Wow....Moving to Singapore from Texas!!??

[Joslin88]

I am thinking of moving from Houston to Singapore. Friends told me it is clean, safe, family oriented. What I want to know - How do older Americans with little money fair there? Is Singapore basically only for the wealthy Americans who are transferred by their company, or can anyone move there reasonably well? I am looking for quality of life, a change, interesting culture. Is good medical care accessible? Good housing that is safe clean and affordable? Can I work? I am a Social Worker. Will I be bored or busy? Is there a community of Americans who were NOT transferred but just want to live in Singapore? Are dogs allowed in apartments? Is housing noisy and crowded? Is there green space? Gardens? Sorry....but I have lots of questions! Thanks to anyone able to share info.

[Guest]

HI, I am living in Denver and grew up in Spore. Spore is indeed clean and safe and since it is Asian environment, I do think families are more closely knitted. Spore is not just for wealthy Americans, depending how you want to live your life (just like USA) you can lively cheaply/decently or you can live luxuriously if you can afford. I'm sure there are families on S$2000 income and average family income on S$4000-5000 to the extrememly rich ones.. I think you need to have a employment pass to work ...Just my opinion, social worker probably do not fetch as much $$ as other more economic-related jobs (IT, finanical, chemical..)but if you have a job you can survive. Also, the cultural is different so I'm not so sure about the suitability of your job in Spore. There many options on housings, most average Singaporeans live in HDB or government housing. They are not bad at all, the new ones are really nice like a apartment in USA buta lot smaller, You can rent it from local owners. Or if you preferred, live in private housing, like condominiums that cost at least S$500,000 to 2 million to buy or like $5000 to $10,000 to rent! Forget about getting a car, cost way too much, public transport is the best in the world... Pets are allowed but just be considerate about noise and cleanliness since you are a lot closer than your American neighbor here. In sum, it's little bit different from USA, Spore is much more stressful, fast paced, energetic, exciting compared to USA-more relaxed, sometimes boring, and slower!! Yes ther are parks and garden everywhere, Spore is also the garden city...At least this is what I think...both countries have their good and bad stuffs. That is just my 2 cent having live in both countries. I miss Sinapore badly sometimes mainly because of my families out there and the FOOD... but I am married to an American here so I have to stick by him. We are toying with the idea of going there for a couple years so that my kids can enjoy grandparents there.

[Strong Eagle]

As I wrote in an earlier post, it is difficult to get work here because of immigration policy.

http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic15703.html

Not impossible, mind you, but difficult.

I'm from Texas myself... been here five months... feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. It's a good place to live.

[Bigeasy]

As I wrote in an earlier post, it is difficult to get work here because of immigration policy.

http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic15703.html

Not impossible, mind you, but difficult.

I'm from Texas myself... been here five months... feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. It's a good place to live.

Good info Strong Eagle! We are heading over from Houston, Texas in July. My wife will be the one working.. but I had hoped to get some work after we settled in.

[lhchen]

Hi,
Houston was home for me for 13 years, cypress to be precise, recently moved back to Singapore. It's quite an adjustment, especially space, both public and personal space. It's a nice change though. Send me a an email if u want to trade notes.

[Bigeasy]

Hi,
Houston was home for me for 13 years, cypress to be precise, recently moved back to Singapore. It's quite an adjustment, especially space, both public and personal space. It's a nice change though. Send me a an email if u want to trade notes.

Yea.. we are coming from the Heights, a 1100sqft bungalow built in 1910.. so I think where ever we settle the size will be as big and most likely newer.. we have both lived in many places…. Germany, So. Africa, Japan, UK and about a dozen places in the US.

We’re looking forward to the move. We travel (aside from work) as much as we can, and we think Singapore will make a good base to travel Asia pacific from. There were other locations we looked at.. most are cheaper, but thought it would be better to have a “western like”