Yes, only one thing is certain (or constant) – CHANGE.

and you probably die once too.

in such a state of affair when nothing is constant only change is, there is no point getting emotional or committed.

hi.

and bye.

I think if you are going to take the plunge, you must ponder over very carefully. There are pros and cons of moving to another country of course… most of the pros have already been covered by the other readers and probably your in-laws and your wife so I won’t go into it.

The cons of moving overseas? Well higher taxes is one thing and believe me, the overall real income increase is not that much you should do your own sums as each individual situation and spending habits are different.

At the end of the day, Singapore is not a place where you can’t survive and if we control our spending and limit our expectations a little most can easily get a comfortable living and have enough money to retire. Every country has their own share of poor residences who are struggling to survive, we just don’t see it until we are really there and lived for some time.

Since Singapore is not that unsurvivable, the real question should be the heart. Like you mentioned, you are a born and bred Singaporean and Singapore is home. What does that mean? What does home mean? We all have our definitions which are subtlety different.

For me, home is a place where you know everybody else is foreigner, no matter how well they seemed to be doing they are foreigners, and you are a local!! Is that important? Well wait till you are overseas then you can judge for yourself.

Secondly, home is a place where no matter what kind of situation I am in, I still feel comfortable. Yes there are kind people in Australia, US etc… but it’s different when you run into a crisis… the feeling of camaraderie will be different. For the same crisis, being in Singapore is where I feel most comfortable and am most confident that I can solve it. A lot of people have said “but the problems we encounter in Singapore (job insecurity, stress at work and school) is less likely to happen in some places”. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not, nobody can really predict the future can they?

At the end of the day, cross-border movement have been around for thousands of years and will continue to exist in the future. Before you move, ask yourself is the push factor really that great? You can look for a job overseas and work and stay there for say a few years to experience what it’s really like over there?

I am currently doing my postgrad in NZ, I came back here because I enjoyed myself so much in an earlier stint. Life here is extremely comfortable for me… short hours, more than enough money to get around and the people here are probably even nicer to me than some Singaporeans in Singapore and I have many good friends here. Work is easier and the weather is fantastic but it’s just different and that’s the “heart” factor. I can easily get a residency here going by all the foreign friends I have, but I most probably will not. NZ will always hold a dear place in my heart and I will come back very often in the future, may even set up a holiday home but it will never be my “home”. At the end of the day I am a Singaporean and not a Kiwi and will never be just as the Singaporeans in Australia or the UK will never be an Aussie or a Brit.

I’m not discouraging nor encouraging you from moving but provide some alternative comments. Who knows you might actually have a better life, whatever way you choose to define it, in Australia.

Cheers,

I think that the grass is never green enough anywhere you go. Humans will never be satisfied – there will undoubtedly be something that is not good enough or to you liking.

You may be a born and bred in Singapore and therefore can critique the foreigners in your homeland. But it comes across to me that your feelings towards foreigners is a little racist.
Just because they are not Singaporeans they do not have the right to strive for a better future for themselves abroad?
I think that although you are older than me you need to experience living in another country.
I have grown up in a foreign country at a young age due to my parents fighting hard for a better life for me.
Does that mean that I am stealing the place of a native in my job? Or that I am unappreciative of how lucky I am to be here?
I’d rather think of my country as a multi-cultural mixing pot where I can learn off others’ whether they are natives, Malaysians, Zimbabweans…

Being unappreciative of the cultures that you are able to learn the world from only means that you are missing out.

The increasing availability of global travel means you will always be in the midst of a ‘foreigner’ – you just have to choose whether to accept them as your neighbor.

Don’t succumb to tunnel vision!

The politicians there will not take exorbitant salary, the media will not be propandanda media for the ruling regime. there is freedom everywhere.

my family stay in perth, besides the higher interest rate and higher property prices, i think life here is definitely much better compare to singapore.