Singapore Expats

PR abuse

Relocating, travelling or planning to make Singapore home? Discuss the criterias, passes or visa that is required.
Post Reply
User avatar
malcontent
Manager
Manager
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:52 am
Answers: 8
Location: Pulau Ujong

Re: PR abuse

Post by malcontent » Sat, 06 Aug 2022 6:45 pm

jalanjalan wrote:
Sat, 06 Aug 2022 4:55 pm
malcontent wrote:
Sat, 06 Aug 2022 11:48 am
I saw your other post about coming here soon after graduation and being here 25 years… very similar to my case… moved from the US in 1996 about a year after graduation to be with my S.O. as well, been living in SG ever since. Giving up Canadian citizenship had to be a tough decision, especially since unlike the US they don’t even tax you here.
Yes I took my time deciding. But Singapore has changed a lot since the mid 90s, and so has Canada. It's been almost a decade since I visited my hometown, and it no longer really feels like home. So for my case, it felt like a natural transition. Singapore is where I have spent almost all my adult life, and I'd be pretty lost in Canada now. Also, the only kind of ice I want to see anymore is the one with kachang and gula melaka on top.
Wow, almost a decade! The longest I’ve been away was 3 years during Covid - in fact, I just arrived back here in the US yesterday, but this time it’s only for a week on a business trip - first one since Covid!

I try to stay connected with the US, to my friends & family back here (visiting them now), and working for a US company in Singapore helps too (although a lot of late night meetings with the US and ROW). Perhaps because of this I’ve never experienced too much reverse culture shock.

I knew an American guy who moved to Singapore after spending a decade deeply ensconced in China, he had a hard time even adjusting to Singapore!

TBH, things really haven’t changed much here over the years, at least not here in the Midwest, but even people I know who have been to the coasts say it’s not crazy like you see on the news, things haven’t changed there much either.

Last I was in Canada (2019), the main changes I noticed was the traffic in and around Toronto has gotten horrendous, and pot is now legal, which seemed to encourage more freaks on the streets… but Toronto still seemed clean, safe and well run for the most part.
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

jalanjalan
Chatter
Chatter
Posts: 377
Joined: Sat, 02 Jul 2022 12:46 pm
Answers: 2

Re: PR abuse

Post by jalanjalan » Sun, 07 Aug 2022 2:16 pm

malcontent wrote:
Sat, 06 Aug 2022 6:45 pm
Wow, almost a decade! The longest I’ve been away was 3 years during Covid - in fact, I just arrived back here in the US yesterday, but this time it’s only for a week on a business trip - first one since Covid!

I try to stay connected with the US, to my friends & family back here (visiting them now), and working for a US company in Singapore helps too (although a lot of late night meetings with the US and ROW). Perhaps because of this I’ve never experienced too much reverse culture shock.

I knew an American guy who moved to Singapore after spending a decade deeply ensconced in China, he had a hard time even adjusting to Singapore!

TBH, things really haven’t changed much here over the years, at least not here in the Midwest, but even people I know who have been to the coasts say it’s not crazy like you see on the news, things haven’t changed there much either.

Last I was in Canada (2019), the main changes I noticed was the traffic in and around Toronto has gotten horrendous, and pot is now legal, which seemed to encourage more freaks on the streets… but Toronto still seemed clean, safe and well run for the most part.
I remember reading the Culture Shock Singapore book when I first arrived, and it described 3 kinds of expats: encapsulators (those who stay in expat bubble), cosmopolitans (those at ease in any surrounding) and absconders (those who go native). I'd definitely be the absconder type, Singapore very rapidly became home for me. I've met plenty of the other 2 varieties, and I somewhat envy the cosmopolitans, but for the most part I'm happiest at home.

User avatar
malcontent
Manager
Manager
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:52 am
Answers: 8
Location: Pulau Ujong

Re: PR abuse

Post by malcontent » Sun, 07 Aug 2022 6:52 pm

jalanjalan wrote:
Sun, 07 Aug 2022 2:16 pm
malcontent wrote:
Sat, 06 Aug 2022 6:45 pm
Wow, almost a decade! The longest I’ve been away was 3 years during Covid - in fact, I just arrived back here in the US yesterday, but this time it’s only for a week on a business trip - first one since Covid!

I try to stay connected with the US, to my friends & family back here (visiting them now), and working for a US company in Singapore helps too (although a lot of late night meetings with the US and ROW). Perhaps because of this I’ve never experienced too much reverse culture shock.

I knew an American guy who moved to Singapore after spending a decade deeply ensconced in China, he had a hard time even adjusting to Singapore!

TBH, things really haven’t changed much here over the years, at least not here in the Midwest, but even people I know who have been to the coasts say it’s not crazy like you see on the news, things haven’t changed there much either.

Last I was in Canada (2019), the main changes I noticed was the traffic in and around Toronto has gotten horrendous, and pot is now legal, which seemed to encourage more freaks on the streets… but Toronto still seemed clean, safe and well run for the most part.
I remember reading the Culture Shock Singapore book when I first arrived, and it described 3 kinds of expats: encapsulators (those who stay in expat bubble), cosmopolitans (those at ease in any surrounding) and absconders (those who go native). I'd definitely be the absconder type, Singapore very rapidly became home for me. I've met plenty of the other 2 varieties, and I somewhat envy the cosmopolitans, but for the most part I'm happiest at home.
I think the expat bubble is only possible for those who come here on an expat package, with most expenses paid by their employer. Otherwise you’d go broke trying to stay in your bubble.

When I first came here it was full on emersion, staying in an HDB with a local family and eating chicken rice and tze char from the local coffee shops and $8 haircuts from the Malay barber.

After about a decade and a half, I transitioned to private housing in an expat heavy neighborhood (my in-laws choice, not mine), and my wife got a car and I got American Club membership (my employer provided country club membership to local employees like myself once you reach a certain level). My daughter went to local school and my son to SAS (he might have ended up in local school had they not changed the rules and made PR worthless to him, but TBH, he is not cut out for the local system).

So it’s been kind of a weird half-and-half existence for me, with no clear lines of separation or defined logic. I’d like to think that I try and enjoy the best of both worlds, but without an expat package, you can never really enjoy… because you are paying for it!
Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it - Niels Bohr

rockstargirl
Member
Member
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue, 12 Apr 2022 10:42 pm

Re: PR abuse

Post by rockstargirl » Sun, 07 Aug 2022 7:18 pm

Just sharing a bit on what I observed recently - not exactly in terms of NS or benefits but entirely ignored scenario. Some people who have recently turned PR (some cases after possibly long) time - try to abuse in terms of rights they get as compared to Pass holders or other low income groups. For example, property rental market treats them bit differently - so some try to buy/rent (some cases multiple) properties and scam people with either higher rentals or unnecessary bullying during moving in/out of premises exerting their privileges. With all due respect, majority are sincere - but for outsiders, even few bad examples are enough to ruin impression of community.

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “PR, Citizenship, Passes & Visas for Foreigners”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 38 guests