Travelin Man,
Based on those pictures, seems like you should be heading back to HK, not Singapore. She is a cutie - if her personality is as nice as her appearance, what are you waiting on
Been to Singapore many times, but mainly on 1 or 2 week stints at a time, not on a long term ex-pat assignment. I really like Singapore and would move there in a heartbeat for the right opportunity. I also have a few expat friends in Singapore and they are loving it there. Two of them had their expat assignments end and instead of coming back to the US, they both resigned from their US companies and found new companies to work for in Singapore so that they could stay in Singapore instead of going back to the US. Most of the my Singapore expat friends tell me they do not intend on moving back to the US full time again and several of these guys have found beautiful wives in Singapore. Two have already committed to living in Singapore with their wives and the other ones haven't figured it out yet, but I suspect they will stay in Singapore as well. From what I see when I'm there, the banker expats are in very high demand in Singapore and can pretty much have any local women they want. The banker expats seem to like to flaunt their disposable income and as expected, they attract alot of the money hungry women in Singapore. In some of the expat bars I've been to, the banker expat guys I've met have told me to just tell the women that I'm a banker expat, even though I'm not a banker. I seem to do fine with the ladies there without telling them that I'm a banker, but I can see where it would work. Lots of women there are seriously looking for expat BFs/husbands, although they do not seem to have a huge desire to move to the West. The Singapore ladies I've met mainly want to stay in Singapore long term and want to find an expat who is like minded about staying in Singapore.
The pros of Singapore are:
- it's a first rate country and you most times do not feel like you are giving up any of your western lifestyle while living in Singapore
- it's probably the most diverse place in Asia and better yet, all the different groups actually seem to get along with each other just fine
- it's a very orderly place - very clean, very low crime, very low public disturbances, etc - mainly due to the government being very strict
- most people are bilingual and the majority of people speak English, so you can get around just fine speaking only English
- it's a fairly compact place and you can either walk, take a taxi, or take the subway - it's easy to get around, I walk most places when I'm there
- there are lots of attractions there and you can be in tourist mode exploring all the attractions for quite some time
- plenty of beautiful women there and there seems to be a man shortage in Singapore. Also lots of professional business women there if you like that type, which I do, but they are still very feminine, unlike their American counterparts.
The cons of Singapore are:
- it's expensive - it helps to be on some kind of expat program there to make the economics work. Also like much of Asia, unless you are working with a local who can get you the local price on most things, you will wind up paying the expat/foreigner price for many things unless you negotiate like crazy.
- many women there are all about the money, you definitely have to weed out the gold digger types. Good girls exist - similar to your HK cutie, but most of them are not hanging out where the expats hang out and my buddies who married great women there all met their wives through mutual introductions.
- Singapore is not the place to get in trouble with the strict Singapore government. For most people, this is not an issue, but if like to ignore the rules, this may not be the place for you.
- it's a tropical climate. In the middle of winter in the US right now, it's upper 80s and 90s in Singapore right now and it's fairly humid most days. Your body acclimates with time, but the heat and humidity can be overpowering at times.
- alcohol is very expensive in Singapore - credit the local government trying to deter the locals from getting hooked I guess. They do something similar with gambling there where the locals have to pay a hefty entrance fee to enter the casino, while the foreigners and tourists can enter for free.
One other interesting thing about Singapore which is neither pro nor con. There is an pretty active P4P scene there, although it is restricted to certain areas and establishments. I happened into one of these places by accident on my first trip there. I stopped into the bar in my hotel which had expensive drinks, ok appetizers, a very decent band which had people up and dancing, and a room full of the friendliest batch of 9+ women I had ever met. After more in-depth discussions with some of the ladies, the light bulb came on, but I seriously had no idea at first. Later, my Singapore buddies told me how my hotel bar was one of the few designated places for P4P in Singapore and how there is a whole system to the P4P scene. In an otherwise strict and orderly place, P4P is actually legal in Singapore as long as you play by the rules - interesting. You will find plenty of women to date without using P4P I'm sure, but the option is there if you want it.
All in all, I like Singapore, but be sure you can make the economics work there, and be prepared to ultimately find some very nice women who will primarily want to stay in Singapore and try to convince you to stay there as well. Two of my friends did this and they honestly have never been happier in their lives.
