My wife and I are planning to move to Singapore and considering to study at Temasek Polytechnics.Any ideas and tips for education, housing, immigration, business opportunities etc.Also people are claiming that weather condition over there is unbearable due to high humidity. Is it true? What about people? Hot-blooded or self-centered? Thanks in advance. Erms, I'm not sure where you're from, but it won't be easy to get a residency pass, unless you apply as students or as employed workers.
The universities are arguably better (National University of Singapore- ranked top 20 in the world) than the polytecnics, but the polytechnics are really good too
Employment is relatively stable now, so finding a job shouldn't be as hard as it was a couple of years ago. Check out www.monster.com.sg or JobsDB to have a look at the kind of jobs available and the kind of qualifications needed.
The weather is rather warm (27-28 degrees celsius). However, you will get used to it and if you're a westerner, you should love the sun- most die to sit outside and tan. But it is humid. Bearable though. Very very bearable. Might take some getting used to, but ultimately it's pleasant.
The people. Hm...Well, people here are very competitive in studies and quite hardworking. The emotional side- they have been said to be impolite, but seriously, services is our forte so you shouldn't be faced with any big problems. It's just that the people who are considered "rude" are often people like those in NY and London, who are just to busy to pause.
The pace of life is mediocre and the city thrives day and night with action. The heartlands are quieter, but have their fair share of action.
Don't worry about racism. Compared to other countries, it's practically non-existent and taken very very seriously. We are a very multi-racial country.
It's a clean place...very green too (artificial greenery in the sense that it's not all forest). And also, it might be important for you to know that in terms of stability and peace, the country is well-off.
Our currency is pretty strong and the place is really peaceful- we have very diplomatic heads. :S
Erms...housing and cars are really quite expensive compared to other countries, but you can check up more on those using google. The housing estates (even the public ones) are well mantained and clean, so no worries there.
You'll like it, I'm sure.
Cheers since shine did very well answering the more technical aspects of your questions, I'll not touch on that but I'll do the social (and meteorological) bits.
weather falls under 2 categories in Singapore - rain or sunny. it's usually hot all year round and it is rather humid here. november to january is the monsoon season so expect lots of wet weather during this period. you'll get used to the weather in time... it's not that bad.
Singaporeans are generally nice and helpful people, though they are rather self-centred. you might have heard of the term 'kiasu' and 'kiasee'. those 2 are core Singaporean values. the former means afraid to lose and the latter, afraid to die. Singaporeans have Asian mindsets and so are more conservative than the Westerners but because of Singapore being one of the most globalised countries in the world, Singaporeans are also a bit more open to new ideas as compared to their Asian counterparts.
Singapore's population consists predominantly of Chinese, the minority groups are the Malays, Indians and Caucasians. Most Singaporeans are rather colour blind in terms of race due to the country's history and heritage. Racial discrimination is practically absent in Singapore.
I recommend 3 books which were excellently written and captures the true character and spirit of Singaporeans.
1. smiles from an even smaller island
2. notes from an even smaller island
3. final notes from a great island
all written by Neil Humphrey an expatriate who lived in Singapore for 10 years and has just recently moved to Australia.
I hope you found this bit useful. and as Shine said, getting residency passes won't be easy so student passes might be an option for you guys. also fyi, polytechnics here will bring you all the way to a diploma only. I'd recommend the universities - NUS is ranked 19th in the world.
all the best! selfish hot blooded |
