TeaLeaf:

 

Is Singapore inclusive society of foreigners? 

It's an expat hub. About 30% of the country is expats.

TeaLeaf:

 

The access to rental cars reminds me of a setup in Aus, you pay a little bit to have access to a vehicle when required, they are stored in a permanent spot in public parking.

What about motorbikes? I still have my bike license.

 

The vast majority of people don't have cars/motorbikes etc, or anywhere to park them. It's not necessary, Singapore is a city state with brilliant public transport.

mclean:

 

You very quickly acclimatise to the weather. especially if you go for ceiling fans rather air conditioning in your house. After a few years living there I really missed the warmth when I came home. 

 

I found the same moving back from Aus, Im freezing cold in the top of the north island in winter. 

So I agree re acclimatise. The weather doesnt look too bad, just consistent with the humidity. As you would expect given the location. 

I see there is an ANZ association so its not like I would not be able to make friends with ex pats along with locals.

Only wondered about a motorbike as I see a lot of ex pats doing road trips. I looked into the ownership. It seems the COE is the biggest cost. Bikes actually seem cheap. The coe is much less than cars. Would be interesting to find out more info about rentals.

The long work hour days sound interesting, I read about the word that describes the culture. Not sure is doing 8 hour days will be possible.

Was only looking into Singapore as Im looking at other countries that are easy to access via work and it seems like one. Canada was anotherand possibly Switzerland.

Handle9:

 

TeaLeaf:

 

The access to rental cars reminds me of a setup in Aus, you pay a little bit to have access to a vehicle when required, they are stored in a permanent spot in public parking.

What about motorbikes? I still have my bike license. 

 

The vast majority of people don't have cars/motorbikes etc, or anywhere to park them. It's not necessary, Singapore is a city state with brilliant public transport. 

A current work colleague of mine lived there for 10 years with a young family and never owned a vehicle. Public transport for everything.

allan:

 

A current work colleague of mine lived there for 10 years with a young family and never owned a vehicle. Public transport for everything.

 

Yeah I get that, heck I wish Auckland would stop wasting money on city gentrification and put train tunnels across the shore and run up the bus lanes. Living in Brisbane, Sydney, Melb, didnt NEED to own a car there either, which is why public transport in NZ makes me so mad. They need a way to control vehicle access for transport into metro Auckland. The tolls help push people onto trains in Sydney, somewhat. 

Anyway, owning a motorcycle is a hobby for me, the COE isnt that bad, bike prices are low. If its something you love its worth the money. Owning a car for the sake of transport though, ouch, you would want to be buying German cars if you getting a COE. 

My understanding is though, you sell the COE when you release the vehicle either by sale or scrapping ( not the 10yrs when they ship them off to NZ and Aus etc). So in the case of motorcycles it works out about $1000 a year to have a COE. Given some bikes are cheaper, it almost offsets itself. There are a number of other things to consider as well though of course. ARF for example (although there are rebates on low emission vehicles etc), road taxes. Total cost to own a bike you would want to be using it often.

It seems for some it is a hub to access other areas outside of SG

@Jase2985:

 

2. Most speak some English, all be it broken in some cases, then its Chinese or Malaysian

 

Broken English in Singapore, you say?

Been there a few times, great place. Nice people. Good food.

Most English speakers speak broken English as far as I can tell

It tends to depend on their education and age; give most business in Singapore is done in English and there are lots of international schools, the majority of the people you deal with in business settings will speak good English

Jase2985:

Also be aware some of their laws are very strict. i believe they still cane people for some offenses.

Thanks all. Really handy info. Done some research now. Certainly tempting as a hub to everywhere in our lives that we may need as the in laws age and somewhere new (although Ive found wherever you live in the world loses its gloss "new" feeling fairly quick). Nowhere is perfect, certainly the working hours would be a new challenge, but then Ive commuted 5 hours daily before so what you make up with the excellent public transport is very good. I also thought it would be an excellent place for an e-bicycle. Lots of positives I can see ie efficient, very clean (I like rules), pretty and innovative and good food lol. Not somewhere I could see myself forever as we would miss a lot of outdoor hobbies. But mid term it could be a good choice as a go between NZ/Aus and Europe and also excellent hub for access to other destinations.

Like anywhere pays to visit first. Clearly will want to do that once/when covid gets a bit more under control. 

Japan is somewhere we have considered for a long time that offers a bit of everything including more of the hobbies we enjoy in NZ and Aus, but I don't think work visas are as welcoming, will need to look into that.

Once again, thank you everybody.

TeaLeaf:

Thanks all. Really handy info. Done some research now. Certainly tempting as a hub to everywhere in our lives that we may need as the in laws age and somewhere new (although Ive found wherever you live in the world loses its gloss "new" feeling fairly quick). Nowhere is perfect, certainly the working hours would be a new challenge, but then Ive commuted 5 hours daily before so what you make up with the excellent public transport is very good. I also thought it would be an excellent place for an e-bicycle. Lots of positives I can see ie efficient, very clean (I like rules), pretty and innovative and good food lol. Not somewhere I could see myself forever as we would miss a lot of outdoor hobbies. But mid term it could be a good choice as a go between NZ/Aus and Europe and also excellent hub for access to other destinations.

Like anywhere pays to visit first. Clearly will want to do that once/when covid gets a bit more under control. 

Japan is somewhere we have considered for a long time that offers a bit of everything including more of the hobbies we enjoy in NZ and Aus, but I don't think work visas are as welcoming, will need to look into that.

Once again, thank you everybody.

TeaLeaf:

 

Thanks all. Really handy info. Done some research now. Certainly tempting as a hub to everywhere in our lives that we may need as the in laws age and somewhere new (although Ive found wherever you live in the world loses its gloss "new" feeling fairly quick). Nowhere is perfect, certainly the working hours would be a new challenge, but then Ive commuted 5 hours daily before so what you make up with the excellent public transport is very good. I also thought it would be an excellent place for an e-bicycle. Lots of positives I can see ie efficient, very clean (I like rules), pretty and innovative and good food lol. Not somewhere I could see myself forever as we would miss a lot of outdoor hobbies. But mid term it could be a good choice as a go between NZ/Aus and Europe and also excellent hub for access to other destinations.

Like anywhere pays to visit first. Clearly will want to do that once/when covid gets a bit more under control. 

Japan is somewhere we have considered for a long time that offers a bit of everything including more of the hobbies we enjoy in NZ and Aus, but I don't think work visas are as welcoming, will need to look into that.

Once again, thank you everybody.

 

South Korea is a fun place to live and it is possible to get by without Korean (although much easier with).  The alphabet is easy to learn and the language non-tonal.

I love the food there but it doesn't appeal to everyone.

Hiking is a national past time and there are heaps of bike lanes.

freitasm:

 

@Jase2985:

 

2. Most speak some English, all be it broken in some cases, then its Chinese or Malaysian

 

 

Broken English in Singapore, you say?

 

 

 

Been there a few times, great place. Nice people. Good food.

 

My collection is that at school Singaporeans learn two languages one of which must be English.  English is see as the common tongue but people are also proficient in their traditional family language - Malay etc.

Most people seem to speak English well but their are some exceptions.

Last time I was there I was talking to a Taxi diver about cars.  He (Chinese) said "In Singapore you don't need a car.  Unless you are Chinese. Then you must have a car for status"  he had a BMW, as did his wife.  Taxi driving was his part time retirement job.  He told me senior citizens are encouraged by govt incentives to work part time. 

Nice man.  We had a great talk and he put me onto some really nice restaurants, that tourist don't normally frequent.

Took a roughly 10 day holiday in Singapore several years back. Travel agent tried to talk us out of it saying we would get bored, but we were fine. Would recommend taking a holiday to anybody considering moving (post NZ MIQ of course).

Hotel we stayed at had a food court under it, and a covered walkway so you could get to the metro station without going in the sun (or rain, but we had none during out stay).

Government is Democratic, but the same party had been continuously re-elected since 1959. Control of the media may be a factor in this.

Economically it seems they have done a great job of running the country. It is far ahead of many of it's neighbors economically.

Entire place feels very clean & safe, but also very sterile.

Accommodation was fairly expensive, but meals were very cheap.

As others have mentioned, the default position is not owing a car / motorbike in Singapore due to the very high cost of ownership & excellent public transport. 

Laws & enforcement are fairly draconian. As examples:

- NZD $560 fine for eating or drinking in the metro system.

- NZD 1130 fine for littering

- Illegal to sell chewing gum.

- vaping illegal

- Spitting in a public place illegal

- Heaps of surveillance camera's - Outside our hotel there was a bracket holding 6 large surveillance camera's pointing in different directions.

- Many adult websites blocked by a nationwide internet filter.

- homosexual oral / anal sex between consenting men illegal.

- Corporal punishment (caning) still in effect.

- Death penality for stuff (like drug trafficking as mentioned by other's)

- Harsh penalties for drug possession - and officials can require somebody be drug tested without a warrant, meaning they can be punished for consuming drugs in another jurisdiction prior to arrival in Singapore.