Average Life Span for Expats

[Debbie007]

Hello, I'm moving to Singapore next year and my husband will be on a 3 year contract for now. We're not sure if we are going to stay for good or just the 3 years. We can't decide on renting or selling our home in the Uk. Do most expats only stay for a few years or do a lot stay for good?
Look forward to any replies.

[sundaymorningstaple]

6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

[Flyjet1]

6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

sounds like beer to me, cheers!

btw, dont sell the house in UK unless you make substantial money out of it. You can always decide later after settling here.

[DimWit Kid]

Just reading the title, it sounds like OP is saying there is a very nasty deadly bug that infect only expats in Singapore and giving them very short lifespan leh...

[durain]

well, i guessed the life span will be shorter with the amount of beers, good food, sunshine, etc.

[Matney]

btw, dont sell the house in UK unless you make substantial money out of it. You can always decide later after settling here.

Don't sell up until you have been to Singapore and lived here for at least 6-12 months before you decide whether you like it or not. Most expats like the place, but people can't stand the place. It is a great experience. Good luck!

[Debbie007]

Thanks for all of your replies. I guess I won't know what we'll do until we get there and see for ourselves what it's all about. As far as subject title goes, just wanted to get a response since other times that I've posted questions, I don't receive much input back. Why did someone say that some people can't stand it there??

[Blue Sapphire]

I think there are different opinions on this subject. Note that there are expats coming from different corners of the world and with different lifestyles.

I know that expats like it here better than any other asian country.

I am quite happy here, have been here for almost 2 years. And we will probably stay longer. I have other expat friends who are quite happy living here too.

It isn't perfect here and we will always find something that annoys us but the same goes for any other country. I've stayed in a few countries and I always find something annoying for sure. But which is best for you depends solely on yourself.

[boffenl]

We have been here almost 2 years and still have our very modest home in Indiana which is rented to a student family and kept our farm in Ontario. Since the students are paying the mortgage in Indiana, that freed up some income for our house in Canada.

I'd agree with most here to keep your place until you're sure you'll stay here long term. There is incredible solice in the fact that at any point we can go back to Canada. Keeps me looking on the bright side here.

Try to rent it--with the credit crunch now, seems the rental market around the world is better than it was 2 years ago.

[sundaymorningstaple]

6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

sounds like beer to me, cheers!

I'll drink to that!

26+ years here and I hate it! Wasn't always like that though. The decline started for me when I bought my flat an moved out of Seletar Air Base back in '99. Regretted it ever since. Now all I want to do is to go back to my waterfront farm and retire.

[resm]

Hello, I'm moving to Singapore next year and my husband will be on a 3 year contract for now. We're not sure if we are going to stay for good or just the 3 years. We can't decide on renting or selling our home in the Uk. Do most expats only stay for a few years or do a lot stay for good?
Look forward to any replies.

Singapore is a very small place in many aspects, be it physically due to its land size or be it mentally due to the mental attitude of its local population.

I have been living in south-east asia since 1980, 15 years of it in Singapore.
Lately I sometimes felt like "sundaymorningstaple" but I have just spend the whole month of december in the mostly cold and hazy Hong Kong and coming back, I must say, Singapore first anytime.

I even felt like that after having spend 2 weeks in my home-country Switzerland in September, where the weather was lousy.
I was so happy to take a swim in the pool after coming back to Singapore.

Singapore is a place that you have to get out of it at least once a year, better twice, for at least 2-3 weeks.
Then all the irritating factors here will be less irritating.

And when you call your friends in their cold countries in January, laying at the poolside and enjoying the warm sunshine, you will know again why you are here.

And you can't have it all at one time.

[Debbie007]

Sounds like a lot of different opinions.
What are some of the annoying things there and what are the positives? Someone mentioned Seletar Air Base to live. What is that like and why don't you move back if you liked it so much? By the way, when you rent a property there is there storage space (i.e. a loft etc..)

[Blue Sapphire]

Usually there is a storage room which is what I use mine for. But for some people its where they keep their maids.

[ksl]

If you are from the UK or Canada, you will most definitely miss the Countryside, I'm from Lancaster up north lad, and i can tell ya, it's bloody warm, here at times and i personally need a break a couple of 3 times a year Ok Okay, it was done on purpose!

I prefer 35c in Taiwan, than 35c here in Singapore any day of the week, I really think it must be the humidity, because i have often run in 35C in Taiwan, but here, it's a nighmare, it just zaps the energy.

[Debbie007]

That's the one thing I'm going to have the hardest time with is the hot, humid weather. I never liked it in Canada and ever since I've lived in the UK I absolutely love the weather here because it's moderate throughout the year even though that's all that people complain about constantly!! Just goes to show that different things in different places annoy different people.