When meeting locals or expatriates in Singapore you are most likely to ask:  How long have you been in Singapore?  What brought you here? Of course, you hear a lot of answers like, “I was sent by my company.”  However, the answers are becoming more varied since Asia, for the past several years, is the fastest growing region, producing the largest number of new billionaires.

Noticeably, there is an increasing number of individuals like me who moved to Singapore to fulfill their own personal aspirations.  We’ve opted to become “Permanent Residents” (PRs) under Singapore immigration law. As PRs rather than expatriates coming in for an international assignment, you don’t receive the perks given to you using a company’s expatriate benefits. But you don’t have a boss to tell you that your journey is over and that you will be sent home tomorrow – something we’ve witnessed, sadly, too often recently.

Why choose Singapore?

In fact, the reason my wife and I wanted to move to Asia in the first place is because of the “buzz” we felt while on a backpacking holiday visiting Southeast Asia in 2004.  Then, the process was to identify what talent we bring to the table and where it would fit best.  In my case, I brought many years of international business experience in technology market segments.  I was looking to lead teams across Asia and where I would live is an important aspect of finding that type of opportunity.  In Asia, the leading cities or states for regional roles are Hong Kong, Singapore, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.  All have pros and cons, and you need to understand what influences your decision to pick one.

Singapore has many compelling points in its favor:

• Ease of doing business – Singapore ranks #1 in the world year after year;
• Ease of communicating – English is the official working language;
• Ease of traveling around Asia with ultra modern broadband communication infrastructures;
• Political stability – Singapore is often labeled as the Switzerland of Asia;
• Wide selection of international schools;
• Security with an amazingly low crime and corruption environment

In our case, those arguments were  influential, but the main drivers for us were Singapore’s favorable taxation and immigration rules.  While seeking potential business ventures or job opportunities, Singapore remains a very easy place to relocate.  However, you must make sure you do your homework because without any income or revenue, Singapore can be a very expensive place to stay.

As for taxes, it is most favorable after Hong Kong in Asia, or the emerging Middle Eastern countries.    Here are a few more tax tips about Singapore:

• Simple GST (Goods and Services Tax) flat rate at 7%;
• Income tax paid once a year and generally, it takes a whopping 30 seconds to submit your online tax return;
• Income tax rate of around 15% for mid to high-income earners, or roughly one month of your yearly salary;
• No capital gains tax except for few highly speculative investments like real estate (no wonder there is a Singapore Monopoly game version)

So, in the end, although we had to align our salary income down to local salary rates, our bank account shows higher net savings against earning Euros in Europe after a full year.   So, this is very cool but there are also challenges to living and working in Singapore.

Challenges living and working in Singapore

If you aren’t entrepreneurial, finding work in Singapore is a challenge that again you must plan carefully.  In general, companies won’t elect to hire foreigners and pay their moves to Singapore.  Most online job databases always refer to Singaporean and/or Permanent Residents only.  So, you must come to Singapore prepared to hunt for your opportunity in order to land a work visa pass (equivalent of the green card).

However, there are pockets of markets where Singapore is very active to attract talents from outside.  Some that I noticed are related to multimedia such as 3D creations, software gaming development, biomedical engineering, and petrochemicals.  Check the excellent Singapore government Web sites – such as Contact Singapore’s which has a portal with jobs for global talent – to find out more.  If you are looking at markets that are well developed like telecommunications, information technologies (IT), finance and banking, you are competing with very talented local Singaporeans.  Singaporeans are multi-lingual.  Aside from English they may speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay, Hindi, or Tamil. The quest requires that you promote unique skill sets for local or international businesses to select you.

The second most important aspect is where you will live.  Rentals are very speculative in Singapore and it is a very stressful experience to try to understand the rental costs by areas of the city.  There are hordes of real estate agents who will show you dozens of flats or landed property houses, and the rents are generally prohibitive.  You have plenty of semi or fully-furnished apartments to choose from too.

Moreover, one must be particular when moving with kids as education is a very personal decision. International schools are private and therefore expensive, thus designed for expatriate benefits and not for local income earners.  The cost can reach around US$10K to US$15K per child annually. The public school system is a far more affordable option, but may not be adapted to your set of values.

Any regrets?

Singapore was a gamble five years ago, but we have no regrets making that move.  We think we have adapted well to the local culture and enjoy local foods and the lifestyle that the region offers.  We do accept that Singapore is not America, certainly not Germany, nor Australia for proximity sake, for its more lavish work-life balance.  You move to Singapore like you would move to New York, London, Tokyo, or Hong Kong, it is to change your life, catapult your career, and create a better life for yourself and family.  This can mean more work than life balance.  After some years, you may elect to stay or decide to return to your home country.  However, I have noticed that those who live close to a decade in Singapore have often elected Singapore as their home for good.  So, very soon I might catch myself answering the usual question of where you are from, and reply, “Singapore!”

Yves Nolin is a sales & marketing manager, Asia Pacific and Japan for a leading Fortune 100 IT Company. Yves is from Montreal and has lived in Singapore since 2005. Prior to moving to Singapore, he spent 11 years in Germany, where he met his wife working a similar a role for the telecommunication industry covering Europe, Africa and the Middle East.