Lion City, Week #1

Its our fifth day in Singapore & we’re just now starting to feel adjusted & slightly settled in. The first few days were a blur of weird sleeping patterns, hotel room hopping & stumbling into restaurants with food amazing enough to overcome their extremely awkward soundtrack selections. 

 

Let’s just say that Singapore is really clinging to the early 90s schlock pop movement a little too hard. Great news for fans of Michael Bolton & Celine Dion…not so great for the rest of us. On the bright side, sometimes you do hear a Hall & Oates song (though it’ll be a smooth jazz cover version).

 

About the food; it’s a big step up from the last two years in West Oakland, especially in terms of good, diverse fare in spitting distance. In five days we’ve had Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Persian, Australian, & Singaporean (chicken rice – the country’s national dish). 

 

For the most part, food is very affordable. Booze, however, is prohibitively expensive. Our first impression is that Singapore isn’t a city for craft beer lovers, & the cocktail scene is pretty one dimensional. If we want beer, we’re going to have to learn to love Tiger, Kronenberg or Carlsberg. Granted, we’re talking about one neighborhood, but that’s about all we’ve found on tap nearby. As for cocktails, they love shooters and fruity drinks. The artisanal drinks with seasonal ingredients thing…not so much. No reports on the sake situation yet, but that’s something we’re looking forward to diving into a bit more.

 

We’re staying in a neighborhood called Robertson Quay (pronounced “key”), situated along the Singapore River. It’s a vibrant neighborhood with tons of runners, dog walkers & young expat families out enjoying the river at all hours. We stayed nearby when we visited in August & noticed several new restaurants, bars & cafes that have opened up in the month since. There are enough options that even another two weeks in our hotel likely won’t give us enough time to try them all.

 

We haven’t done as much exploring as we thought we would in our first several days here, thanks to a wicked cold that took out my weekend (that 28 hour travel day was a doozy). But there is plenty of time for that.

 

Esme starts work in the morning & I kick my job search into high gear. Wish us luck!

Is This Real Life?

We’re ONE week away from our big move to Singapore and it’s finally sinking in that WE ARE MOVING TO ASIA!

Even when we were there three weeks ago searching for our new home, it didn’t feel real. It felt like a very short – and very hot – vacation. But come September 24^th, there’s no turning back!

Understandably, we’ve been getting lots of questions from friends and family. How did this opportunity come about? Will Pete have a job? Where will you live? Do they speak English in Singapore?

So, to start with the easy one – Yes, Singaporeans speak very good English, among other languages like Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese… and Australian. 🙂

The opportunity to move kind of came out of the blue. I never expected to be moving to Asia and I feel very fortunate and grateful. I will be transferring to LS&Co.’s Asia HQ to support our Asia Pacific business. If all goes well, I will be there for a two-year assignment. I’m not 100% sure exactly what the job entails yet, but I will let you know as soon as I do.

Unfortunately, Pete’s affiliate office in Singapore has no open positions right now, so he will be hitting the pavement and looking for a new job as soon as we arrive. He’s been looking online and networking, but we all know it’s much easier to find a job when you’re “on the ground.” While it’s super stressful to move to the other side of the world without a job, the job market is strong and we’re confident his skill set – and resourcefulness – will bode well in helping him find something quickly. Keep your fingers crossed for us just in case, k?

As I mentioned, we visited in August to search for a new place to live. Luckily, on our last day in Singapore we found a fantastic place in a very central part of the city. We can’t wait to see the condo again as “ours” and start moving in (around October 15^th)! Hotel Johnson should be open for business as soon as December!

We’ll definitely be answering all your burning questions (including the ones you don’t yet know you have) throughout our time there. There is a lot to discover, both in Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia, and we can’t wait to share our experiences with you all!