Has anyone moved or have friends who have moved from US/Bay Area to Singapore. Considerinf moving there and would like to hear from people who have been through the same path.
I was there for a few years, couldn't wait to get out. Many many reasons...
list few
Daily casual racism. You'll go apartment hunting and see listing that say "No Indian, No Malay". I call to inquire about an apartment and get asked what my race/what country I'm from. Why does that matter? Singapore isn't clean because the people are clean. It's clean because the government hires hundreds probably thousands of cleaners to sweep the streets. People would throw trash out their window instead of the garbage chute. There were trash cans every 50ft but I'd find new trash every day on my walks home from work. It was very common to treat foreign workers like they were below the citizens. But only the foreign workers from Bangladesh doing the construction work (not tech people). Those guys get shoved into tiny shared housing complexes, fed terrible food, and are overworked and underpaid. People ignore them in public (avoid eye contact, not hold a door open for them), treat them as if they're "gross" and unwanted. I watched these guys bathe themselves in public bathroom sinks because they hadn't been able to shower. They almost have it worse than the homeless in the USA. Homelessness doesn't exist in Singapore because the government made it illegal. (Actually it does exist, I gave some spare blankets/pillows to the guy sleeping in the staircase of my apartment complex, because before he just had cardboard) The income disparity is ridiculous. Most people don't earn enough to rent their own apartment and have to live with their families until they're married. I watched old people pushing carts around collecting cardboard to get a few bucks for a meal. Customer service and consumer rights is a joke. Go look up stories from Sim Lim Square of people getting scammed and the police/government doing nothing. People lacked empathy and only cared about themselves. It was emotionally draining being surrounded by this. I was so glad to be back in the USA. It's not perfect here, but far better than that place. But if you are rich and want to save a lot on taxes, go for it. It's an excellent place to be wealthy.
Isn't the cost of living like New York?
I was there for a couple years. its fun for awhile and then once you have traveled to all the cool places around there, you will get very bored
I love it there. Have family and tech / vc friends as well as past clients from the area we worked with from our LA office. Have considered the move and only heard positive things. Vibrant growing tech scene. There are definitely some cultural and WEATHER differences as well so better be prepared for the heat and rain. Happy to chat more abt the topic.
How about the pay, taxes and visa stuffs?
See below! Less experienced in those areas
Public transport is arguably the best in the world, a college buddy is working there since 2007, said he'd never move back to Europe. Pay is nice, you have the entire APAC region at a max 3 hour flight away, longest is Australia and Tokyo at 7 hours. $200-300 round trip airfares all around, flat tax capped at 22%, great food, what's not to like? I'm traveling there next month on work, if what he's told me through the years is true, I'm going to put in request for a transfer or interview in some other company there.
I worked and lived in Singapore for 3 years. Rent is more than New York or SF. So think 2 BR, 1000 sq ft in good location is 6k us but you can live not so expensive. There's really shitty and cheap to really expensive. Taxes are lower. Pay is 1:1 in terms of the number but subtract 30% for currency. So making 150 here you can expect a lateral move would be 150 there but sgd. Traffic isn't that bad. 2-4 hours is ridiculous. Did he live west and commute easy ? I lived there from 25-28 and so I lived in ok part of town and commuted to the city center took me 15 minutes taxi. 30 minutes train. It's really really really hot there. Lemme know if you have questions. If you're single, you'll love it. If you're married, your wife may get paranoid.
i got a cost of living downwards adjustment for moving there (down). Singapore feels like a prison compared to America -- culturally there is an obsessive disorder towards obeying orders as opposed to individual freedom
It's a plushy, cozy prison though
Growing up my family lived there for 15 years and it was the best... I will say with the caveat that my family was on an expat package.
Details re Expat package? MSFT also has this, though want to know if it's any different in terms of allowances, etc.?
They paid for the place we lived. Camelot off of Tanjong Rhu Rd near indoor stadium... when we moved it was S$13k / month plus they gave us a car , Volvo station wagon, plus club membership to Tanglin Club (British Club) ... live in maid/nanny as well
100% humidity all the time if your ok with that
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I met a guy a couple of weeks ago at a party who moved to Singapore for work. He said he'd never consider living in the US again after being there - the food is great, the culture is vibrant, the people are awesome. Only thing is traffic is horrendous; it takes him 2-4 hours just to get a few miles to work, so he had to get a driver and he just gets work done during the commute.
don't think that's correct. you can walk the whole country in 4 hours, it's a very small place
A quick search for Singapore traffic congestion suggests maybe walking would be quicker, yes