Everyone I know is leaving or already left

[nakatago]

News outlets usually use "foreign nationals."

[Brah]

A slew of related articles came up on my FB feed today:

Reality check needed:
Imagine a major metropolis where traffic flows quickly on green highways; where streets are sparkling clean and restoration is nearly as vigilant as sanitation; where four main ethnicities (Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian) co-exist in tropical tolerance with a large community of foreigners who live and raise kids without fear of crime or the slightest impolite slight.
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/201503 ... his-utopia

The word “expat” is under fire. A term initially coined to describe people living outside of their country of origin temporarily or permanently, has recently been criticized by some as racist or hierarchical.
http://blogs.wsj.com/expat/2015/04/02/e ... ts-racist/

The Difference between Expats and Immigrants? It’s Passports, Not Race
https://panampost.com/yael-ossowski/201 ... -not-race/

[Wd40]

A slew of related articles came up on my FB feed today:

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/201503 ... his-utopia

The last part of the article, is neatly summed up.

Pros and cons of daily life
While there are many pros to living in Singapore — safety, efficiency, incredible food, first class schools and medical care — there are some cons.
Living nearly smack on the equator (don’t come here if you love a change of seasons, brisk breezes or skiing) can only be partially minimised by clever architectural flow and air-con units. The average temperature remains slightly over 30 degrees Celsius (hotter in the day), meaning no real change of seasons, while humidity also is a constant 80%. November through January are the rainiest months, though brief outbursts occur frequently through the year.
Living amidst endless consumerism can also be tiring. The city’s many malls, while impressive, can be crowded with lines on days of special sales or introduction of new Vuitton bags or iPhones.

If someone asks me to describe Singapore, this is exactly how I will describe

[JR8]

Ah so the discomfort with the use of 'expat' comes from the US... whereas to me it's just a bare statement of fact. Nor that in any way it only applied to whitey.... what a - IMO - grossly silly contention.

Then it goes on to imagine what 'non-offensive' new term might be coined. That is soooo northern east coast.

Reminds of that anecdote when I was in NYC. When a colleague asked me what a visitor Cecil looked like as he needed to find him urgently, Cecil being the only black dude on our whole floor of 120-150 people.
Me: 'Well he's a big guy, maybe 6'8" and 250+lbs'
Him: Ok. [nodding/needing more info]
Me: 'He's wearing a pair of tan dungarees. Er...'
Him: [nodding encouragingly]... ...
Me: [Whispering very quietly behind my hand] 'He's a f***ing enormous African-American dude, you can't miss him!!
Him: OHHHHH HIM!

[BBCWatcher]

Sometimes "resident alien."

[nakatago]

In my case, I'm the "token Asian."

[rajagainstthemachine]

I'm the weird one with long hair.

[sundaymorningstaple]

^^
Me too! But it's on my chin.

[Wd40]

In my current office, Indians are the majority and there are a few token Singaporeans at the higher levels. I guess there is some un written rule in our office that everyone VP* and above must be SG'n.

*VP here is banking terminology, not the VP of sales, VP of marketing etc.

[bgd]

In my case, I'm the "token Asian."

I'm the token white boy.

[Barnsley]

In my case, I'm the "token Asian."

I'm the token white boy.

I am the token ang moh in whole of Asia

[earthfriendly]

An apt question.

"I also wonder, when you use the term “foreign workers”, are you referring to all with a foreign passport, or just a select group? In that case, why and how do you choose to make this distinction? "

https://augustman.com/article/an-open-l ... enise-phua

[Wd40]

Some positive news for Singapore:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... ial-center

Some negative news for Japan:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -to-change

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... hree-years

[Barnsley]

3 leaving party's this month .....

Plus a couple of folks heading out without a leaving party.

[earthfriendly]

Oh no, with the lower expat population, will that make you feel more isolated? And lonely?