General Advice

[veronicax]

Hi, I am brand new on here and would just like some general advice and opinions..Obviously I am considering a move to Singapore as an expat, so i think I will list a little about me and then what I am looking for and then open it up for advice and opinions.. Thanks in advance..

About me:

I am a single 37 year old mom with one 7 year old son.

I have a Bachelor's of Science in Exercise Science.

I also have over 7 years of airline customer service experience.

I am very adaptable and have previously relocated my self to New York City without knowing a soul.

I only speak English but plan on learning some Chinese before I relocate.

What I would like:

An area with nice school's where I can send my son to public school (he is very academic)

A job in wellness/health or customer service related.

A decent salary that allows for some traveling and exploring.

A two bed room apartment: doesn't have to be fancy but would love a bathtub and a small pool would be a bonus.

30 mins or less commute to work and or city centre.

A awesome experience for me and my son where we can learn new things and meet new friends !!

[ecureilx]

...
I only speak English but plan on learning some Chinese before I relocate.

While most of your questions can be answered by doing a 'search' let me tell you .. Chinese is an option, if you are dealing with Mandarin speaking customers, but, for Singapore, it is not a MUST !!! and rarely does it become a plus, for foreigners .. as chinese, especially the locals, prefer to converse in English with foreigners than in Chinese ..

Oh, about your industry, well, if you got PM, I could refer some links .. but you need to post something interesting to get your pm !!

[veronicax]

Okay, I got your interesting.. I have appeared on 2 US court show, both of which I have lost . I also went into labor, water broke all over the New York City subway on a rush hour Monday morning...

[nakatago]

TMI on non-relevant stuff
NEI on relevant stuff

[azp123]

starting from OP to replies to it - seem to be some cryptic entries. What exatly is the conversation going on or someone give me the keys to decipher them?

[ecureilx]

starting from OP to replies to it - seem to be some cryptic entries. What exatly is the conversation going on or someone give me the keys to decipher them?

ah ha .. you gotta 'earn' the keys

TMI - Too Much Information
NEI - Not Enough Information

[JR8]

This topic has been turned into a basket case [sigh].

Veronica. Your first hurdle will be getting a job and the applicable employment visa. Everything else can then follow later. The job/visa will be far from straight forward achieving.... so focus on that to begin with.

[veronicax]

Well I know enough that i need to get a job first
However, how much salary would be acceptable to get what I have listed. What areas are decent and within a 30 min commute, How much would a non-fancy 2 bedroom run me in this area ?? I need to know all this before I even consider anything else !!

[JR8]

Well I know enough that i need to get a job first

You missed my nuance I think: Based upon what you have said about yourself you are going to be challenged to get a job. In that sense everything else is peripheral for now.

The reason you face a challenge is that SG, in general terms, only take in people who do jobs that locals cannot do. Nothing you say so far suggests that.


However, how much salary would be acceptable to get what I have listed. What areas are decent and within a 30 min commute, How much would a non-fancy 2 bedroom run me in this area ?? I need to know all this before I even consider anything else !!

Correction, you need to know if you have a hope of getting in before you consider these matters. Might sound harsh, but this is the lay of the land.

[ecureilx]

and if you have solid exposure in GDS, you do stand a chance .. or else, what JR8 says is very true ..

[nakatago]

Well I know enough that i need to get a job first
However, how much salary would be acceptable to get what I have listed. What areas are decent and within a 30 min commute, How much would a non-fancy 2 bedroom run me in this area ?? I need to know all this before I even consider anything else !!

Like I said, not enough information on the relevant stuff.

Like what JR8 mentioned, you haven't exactly told us what will set you apart from the locals such that any prospective has no choice but to hire you. What skills do you have that locals don't?

Moreover, overtime and loooong hours here is the norm; some jobs even go for a six-day work week. Being a single mom, how will you handle that and raising your son?

You can try looking scouting for jobs through the usual online portals to see if you have a chance.

[veronicax]

My degree alone is in demand and rare world wide. I also have owned my own day care and have survived just fine in one of the worst states in the whole US. I never said I wanted to be rich, just live in a decent area.
Was more wondering if I should take in a roomate and what type of areas are good for families.

[veronicax]

Also Singapore is suppose to be the best country for expats and I am a strong girl.

[JR8]

My degree alone is in demand and rare world wide. I also have owned my own day care and have survived just fine in one of the worst states in the whole US. I never said I wanted to be rich, just live in a decent area.
Was more wondering if I should take in a roomate and what type of areas are good for families.

Get a job offer first, then ask the other questions.

[Third attempt].

[sundaymorningstaple]

You can start with approximately $30K/year for schooling for your son.
Additionally, $36K/year for accommodation (with pool? minimum). Add to that, transportation costs, holidays, food, clothing, medical/Insurances, utilities (water/power), communications (phone/internet/TV). Relative costs for all of these can be found on this site using the search function below the "profile" link at the upper right side of this page.

Now, You say your degree is in demand "worldwide"? How do you know this? Has anybody here in Singapore told you it was in demand? PT's earn a pittance, child care teachers only earn around 1.8K/mo. Customer Service? That's like military intelligence the two words don't even go together in Singapore. Do they need it? Yeah. Do they want to pay for it? NO. The most a CS officer will make here is probably 3K/mo IF they are lucky. And if you are not FLUENT in Chinese it will be difficult as you almost need to be able to compete with the local Chinese (78% of the population) who speak both languages for the most part, and a high portion of them speak three (Malay).

We are not trying to dissuade you, but it just seems that you are rather naive about how to come to Singapore. It's not something you can just do by hopping on a Jet and thinking they will welcome you with open arms. You need to have a firm job offer for a position that there are not any qualified locals available to fill. Therein lies your problem. It's not your qualifications, but finding a job that required, as a minimum, your qualifications and cannot be done with lesser qualifications by a local.

Good Luck.