boring questions about electrical appliances and banks

[two prong shakur]

Hi Everybody!
Just logged on to your site tonight and I like it a lot! I'll be leaving New York City in June to take a position in Singapore, and need to know if it makes sense to bring my computers, printers and electric piano and hook them all up with adapters - or to sell them off and buy all new stuff in Singapore.
Specifically: has anyone tried living with foreign appliances, all hooked up to power-strips that, in turn go into a converter and the the wall - or am I looking for an electrical fire that way?
Second boring question: Any major American banks with a LOT of branch offices around so that I might be able to have an account I can access in two countries simultaneously --- or is this idea just another variant of the stupid "power strip" one?
Thanks to everyone who give me help on this! I promise my next posts will be on SPGs or something more fun!

[Pal]

As computer and electrical goods in Singapore is relatively cheap, I think it will be better if you buy new electrical items in Singapore.

Its not advisable to meddle with so many voltage convertors and adapters cos if one fails, your precious computer, printer etc will become thrash :!:

Furthermore, you may not get the proper warranty repair, customer support or parts for your items.

Just my 2 cents ...

[NBB]

Pal, is it me or are there a lot of people relocating to Singapore lately?

A sure sign of the improving economy, I reckon.

NBB

[Pal]

We have noticed slight increase this year as compared to same time of last year.

[jpatokal]

Specifically: has anyone tried living with foreign appliances, all hooked up to power-strips that, in turn go into a converter and the the wall - or am I looking for an electrical fire that way?

The US is 110 volts, Singapore is 240V. Hence you'll need not just an adapter, but a transformer, which is a big, expensive, power-hungry and somewhat dangerous device. For high-wattage devices like microwave ovens the transformer will cost more than the machine itself, so as suggested, you'll want to ditch your gear in the US and buy 'em new here.

Second boring question: Any major American banks with a LOT of branch offices around so that I might be able to have an account I can access in two countries simultaneously --- or is this idea just another variant of the stupid "power strip" one?

Yes. Citibank is pretty much the only US bank in Singapore with a significant consumer presence, and even that is largerly limited to credit cards, loans and such. Only DBS/POSB, UOB, OCBC and Maybank have ATMs and extensive branch office networks.

Of course, you can and should keep your US account and an associated credit card active for easy transfers, but this incurs charges on both sides and isn't really feasible for day-to-day banking.

[two prong shakur]

WOW!

You folks are great! In my one week in Singapore interviewing for the job I got, my overall impression was that the people there - both expat and native - were very helpful and nice. These message boards confirm that fact!

I will definitely ditch all of the electrical stuff - though it'll pain me to get rid of this computer that I just spend a couple thousand dollars last year and whose resale value will only be a fraction of that. Oh well...

Thanks again for all your help!

- 2ps in nyc (soon to be 3ps in singapore)

[Pal]

I hope you enjoy your stay when you are in Singapore.

It will be great if you can come back to this forum often and share your experience with fellow expats.

Remember to register yourself and join us as regulars

[jpatokal]

I will definitely ditch all of the electrical stuff - though it'll pain me to get rid of this computer that I just spend a couple thousand dollars last year and whose resale value will only be a fraction of that. Oh well...

Not so fast! Are you sure your computer doesn't support 240V as well? All computers already have a transformer built in to convert wall voltage into the 12/24V used internally, so check the back of the box where the power cord goes in: many will have a little switch to flick between "110V" and "220V", while some will handle both automatically and will just say "100~240V" or something similar. Even if this isn't possible, you can just buy a new computer transformer in Singapore for a small fraction of the price of an entire new machine (S$50 or so).

Multi-voltage support is less likely to be possible for monitors and printers, and replacing their internal transformers (if any) is practically impossible, but they're worth checking as well.

And yes, I have a degree in electrical engineering 8)

[Guest]

I will definitely ditch all of the electrical stuff - though it'll pain me to get rid of this computer that I just spend a couple thousand dollars last year and whose resale value will only be a fraction of that. Oh well...

Not so fast! Are you sure your computer doesn't support 240V as well? All computers already have a transformer built in to convert wall voltage into the 12/24V used internally, so check the back of the box where the power cord goes in: many will have a little switch to flick between "110V" and "220V", while some will handle both automatically and will just say "100~240V" or something similar. Even if this isn't possible, you can just buy a new computer transformer in Singapore for a small fraction of the price of an entire new machine (S$50 or so).

Multi-voltage support is less likely to be possible for monitors and printers, and replacing their internal transformers (if any) is practically impossible, but they're worth checking as well.

And yes, I have a degree in electrical engineering 8)

jpatokal there are various factors that affect his decision. My qualitfication should not be questioned. As an experienced engineer, i would advice him to sell off the power supply instead of the whole computer. Come over to singapore and get the power supply. Plug and play.. You get to save hundreds. Hope to meet you in Singpore when you arrive Do tell us more about what you think about singapore when you arrive