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| Mandurah |
In 2 months' time, I will be in Perth for 4 years. In 3 months' time I will be a father for the second time. If anyone told me this will happen to me 5 years ago, on my way to work in an orange cabin of the MRT train, I would have laughed so loud until passengers at the other orange cabin could hear me.
Though life has became routine, very often I will notice that most of these have not sunk in. There are times when I wake from a nap and wonder where I am for a moment, hearing unfamiliar sounds to those deeply entrenched in the deepest crevice of my mind. I found myself experiencing bouts of fear of waking up from a dream to my previous Singapore life. Almost 4 years on, it still feel surreal, despite the mundane life I am having by my 4th year. My life has been blissful and my contentment naturally bring forth happiness. Yet I have been warning myself never to take anything for granted anymore. For if I establish a sense of entitlement, anything taken away from me later will serve to pierce the contentment bubble.
For sure there will be bad times. Bad economy, falling AUD or even losing employment. Anything can happen. Nothing is guaranteed. I've posed several Singaporeans a hypothetical scenario where (when) Australia falls into bad form, what will they do? A few of them told me they would consider returning to Singapore without hesitation.
I wouldn't.
For I no longer live for myself. I've seen how tremendously my wife and daughter enjoy their Perth life. Every time I picked Albany from childcare, I would ask her the same question in the car, "Albany, do you like Singapore or Perth?" Her reply never wavered once.
I am ready to sacrifice my lifestyle if the time calls for it. That is why I still blog. I constantly remind myself of how I lived in Singapore. Lest I forget. So that I will be able to take a huge amount of concessions in my lifestyle if I need to. Work 10 hours? No problem. 12 hours? Easy, I've done it before. 16 hours a day for weeks? Nothing I've never gone through before.
The following question to the same Singaporeans who told me they would consider a move back to Singapore when the going gets tough was, "What will you do when you go back?" Seconds of uneasy silences followed. Truth to be told, how bad can it be at worst? Obviously, I've yet to see it but deep down I know I'm tough enough to deal with it.
At the very least, I'll die dying. #noregrets
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Milestone: Breaking Even
Month 4
Month 5
Month 6
Month 7
Milestone: Renting a House
Milestone: Landing a Permanent Job
Month 8
Month 9
Month 10
Month 11
End of Year 1
Month 13
Month 14
Month 15
End of Year 2
Month 27
Month 33
Month 35
Month 40
Month 41
Month 42
Month 45
Hi Nix, been reading your blog for long time. I live in beautiful nz for more than a year and even delivered my baby here. Although, I love life here, I cannot avoid the guilt of depriving my parents of their first grandchild. Even my extended family wants me to come back. At times, I feel incredibly homesick, especially after video calls. I'm torn between my love for my family and friends and my decision to live here. I feel very selfish. Family should be the most important thing in the whole world. Sometimes, I wonder what have I gotten myself into. We sacrifice a lot to come here. Tell me it will get better and I made the right decision.
ReplyDeleteEunice you certainly made the right decsison although I think new Zealand is small though bigger than Singapore.I will be also moving to Perth australia next year
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