Profile of Singapore ex-pats



Preeti -- a new friend who I really admire and consider an "extreme ex-pat"
-- see below --
and Daniele, her fantastic Italian roommate.

Since I arrived in Singapore in early September 2010, I've met A LOT of ex-pats -- mostly American, British and Australian but also Chinese, Indian, South African and others. There is an instant bond when you meet a fellow ex-pat, as you immediately dive into conversations about the food ("don't you just LOVE chili crab?" and/or, "do you think the hawkers use MSG?"), your condo ("the kitchens are so small!"), the heat ("I miss seasons!"), the efficiency of Singapore ("It's just so CLEAN and SAFE"), your mutual fear of bugs and lizards (ok, I am the one bringing this up) and other mandatory topics.

From there, the conversation takes one of a few paths, based on the type of ex-pat you are. I am not aiming to over-simplify but it seems there are four general categories of ex-pats here:



The American Club-going, American School-attending young family. Often senior executives who were brought over for a specific professional purpose, they have old-school ex-pat packages and live near Orchard Road, Bukit Timah, Holland Village and mingle with other families through the American Club or children's school activities. Some really get into the local culture and travel all around Asia; others are content to remain at home and gather with friends to discuss their nanny and "live-in" (it's pretty common to have a live-in helper to do housework, nanny your kids, etc) woes.

The reluctant ex-pat. I've only run across a few of these -- people who by circumstance or choice relocated to Singapore and seem content to tolerate it. They like the cleanliness and efficiency but are scared of the food ("I don't like intense flavors" and/or "The McDonald's here actually is pretty good.") and stick close to ex-pat havens such as Clarke Quay, Dempsey Hill and Orchard Road malls.

Another "extreme ex-pat" I befriended.
She is London-born but had lived everywhere,
and traveled solo across South America. She and her
boyfriend, a Frenchman she met in Columbia,
are doing a rickshaw race across India in April.

The enthusiastic DINK-types (which I think we fall into). Professionals in their 20s/30s who proactively decided to live abroad for a few years, eager to embrace a new country and be in the center of a growing economy and an fast-evolving culture. They might not literally be "double incomes" as many are here solo, but generally they're comfortable in terms of income. They spend the week working long hours but carve out time for lots of food experimentation, walks through Fort Canning Park, lazy strolls through Singapore's 805 million shopping malls, cheap meals in the local hawker centers, exploring Arab Street, Little India, Chinatown, etc, attending local festivals, and madly planning long weekends to Thailand, Vietnam, China, etc. They live fairly central and aim to socialize with other ex-pats as well as Singaporean colleagues and friends.

A subtype of the DINK category is the extreme ex-pat -- this is the category I wish I was in but sadly am not nearly cool enough. I've met several of these people, including a few new friends I would consider close friends -- young professionals who have perhaps lived abroad before and have a defined adventurous spirit as exhibited by their many experiences camping their way through Asia, hiking numerous large mountains, deep sea diving in Philippines, living in hectic India, safari-ing through Africa, or crossing South America solo via bus. They're keen to KNOW people and different cultures and thrive on the adrenaline of adventure travel. Car sickness, bugs, squatting toilets or lizards don't stop them -- they view these as minor inconveniences that are small in the grand scheme of adventures to be had. 

It will be interesting to see if this experience moves me any closer to this category. There certainly is already a sense of ,"If I can move alone halfway around the world to Asia, what else can I do?" so it'll be interesting to see where this takes me.