping England has something to offer but alas they came up short again , they dont know how to play the 50 over game.

Not sure if Ireland can still get through , but if they cant I wouldnt mind New Zealand winning for a change.

[Wd40]

I haven't been following so closely. Its only from the quarter finals stages it will get really interesting. I watched the Australia vs Sri Lanka match last Sunday, good entertainer.

I just looked at the points table, Bangladesh beat England. OMG!

[ecureilx]

I haven't been following so closely. Its only from the quarter finals stages it will get really interesting. I watched the Australia vs Sri Lanka match last Sunday, good entertainer.

I just looked at the points table, Bangladesh beat England. OMG!

So now we discuss cricket

Now the title says ......

[Katongirl]

Where I'm at now, especially in the last two months with the world series going on, cricket knowledge is good to get you into the big boys group. Not that I would want to do that. Some things no matter how hard you try, you're just seen as trying too hard. Why not focus on doing my work so I can go home on time to start the barbeque!

I'm wondering... how much of "the good life" of the relaxed suburban lifestyle can one replicate in Singapore? I'm talking about cooking healthy meals at home most days, barbeque, having a dog, walking the dog, nature space, private space, relaxed atmosphere, myob yet supportive community, etc. (Not eating out, clubbing, drinking, shopping.) Or more relevantly, how much household income to have to have my preferred "good life"?

[Primrose Hill]

KG, we cook at home most days of the week, usually other than either of us are really stuck with late evening meetings. We tend to eat out on Fridays and Saturdays. When we eat out we do not go to poshy restaurants, just normal ones anything from Japanese to Italian etc.
We dont go clubbing. We sometimes go out for a walk as per usual. Generally as a whole, we replicated our lives in London.

[nakatago]

I haven't been following so closely. Its only from the quarter finals stages it will get really interesting. I watched the Australia vs Sri Lanka match last Sunday, good entertainer.

I just looked at the points table, Bangladesh beat England. OMG!

So now we discuss cricket

Not just Americans.

[JR8]

I'm wondering... how much of "the good life" of the relaxed suburban lifestyle can one replicate in Singapore? I'm talking about cooking healthy meals at home most days

Sure, if you have time after your work-day. Use local ingredients for local dishes and it needn't be expensive.

barbeque

If in a condo, you book the BBQ pits. If in a landed property (house), dunno, maybe you stoke one up the back garden.

having a dog, walking the dog

The in/outs and cultural issues of that have been discussed many times before.

nature space

There are some, though all are managed to some extent (this is SG!). From Botanic Gardens, to Changi Boardwalk, to the reservoir/forests (McKenzie etc), to offshore islands like Pulau Ubin. The wilder and more real it is the harder it is to get to, as a rule of thumb.

private space

Inside your home with the curtains drawn (and windows closed if noise is an issue vs privacy).

relaxed atmosphere

This one made me pause for thought. There don't seem to be so many of these. Hiking around McRitchie is to some extent, though you have to gauge hydration and UV carefully. Dinner at a nice restaurant can be, it helps if it's one I'm familiar with (hence no surprises/disappointments) and we're successfully seated at our pre-booked table. Beers out with the regulars here, because via the collective experience/wisdom there won't be any major surprises that cannot be dealt with.

And maybe that's it. SG is not an inherently 'relaxed place' due to the nature and culture of the people who make up society here. I'll give you just one example. At our home we're lucky to have a lovely big balcony and I like to take work-breaks out there, having a coffee, reading my post or a paper, and having the occasional cigarillo. And every couple of months if we're having a house-party the glass doors are slid right back so people can come and go as if one space, lounge >< balcony, with food served on a table on the balcony. - But. - The adjacent unit on one side faces at 90 degrees right down this terrace. At the nearest point maybe 4M away, but close enough that there is a feeling they're always there (7am-11pm) observing what's going on. And if it's something they don't like they're going to make that known. I have a cigarillo, and that's the cue for much childish OTT 'death-coughing'. We have friends over, they stand and stare bobbing in and out of sight, and talk loudly, then slam all their windows and draw their blinds down. Doesn't matter that what I'm doing is all 100% permitted, they don't like it and want us to know. Meanwhile we get it back in spades from them. They haven't a balcony on the side facing us, but they keep their windows open all day. Banging around in the kitchen/bathrooms 7-11, including the fumes from ... presumably them boiling up dog stew or something that's smells as bad. Their children playing piano very badly for several hours a day, and so on, and so on... If I choose to keep our windows/doors open, that's life (i.e. I allow for some level of anti-social behaviour, that would never be tolerated in the West). I close our windows when they're mosquito-fogging, or it's really stormy. I.e. I do not keep them open 24/7 and then demand that any matters I don't like arising from that must cease. So there's something of a simmering kiasu thing going on. They'll never come and seek to discuss any concerns (though I had a dream a while back the bulldog-faced lady of the household had! So real I'm still not 100% sure it was just a dream). The end result is that one little potential oasis of calm, part of our very home, is in fact an inter-neighbour battleground. What a shame.

myob yet supportive community, etc. (Not eating out, clubbing, drinking, shopping.) Or more relevantly, how much household income to have to have my preferred "good life"?

'Mind your own business'? As above, very unlikely IME.
Without knowing what kind of home you'd want, and what your income might be, there is no way of saying. But it might be fair to say that in general terms your ability to achieve your wish-list correlates well vs your household income.

p.s. Edit to add. I just want to be clear. As with anywhere there will be facets you dislike, but on balance hopefully the positives will far outweigh them. I enjoy living here. What I describe is a minor negative amongst the whole, that is specific to my current experience.

[Primrose Hill]

I guess relax and private space are all subjective. In Blighty, my nearest nature, are Primrose Hill less than 5mins walk, I have Hampstead Heath slightly further away and Regents Park across the road at the bottom of Primrose Hill. Are these wild nature? Nope not at all. Are they private? Nope. However, it is still lovely to take walks. When daughter was a toddler, we used to be friends of the zoo and we will be there every weekend.
Primrose Hill will be packed whenever there's a sunny day or at the top full of tourist that goes oooohhh awwww that's Heron Tower, that's St Paul, that Jamie Oliver etc etc. Tedious.
Heath, oooooh look at the big chair. And all those bloody dog walkers. Regents Park, execuse me can you tell me how to get to XYZ?
We used to live in a end of terrace/townhouse, with a lovely patio at the back. To the left we have a private block of flats. As you turn into the cul de sac, there's a block of council flats (now worth a mint) to the right. Our patio is overlooked but it is tucked away, so, the noise of the traffic isnt blarring away. But can you hear traffic? Yes. Am I kept awake by it? Nope.

We used to have a BBQ in the patio and whenever we have one, the neighbouring flats to the left would bang shut their windows, as if it insulted them and their luxury apartment living.

Here, we have a balcony with our BBQ set. Is it overlooked? Yes but it doesnt prevent us from having a BBQ nor have al fresco dinning most nights. It is quite pleasant. Sometimes, screaming kids irk my daughter and husband but otherwise we are left alone.

We have a roof terrace, sort of overlooked. Our neighbours can stand on chairs to poke their noses into our space, I suppose, although no one have done that yet. We have created the roof terraces as our own private oasis. Really pleasant. I love sitting there in the evenings watching the night sky wonder in and we sometimes sit out there in the evenings.

[hotandhumid]

how and when did a thread about the current job market turn into a lifestyle thread?

focus people, focus!

[ecureilx]

how and when did a thread about the current job market turn into a lifestyle thread?

focus people, focus!

that happens when the OP is a bit too quite and the rest decide to keep the conversation going .. by going into relative subjects ..

Try this thread, for an example of how something can wander away all the way to halal and all and chemical composition of Vinegar !! (somehow I do feel they are related .. in a way .. )

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/viewto ... 0&t=105787

[Katongirl]

how and when did a thread about the current job market turn into a lifestyle thread?

focus people, focus!

Because... I'd like to see how possible is it to get the type of job to have the lifestyle I want. Not extravagant, but more of having the time to cook healthy meals at home, ability to grill my food on a bbq on my patio or balcony WHENEVER I want, good cuts of meat that's affordable, privacy, having a dog, etc. I have it all here where I live now (not Sg) and because of family in Singapore, we're considering whether to make a move back.

I can't do HDB anymore, or maybe I can I'm not sure. And if condo, there's no way I'm willing to pay thousands for the central locations. I don't mind living further out, and if so, I'd like to have a contract type of work where I can make appointments whenever and work from home the rest of the time because... I also can't do rush-hour MRT or buses anymore.

Hmm this is cathartic. It seems like the household income needs to be at least 120k perhaps to do all these and I'm not even talking about having a luxurious life or living space.