Where will you retire?

[malcontent]

For anyone to retire in Singapore, I think you need at least a few things. Here are a few I can think of from the top of my head…

First, family ties. I just can’t imagine anyone retiring in SG unless they have family ties. Staying close to family in retirement makes a lot of sense, regardless of whether it’s the best environment for a retiree.

Second, home ownership. Once you own a home outright, your cost of living can really become very reasonable, especially if you can forgo a car and other expensive hobbies.

Third, high tolerance. Living in SG requires a few special personality traits and a different outlook on life. Being back in the US these past few weeks has reinforced this point to me - life is just easier and less oppressive here in many meaningful and significant ways.

[NYY1]

I've wondered how easy it is to cut a car here once you get older (had you been used to having one before)? I think the time a car is most useful is from when the kids are born until done with Primary School. After that they can get themselves to/from via public transportation.

The other thing is the exact location of your home. Sometimes not far from an MRT is not exactly close in the heat of the day or when it is pouring outside. Probably also depends on one's physical condition but either way it won't get easier as the years go by. I guess the good thing is that connectivity will keep improving and you can always move to a spot that is closer to what you need later (subject to budget constraints).

Of course, if you've never had one and always walked/used public then there's nothing to be missing out on

[sundaymorningstaple]

I made the switch from car ownership (2) in 1990 after the COE started in May that year. Haven't looked back since.

[MOCHS]

Don’t be like my car owning colleague that owns a car and doesn’t know how to drive to places she has never been to before. She doesn’t like GPS & doesn't want to read maps either. She’s in her early 50s and says she’s “too old” for tech. Even me, a millennial, knows a Hardcopy Street Directory preceded any form of GPS & Google map.

She only drives:
- Home to daughter’s school
- Daughter’s school to work
- Home to work
- Home to neighbourhood’s shopping mall & whatever other buildings are around the mall

Ask her to drive to Changi Airport and she says she’ll get lost. Husband doesn’t have a license and doesn’t want to learn either.

When her daughter graduated from primary school to secondary school was when she forced herself to read Google maps so she knows how to drive to the daughter’s sec sch.

She once told me her daughter her tuition at Novena so… she drove to car to work which has a MRT station nearby and they took the train to Novena from there.

I really have no words. She’s really insistent car is A MUST when you have children. Eh, my parents raised my brother and I just fine with bus & MRT and we never had a car & I don’t have one now either. We used taxis when we were going to the airport and when it rained ‘cos only the red & green MRT lines existed when I was a child and my parents home did not have any MRT stations (yet).

[sundaymorningstaple]

My daughter was six and my son 1 year old when I sold both off my cars. that was in 1999. Haven't owned a car since. And as an American, for all intents and purposes is it's a birthright that comes to fruition at the age of 16! I always owned at least one car and for various periods of my life own as many as 3 vehicles at a time. But I've been vehicle-less since 1990 and plan on remaining that way.

[NYY1]

She’s really insistent car is A MUST when you have children. Eh, my parents raised my brother and I just fine with bus & MRT and we never had a car & I don’t have one now either.

We've never had one, and managed fine as well. At times in the past I thought one may be nice to have, but there were so many other times I thought it would just be sitting idle. And I think going to some places are just as efficient, if not more, by MRT.

One thing I have noticed is that if you need to transfer from MRT to bus to get to/from school, it often takes a long time even if the distance involved is not that far. Hence, have wondered whether could make the kids' commute easier. Of course, if you can live next door to the school or within walking/1 shot bus things are not too bad.

On the other end, I've wondered whether having one could be nice when older.

[MOCHS]

And as an American, for all intents and purposes is it's a birthright that comes to fruition at the age of 16!

Lol

Hubby is really happy to not have a car in SG. He hates city driving & having to find parking in a city. SG is a city so…

[sundaymorningstaple]

Back when I was a car owner I lived in a very ulu part of Singapore in Seletar Camp at the end of Jln Kayu. A car was almost a necessity depending on how far inside the camp you lived. There was only one feeder bus that went into the camp and one bus down Jln Kayu so depending on your arrival time, in those days you might have to walk home from the front gate or take one of the old Yellowtop cabs (pirate taxis where meters were optional. $4 into or out of the camp). So yeah, while not indispensable is was inconvenient especially if you had an emergency (with little kids). But like your hubby, I hate city driving and this IS a city-state. So, the withdrawal while not painless was tolerable and today don't miss it. I also sold my motorcycle when I moved to the HDB in 1999 as well (750 Honda Magna).

[jalanjalan]

I shall retire in Singapore, that is to say, I'll stay here for good and keep working at stuff I enjoy. I was born and raised in Canada, married a SC and migrated here directly after university. Was PR for around 25 years then finally last year, became a Singapore citizen.
On the car topic, while we still have a car, when the COE runs out we'll probably go the BlueSG route or just public transport. We work from home in a HDB heartland area, so hardly any need to leave the neighbourhood.
The older I get the more I appreciate the conveniences and the nice warm climate. Only thing I miss is my own garden- I have to make do with corridor plants.

[malcontent]

I just got back from my best friend’s home in Michigan. He doesn’t make all that much at his job, but has a pretty amazing lifestyle. He lives in a smallish home but it’s got a large patio and screened in porch, plus a large pole barn. It is situated on an inland lake with lake access. His latest toy is a “side by side” which is like a souped up dune buggy. His wife has a similar but smaller one. They plan to make a trip up to the dunes next weekend for some fun. They also have a pretty amazing camper, a pontoon boat and an electric golf cart to get around the neighborhood. He has a cruiser (motorbike) and several vehicles including a large luxury SUV. And it’s not about the material possessions, but what he does with them and how he enjoys his life. Compared to him I feel like I’m living in a box. It really makes me ask myself… what good is money if you can’t enjoy it?

[Wd40]

I dont have much of a choice. I dont have SG PR and mostly likely wont get one. So India it is. I just came back from my 3 weeks vacation in India. It was awesome. One thing I noticed, after the 1st week I completely forgot about Singapore. Got used to the way of life there so quickly. My dad has a car, I drove it all the way from Bangalore to Goa and then Mangalore and back to Bangalore about 1500kms. This is after 2.5 years of covid in Singapore, I didnt even sit in a taxi, leave alone driving a car. India is much more lively and happening.

I think as Indian expats in Singapore we kind of have the best of both worlds, it is good to work in Singapore, basically sitting in front of your laptop whole day, it doesnt matter where you are. Everything is efficient here, so you save a lot of money and then hopefully you can retire early like 10 years earlier and then take it easy and go back to India.

[PNGMK]

All good points. I really (like Malcontent) enjoyed my 3 weeks in our home in North Carolina. I don't know if Singaporeans realize this but most of our American friends don't own a TV or watch TV or turn it on. They live with a lot less noise in their life (at least if they are outside a big city). Also most of them are not glued to their phones 12 hours a day.

Malcontent - I spent a week at Myrtle Beach. Golf Carts (technically "Low Speed Vehicles") are ubiquitous there for getting around in. You can only drive them on roads that are 35MPH or less but that is most of the roads you need in that area. Where we live in Waxhaw it would work as well as most of those roads are 35MPH.

We're thinking of leaving once our daughter is done with Sec 2.

[NYY1]

We're thinking of leaving once our daughter is done with Sec 2.

Just curious, what is the relevance of this cutoff? Specific HS there is Grade 9-12 (and/or potentially the years looked at for uni application)? Or just a timeline that matches up with whatever you have going on here?

[PNGMK]

We're thinking of leaving once our daughter is done with Sec 2.

Just curious, what is the relevance of this cutoff? Specific HS there is Grade 9-12 (and/or potentially the years looked at for uni application)? Or just a timeline that matches up with whatever you have going on here?

Sec 2 lines up with yr 9 in the US system (offset slightly by half a year). We would pull her out before sec turns into the O level waste of time (Sec 3 and 4 are basically wasted on revision for the O level) and before high school gets serious in the US system.

[NYY1]

We're thinking of leaving once our daughter is done with Sec 2.

Just curious, what is the relevance of this cutoff? Specific HS there is Grade 9-12 (and/or potentially the years looked at for uni application)? Or just a timeline that matches up with whatever you have going on here?

Sec 2 lines up with yr 9 in the US system (offset slightly by half a year). We would pull her out before sec turns into the O level waste of time (Sec 3 and 4 are basically wasted on revision for the O level) and before high school gets serious in the US system.

I see. Sec 1 is kind of a fun year. Sec 2 also has a lot of work because EOY determines Sec 3 subject combination? I guess if you know you won't be taking anything then no need to be overly excited about it . But I guess also means could pull the rip cord before that period? Either way, I guess the entry point on the other side is more important (not too late).