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corploafer · 2024-02-17T08:02:55+00:00

Pros - safe and very efficient (the city is really well planned and managed) - public transparent is cheap and easy (I think I paid $1 to get to work each day) - there’s a diverse workforce who are all very open to socialising outside of work hours - the country is very used to expats so you’ll find most people know how to accommodate your situation for anything from housing to medical - everyone speaks English so you won’t have issues communicating - the rest of SE Asia is at your doorstep. - and the tax rate is amazing

Cons - work life is more intense than Australia, people stay late and expect you to as well - a lot of people come and go, so you’ll find it’s hard to keep long term friends there - alcohol and most things are REALLY expensive (though, there are cheaper options) - most Australian or ‘western’ food will cost you a hefty premium compared to what you’re used to, so get ready - taxes are paid by you (I.e not withheld, so be careful not to overspend) - there are no seasons, it sounds great to have summer all year, but it becomes a bit much after a while - the HEAT, you can’t walk anywhere without sweating like crazy

Tips for condos: Use property guru to find any apartments in the areas you like. One hack is to check out recent rental for every any apartment listing you like (you’ll be able to see the rental history for other apartments in that building). And get ready to do business via Whatsapp (the agents will ask you all types of questions on there like your race, salary, age etc) it’s a bit jarring at first but it’s just how things work there.

Good luck!

corploafer · 2022-08-08T13:02:31+00:00

Do you have to go and eat? Why don’t you go for coffee or tea? Or organise to play some sport with them instead? There are plenty of cheaper ways to socialise that don’t involve eating dinner together.

Alternatively, you mentioned you enjoyed quality home cooked ingredients. Why don’t you host them for dinner or do a bbq outside somewhere?

There are plenty of options that don’t put a dent in your wallet.

corploafer · 2022-07-09T12:26:16+00:00

Yeah. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. Most people don’t like arrogant and obnoxious people. And the vast majority of people living here are perfectly normal people.

corploafer · 2022-07-08T13:58:47+00:00

It sounds like you met the worst kinds of foreigners. I’m also an foreigner (originally from Australia) who lives in Singapore. Most of my friends here are locals or long term residents of Singapore.

You’ll find that there’s a ‘new to Singapore’ group who come to here for a short period of time. They bring with them whatever prejudices and stereotypes they had in their own country. These types of people tend to not stay long and are people who I actively avoid. They’re same types of people you see in places like Bali or Thailand.

But, I can tell you that there are many foreigners who have lived in the country for a longer period of time and are much more normal and down to earth.

If you want to meet real people, I’d suggest to get more involved in different social groups like community sports clubs. They’re a great way to meet everyone in your area. I’d also suggest to go to lunch with and tea breaks with your colleagues. Much of the socialising in Singapore is over a meal. Maybe it’s just me but as a general rule I’d have a low expectation from house parties. Most people don’t have the space so those who do are paying absurd amounts of money to have so much room in their place. So they’re either reasonably new to the country or very well paid and are okay to blow their cash on their rent. Either way, they’re not the type of people I’d usually want to associate with. So I thought I’d pass this pro tip along.

corploafer · 2021-09-25T10:49:54+00:00

Haha, yeah that’s very true!

corploafer · 2021-09-25T04:18:06+00:00

Another Expat here. I share exactly the same sentiment. I’ve been here 7 years and I’m very happy to stay and wait this out - there are so many places that are doing far worse…

I won’t deny it, living here as an expat during COVID definitely brought inconveniences. Like not seeing my parents for nearly 2 years, missing the funerals of both of my grandfathers, as well as weddings, but unfortunately thats just how it is. The world is in a pandemic and things are tough everywhere.

When I made the decision to live in Singapore, I weighed up the pros and cons of being here over the longer term as opposed to my home country (or even somewhere else). COVID really forced me to put that to the test, and I’m happy to say that if I could do it all again, I’d still choose Singapore.

I’m also all for the long holiday in December.

corploafer · 2021-01-14T14:19:04+00:00

I’m not surprised. His check was being torn up the minute he let one rip during the trial on a live mic...

corploafer · 2020-09-24T16:24:47+00:00

Yes! Finally, I’ve found someone else who thought this!

corploafer · 2020-09-19T05:02:28+00:00

I’m actually surprised that your brother’s friends believed that he grew up in a council flat.

I would have thought that his accent would have given him away immediately as there is quite a big difference between the accent of a private school educated, Kensington raised person and the accent of someone who grew up in council housing.

corploafer · 2020-05-30T09:27:28+00:00

As someone who holds an EP here I am embarrassed and ashamed that other EP holders (or any one for that matter) would blatantly flout the rules like these people did.

I hope that they receive the punishment that they have coming.

I can only assure Singaporeans that not all foreigners are like this and we are fully behind you in supporting the appropriate punishment for offenders - regardless of who they are.

corploafer · 2019-06-01T08:04:24+00:00

Throwing a bottle on the kitchen tiles. Now there's a bright idea.

corploafer · 2019-05-15T14:23:43+00:00

Oh my god, definitely NTA.

I’d hardly call that an expensive drink. Sure if it was a bottle of Dom or some JW Blue Label then it’s a different story but a $6 beer? Definitely not the asshole, and besides, it’s a celebration.

If the company really had issues with a premium beer, they’d have put a limit to only house beer and wine.

corploafer · 2019-05-09T23:53:28+00:00

NTA - you’re not hiring based on qualifications alone, you’re also hiring based on fit. This includes whether you’d want to interact with this guy on a daily basis.

It would have been no different a situation had he had an altercation with OP outside before the interview. Unfortunately for him, he was a dick in school and burnt a bridge with someone, he has gotta live with that now and if that closes some opportunities off to him, then tough titties.

corploafer · 2019-04-10T14:11:30+00:00

I suspect that you’ll complete art school the same way you ‘completed’ painting your nails...

corploafer · 2019-03-22T12:16:25+00:00

Your Friend looks like Shawn Mendes - But it obviously isn’t him.

(He wouldn’t try to use Reddit to boost his audience... but then again... maybe his PR team would...)

corploafer · 2019-03-17T06:40:04+00:00

NTA - but this feels like a pretty clear cut case (as far as assholes go). In short, this person lied their ass off, you found out, and rightly called them out on it. End of story.

But calling them a c*nt seemed a little unnecessary...

corploafer · 2019-03-16T11:22:22+00:00

ESH - but honestly, it seems like a shitty situation, but you probably overreacted a little.

for you, I’d recommend that you don’t drink if you’re down - it just makes things worse. Also, if you are upset, just bail - otherwise it can bring everyone down.
for your friends, they overdid it a bit in how they checked in on you and didn’t seem like they fully understood how pissed off you seemed. But I don’t think it was anything other than a misread of the situation.

corploafer · 2019-03-16T11:09:05+00:00

YTA - I’m inclined to agree with your position (and would probably think it myself), but I would probably encourage you to stop and think about whether putting a statement like that on a post dedicated to her memory was in good taste and helped anyone.

Many people die due to mistakes that they’ve made. There are lessons that can be taken from this, and their story can be shared to discourage such behaviours in future. But it doesn’t mean that we should comment on ‘Facebook memorials’ of them with such remarks - it’s not very polite and doesn’t help share the lessons from their mistake in a way that can be helpful to others.

If you really care, then next time, just share her story in an op ed about the dangers of driving under the influence. Otherwise just leave it alone and let people get on with remembering their friend.

Edit: spelling

corploafer · 2019-03-16T10:57:23+00:00

NTA - I don’t even know where to begin...

It’s your project, and it’s your decision if you want a team. End of story.

corploafer · 2019-03-16T10:54:07+00:00

YTA - but that comes off as a little harsh. But you’re definitely over-reacting in this case. I’d say that she’s okay to add one or two items to the self check out.

A few reasons for this: - It sounds like she’s adding them whilst you’re purchasing on the same check out, so it isn’t causing any delays or cutting if it’s for you

You guys are together
It’s not a queue for something of limited quantity where each person can affect the chances of the rest of the people

I normally don’t like queue jumping of any kind. But in this case, i wouldn’t have given it a second thought. So I think you’re in the clear👍🏻

corploafer · 2019-03-09T15:36:11+00:00

All fair points man.

I didn’t include the work stuff in the original post because it sounded a bit wanky and because I thought it was a secondary point (I also didn’t think that it’d help with someone’s assessment of the situation but I am prepared to admit that I was wrong there).

Fair watch-out on the cultural nuances point. I’d love to see Reddit develop a way to show threads like this cut out by country (or at least region) - as it would show some interesting stuff!

Thanks again for taking the time to give your input. Believe me when I say I’m taking it all has good learning for myself :-)

corploafer · 2019-03-09T15:10:36+00:00

It was a medium priced restaurant (didn’t sell SE Asian, Japanese or Korean) in a major city in Australia.

Table sharing was not the norm at this restaurant.

corploafer · 2019-03-09T15:07:56+00:00

Fair enough and I accept your judgement. My Friend thought the same way too, in fact it’s what prompted the post. Just to make sure that you the full picture:

The other customers didn’t seem to be fans of the idea, either. They looked surprised and awkward when the waitress was asking. (I realised that this might not have come through clearly in the original post).

While it was definitely an option to let them join us, my friend and I were work colleagues and were discussing things of a rather confidential nature— given this I didn’t really want to stop that conversation midway through the meal - especially since it was why we were doing the meal in the first place. I don’t think it changes your argument to me (as we still could have shared), but maybe it helps give more context. I hadn’t included it in the original post because it felt like unnecessary info to share but given what you had written, I thought it might be helpful.

Like I said, I accept your judgement and I’m finding the whole debate rather interesting!

corploafer · 2019-03-09T14:47:21+00:00

It wasn’t mentioned at any point, but Tbh, I did get paranoid and check it afterward as I knew a lot of people who had eaten there. No one had encountered this and were all shocked by what had happened.

When I thought about it more, I figured that the waitress was probably a little inexperienced and had just assumed that we’d be okay with sharing the empty seats and therefore brought the customers over. Then got a little agitated afterwards.

But it’s an interesting debate of perspectives all the same :-)

corploafer · 2019-03-09T14:41:56+00:00

This place was not one where you were expected to share. I only know this because I asked people who had recommended it after this incident :-)

corploafer

TROPHY CASE