A Singaporean In Australia

A friend of mine told me the secret of getting rich. She said,

"Instead of trying to scrimp and save in order to reduce expenditure, one should be focusing on increase income."

Words of wisdom. The rationale is, the is a limit to reducing expenditure but the potential to increase income is almost limitless.

I don't disagree with that notion. The concept is simple and it makes sense. What I question is the practicality of it. Take maintaining our body shape for instance, everyone knows if you burn more calories than you take in a day, you will lose weight. Simple concept, makes sense. We know that if we eat the right amount of food (i.e less than what you are eating) and the right kind of food (i.e less the yummy food and drinks you add to your diet), it actually saves us good money on food cost alone and huge loads of money on slimming centres that you don't need to visit. If human beings are rational, we'll have a lot more shapely folks walking around with heavy pockets. In reality, we have fat asses. Going by how many slimming advertisements we are spammed with on the newspapers and the TV, we know that there are enough fat asses in the market for slimming businesses to pop up like mushrooms.

So if a concept is simple and it works, why don't people practice it?

Inconvenience.

The path of least resistance. That is the route most commonly chosen by most. It is a hassle to exercise. It takes effort to fend off colleagues who wants you to join for lunch everyday. It takes time to prepare a healthy meal but only two seconds to relay your order to the hawker uncle. Ice cream is too delicious to reject. Leafy raw vegan dishes makes you bored. You may have to travel a longer distance to get healthier food. It's too hot, too rainy, too dark, too noisy to take a run outside tonight. The path of least resistance.

Inconvenience.

What makes you think it is easy to increase your income, if most human beings are too weak willed to control their diet? How much more work do you need to do to double the income you are having today? There are avenues to increase it ten-folds or hundred-folds (ask Kong Hee), but how many in a million are willing to walk their talk?

So I say, before taking on lofty aspirations such as tripling your income, look into reducing your expenditure first. That is the path of lesser resistance and you have the convenience of doing so. We all know convenience is costly. The air conditioner has gradually evolved from a luxury goods to a staple everyday "need." In the name of convenience, fanning oneself with a satay fan isn't cool anymore. Travelling on the MRT used to be celebrated by the common people but these days it is deemed fitting only for smelly peasants like me. "Not convenient enough," they said.

Mr Ang was right. If Singaporeans do not see the folly of their key purchases, there is no point comparing kecil kecil things like chicken and vegetables. We pay half a million bucks for a roof that we cannot pass down to our grandchildren and we pay 0.3 million in our lifetime for a transportation tool.

Let's just talk about our transportation tool here. A car. Call it whatever you want. Your private cocoon, your threatre of wet dreams, your mobile oasis. It's still just a fucking transportation tool. Worse, in Singapore, you pay $114,000 for a shitty car only to find that you can't even smell a fart 10 years later.

Some of you will even be buying 3 new (not new not satki) cars in the span of your career.

I don't think you can even call that a highly depreciating asset. For if you are unable to create a value (tangible or otherwise) with this asset that is worth more than it's depreciation, it is just a toxic liability.

I hate it when people tell me 钱是可以赚回来的. Because it isn't true. Whatever you wasted today is gone forever. You are simply using the time of tomorrow to earn back the money you lost today and deluding yourself your impulse buy is covered.

I really wonder.

Going by public transport, less the cost of car and its maintenance, will easily net a car leaser a positive balance of $100,000 in 10 years or approximately $300,000 in 30 years without factoring inflation or increasing prices. Many old farts ended up "retiring" with less than $300,000 in the bank. I wonder why they bothered to work to their wrinkled skin if they just take $150,000 and retire 15 years earlier. Ah.... no. If they didn't have a car, they would have spend it on designer kettles, air conditioner, hacked walls, premium toilet bowls, projector screens and other "necessities." Life is indeed hard in Singapore.

If we are to spend way lesser than we do, there is no need to work as long as we have to. The more we spend on silly things that don't matter, the less time we have for what really matter. As for my friend, all I had to say was 一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴. She understood and was really happy I brought that up. I wish her a blissful journey. See you in Perth 2017.

"Make a cake and take it along to your job interview," I told her.

"Huh! What?! Why?" Judy exclaimed.

"If the cake is nice, you get the job. If it isn't, you get tips how to improve it. If they don't find you suitable for the job, you make some friends. You can't lose," I told her.

"Hmm, you've got a point there, I shall do that," she said.

She did exactly that, thought I wasn't sure if she was convinced by my baseless rhetoric or simply too new here to know what to expect and chose to be led by the blind (me). Regardless, the cake was placed in one of our dinning plates and wrapped unglamourously in a grey Woolies plastic bag.

Judy, being a scatterbrain, prompted me watch the time for her on the private. Fortunately, she emerged from her room on time and declared she was ready for show time. We bid Judy goodbye and wished her good luck.

No news from her 4 hours later. Hopefully she wasn't taking it too badly, about to jump off the cliff at Lesmurdie Falls. Perhaps she had already started work, with flour and a smile on her face. Anything was possible, I reckoned. Before long, I received a message from her.

When she finally returned to join us for dinner, she told me she ended up talking to friends of her potential employer. That didn't really surprise me. Though I didn't know Judy that well, it was apparent she was that kind of person who would get along well with strangers. (like how we are comfortable with her so far) She was putting her Singapore auntie skills into good use.

So did she get the job?

"Look at the empty plate," Judy pointed. "That gotta be good news," she beamed.

I congratulated her and asked if she found out how much she would be paid per hour. She told me she didn't ask. Ha. That is the way. Work first, talk later. Her boss would eventually warm up to her and find her a valued employee. That, I am certain of. Judy has the right mindset, working attitude and personality. Her employer will like her and treat her well.

It is a tiny step for Judy. Her PR dream is still beyond her reach at the moment. Even a working visa may be a challenge. At least for now, she will be able to cope with her living expenses here, gain some working experience in the field she chose for her mid-career change. I told her it is never a bad thing. Perhaps she will find working in a bakery so tough that she will give up the entire idea altogether and return to Singapore. At least she will be able to live a happy live with no regrets then, knowing that she left no stone unturned in the pursuit of her dreams. So she can settle for the next best thing - Standing up for Singapore - with peace in her heart.

In a tiny corner of my subconsciousness, a glimpse of belief was manifested. Judy does not have to believe. I will do it for her.

Hi Nix,

I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts on your blog. Your comments had trigger my own thinking on various issues from different perspectives.

I am a beginning teacher in Singapore. In a couple of your posts, your guest blogger and yourself had shared that there are difference in the Singapore and Australia’s Education system, result oriented versus process oriented in the latter. Your also mentioned that there are quite a few ex-teachers in Perth and you have met some Sg teachers considering to migrate to Australia.

I would like know more about the Australia schools as a workplace. Will you/your contacts who have experience working in both Singapore and Australian schools be able to kindly share their thoughts?

Thank you for spending time to attend to this request. I look forward to read your posts.

Regards,

Vanessa

Hi 'cher.

Perhaps I can share what little I know about Perth schools. I'll like to emphasize Perth, because Australia is just too big to generalise. Unlike the template stamped fashion of neighborhood schools and food court stalls across Singapore, public schools in just Perth alone are run differently among themselves and school culture can vary quite significantly too. Thus, this is not an easy question to answer specifically.

However I can highlight some key differences in general.

Teacher abuse

In Singapore schools, parents are clients. In Perth schools, parents are partners. Small difference, but it creates a butterfly effect on almost every aspect of a teacher's career and working experience. In Perth, professionals are given proper respect. For example in hospitals, there is a strict "No abuse" policy to protect hospital staff from the public. Any patient, visitor or external workers who abuse a staff in the hospital will be shown the door by the security. The customer is not always right.

I would imagine the same respect given to teachers in Perth, at least from my observation. Teachers here may not necessarily agree with me but if we are comparing to the level of respect given to teachers in Singapore, there is a stark contrast. In Singapore, the chances of you getting parents coming up demanding, interrogating and even threatening you is not exactly low. Perhaps, even almost an everyday affair for some. If you are unlucky enough, you get your unflattering photograph posted all over the Internet for putting a nice hair clip on the boy with long hair.

There is plenty of regular communication between parents and teachers here. Feedback is encouraged from both parties. It helps to foster a good relationship in a small community setting.

Holiday, with no fine prints

When you are teaching in a school in Perth, you go for your two weeks or a month school holiday with the children. It is an entitlement. The teachers do not stay back for CCAs (CCA for ghosts?) or whatever extra or special services required by the principal in schools in Singapore.

Classroom size

According to this publication [link] in 2014, the average classroom size in WA are as follow;

19 students in kindergarten

23 students in pre-primary

22 students in years 1 to 3

28 students in years 4 to 7

26 students in years 8 to 10.

I'm not sure what are the classroom size in Singapore these days. So you do the comparison, Venessa. On top of that, there are nearly 800 public schools in WA to cater to Perth's 1.8 million population. Thus, schools are generally small. There are usually 2 classes per level. Schools with 3 classes per level is already considered big here.

The teaching teacher teach

One of the key difference between teaching in both countries are the administration work given to teachers. You will not be expected to head multiple committees, CCAs and what nots. Other minor day-to-day administration work such as collection of money from students, food or logistic matters etc. will be handled by school staff. In a nutshell, you are doing what a teacher should be doing, teaching with minimal distractions. It is not a monkey hunting, talent contest freak show here.

Working hours

Teachers knock off at 3.30-4pm on most days unless something crops up.

Meetings

It varies from school to school but in general they are kept to the minimum and short. 1 meeting per week no longer than 30 mins each session is normal.

Other perks of being small

Some may not see this as an advantage. You know, there are an unbelievably large number of Singaporeans who think Perth is 'boring'. So I am not going to be surprised if teachers in Singapore love the fanfare and hippy hype surrounding their fancy school.

Speech day is a grand affair for even the simplest of school in Singapore. You get performances, percussion and parade. For the branded schools, you even get a wedding dinner after the children happily leave early where the teaching staff mingles with the men-in-white guests of honour attending, reminding the school that the marriage between politics and education must always be strong.

In Perth schools, we call it the Founders Day. Celebrations can be a simple sausage sizzle. A school celebrating their 125th anniversary [link] two years ago by simply sharing a birthday cake and spent the afternoon playing games. Granted the example was a regional school, there is no significant differences for schools in Perth metropolitan.

A close friend of mine revealed that the school principal where her son is enrolled remembers the name of every child in his school.

I've shared my limited knowledge on this with you. Hope the information will go a long way.

Good luck

asingaporeanson

I want to confess.

In 2 months time I would have live in Perth for 5 years. I haven't made a single Aussie friend. By definition, someone born in Australia whom I will invite over for dinner.

However, it's probably not what you think if the first thing that pops up in your mind is racism or discrimination. I am a sociopath and henceforth the crux of the issue. I can't remember when was the last time I invited anyone over for dinner, Aussie, Singaporean or whatever. Since we are at this, let's make this clear - everyone is a bloody racist. I'll be more specific and not point fingers at the others and look at ourselves first. Base on the loose definition of a racist being a person who believes that a particular race is superior to another and/or have the tendencies to stereotype another person's traits and habits by his or her skin colour, every Singaporean is a racist.

One interesting thing I observed by there was how Singaporeans tend to change the way we talk when an "Ang mo" talk to us. Awkward slang and what not. Look no further than the SPGs. Well, they sound less awkward due to practice but wait till you hear her speak with her Ah Lian cohorts. Or watch how the Singaporean engineer talks to the "Ang Mo" in the consultant team and later in the day, the way he barks at his Bangladeshi workers during his site walk. Racism is in our DNA. Most of us are not even aware of it. What do we do during Racial Harmony Day? Wear fancy clothes and eat one another's food? Are these really doing what it is meant to achieve? Do the folks being these initiatives understand what is meant to be achieved in the first place?

The best part is, many Singaporeans back there would like to believe Aussies are more racist than us. 5 years is not a very long time, but I believe it is adequate to observe how it is and tell as it is. If Aussies are as racists as we think, they must have hidden it very well from me. That doesn't sound quite right because the everyday Aussie as I know it, are much more straight talking and expressive compared to the everyday Singaporean. I am not implying Aussies that I've met are not racist. Like I said earlier, everyone is a racist - but to what extent? Like us, the Aussies are worried about their futures. They wonder if foreigners are going to take all their jobs eventually. Many cannot tell the differences between a Vietnamese and Thai or a Singaporean and a PRC. The less you know about people, the more uncomfortable you are with their presence.

The swing set was given to us for free by a family from the Philippines. As the set was rather big, I had to dismantle the parts. The couple invited us to the backyard and got Jen and the our kids to sit in the patio. The lady chatted with them as I worked on breaking down the swing set.

When we left, Jen made a casual remark, "Actually Filipinos are quite nice what." Of course they are. Like any other nationalities or races, they are nice people and shitty ones. The climate back in Singapore has changed quite a bit. From cheering Abbas Saad or Jung Jong as if they were our brothers, to jeering the PRCs who won a medals for us in ping pong. Just look at Singapore today. The disdain we have for foreigners, deeply entrenched into our subconsciousness. Yet, we love the Japanese and Koreans. We aspire to look, speak and even eat like them. Men would like a Taiwanese wife, women would take a French husband any day. I wonder if we will think and act the same way if the Singapore labour is flooded with Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese and French in place of PRCs, Filipinos, Indians and Bangladeshis. We'll start hating kimchi and no one will be offering me some. What a lovely change.

It is no secret that Perth Aussies are friendly. (I can't speak for Aussies elsewhere because I haven't been to other parts of Australia) Many Singaporeans who came here for holiday noticed that immediately. Some Singaporeans who live here for decades told me that they have become less friendly over the years but it is still not unusual to have a chat with a stranger at the bus stop or shopping mall these days.

One recent incident over the weekend is a good example. An Aussie in his early 50s knocked on my door with a wide grin (my door has see-through glass panels) on Sunday afternoon. Jen was out then but Judy and I opened the door and had a chat with him on the verandah. He introduced himself and told me he was the owner of the 2 houses beside me, which made him my neighbour. He intended to rent both houses out but assured me he would only pick "the nice ones." Then we started exchanging information about our backgrounds. Throughout the conversations, the stranger constantly addressed us by our names (both Judy and I). Then he stated his business, "I want to clean the pile of sand on the parking lots adjoining us, so I thought of saying hi and ask you if you would like me to clean those on your side as well?"

I gave him a "say no more" gesture, ran to the back and returned with my wheelbarrow and shovel. Though I was not feeling too well, I couldn't let Mark and his teenager son Nicholas do the work themselves, especially if they wanted to do my share as well. In the slight drizzle, the three of us completed the job in no time. When I returned to the house, I told Judy I was glad that she was around to see what I meant when I claim that many Aussies are friendly.

Before Mark left, he asked me, "Are you from Singapore?" I asked him why didn't he guess Malaysia or even China. "There are differences but I could tell," he said. I was impressed.

The mechanic that I send my company vehicle for servicing came over personally with an invoice the previous afternoon. When he walked past Wee Tuck and I, he called out, "Hey Nix!" (which I responded) and walked on towards the office. Wee Tuck looked at me and asked, "Who is he ah? Looks very familiar."

"Mechanic lah!" I said, though it took me a few seconds to register too. John the mechanic saw me no more than 5 times over the years. Yet he remembered my name. And I almost couldn't recognise him, let alone recall his name.

The DHL delivery man who come by occasionally would write my name in his PDA without asking for it. I could go on, but I have made my point with some recent examples.

I have to say if racism in Australia is as bad as what I was taught to believe back in Singapore, I have been very, very lucky these 5 years. I haven't met anyone who did anything to me and my family of a racist nature. Perhaps I was lucky but it is the way it is. I have received more kindness from random strangers (regardless of races) here in a few years than more than 3 decades in Singapore. Stranger offering to point directions to me when I looked lost. Another picked me up and sent me home when my car broke down on the highway. Countless of them giving me free stuff, teaching me something I didn't know, stopping to chat for 5 minutes in the middle of their work.

How does that work out, being friendly and racist at the same time? Chatterboxes? Hypocrites? Schizophreniacs? Let's just say they are better human beings in areas we are weak at, and should be learning from. I told myself I will remember the names of strangers as well as the children of my friends for a start.

I heard today is the coldest day in Perth in 4 years. 0.7 degrees Celsius or something. Honestly, I don't feel there is much of a difference today as compared to the past few days or the coldest days in memory for the past few Winters. The rather thick layer of ice formed over the body and glass of my car suggest otherwise. You'll see many folks posting pictures of their frosted cars today but not me. I can take no picture at 5am in the morning.

For someone who starts driving at 5am, a time when most people are still snuggled in bed, today is in fact not the first day I have to deal with a rough crusty layer of ice on my windscreen when I need to start heading to work. There was one just a few days ago. One which I negotiated like a boss after a few squeeze of water onto my windscreen before the wiper took off the chunk of it in a few strokes. No water appears today though. Either my water tank is empty or ... frozen as well. I end up 5 minutes late for work just to clear that shit.

Believe me, it isn't easy to get out of bed during Winter. However, the perks of starting work remains.

"Wah, you come home so early ah, so good!" Ho Kiat remarked a few days ago.

Tucky said that. Judy said that. And many others. Actually, I also work 8 hours a day like a normal salaried worker. The only difference is I start work earlier. Yes, I do agree with them. Being able to carry my fat baby around the house at 3.30pm is cool. But ask yourselves this, are you willing to start work at 6am for that? Of course!

Of course, you will say of course.

But I am not sure if I can trust people who KPKB about the government for 50 years and give them a 70% vote of confidence in the last GE. The weirdest thing about this is, for every 10 people I've asked, 10 told me they didn't vote for the white fuckers! If you are in Perth today, I can see the possibilities but how do we get frozen balls in the Singapore heat?

Yes, it's nice to start early. If I were to experience that fucking shit on the AYE again, in Perth one day, I swear I'll leave this place. I am totally serious about it. I know things are beginning to look crowded during peak hours here but we are a few decades behind Singapore to attain hellhole level. Being able to commute early to work allows me to live in delusion for a while more. Long may it continues. If only time can be frozen like the drops of my windscreen.

I sat down with Judy last night to discuss about her plan. Though her plan was done in a moment of heat, it sounded to me she needed a lot of luck to achieve her goals. None of the obvious routes seemed to work for her. Her age was detrimental for the skilled migration route. Her occupation was competitive and points tend to moderate against her favour. Even the course she will be taking is an vocation that was omitted from the SOL only this year. On top of that, her eldest child is taking her PSLE this year.

Yet she is here.

She want it a lot. It is obvious. Perhaps as much as the refugees who came by boat. She told me if she didn't give it a try at least, she would regret it in future. With all the doom and gloom of an impending failure with no sight of the light at the end of the tunnel, she remains cheerful. Maybe it is too early to tell whether she will be her stressed out. For now, she doesn't seem to be the kind who will kick up a fuss if she don't get what she wants.

Difficult as it is on its own, getting a working visa will not even lead Judy to her PR in future if the current settings do not turn her way. At the moment, we agreed that getting one is probably the only thing we can do. Then we can only wait and see after that. It may not be a bad thing. To put all energies in one single goal will increase the chance to achieve it. If we do, we'll brainstorm and see what else can be done. An inch at a time. The question is, how much patience can Judy's family afford?

Meanwhile, Judy is starting school this week. It was good work on Judy and Ho Kiat's part that they managed to buy their car, just the evening before their rental car lease was up. So there was no need for the unnecessary costs to extend it and Judy has half a week to get used to her car. I wanted to use a picture of them smiling widely with their car but I won't do that unless they give me the permission to. (tell me if ok, I'll use it for another post)

Hey dude

It is interesting to note that my guest chose to stay with us (near strangers) rather than bunking with their (many) friends in Perth. Now they bought a car of the same manufacturer and make of similar year and mileage. Our rego share common alphabets and numbers. Even the colour of our cars are the same. My guests must like me a lot. If only that is true, it will not start sounding mystical.

That car she ended up buying was one of the several cars that she viewed but the other deal just didn't work out. The ex-owner of this car was not even in Australia and have left the car to a business partner to sell it on her behalf. During a chat they found out that the Malaysian owner was in food business and because she had return home, her partner might be looking for help. Judy did ask him in cheek if he was interested to be her sponsor employer. He actually said, "We could talk about it." Was he patronizing or could that lead to something interesting? We'll wait and see.

During the same conversation, Judy revealed one of the car owner she met during car hunting told her to look for his friend, who own a well known migration agency in Singapore.

"Huh?!" I said and asked Judy to repeat what she said. She did.

What a small world. Judy had met the same guy that I did when I was looking for a car to replace the konky Terios I was driving earlier. I even blogged about that experience before [link] During my own meeting up with that Singaporean seller, he was selling his Kia Carnival. He asked me if I wanted to consider his wife's Honda Jazz. I decline politely. Who the fuck wants to drive this girly car? Well..... things turn out quite different sometimes in life don't they? If you told me back then one day I will be driving a Jazz and my tenant (I wouldn't even consider having one then) will be checking out the Jazz of this seller, I will be genuinely amazed. Perth is small, but not that small. Such coincidences are spooky. It ended up with neither of us buying a car from the Singaporean chap.

I still hope that the bakery owner lead I passed to Judy will still work out. Never mind about the PR or even a working visa, a casual job will be the first giant step forward towards her goal. The money will be useful, the exposure she will gain may open up new doors. Things work in mysterious ways. The coincidences Judy experienced for just buying her car amused me. Perhaps the forces of the universe are moving to her strong will. I've seen many examples of things falling in place for Singaporeans after going through their own dark, uncertain days. Will Judy be the next to call Australia her home? If you can provide her a helping hand or give her useful advice, please email me at asingaporeanson@gmail.com

I thank you on her behalf.

Judy's background

- Almost 20 years in commercial accounting in Singapore, can take up any entry level to senior accounting roles with a company that is able to apply for a 457 visa for her (difficult to find, I know)

- Training to be a baker in Perth for a year at the moment, willing to take up positions in related industries, such as cafe management etc.

Touched down at 1800 hrs, nowhere to be seen at 2100 hrs. "Odd," I remembered thinking. It only takes 20 minutes from Perth Airport to my place. They must have a hell lot of luggage to clear, or got hauled up for bringing too much Bak Kwa or got lost. I wondered if I should lock the door and go to bed. Hmm, perhaps not, it looked cold outside.

Then the lights of a car flashed across my street. "Ah, that must be it," I stood on my homemade pavement to welcome the Singaporean couple. She arrived in a marshmallow jacket, easily mistaken as a bulletproof vest in the dark. Her husband parked inch perfect in front of my car, as if we were in a parallel lot in Singapore. He could have parked 3 metres away from me and no one will hold it against him. But I understand. It will take awhile for them to get used to thing here. Judy's husband will be here for a week or so, to help her settle. Fortunately I got her a double bed so no one was required to sleep on the floor.

I wondered if I could call her Jude one day. So when I see her I can go, "Heeeey Jude, don't make it bad."

We'll see.

There's probably no need to. She looks like someone who can take care of a premise better than I do. So I introduced her to her room and the bathroom to be exclusively used by her. She seemed pleased with the arrangement. Good start. Her immediate concern was buying a car. That would be her top priority before her husband returns to Singapore.

They adapted to Perth like fish to water. I was surprised to find out how many friends they had here. When I first moved here, I didn't know a single soul! Luckily Jen had several friends, due to her study stint in Perth. Friends are important so Judy has a good head start. Before long, my guests were moving up and down Perth fist bumping their friends, shopping and eating out on their wedding anniversary like they are on a short honeymoon here. Nice to see they are enjoying their time here. They had done their homework and almost know what to do next. It seemed to be Judy will have no problem settling down here. The only issue if whether her gamble will pay off.

One thing that struck me was the answer I got when I asked them what they would do if the COE of their Toyota Wish in Singapore runs down. Judy quipped, "I asked him not to buy anymore. Want to buy, might as well finance my project here!" If that wasn't a joke, the lady knows the value of time and money as well as the difference between an investment and a firepit. She will go far here.

Hey man,

I'm a 32 year old marketing guy from Singapore. I got the Skilled (Migrant) (class VE) subclass 175 (Skilled - Independent) visa some years ago. I'd already made my first entry but I haven't made my move to Australia permanently yet.

Thing is, my visa expires April 2017. I'd gotten it with my ex-wife as a secondary applicant and after we parted ways, I couldn't be bothered to move. I thought I'd just stay in Singapore. But then, life took a turn and I met a girl, we got married and we now have a little boy.

He's 2 years old now and recently, I can't help wondering if I'm depriving him of a better future in Australia.

I called up AIMS and they said there's no way for me to extend my visa and that I should just try and move to Australia as soon as possible. When the time comes to renew my visa, I should just show how I've made the effort to make Australia my home and hopefully, they'd give me another year to really get my shit together.

I'm terrified. I was jobless for the most part of 2015 and it sucked. 2016 has been really good to me though. This job at NEA pays really well and I can really work at settling my debts and loans.

The thought of quitting this job that I just got in May to start a new life in Australia with pretty much nothing is terrifying. I don't wanna put my family in the situation we were in in 2015.

I came across your post and it gave me renewed hope. I have no qualms about doing blue collar jobs but how easy is it to find these jobs? I'm thinking of bringing along at least $5000 with me to Australia.

I've been thinking hard about this for the past few days. The earliest I can make my move will be in Dec 2016 or Jan 2017. I'll only have about 3 months till my visa expires in April 2017. If I get my visa renewed, great. If not, I'll have to come back to Singapore and look for a job again. It's scary.

I guess I'm looking for advice. Or maybe I just needed to talk to someone. Thanks for your blog man. And I really hope to hear from you. Thanks!

Hi A

They say the economic cycles repeats every 7 years. Just saying, but what a coincidence that I was jobless during most of 2008 in Singapore. How time flies.

If your PR expires in 2nd quarter 2017, "by right" you have already failed to fulfill the requirements of living 2 years within 5 years in Australia. Thus the immigration department can reject the renewal request of your PR, no questions about it. However, this is Australia not Singapore. You get a lot more compassion (compared to "law-by-law") here. Your migration agent was probably correct. If you move before the expiry of your visa, explain why you came late when it is time for renewal and demonstrate your strong intentions to stay and contribute, Australia tends to give you a chance to prove it.

However, your situation is a little more complicated. Though your PR will not be affected due to your divorce, your current wife and son do not have the visas to move here permanently with you. With the time frame you are working with, there is no way you can apply for them on time. Thus you will have to cope with separation from your family till you settle their visa issues. Alternatively they can visit or stay with you on short-term tourist visas but they will have to return to Singapore when the visas expires.

The decision is in your own hands. Short term pain, long term gain or Stand Up for Singapore. It's your call bro.

All the best,

asingaporeanson

Past Rants