Am I being unrealistic?

[CharlyC]

Hello,

Please can someone let me know if it's possible to live and teach in Singapore if I have three junior aged children?

I'd be looking to teach, my husband works in Croda UK, as a QC chemist, he'd be looking for something similar.

Is it affordable with 3 children?

Thanks!

[Strong Eagle]

Yes, you are being unrealistic. In the first place, very few people, and I mean very few, ever actually succeed in finding employment in Singapore by cold call job hunting. The vast majority of employment passes are issued to multi-national firms who are transferring in their employees from other countries.

The government makes it fairly difficult for a company to hire a foreigner in terms of salaries and qualifications. Companies don't like to hire foreigners cold because they must guarantee repatriation, foreigners have no network or cultural knowledge, and foreigners want/need more money than a local hire. Of the two of you, you might have the better chance as a teacher but your pay rate will be south of abysmal. Perhaps PNGMK will chime in as he is knowledgeable in this area.

Which brings me to point 2. Your children have about a zero probability of attending local schools which means that you will have a very large expense for tuition for three students at private school. Cars are hellishly expensive, rent aint cheap, and if you're earning a teacher's salary, your hubby will need to be earning some serious coin to make it all work.

But... if you're really serious, then it's your husband that needs to start the search. Croda doesn't have a Singapore office but maybe, just maybe, his skills might be something that a locally MNC might need. So, don't give up but be a realist. It will be very tough to accomplish what you want to do.

[malcontent]

Totally agree with all points made by SE, and I think I can sum it up in 4 words: who is your daddy?

For locals, it’s the government that provides nearly free school and subsidized-ish housing for her citizenry.

For expats, it’s the companies who send them over and shell out six figures in housing and schooling costs to keep them reasonably whole.

So I ask you… who is your daddy?

What about the daddy-free expats floating around? Well, the Asian expats (those favored for localization) will localize or leave. Western expats typically intermarry with locals and localize from there. Almost nobody I’ve met doesn’t have a local connection or a company connection. It’s about as rare as hen’s teeth.

[jalanjalan]

Teach what? If you're contemplating a "teach English in Asia" stint, Singapore isn't the place to do it. If you are a uni prof specialising in generative AI, you may have more luck landing a job that might support a family.

[malcontent]

I hate to discourage people, but yeah, if you have to ask… you can’t afford it. Even a single person with no kids has a hard enough time. Singapore is a place you want to be pulled to, not a place you push to. And even if you are pulled, you’d better be sure you’re kept whole.

[CharlyC]

Thank you. I'm a primary teacher with science/maths degree so could teach up to A Level in those subjects.
I'm sure there is a Croda in Singapore as my husband noticed a vacancy.
I appreciate all the feedback. We are just scoping out options for taking our family abroad to experience life elsewhere.
From what you've all said, I'm assuming the International Schools that teach British curriculum would be near impossible to get a job at?

Thanks again.

[Max Headroom]

I have a question. Why Singapore? What was it that made you decide to relocate to Singapore?

It's not unheard of to want to live in Singapore of course, but we don't really hear what the rationale is, the specific reasons, behind posters' desire to want to move here.

Perhaps you can share?

[malcontent]

They indicated wanderlust as a reason, but we all know, that alone is not enough to uproot your life, especially a family with kids. The novelty wears off quick and Singapore gets small really fast. I remember taking public buses all around the island and pretty much covered every nook and cranny that held any allure in less than 3 months.

Within a year of my arrival, I was lucky to land a job with a great multinational employer which got me incredible experience and exposure to talented people from every corner of the planet. I was also lucky to quickly make friends with a fun group of locals who I went clubbing with and even crashed at their place on the weekend. Despite all of that good fortune… had it not been for my SO, I wouldn’t have lasted a year.

It’s different for people who have economic reasons for coming here. For example, if you can make more in one month here than you’d earn in a whole year back home. Or, say you have 8 or 9 figure net worth and the tax savings would more than offset the higher cost of living.

[CharlyC]

Singapore was top of the list due to its safety ratings. With having a family, that is important. Then the multicultural aspect and education being highly regarded. We are considering Vietnam as know someone who lives there.

[Strong Eagle]

Thank you. I'm a primary teacher with science/maths degree so could teach up to A Level in those subjects.
I'm sure there is a Croda in Singapore as my husband noticed a vacancy.
I appreciate all the feedback. We are just scoping out options for taking our family abroad to experience life elsewhere.
From what you've all said, I'm assuming the International Schools that teach British curriculum would be near impossible to get a job at?

Thanks again.

1. You probably can get a job with an International School, not impossible but the pay will really stink. On the plus side, you may be able to get reduced tuition for your children at the school in which you teach. Note that these days, spouses can no longer work on a Letter of Consent but must have their own employment pass so you'll still need to deal with salary minimums and other requirements.

2. Yes, you are correct, Croda does have a Singapore office... it's the Asia HQ. I missed it the first time because there are no listed job openings for Singapore. So you do have potential options.

Having said that, getting transferred into Singapore by your multinational company is literally the only way most people will ever get to Singapore. I spent 8 years in Singapore running my own company (I got an Entrepass when it was easy to get). I met many people in tech industries searching for jobs and I never met a single one who actually got a job, with the exception of a couple that I hired. I've been a moderator on this board for 20 years and can count on one hand the number of people posting, "Yay, I came cold to Singapore and was offered a job." Maybe if you're a Myanmar day laborer but that's another story.

So... I'll reassess... maybe only partially unrealistic. What malcontent said is correct... expats need that multinational to support their lifestyle. There is much to consider. For example, it's highly unlikely that you'll ever be able to make Singapore your permanent home. So, if you come to Singapore on a lower wage just so that you can get to Singapore, you sort of slit your own throat, salary wise, when it's time to go back... you're no longer on the track of regular increases.

Your husband needs to start working the internal grapevine to figure out how to get transferred to Singapore. And it doesn't need to be an advertised job. The companies I contracted into moved people in and out of Singapore for training and seasoning and for acquiring specific skills for specific projects.

[malcontent]

Well said SE. I’ve seen so many expats on full packages come through our office (I’m not one of them), I only know one that put up his hand and was able to get sent to Singapore on a package… but in that rare instance, they already had an opening the guy was qualified for, and there were no other takers — extremely rare. In all the other cases, it’s people who were almost forced to come here, they didn’t ask for it or want it. It’s always about what best suits the company needs, never the employee.

When I first moved here in 1996, I tried to transfer but it was plain as day that was never gonna happen. Even after I got here (jobless) I contacted the guy who could have given me the transfer and he couldn’t even hire me on local terms. It was nothing but a dead end.

Nowadays employers have to submit any position that is going to be filled by a non-local into this jobs bank for 14 days. I just heard about it today from our recruiter after I posted a job that I’m hiring for. I asked how long has that been going on… apparently several years.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Nowadays employers have to submit any position that is going to be filled by a non-local into this jobs bank for 14 days. I just heard about it today from our recruiter after I posted a job that I’m hiring for. I asked how long has that been going on… apparently several years.

That came into effect about 7 or 8 years ago. couple of years before I retired in 2019.

[Max Headroom]

Singapore was top of the list due to its safety ratings. With having a family, that is important. Then the multicultural aspect and education being highly regarded. We are considering Vietnam as know someone who lives there.

Thanks Charly.

Even though most of us probably take it for granted now, the degree of safety in Singapore is as good as unrivaled worldwide. Franky, it's awesome to know that family members are safe, no matter where they are in Singapore.

Sure, low crime doesn't mean no crime, but what there's very little of here is the kind of chav nonsense you seem to be getting on a daily basis in the west, particularly in the cities there.

That said, Singapore has become expensive, maybe even prohibitively so if you're not at least a good earner.

Clearly, Vietnam is a lot cheaper, but other than that, it can't really hold a candle to Singapore in most other aspects, in my opinion. I once considered Vietnam, but decided against it for a number of pretty solid reasons.

Have you looked at Malaysia? Obviously, it's not perfect, but it does have a few great things going for it.

[CharlyC]

Thank you everyone! Malaysia looks interesting. I think my husband is going to explore how to potentially be transferred to Singapore. If that proves impossible, perhaps Malaysia could be worth exploring more.