A Singaporean In Australia

I am technically Singaporean too, but I left Singapore for Canada many years ago and I hardly could recall anything about it. Looking back, I have not been to Singapore or any parts of Asia Pacific for almost 17 years. I only know Singapore through the eyes of the internet and words from my family. :)

Good morning Leon,

Unlike the past, these days it is very hard to define a Singaporean because we have a spike of "technical Singaporeans" for the last decade. These new breed of Singaporeans refuses to speak in our language, insists on carry out their deeds in their cultures and beliefs and do not understand what it means by "doing a merlion". If we stick to the old definition of Singaporean, that is a breed I can smell and identify 2 supermarket aisles away. The Singaporean detector only needs a few muttered words. Aside from how we behave and speak, "the Singaporean" is also a mentality. Your family might have told you more about the unique mentality of a Singaporean. Like our tourism slogan goes, "Uniquely Singapore", they can't be anymore right.

I chose Australia because I had the typical Singaporean mentality that Australia is the overseas capital of Singapore. Back then, Canada was a mere image of a Christmas card in my mind, more like a fantasy scene in an Enid Blyton book than reality. New Zealand sounds scarier as a choice because there are less Singaporeans who ventured that way. That was the typical migrant foolishness - to think there is safety just because their ex-countrymen had gone that way. Australia was just nothing but descriptions to me. They told me it was a commonwealth country so driving would not be a problem. People spoke English and I spoke English so I would be okay. And the biggest truth and lie at the same time, "Aiyah, so many Singaporeans went there and survive, why not you?"

As the Chinese saying goes, 一样米养百样人, I think if anyone is considering migration, he or she shouldn't be taking reference from the people who left but to have a look at our own personal qualities, preferences, beliefs and values. For eg, someone who believes very strongly in work/life balance will be more willing to sacrifice other aspects of life that he possessed but deemed less important in Singapore. Else, if he is the career minded type, he will be a miserable snot upon the move, at least for the first couple of years - if he lasts that long. 

On hindsight, I might be happy even if I migrated to a place like Thailand. I don't buy into the "First World, Third World" shit that people have be spouting. In fact, if that is how they described the current as well as where Singapore is heading to in mid-term, I rather have nothing to do with "First World". Unfortunately, I have answer for your question because in truth, I did not even do a comparison between Australia, New Zealand and Canada and made a choice among them. In my mind back then, it was as simple as, "I think I can do Australia because Ah Kow did it."