Moving OUT of Singapore

[PNGMK]

You can also sell them on Carousell. They should be duty paid version though.

I just had a look... people are even selling opened bottles on there! Not sure if I'd go for those.

I've told an opened but full bottle of maotai on carousell. The buyer sniffed it to check.

[Lisafuller]

Why open it if you had no intention of drinking?

[kavi-US]

Hello @ VMehta,
Sorry not related to your question but I would really like to know why you are planning to relocate back to the US. We live in California currently and are thinking of moving to Singapore as it will be easier to travel to India frequently. It's very difficult to travel from California and very expensive for a family of four. We speak Tamil and feel that would be an advantage in Singapore, but would really like to get your thoughts as you have resided in US and how you would compare life in US versus Singapore. Please share your thoughts, would be really helpful.

Thanks,
Kavita

[Lisafuller]

Question is unspeakably broad. As someone who's lived in both SG and the US, they are worlds apart.

Cost of living is comparable as CA is not known to be a cheap place to live. Incredibly dense just like SG.

That being said, California obviously has tons more space than Singapore. In that sense, the two are incomparable. Chances of you living in a house that's at all similar to what you have in California size wise are slim to none.

Cars are also incredibly expensive, as is schooling if your children will need to be educated in an International School.

[malcontent]

We are likely moving to California at the end of next year, we certainly won’t be spending near as much $ as we do here.

I have scoped out the best high schools for my son, nearly as good as SAS, but free. That alone will be a huge weight lifted. I’ve been checking out used cars on Carfax.com and see great deals for $20-30k. Housing is the main pitfall, in Cali for a decent 2000-2400sqft landed home in the more attractive suburbs, you are looking at $1.6-1.9m, or around $800psf. Taxes in Cali aren’t nearly as bad as I thought, only slightly (around $1k) higher than typical state for a hypothetical $200k single earner couple that is maxing out all tax advantaged savings.

[Lisafuller]

Whereabouts in California are you thinking, Mal?

[malcontent]

Whereabouts in California are you thinking, Mal?

Diamond Bar or Orinda, most likely.

[NYY1]

Whereabouts in California are you thinking, Mal?

Diamond Bar or Orinda, most likely.

Seems like you are still betting hard on UCLA/USC and Berkeley (again). Good luck!

[malcontent]

Whereabouts in California are you thinking, Mal?

Diamond Bar or Orinda, most likely.

Seems like you are still betting hard on UCLA/USC and Berkeley (again). Good luck!

Praying hard is probably more accurate. UCLA and USC have both dropped to single digit acceptance rates. Even students with the best grades, impressive activities, fabulous extracurriculars and amazing essays can’t bet on getting in. Berkeley is similarly difficult, and my daughter doesn’t even want to go there after we visited the campus last Dec (only my son liked it — he said it was cool, like a dystopian Harry Potter movie). UC Irvine is another possibility in the LA area, with better odds. I think my daughter might even choose UCI over UCB despite it being a lower ranked school.

If she can’t get into USC or a top UC, then then we’ll try midwestern schools — best acceptance rates for the quality of schools, plus I’ve got lots of family, friends and work connections. UM Ann Arbor is a great school, but even UIUC and UW Madison are excellent (just haven't been able to convince my daughter or wife of that).

[NYY1]

Praying hard is probably more accurate. UCLA and USC have both dropped to single digit acceptance rates. Even students with the best grades, impressive activities, fabulous extracurriculars and amazing essays can’t bet on getting in. Berkeley is similarly difficult, and my daughter doesn’t even want to go there after we visited the campus last Dec (only my son liked it — he said it was cool, like a dystopian Harry Potter movie). UC Irvine is another possibility in the LA area, with better odds. I think my daughter might even choose UCI over UCB despite it being a lower ranked school.

If she can’t get into the USC or a top UC, then then we try midwestern schools — best acceptance rates for the quality of schools, plus I’ve got lots of family, friends and work connections. UM Ann Arbor is a great school, but even UIUC and UW Madison are excellent (just haven't been able to convince my daughter or wife of that).

The above was my conclusion a while ago, doesn't matter being educated here, there, or anywhere else. I still think there is add'l differentiation being done that filters things down a bit (and some stuff moves the needle more than others), but really there's no guaranteed ticket anymore for most kids (too many people, too many objectives the schools are trying to meet, and the list goes on). Anyways, just try, you may be surprised, or elated, whatever the right word is.

U Michigan is very good, especially Ross (if still planning to go business), although I think this one is still not easy to get in (at least noticeably more difficult than the others)? For business, the other options are IU (Kelley) or UT Austin. UT Austin is probably on par (overall) with UW Madison and UIUC (one of their big specialties is Computer Science). Perhaps both of these are lower down the list for other reasons.

If going business, one thing to consider is the school's placement to the coasts (if interested in certain industries or cities) vs. the overall university ranking (I know this may be a stumbling block for some).

Anyways, it's been a controversial discussion at times, but I wish you guys luck.

[malcontent]

Praying hard is probably more accurate. UCLA and USC have both dropped to single digit acceptance rates. Even students with the best grades, impressive activities, fabulous extracurriculars and amazing essays can’t bet on getting in. Berkeley is similarly difficult, and my daughter doesn’t even want to go there after we visited the campus last Dec (only my son liked it — he said it was cool, like a dystopian Harry Potter movie). UC Irvine is another possibility in the LA area, with better odds. I think my daughter might even choose UCI over UCB despite it being a lower ranked school.

If she can’t get into the USC or a top UC, then then we try midwestern schools — best acceptance rates for the quality of schools, plus I’ve got lots of family, friends and work connections. UM Ann Arbor is a great school, but even UIUC and UW Madison are excellent (just haven't been able to convince my daughter or wife of that).

The above was my conclusion a while ago, doesn't matter being educated here, there, or anywhere else. I still think there is add'l differentiation being done that filters things down a bit (and some stuff moves the needle more than others), but really there's no guaranteed ticket anymore for most kids (too many people, too many objectives the schools are trying to meet, and the list goes on). Anyways, just try, you may be surprised, or elated, whatever the right word is.

U Michigan is very good, especially Ross (if still planning to go business), although I think this one is still not easy to get in (at least noticeably more difficult than the others)? For business, the other options are IU (Kelley) or UT Austin. UT Austin is probably on par (overall) with UW Madison and UIUC (one of their big specialties is Computer Science). Perhaps both of these are lower down the list for other reasons.

If going business, one thing to consider is the school's placement to the coasts (if interested in certain industries or cities) vs. the overall university ranking (I know this may be a stumbling block for some).

Anyways, it's been a controversial discussion at times, but I wish you guys luck.

I really like UT Austin, but my wife and daughter both believe Texas is the Wild West and Austin is a cowboy town with nothing to do but watch tumbleweed roll by. They don’t like the midwest, mainly because of the cold and gloomy weather.

My wife wants to be in California. One is for family reasons — up to a dozen of her nephews and nieces will be coming to study in the US over the next 10 years; one is already there at UCSD. Two is proximity to Asia (faster, direct flights) and better time zone for doing business with contacts in Singapore from there. Three is the more cosmopolitan, more shopping and more Asian people/food, etc. Four is the weather, which I have to admit, is a real plus in California - not too hot or cold. Problem is, the homeless feel the same way.

[NYY1]

I really like UT Austin, but my wife and daughter both believe Texas is the Wild West and Austin is a cowboy town with nothing to do but watch tumbleweed roll by. They don’t like the midwest, mainly because of the cold and gloomy weather.

My wife wants to be in California. One is for family reasons — up to a dozen of her nephews and nieces will be coming to study in the US over the next 10 years; one is already there at UCSD. Two is proximity to Asia (faster, direct flights) and better time zone for doing business with contacts in Singapore from there. Three is the more cosmopolitan, more shopping and more Asian people/food, etc. Four is the weather, which I have to admit, is a real plus in California - not too hot or cold. Problem is, the homeless feel the same way.

Three is not an uncommon reason, even for the students. There are many Asian kids that will likely return home after a decade or so (of course not guaranteed). Some of them (and the parents) can't imagine going to some of these college towns. These applicants are a small fraction of the total pool, but they keep pushing up the popularity of certain schools, which is one input into the rankings (which then attract more people, and round and round we go).

is UCSD still in the running? Or UCI preferred among the two.

[malcontent]

I really like UT Austin, but my wife and daughter both believe Texas is the Wild West and Austin is a cowboy town with nothing to do but watch tumbleweed roll by. They don’t like the midwest, mainly because of the cold and gloomy weather.

My wife wants to be in California. One is for family reasons — up to a dozen of her nephews and nieces will be coming to study in the US over the next 10 years; one is already there at UCSD. Two is proximity to Asia (faster, direct flights) and better time zone for doing business with contacts in Singapore from there. Three is the more cosmopolitan, more shopping and more Asian people/food, etc. Four is the weather, which I have to admit, is a real plus in California - not too hot or cold. Problem is, the homeless feel the same way.

Three is not an uncommon reason, even for the students. There are many Asian kids that will likely return home after a decade or so (of course not guaranteed). Some of them (and the parents) can't imagine going to some of these college towns. These applicants are a small fraction of the total pool, but they keep pushing up the popularity of certain schools, which is one input into the rankings (which then attract more people, and round and round we go).

is UCSD still in the running? Or UCI preferred among the two.

Yes, UCSD is at the bottom of her California school list, and if we don’t get anything in Cali we move on the Midwest. She will have the best chance with UCI and UCSD.

[Lisafuller]

I really like UT Austin, but my wife and daughter both believe Texas is the Wild West and Austin is a cowboy town with nothing to do but watch tumbleweed roll by. They don’t like the midwest, mainly because of the cold and gloomy weather.

My wife wants to be in California. One is for family reasons — up to a dozen of her nephews and nieces will be coming to study in the US over the next 10 years; one is already there at UCSD. Two is proximity to Asia (faster, direct flights) and better time zone for doing business with contacts in Singapore from there. Three is the more cosmopolitan, more shopping and more Asian people/food, etc. Four is the weather, which I have to admit, is a real plus in California - not too hot or cold. Problem is, the homeless feel the same way.

Three is not an uncommon reason, even for the students. There are many Asian kids that will likely return home after a decade or so (of course not guaranteed). Some of them (and the parents) can't imagine going to some of these college towns. These applicants are a small fraction of the total pool, but they keep pushing up the popularity of certain schools, which is one input into the rankings (which then attract more people, and round and round we go).

is UCSD still in the running? Or UCI preferred among the two.

Yes, UCSD is at the bottom of her California school list, and if we don’t get anything in Cali we move on the Midwest. She will have the best chance with UCI and UCSD.

What about UCSB?

[Lisafuller]

Whereabouts in California are you thinking, Mal?

Diamond Bar or Orinda, most likely.

Been to Orinda once around a decade ago for a friends wedding, beautiful then, not sure about now though, probably not too far off.