U.S.^SG, 5 advtg each

Posted on by tiger40490 rendered_on [ Thu, 6 Mar 2025 ] 13:13 UTC

Master copy? 610610 open. Nothing to do with knowledge pearl, and nothing private?

There’s significant costs to either choice — painful. Many people (including most of my Singapore friends) are put off by the pain so they stay with the familiar, the comfort zone, watching it deteriorate. Young people are more likely to accept change, adjust to change, embrace and exploit opportunities. Some middle-aged fathers in my situation also have this courage and flexibility. I guess these people are self-confident, resourceful, adaptive.

==US drawbacks   -ie-  SG advantage

  1. wife difficult to find job — sense of purpose, self-worth, independence, her own life…
  2. grandparents — can’t see them so often
  3. drugs and bad influences — ##drug risk4boy: specific strategies
  4. [c] 3 big burn rate items as described in my analytical letter to Melvin US compared to Singapore: high cost@living, rather few advantages #Melvin
  5. — minor items:
  6. wife has no friends, can’t visit/call her parents easily
  7. Long commute…(driving) will eat into my available time, with profound implications, though most colleagues got used to it. It’s more of a culture than a national malaise.
    1. However, as mentioned in U.S. work-from-home opportunities, regular remote working is possible in many teams
  8. fewer leaves – childcare leaves. However,
    1. if perm in the US, can take fake medical leaves when needed. I think overall, US workers work about the same number of days as Singapore workers.
    2. encashability — suppose you don’t want to use up that many (like 20+6) leaves and would rather “sell” (OCBC). Perm job offers limited encashability whereas contract offers 100% encashability. Once a while, weekends are also encashable if contractor required to work
  9. wife taking care of 2 kids alone – what if falling sick or behavior problem? But in Singapore, in-law collocation brings big problems too.
  10. [$] sick leave (family member?) Bad if contracting.  Need to work from home sometimes.
  11. wife more likely to reach “breaking point”
  12. street safety, gun violence – wife’s concern
  13. pain of moving home (with lots of furniture), but I could possibly rent a room for myself (persuade wife to accept it)
  14. [$] medical bx – not “free”  if contractor. Need to buy bx.
  15. immigration issues. complications and concerns,  risks about GC
  16. [$] home repair – have to DIY like Xia Rong, as professional service cost is too high. Be optimistic — I could learn it.
  17. bullying
  18. Chinese language education for kids
  19. pain of finding new school, as most US primary schools are probably not great
  20. stadium, swimming (boy)…I must exercise somewhere else – always possible. I actually did, in commercial gyms and HDB playground. What if we drive?
  21. inconvenient – healthier food, grocery shopping (unless we drive), …
  22. before we take up driving, perhaps less family fun activities, since wife feels more at home more familiar in SG
  23. [$] involuntary furlough + rate cut
  24. [$] rental cost until we buy a home, but with some effort SG home can rent out.
  25. piano for kids? If interested then easy to continue.

[$=extra cost or reduced income in US, which is comparable to the income decline in SG]
[X=This is my real experience, not wishful thinking.]
[C=contract roles]
[B=big picture]

==US over SG

  1. job – age friendly for a hands-on developer (esp. in financial IT).
    • ** Singapore – about 5k as a regular old developer or teacher. This is my long-term Fallback, base plan.
  2. job – abundance in finance IT. SG – dwindling pool of high end jobs. See SGP^Wall St job mkt – elitism^commodity
  3. job [B]  – big picture: mgr^specialist: for management careers, Asia offers many advantages but for specialists US offers many advantages. See posts on “narrowing career path”, “specialist”
  4. kids – academic pressure on kids and parents. in Jul 2016 I seriously felt that the earlier I air-lift him out of Singapore the better. See https://btv-open.dreamhosters.com/2016/07/01/lucky-boy-doesnt-have-to-join-the-paper-race/ (Kids adjust faster at younger age.)
  5. job [B] – long-term and deep confidence that I can support my kids financially till they graduate. For that, sooner or later I need the green card to work in the US as a graying techie.
  6. job [BX] – “easy jobs” (hands-on) pay much better in US than SG.
  7. — minor items
  8. kids – diverse development opportunities.
    1. Some kids suitable for SG education, others suitable for US.
    2. As Miao puts it, can give him 2 options. 
    3. SG offers limited choices if kids have special interests or talents (examples?).
  9. job [B] – With a technical mind, I do better in the US. See post on technical mind. As Ken Li pointed out, if you enjoy hands-on work till an old age, then no need to worry.
    1. job [B] – on WC and WS, tech create significantly higher value than in SG
    2. job [B] – outside WC and WS (if I ever need to) generally pay higher than in Singapore, because US culture is respectful of tech and age-friendly. More choices. See the php point below.
  10. job [C] – excellent contract market – no bonus no promotion more frequent change even though no medical no leave
    1. [CX] small but tangible chance of premium contract rates without excessive stress. I’m pretty good at interviewing. This is one of my core strengths.
    2. [CX] contract roles are funded by projects and require less struggle with existing codebase. See recrec blog
  11. job [X] – those “specialty” jobs as I described to Miao –  more innovative, more theoretical, less mundane… probably suit me.
  12. job – work from home a few days a week.
  13. kids – $75k national service bond
  14. kids – higher chance for renowned US universities. Globally, higher education has more resource concentration in the US. US universities continue to attract global talents. I think top 20 universities are better known than Singapore universities. Easier to get in if he’s in the US system
  15. job – wife could perhaps take on professional jobs — probably well above 60k.
  16. job [X] – core teams, rather than peripheral teams (like the OC job). More appreciated.
  17. job [B] – research as my final career – world class research organizations and research jobs. See separate blog post.
  18. job – php/mysql can also pay well, in New York or West Coast
  19. job [B] – as I get older, I might decide to specialize on some less crowded field. Very limited demand in Singapore.
  20. job – possibly higher stability and lower stress and risk of “breaking point” knowing I can easily find another job after the current one.
  21. Could buy multiple properties in low-cost locations for investment
  22. job – West Coast – a real alternative to Wall St. Even if you don’t go there, WC keep WS tech salaries high.
  23. job – with a fall-back career path (as an aging hands-on guy) –> confidence to try something adventurous. After I came back to SG I became scared and self-restrictive in my career choices, because semiconsciously I felt my seat on this luxury boat is precious. Once I exit I can’t get back in.
  24. job – Small but fighting chance to develop my other interest … in analysis, insight, strategy etc. Might be my forte. Singapore has very very few such roles and too selective.
  25. job – quant roles. higher chance of utilizing my UChicago credentials
  26. job – At old age, unemployment benefits + CPF Life
  27. job – possibility to find an innovative technology I believe in. I have a risk taker inside me. In Singapore, such roles never pay close to finance IT.