Life as an Expat Wife

It’s been fun five months since I’ve been a “housewife.” Tis been eventful, and I give props to all the housewives out there because being a housewife aint easy. Well I guess it is, if you don’t have kids, but it really isn’t at the same time if you aren’t the type to just let the time pass by. 

I’ve always been ambitious, though not adventurous, so I love to learn new hobbies or develop existing/new skills. I thought it’d be an awesome life for me as a housewife in Singapore- I can travel around the city, learn new languages and hobbies, meet new friends, and learn to cook foods other than Korean and American (I love to cook). I’d have a cleaner who does all the house chores and cleans up after us (we both suck at cleaning). Though I’m a picky shopper and don’t enjoy shopping much in general, I now have $__ of money I can spend freely from my husband’s income and our savings.

Since arriving in Singapore, while my hubby’s at work, I:

-took cooking classes in Singaporean/Malaysian/Thai food
-Brushed up on my Japanese having private Japanese conversation lessons twice a week
-Started learning Mandarin at a good Chinese institution in City Hall- intensive course
-Private tutored Korean Ajummas (married ladies) English few times a week, making extra pocket money
-Made a lot of great friends this way, and through my hubby’s networks
-Took photography classes with my Canon 5DIII
-Took public speech classes with my hubby bc we both suck.

learning how to make pweety flower bouquet

It was all fun and great, but as months went by I started to feel I was falling behind. It’s the feeling one would have when all his friends are getting job offers fresh out of college, but he is still finishing up the last remainder of his required courses. The feeling one would get when everyone around him seems to be advancing further up and making great contributions to society (though, not really, but the unemployed think that), and he’s just home like a spoiled child wasting his talent away.

It’s not great.

I started to admire girls I’d meet here talking about their work life at a prestigious company, and the stories of early 20s woman in Korean dramas working toward their dream job/goal. I love and admire the passion and dreams/goals that some young people have. I sound like a 40 year old woman looking back, but really, five months was a long enough time for me to want to start building my resume and career again.  I’d probably rest for few months/years if I have a kid (not on our plans anytime soon), but I feel it’s important to build my resume now, so that I have a good career to return to once my child is old enough to go to school. note: Not to say girls who stay home and never work are making bad choices. Everyone has different preferences and both of my husband’s and my mom have never worked once in their lives.

Anyway, bottom line. I have a job! Life of a working expat post to come in few months.

Here are some pictures I took at my night photography class:

1. View of Marina Bay Sands @ Gardens by the Bay “Light Show”

2. Bridge link to Marina Bay Sands

3. Letters I created “LOVE” through long exposure

4. View from our condo balcony.

What to Look For When Buying & Renting a Property in Singapore

Currently, US Citizens have the advantage of being treated the same same as Singaporean citizens in only paying  3% stamp duty when purchasing a property.  I hold a broker licence in California and I’ve lived in various types of properties (and floor levels) so I thought I’d know enough about real estate, but the climate and culture is much different here. After much research and talking to people in the know, we’ve come up with the following criteria in looking for the right home in Singapore. This list is not scientific but reflects the actual living experience:

1. Pests

Due to Singapore’s hot and humid tropical rainforest climate, infestation of bugs and pests can get out of hand unless it is regularly tended. Landed homes and lower floor units require frequent pest servicing & cleaning to keep out pests such as mosquitoes, ants, cockroaches, termites, spiders, snakes and rats, that reproduce quickly and are many times the size of ones seen in western countries.

For bug haters like me:

-Avoid landed homes, and floors 1~10. Molds can also blow in from trees outside.
-10~20 floors: You’ll still have bugs flying in here and there when windows are opened. Ants/cockroaches were still seen.
-20+: You rarely find bugs and can leave the window open at night.

I’ve learned that Singapore is NOT like California and thus is not an ideal place to own a landed home. 

2. Noise

Fact: 1) Sound travels upwards, only because there are generally more obstructions horizontally, such as trees, buildings, vehicles, etc.
2) Sound reduces through distance; however, sound takes longer vertical distances to dissipate than horizontal due to less obstructions.

If you want quiet living in a city like Singapore:

-Avoid 3~8 floors. Noise level at its peak as sound travels upwards.
-1~2 floors: Regular ground noise. Depends on the neighborhood.
-10~20 floors: Noise is somewhat reduced
-20+: all noise is greatly reduced and everything becomes a gentle hum, though you can never get rid of the general noise of a city. If you close your windows, you generally can’t hear much this high up. If you want perfect peace with windows opened, move out of the city area.

3. Cool Breeze and Less Mold

Higher floors, more breeze. More breeze, better ventilation. Better ventilation, less mold. If you’re the type that likes being out in the balcony or keeping your windows wide open, avoid lower units.

 I currently live on the 36th floor and my unit is never humid. I don’t have to turn on A/C as often and I can actually enjoy my balcony. I’ve realized breeze and cool air is very important in Singapore. Singapore is HOT all year round and not only does cool breeze cool your apt, it also keeps it from becoming humid and forming mold. (To give one an idea of Singapore’s climate: in certain apts, the floors become wet due to humidity. Designer bag left unused for few weeks grew mold)

4. Chinese Superstition: Avoid units with the number ’4′ 

It’s the same as in Korea, where they either skip the fourth floor altogether and name it fifth, or write ‘F’ for four in the elevator. They hate seeing the number. You’ll not have as many buyers if you own a unit with number 4 in Asia. I thought it was just the fourth floor, but it’s actually any floor unit that has the number 4: 4, 14, 24, 34, 44, etc. Because we bought directly from the developer, we had many options and thus avoiding ’4′ unit wasn’t a problem.

5. Look for North facing units

 In hot and humid countries without winters, it is best to get a unit that gets just the right amount of sun. North is the easiest to shade from unwanted sun. During summers when the sun is high, north-facing rooms will be kept cool, while in winter when the sun is lower, right amount of sunlight will come through.

South is the next option. Then East. Avoid west-facing at all costs.

6. Live next to an MRT station

Singapore’s car prices are the highest in the world and thus many people decide to live without one. This means transportation network is extremely important in Singapore and the demand for housing near MRT will always be high. Unless you plan to invest in a property $8 million and up where it starts to be more about privacy and exclusivity rather than connectivity, it’d be best to live near an MRT.

7. Avoid Far East Organization properties

Not sure if this holds true, but I’ve been consulting with several interior designers over the last few weeks and they’ve all discouraged buying properties made by Far East (and smaller companies) because their build quality is cheap. Majority recommended to go with Capitaland and City Developments Limited properties. It is important to know your developers and their reputation because it affects build quality.

8. Condo Living in general

Living in a condo means you have less maintenance and less maintenance costs. It also has a beautiful city view. It has facilities only an elevator ride away (such as gym, pool, tennis court, basketball court) and usually have better accessibility of amenities such as markets, banks, malls, hospitals, and transportation.

I’ve come across some expats who’ve stated they expect the exact same lifestyle as they did in America or Europe and thus are only looking for landed homes. I, too, grew up in a landed home in California and I love the space, the backyard, and the privacy that my private property provides. However, one should keep in mind that what works in other countries may not work here. Landed property owners in Singapore spend thousands of dollars per year upkeeping their home and suffer from humidity and heat. They live in landed homes because they CAN (they can afford such upkeeping and secluded lifestyle with many cars) but it may not always be ideal in the climate and land conditions they live in.

9. HDB.. ?

HDB, the public housing of Singapore, can only be purchased by citizens and PRs. The prices of HDB are extremely low in comparison to the condos, and we thought we’d wait until we became PRs to buy one…. until we saw what they were like. The older ones look like low-income public housing in America. Few of the newer developments seem decent, but I couldn’t find many that had spacious living area as the older HDBs. Further, there always seems to be noise nuisance from the surrounding units, because the walls and ceilings are so thin and the units are so close together. Because there are more neighbors who are loud and open (they at times leave their windows and doors wide open for breeze), privacy is a constant problem. The laundry is hung everywhere outside the building and it’s an eyesore. This may all be an everyday life occurrence of a Singaporean who grew up in one, but for expats it may be difficult to live in such conditions. We feel it’s similar to education: some decide to send their kids to private schools not only for the quality education alone, but also for the quality friends they’d meet. So keep in mind that if you buy HDB, you get HDB type of neighbors. Few Singaporeans we’ve met told us most try to ‘upgrade’ their lifestyle to condos once they have enough saved up.

10. Check Air Conditioner Space and Balcony Size

Developers in Singapore count balcony size and air conditioner placer outside the condo into the square footage, which results in buyers having to pay for them. So make sure you check your floor plan to see if it’s set to your liking. We liked big balconies where we can eat and lounge outdoors, so our balcony size is whopping 200 sq ft.

So based from our research: perfect home in Singapore (for those scared of bugs/pests, with a budget of ~$5mil) is 20+ floor up, north facing, near MRT,  reliable developer made condo unit that does not have the number ’4′ in the unit number. There are many other additional things to consider: good district (9, 10, 11), proximity to good schools and markets, and work, but these are the basic things one would have to start their search with. Again, people have different preferences as some may not mind frequent pest servicing for ground living with a spacious lawn, so this is just my two cents on Singapore real estate. We needed a condo that brings in cool breeze and air, and where bugs flying in isn’t an everyday occurrence.

Bangkok, Thailand City Tour (Part 2)

Our first day of Bangkok city tour was with a different tour company. We actually enjoyed them more because our tour guide was really easy to get along with and she seemed really passionate about she does. We instantly clicked with her and our driver as well, who got us unlimited supply of drinks and Thai street foods throughout the day at his own expense- because he said he loved Koreans! They arrived at our hotel with a big, spacious van and we couldn’t have asked for better. We were able to tour around Bangkok comfortably with A/C on full blast (it was really hot) and every time we’d return from a temple, we were provided with fresh frozen wet towels. It was worth every penny.

Here’s our personalized schedule that I set up with the tour company. It was a lot to see, but we wanted to see all the attractions while we were here and it was made possible with the private tour.

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9:00AM     Pick up at Hotel
Visit The Royal Grand Palace & The Royal Temple are the perfect introduction to Thailand’s Architecture, Culture and Tradition, You will visit the highlight attractions around this complex such as The Royal Temple (Wat Phra Kaew, The Temple of the Emerald Buddha), The Golden Chedi, Pantheon of the Chakri’s Kings, A miniature replica of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Coronation Throne Hall and Royal Reception
Visit Wat Pho (The Temple of The Reclining Buddha) is the of the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok and still an important center for Traditional Thai Medicine and Traditional Thai Massages School

 Afternoon:
Canal Tour, Take a long tail boat along the bustling Chao Phraya River and quiet Klongs (canals) Passing picturesque scenes of Thai River Life.
By the river see Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn: is an important landmark located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The main shrine, decorated with glazed ornaments and ceramics, rises 67 meters towards the heavens. Built during the beginning of King Taksin era, the magnificent temple reflects the glory of the Thai culture. The highest Prang in Thailand symbolizing Hindu-Buddhist cosmology
Pak Klong Talad (Flowers & Vegetables Market), It is known mostly as a wholesale flower market serving everyone from flower vendors to florists, but it also has a good selection of fresh vegetables, which are bought in the pre-dawn hours to be transported to neighborhood markets around Bangkok for sale in the morning. Pak Klong Talad is the most important flowers & Vegetables wholesale market in town
Yaowarat Market or Chinatown is the old business centre covering a large area and the one of greatest concentrations of gold shops anywhere, reflecting the love of gold the Thai-Chinese are often thought to have. There are many small side streets full of shops and stalls selling all types of goods including household wares and Chinese foodstuffs
The Golden Buddha Image or Sukhothai Trimit Golden Buddha Image is the largest Golden Buddha Image in the world. It is made of pure gold and it weighs approximately 5.5 tons. Now more than 700 years old, it is a valuable treasure of Thailand
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I won’t post much pictures of the temples because you can google the names above and read about them. Instead, I’ll post some of the candid pictures I like that my awesome tour guide took! She was amazing telling us how to pose or which scenes would look great. She had skills of a professional photographer

normal pictures with my regular digi:

our awesome tour guide and driver in the front

us in the back ready for adventure

another great thai restaurant we went for lunch

feeding the fishes bread! the fishes near the temple are not allowed to be caught so there were thousands in water

resting after the temple visit lol

yummy snack

Kanchanaburi, Thailand (Part 1)

feeding a baby tiger cub. Spilled milk on his paw

When we decided to make a trip out to Bangkok at the last minute, I got down to research right away (I love researching and planning). I made a tight schedule for three nights and four days- Bangkok city tour the first day, Kanchanaburi providence the second day, and Thai cooking school & shopping the third day. Our ‘Friday (Thursday night) to Sunday’ short trip was more than enough for us… we had such action filled weekend and we can’t wait to visit other parts of Thailand in the near future. It was great that it took only two hours to get here from Singapore.

I’ve decided to post about the second day first because I LOVE animals and it was a day we we visited the rural areas of Thailand to interact with tigers and elephants. It’s a must-do for any visitors to Thailand so be sure to find the means to get out there! We usually don’t use tour companies, but we decided to use tour guides in Southeastern Asian countries for three reasons: 1. they offer private tours for cheap- we hate bus group tours! 2. Some may rip off foreigners if you don’t go around with a local 3. It’s safer and convenient to get around… and most locals don’t speak English.  At the end of the trip, we agreed it was the best decision ever. The first company we used for Bangkok city tour was the best- with big comfortable seats on a spacious van, unlimited refills of refreshments, and airconditioning – but the second day was okay too. We got spoiled by the first day tour so it was a bit hard being inside a sedan for 2~3 hours straight when we made a trip to the outside suburbs. In any event, we had soo much fun seeing the animals! Here is our personalized itinerary with a private tour on our second day to Kanchanaburi providence (I chose what I wanted to see):

7:00 : Pick us up at the hotel
8:00 : – Passing Salt Farms and Shrimp Farms.
8:15 – 9:00 – Train Market and wait for the passing train
9:30 – Floating market (take a paddle boat there).
12:15 – Arrive Tiger Temple and attend cub feeding.
14:15 – Late lunch in a local restaurant.
15.20 – Elephant bath.
16:40 – the bridge over the river kwai.
19.30 – Arrive back to Bangkok safely.

1. Train Market:

Train Market- in 3 minutes warning, the pack everything up and let the train pass by (railroad in the middle). Once it passes, they move everything back as if nothing happened!

Us at the market- amazed!

2. Floating Market

Floating Market- goods are sold from boats. amazing!

We also tried the local Mango sticky rice and home made coconut ice cream. It was THE best coconut ice cream we’ve ever had!

3. Tiger Temple at Kanchanaburi providence

We got to interact with cubs, feed them, and take pictures with the big ones. It was a bit scary at first because these ‘cubs’ were bigger than I had originally thought (four times bigger than my dog, Milk!) but they were so cute and active. It was our first time ever seeing them so up-close, without a fence in between us!

he wouldn’t let go of my thai dress haha

Milk to feed cubs

Picture with the adult tigers:

Some pictures of us with beautiful scenery (the hat he’s wearing is Thai traditional hat hehe):

4. Drinking Thai Singha beer and enjoying the best Thai dishes we’ve ever had! @ local Thai restaurant nearby

5. Last but not least.. bath with the elephants. It was the most fun experience for me. I never knew elephants were so cute and smart! They did several tricks for me in the river and I had an awesome time hanging out with them aka falling, getting splashed, climbing on top of them, balancing on their backs on foot, etc.

Not So Pretty Singapore

Any given city cannot be perfect and exactly the way you want it. If it’s livable enough, it’s good enough. Though there were numerous difficult times where I wanted to give up, pack up, and return home, I tried to keep a positive mindset because an opportunity like this doesn’t come by to many. The experiences you go through on a foreign soil will become one of your most valuable assets. It’s like education- as you get older, you really start to see the gap in a person’s perception and character from those that went out of their comfortable boundaries to those that didn’t.  My dad is my role model/mentor and he really supported my studying and working in different cities in my early 20s (though I may have been immature then as any other 19~22 year old wanting to party with friends back in my hometown), because I may not have the chance once I’m married with kids. How lucky am I then, that I met a guy just like myself, who’ve experienced the same, saw the same, and brought me here to Singapore?

So having said all that, I love Singapore and feel blessed by the opportunity to spend our first honeymoon years here (We try to think of it as an extended honeymoon). So I am in no way “hating on” the country as I write the list below because there are bound to be annoyances and frustrations at each city. But these are the things that upset me at times and poor husband has to deal with my “why did you move me here” rant… but I don’t mean it and he knows it. So here it goes:

1. Local Banks

It took three hours to set up an account at a local bank. They ask for everything and anything, from income statements to passports, for a debit card (yes, not a credit card) where I’m taking out my own money I’ve put in.  They seemed to lack common sense to know that having a dependent pass means my passport has been verified. They said they’d need my passport for verification, then said they don’t need it; I think each worker has a different requirement of their own.

High security. Internet banking is not as easy and efficient as America, with just a sign on name and password. There is a security number generator you must carry around in order for you to sign online with an extra code. In order for you to pay your online bill or set up automatic payment, it’s also not as easy as logging online and putting in your account and routing number. Many steps and approvals had to be made (1 month) in order for this to be enacted. Online purchases are the same way- when we were trying to buy our flight tickets to bangkok, it did not go through because they said they need SMS verification to our phone and our cell number wasn’t in the system. We told them we had provided our number when we made the account, and the only response was that it was not in the system and that we’d have to go to the branch and put it in, before making the online purchase.  After much frustration and headache, it is finally properly working now…

2. Weather

It’s hotter than hot. There’s not a day I that I don’t turn on my airconditioner at least for few hours. I prefer warm weathers like California, but it’s also very humid and rains at least once a day. But New York didn’t have that great of a weather either (hot and humid, cold and rainy) so I guess I can’t complain.

3. Cars

Cars are a luxury item here. Cheap Honda that would cost $15,000~20,000 in America costs $100,000 or more. While I do understand that government taxes heavily on cars to keep down its number in a small island-state, I think it’s unfair to the residents that only the rich are able to afford one. This is the urban planner in me talking again, but congestion pricing (A fee that is higher under congested conditions than uncongested conditions, intended to shift some vehicle traffic to other routes, times and modes) is only fair when it’s in the affordable means of its citizens. For instance, any Singaporean would be able to pay $5 extra to take a taxi during rush hour if they choose to. It’s in their means. However, most car prices here are not in their means for many, because the government charges twice or three times more than the actual cost of the car.

I feel there are numerous different strategies that LTA (Land Transport Authority) can work to limit the number of cars without only basically allowing the rich to be able to afford one. They can go by the fair lottery system where the option to purchase is given to a selected number of residents each year, or perhaps via priority selection, where it is given to those that truly need a car, e.g. handicapped, have kids, long commute hours to work.  In any event, I think it’s pretty frustrating that the car prices are just ridiculous. We intend to buy one once we have a baby, but I think I’d feel horrible spending 150,000 on a car that I could’ve bought for 50,000 anywhere else in the world.

4. Supermarkets

Chocolate covered strawberries I made my husband for Valentines. Stawberries- $12 for 15.

Because everything is imported, market items are very overpriced and the produce isn’t fresh. Also, there are sadly no Costco, Korean E-Mart, Target, Walmart and all those big box stores that I can get a bulk of 25 toilet papers for less than $12 bucks. I miss taking giant cart around and buying everything in packs. There is Mustafa, an Indian walmart, but it’s not even close to being America or Korea cheap, and what’s the point of buying all the items? We have no car to carry it back and it takes awhile to get a cab in that area.

A personal complaint here, but my favorite Korean alcohol Soju costs $2/bottle at bars in Korea, $8~12 in Los Angeles, and around $14~16 in New York. So how is it that in Singapore, a country in a closer proximity to Korea, soju costs a whopping $25 dollars? Alcohol is expensive here. >:(

5. Education

Everyone raves about Singapore’s great public/private education. But I feel that American education is as great as you make it out to be; it’s mostly up to the type of family environment and upbringing a child is brought up in that creates a successful student. Some who aren’t “top of the class” actually get into better colleges at mediocre high schools because the competition isn’t as fierce- I know, because I taught SAT courses at an Academy. It’s unlike many Asian cultures where you’d have to go to top elementary, junior high, and high school in order for you to make it to the top school. I gasped when my mom told me about how she stood in line for 12 hours since midnight to get me into the top preschool in Korea… seriously? What would I know the difference, I’m only five.

I’m thankful that Singapore has as good education system that does not fall behind, but it’s sad to hear that expats are paying $30,000/year for their child’s education for any levels before college, or are suffering through the Asian education system where you’d have to take tests to get into good schools. (but for meeting good friends and networking purposes, I do think private schools may be a good option)

6. Housing

We’ve lived in two other ‘most expensive’ cities: Tokyo and New York. But Singapore by far is the most expensive with the least available selection, primarily due to the majority of available housing being government HDBs provided for its citizens. Expats don’t have many housing options as the number of condos are limited, and HDB honestly looks like a building built in the ’80s in Korea with below average living conditions.  I can’t figure out what it is about HDBs that makes it more ghetto-looking than all of the acceptable housing options in New York, Japan, and Korea combined. Not all New Yorkers (students, workers) live in nice condos, and had the HDBs been more livable, I think many of the expats would have considered it as an option as well. The newer HDBs made in the past five years seem decent (like the on in Tanjong Pagar going for only $600,000), but the square footage are ridiculously small and I’m surprised they even called it a ‘room’ when it’s smaller than the size of a walk-in closet in most Korean or American homes.

Our new condo- construction in progress

I guess a lot of it comes down to pricing: liquor, housing, cars, and groceries, four of my favorite joys in life are much higher than I’d like to pay. But we somehow get by fine with decent amount getting tucked into savings; it’s just balancing of the priorities of your family. We bought a condo to opt out of high rents, decided not buy a car for few years, do not overindulge at markets, and will consider public education for our future kids. Other than that, Singapore is great. Now only if I can get a job here…