Came across this article in the net, thought I share it in sg
forums.
RETIRING ABROAD: ONE EX-SINGAPOREAN
EXPERIENCE
I HAVE read many negative comments on the
plight of Singaporeans retiring abroad and I would like to share my
personal experience.
I have been retired for more than 10 years and have and spend my
time between Guangzhou in China and Vancouver in Canada. Both these
cities are inviting, fun and less expensive than Singapore.
In Guangzhou, I live in a penthouse apartment I bought for
$150,000 five years ago. It is situated in Tian He district
(similar to District 10 in Singapore) and next to the beautiful
400ha botanic garden condo residents can access for free through a
side gate. It is a gated community with a clubhouse and first-class
facilities, an Olympic-size swimming pool and modern security
services. A similar apartment in Singapore would have cost at least
$900,000 or more. For about 5,000 yuan or about S$1,000 a month, I
live extremely well. A similar lifestyle in Singapore would cost me
at least $5,000 a month. One can easily survive in Guangzhou on
2,000 yuan. It is cheaper if one decides to live in smaller cities
like Fushan or Chungshan. A Singaporean who speaks proficient
English can easily get a part-time job teaching English and earn
3,000 to 5,000 yuan a month.
A retired professor from Nanyang Technological University in
Singapore lives in the same estate as me in Guangzhou for the past
few years. He teaches science at a local university and earns about
10,000 yuan a month. He too can testify to the cost of living in
Guangzhou. He is unlikely to return to Singapore as he has
liquidated all his assets there.
In Vancouver, I live in a 5,000 sq ft waterfront property that
costs me less than $1 million. A similar piece of waterfront
property in Singapore would cost $3 million or perhaps more. I
drive a Honda Civic Hybrid I bought brand new five years ago for
$25,000. A similar new Honda Hybrid in Singapore would have cost
close to $100,000 if you include COE. If one
prefers a more prestigious cars like a new Mercedes 250 or a
BMW 325, these cars cost less than C$50,000
(S$67,000). The cost of living for my wife and me, not including
housing as it is relative, is less than $2,000 a month. The cost of
living for me in Vancouver will drop significantly when I reach the
age of 65 when I am entitled to old-age pension from the Canadian
government. My wife and I will then receive more than $2,000 a
month from the government. This pension is given whether one is
rich or poor.
If you factor in savings in the cost of buying a house and a car
in Vancouver and in Singapore, the difference is more than enough
to pay for a happy and comfortable retirement for the rest of one’s
life.
If one is more adventurous and hands-on, the cost of living in
Vancouver can be only a few hundred dollars a month. This can be
achieved when you fish, catch crabs and prawns, grow your own
vegetables, hunt and so on. There are lots of places to fish and
hunt. All you need then is to buy rice, sauces, spices and pay for
essentials like gas and electricity at home, telephone bills and
transport. These items amount to no more than $500 a month. I have
tried it and it is fun.
It is impossible to find similar possibilities in Singapore
where one can survive solely on Mother Nature.
Some readers have complained with depressing tales about lack of
friends for retired Singaporeans living overseas. To these people,
I suggest we shed our introvert and ‘kiasu’ mentality. If one is an
extrovert and willing to engage in and be proactive, one will have
lots of friends. I have lots of friends of all races in both
Guangzhou and Vancouver. I participate in dragon-boat races in
Vancouver, San Francisco, Guangzhou and Hawaii. I am the only
Singaporean with the rowing team and the oldest. The rest of the
team are from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Thailand and some European
countries. I play golf with friends of all races. I give free
English lessons to Guangzhou university students, as well as local
businessmen. I am a member of both the Guangzhou and Vancouver
Toastmasters clubs, Guangzhou Canadian Friendship club and Friends
of Taiwan club. I am always welcome by friends in Guangzhou and
Vancouver. We have activities all year round, such as snow hiking
and skiing in winter, fishing, gardening, cruises to Alaska, and
barbecues during summer, pot-luck, mahjong and hunting the rest of
the year. There is hardly a dull moment.
My wife, who is a retired teacher from Singapore, gives free
English lessons to doctors and nurses at Chungshan Hospital in
Guangzhou. She does volunteer work in Vancouver. Life is so
rewarding and there is no time to be depressed.
There have been a number of comments that we are treated as
second-class citizens in our adopted countries. It is inevitable
there will be a small minority of people who are racists and
bigots. These people even hate their own kind. It is not the norm
and it happens in any country, including Singapore.
I have kidney failure and it costs the Canadian government
$8,000 a month to treat me at no cost to me. There are nine friends
willing to donate a kidney to me. They include a Caucasian, a
Taiwanese, a Malaysian, a Korean, a mainland Chinese (a doctor
herself) and four members of my family. It not true to say we are
second-class citizens when people like Dr Ron Werb, head of
department at St Paul’s Hospital, accompanies us in dragon-boat
rowing practices twice a week, together with other doctors. As
immigrants, we have the same opportunities and rights as other
citizens, regardless of race.
I remember when I first emigrated to Canada more than 20 years
ago, my three children were given C$250 each as ‘milk money’ until
they reached high school. This policy is still on going. There are
a lot of support and help organisations for new immigrants of
different cultures and race to help them assimilate into Canadian
society.
I was born without a father, expelled from Outram Secondary
School in Secondary 2 and worked for less than $100 a month at the
age of 15 years in Keppel Shipyard as an apprentice. With that kind
of credentials, I doubt I could achieve much in Singapore. But in
Canada, we have a level playing field where we are rewarded by what
we can do and not strictly by academic qualifications. Please don’t
tell me we are treated as second class citizens.
The Canadian government pays for my medical treatment when I
travel overseas. Health care is very costly and an important factor
for retirees. To have access to good free medical treatment during
retirement is like striking a million-dollar lottery .
The benefits of free health care offered in Canada make
Singapore’s claim of a lower cost of living meaningless.
I welcome any member of the press to visit Guangzhou or
Vancouver and stay with me for a month and experience the truth.
However, there is one condition. Don’t send an introvert or eternal
pessimist who engages in self-pity and complains.
Retiring overseas is not a bed of roses, but only if one is not
prepared to make the necessary adjustments and sacrifices to suit
the environment. If one is prepared to work hard, stay positive and
stop complaining, it is hard to fail. For me and many others, we
are happy immigrants. Life could not be better. There is no shame
and we certainly have a clear conscience when immigrating from
Singapore.
Cheong Wing Lee
http://forums.vr-zone.com/newsroom/323513-forum…
