Passport renewal

[abbby]

If there's a passport renewal notice, can I not renew first? And renew it maybe 1 year later or so..?

[malcontent]

If you are a Singaporean, then your passport is only needed for international travel. If you never leave the country, you can let it expire and not renew it indefinitely.

The majority of Americans go their entire life and never get a passport. I didn’t get one until age 24, my first international flight… a one-way ticket to Singapore.

[abbby]

Thanks..guess i'll let it lapse for a while first..no point in renewing now
Wow..your maiden international flight and to Singapore, how nice..

[malcontent]

Thanks..guess i'll let it lapse for a while first..no point in renewing now
Wow..your maiden international flight and to Singapore, how nice..

Yes, my first international flight, after selling all of my worldly possessions (except what I had in my two suitcases), flying to Singapore by myself, sight unseen, on a one-way ticket*, with no job, no accommodation, and about $1000 in my pocket. Still here, 25 years later.

* technically it was an open-ended 6 month round trip ticket, but that eventually lapsed, as expected.

[sundaymorningstaple]

My first international flight was considerably closer and was a bicentennial flight out of the country (I got married the 2nd time on the 4th of July 1976. The next morning we caught a flight to Grand Cayman Island for a couple weeks of honeymooning & diving. No other International flights until I did the same as Mal, but in 1982, with one suitcase and a diving helmet & briefcase. The only difference was I had a copy of my contract (via Telex!!!) with my new employer in Singapore for a 12 month contract and a company staff house to flop in between offshore hitches. That was slightly more than 39 years ago!

[Wd40]

My 1st intl flight was from Bangalore to DFW, Texas in 2003 as a 23 yr old. I was working for company that outsourced to Bangalore and the trip was training/KT for 2 weeks. It was a truly 3rd world to 1st world experience. I can never forget that experience of everything is big in Texas. I saw hummers, limousine and Walmart everything for the 1st time.

Singapore happened in 2009 and in comparison I felt I came to more backward place than India. SMS will probably remember some of my comments in this forum when I saw how difficult life was here, everyone living in pigeon hole hdbs and not being able to afford a car, lol. Little did I know that a place that I didnt like much initially I would end up spending 12 years and counting.

[bro75]

My first international flight was at age 23 from Manila to San Francisco for training at San Jose. I did not get much of a culture shock as there was a large Filipino community in Silicon Valley and I was training with many engineers from Asia. It was also easy to drive there as both the US and Philippines drives on the same side of the road. I stayed there for about 3 months. It was quite a fun and interesting experience for a young guy. I was surprised by the size of food servings and felt cheated that the ladies do not look like "baywatch" babes.

[sundaymorningstaple]

My first international flight was considerably closer and was a bicentennial flight out of the country (I got married the 2nd time on the 4th of July 1976. The next morning we caught a flight to Grand Cayman Island for a couple weeks of honeymooning & diving. No other International flights until I did the same as Mal, but in 1982, with one suitcase and a diving helmet & briefcase. The only difference was I had a copy of my contract (via Telex!!!) with my new employer in Singapore for a 12 month contract and a company staff house to flop in between offshore hitches. That was slightly more than 39 years ago!

I need to correct this as these were not actually my first international flights but, like the rest of that time period I tend to compartmentalize and not visit if not necessary. I had a one-way military flight from Texas to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Saigon in 1965 and from Tan Son Nhat Airport to Paya Lebar Int'l Airport, SG in 1967 for 3 days of R&R.

[malcontent]

I just crossed the quarter century mark (living in Singapore) this October. I have often compared my life here to what it could have been in the US.

Although taxes are lower here, when I compare my net take home pay here versus what I would get at my employer doing the same job in the US, there is very little difference… the higher taxes in the US are offset by the higher pay. So from a cash perspective, I’m no better off.

The next thing you have to look at is spending, and this is where things get tricky.

For housing, you can get expenses here down to the US level… but that requires a lot of sacrifice in terms of space and quality. Owning a place here helps (at least for now, while mortgage rates and property taxes are low), but you will probably end up “house poor” — i.e. your house makes you poor.

For transport, this is by far my biggest source of savings compared to living in the US. I don’t see taking the train/bus as a major sacrifice. What I spend on public transport is about what it costs just for car insurance in the US.

For food, it’s a mixed picture. Eating at home is definitely cheaper in the US compared to here. Eating out can be cheaper -or- more expensive depending where you go. Eating out at a nice restaurant here is usually more expensive than the US. Eating at a hawker center or coffee shop is usually cheaper… but you can also get cheap fast food in the US if you know what you are doing. For example, if I want a meal under US$2, I can just hit the drive-thru at Taco Bell and order one of their value menu items (e.g. beefy cheese burrito) and plus a free ice water. The other trick in the US is to share a plate - because portions are so much larger, one plate is plenty for my wife and I. So you shouldn’t see much difference on food costs if you adapt and know what you are doing (the same applies both here and there).

For kids schooling, this is probably the biggest expense that you have no way to avoid here without citizenship (short of not having kids or sending them back to your home country for education). Public schools here have become very expensive for non-citizens to attend, as much as half-price the price of international. In the US, all public schools pre-college are free, it doesn’t matter if you are citizen, resident or foreigner, as long as you live there. Where you live generally determines which school you can get into, so the popular neighborhoods are the ones with the good schools. Subsidies for universities in the US are substantial (it can easily be 70% lower cost) and is based on the state that you live in (there is no bond or strings attached). To be on par with the US, you really need to be a Singapore citizen, just to bring costs in-line.

For vacations and other leisurely pursuits, I have found this to be a significantly higher expense in Singapore, with the one exception, driving to Malaysia. The fact that you can drive your entire family to so many places around the US without paying for expensive flights is a huge advantage.

So bottom line:

Money wise = little difference

Spending wise = substantial lifestyle adjustments and sacrifices are required to keep most expenses in-line, especially housing and vacations/leisure. I view owning a car and paying those huge expenses as choice, much like owning a large house and paying huge property taxes in the US is a choice. Neither is a financially prudent, and you’ll pay the price for making that choice. The biggest major wildcard is kids schooling. To be on par, you must be a citizen here — your only other options are to go childless or send kids back to your home country for education.

[Wd40]

For kids schooling, this is probably the biggest expense that you have no way to avoid here without citizenship (short of not having kids or sending them back to your home country for education). Public schools here have become very expensive for non-citizens to attend, as much as half-price the price of international.

Actually it is not even about the cost. Local Schools in SG have very very few seats for foreigners, like not more than 5% of the seats are given to foreigners. Rest of them which is like a huge number are forced to go to intl schools. My daughter is in grade 4 and studies in an Indian intl school and it is one of the cheapest here and it costs $10k a year. For my 120k salary this is not huge, for 1 child, but yeah schooling is problem here unless you are high end expat. Or you need to be a low end foreign worker and leave your family at home.

[malcontent]

For kids schooling, this is probably the biggest expense that you have no way to avoid here without citizenship (short of not having kids or sending them back to your home country for education). Public schools here have become very expensive for non-citizens to attend, as much as half-price the price of international.

Actually it is not even about the cost. Local Schools in SG have very very few seats for foreigners, like not more than 5% of the seats are given to foreigners. Rest of them which is like a huge number are forced to go to intl schools. My daughter is in grade 4 and studies in an Indian intl school and it is one of the cheapest here and it costs $10k a year. For my 120k salary this is not huge, for 1 child, but yeah schooling is problem here unless you are high end expat. Or you need to be a low end foreign worker and leave your family at home.

Maybe that is why they set a minimum $6k monthly to even qualify to bring your family members on a dependent pass. It reminds of the old saying — if you can’t hang with the big dogs, stay on the porch.

I feel it is a bit unjust to deny spots and charge full freight to foreigners who are already paying taxes to fund the schools. I understand why, but I don’t agree with it.

[Lisafuller]

If you are a Singaporean, then your passport is only needed for international travel. If you never leave the country, you can let it expire and not renew it indefinitely.

The majority of Americans go their entire life and never get a passport. I didn’t get one until age 24, my first international flight… a one-way ticket to Singapore.

This is the case with a lot of aboriginals in Australia as well. Unless they leave the country, they never need a passport.

[Lisafuller]

Thanks..guess i'll let it lapse for a while first..no point in renewing now
Wow..your maiden international flight and to Singapore, how nice..

Yes, my first international flight, after selling all of my worldly possessions (except what I had in my two suitcases), flying to Singapore by myself, sight unseen, on a one-way ticket*, with no job, no accommodation, and about $1000 in my pocket. Still here, 25 years later.

* technically it was an open-ended 6 month round trip ticket, but that eventually lapsed, as expected.

Sounds a lot like my dad, it’ll be 25 years for him as well in a couple months. Came for love and never left.

[Lisafuller]

For kids schooling, this is probably the biggest expense that you have no way to avoid here without citizenship (short of not having kids or sending them back to your home country for education). Public schools here have become very expensive for non-citizens to attend, as much as half-price the price of international.

Actually it is not even about the cost. Local Schools in SG have very very few seats for foreigners, like not more than 5% of the seats are given to foreigners. Rest of them which is like a huge number are forced to go to intl schools. My daughter is in grade 4 and studies in an Indian intl school and it is one of the cheapest here and it costs $10k a year. For my 120k salary this is not huge, for 1 child, but yeah schooling is problem here unless you are high end expat. Or you need to be a low end foreign worker and leave your family at home.

GIIS? How does she like it? I know you are from India but is there a specific reason you picked it over other International Schools?

[Lisafuller]

To be on par with the US, you really need to be a Singapore citizen, just to bring costs in-line.

This line says it best. If you’re not a citizen, many things become more expensive. Especially if you have kids, the cost of schooling is vastly different- locals pay close to nothing, while non-ASEAN international kids can pay thousands a month, and thats if they can get in.