Moving to singapore or dubai for trading

Quote from kandal:

Actually at first I was quite surprised at the level of ignorance in this and the other reply to my post but I saw they both display all the ignorance and lack of insight one would expect from the country from which they come.
There's quite a few options for things to do in Singapore but as it's so small it can feel rather claustrophobic and it's nice to have other options. The east coast of Malaysia (and its islands)has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world within easy reach.
A couple of hours flight takes you to some wonderful destinations in Thailand/Laos/Vietnam, Indonesian islands or an hour extra to the Philippines.
Dubai is 7 hours from London so if you want to fly that far you could reach Australia from Singapore.
I did see the recent smog but it didn't last that long although it can be rather unpleasant. (I spent 7 years in Malaysia so I speak from personal experience too)

Let's get facts straight 1) I had used 2 or 3 hours figuratively to express how much closer Dubai was to the Western Europe than Singapore. 2) You are not seriously comparing London to Australia are you? 3) I saw this year's entire smoke event on BBC & Bloomberg and it was much more severe than what you have alluded to, it was so thick Haslinda Amin said she could not see ten feet away and everyone was wearing breathing apparatuses 4) I have traveled the World, Singapore besides suffering from Indonesian smoke is also tropical i.e. its hot and humid where as in Dubai its dry desert heat much more bearable 5) Sophisticated travelers seek a lot more than beaches, they seek life style.
However as I said if I was seeking a tax shelter it would be Monaco not Singapore or Dubai.
 
I have been to both places and much prefer the Singaporean lifestyle, personally. Dubai felt a little sterile to me. The smog in Singapore was pretty bad, but it went away quite quickly, to be fair.

Horses for courses, innit?
 
Ultimately that's what it always boils down to: Horses for courses. I doubt either Singapore or Dubai would suit me -- I like a bit of scale to a city -- yet I suspect six months in either would be fun. That said my wife is pretty damn adamant about not spending time in the Middle East or anywhere else where woman are considered chattel to be treated as the men see fit.

In the interest of domestic bliss I am not taking the other side of that debate!

Quote from Martinghoul:

I have been to both places and much prefer the Singaporean lifestyle, personally. Dubai felt a little sterile to me. The smog in Singapore was pretty bad, but it went away quite quickly, to be fair.

Horses for courses, innit?
 
Quote from Swan Noir:

Ultimately that's what it always boils down to: Horses for courses. I doubt either Singapore or Dubai would suit me -- I like a bit of scale to a city -- yet I suspect six months in either would be fun. That said my wife is pretty damn adamant about not spending time in the Middle East or anywhere else where woman are considered chattel to be treated as the men see fit.

In the interest of domestic bliss I am not taking the other side of that debate!

Your wife has a point.

The way women are treated there is simply disgusting.
 
Yes ... that's my understanding. At this point in my life I have no patience for those that want to tell me that I need to be more tolerant of others intolerance because it is their culture. I'm prepared to accept what's reasonable in any culture even if it's not my cup of tea but treating people as second class citizens is offensive no matter how it gets dressed up.


Quote from justrading:

Your wife has a point.

The way women are treated there is simply disgusting.
 
Quote from dealmaker:

Let's get facts straight 1) I had used 2 or 3 hours figuratively to express how much closer Dubai was to the Western Europe than Singapore. 2) You are not seriously comparing London to Australia are you? 3) I saw this year's entire smoke event on BBC & Bloomberg and it was much more severe than what you have alluded to, it was so thick Haslinda Amin said she could not see ten feet away and everyone was wearing breathing apparatuses 4) I have traveled the World, Singapore besides suffering from Indonesian smoke is also tropical i.e. its hot and humid where as in Dubai its dry desert heat much more bearable 5) Sophisticated travelers seek a lot more than beaches, they seek life style.
However as I said if I was seeking a tax shelter it would be Monaco not Singapore or Dubai.
The smog was unpleasant but in my 7 or 8 years in the region I only recall it being a major issue once (in 2006 or 2007 I think).
Singapore property is pricey but I should imagine it compares very favourably with Monaco.
It's ridiculous to suggest the only attraction is beaches. There's the excitement of cities as diverse as Bangkok, Saigon, Jakarta, Phnom Penh and others too numerous to mention; the world's greatest historical site at Angkor Wat.
On the subject of freedom of speech they are not perfect but in general the judicial system is totally clean(quite a novelty for SE Asia). The weather can be extremely humid but the temperature never reaches the absurd heights of summer in Dubai, the cost of cars is insane, the people can resemble automatons but overall it's quite a liveable place.
 
Quote from kandal:


"Singapore property is pricey but I should imagine it compares very favourably with Monaco. "

It does, and even to HK, I checked recently and one could rent villas in Singapore for abt half the price than in HK. One only get a smallish apartment in Monaco for this price ( I would prolly prefer Monaco over the other cities discussed here, at least because of its climate and location, but there are other issues, Monaco itself is rather boring, small and cramped )

"It's ridiculous to suggest the only attraction is beaches. There's the excitement of cities as diverse as Bangkok, Saigon, Jakarta, Phnom Penh and others too numerous to mention; the world's greatest historical site at Angkor Wat."

To each its own, I'm fairly bored with South East Asia, closest places atractive to me from Singapore are Macau/HK/China, I do apreciate the fact Singapore is largely chinese, worth of note is chinese singaporean very often speak fluent mandarin as well as some chinese dialect.

"On the subject of freedom of speech they are not perfect but in general the judicial system is totally clean(quite a novelty for SE Asia)."

My impression as well.

" The weather can be extremely humid but the temperature never reaches the absurd heights of summer in Dubai, "

I've been only twice to Dubai for short periods but isn't Dubai very hot and very humid, which allegedly makes coping with weather there even more difficult ?

Again immigration policies in Singapore have toughened up lately, better make sure first that one can manage to move to Singapore before wondering ad libitum wether it's a nicer place than Dubai.
 
Quote from luisHK:

Quote from kandal:





To each its own, I'm fairly bored with South East Asia, closest places atractive to me from Singapore are Macau/HK/China, I do apreciate the fact Singapore is largely chinese, worth of note is chinese singaporean very often speak fluent mandarin as well as some chinese dialect.

Actually it's surprising how many quite well educated Chinese Singaporeans are not that proficient in mandarin and/or writing Chinese.
Macau is not an easy city for a gweilo to visit but I do enjoy wandering around in some of the narrow streets with beautiful Portuguese colonial architecture. . My proficiency in Cantonese extends to numbers, HK place names and swear words.
HK property prices are extremely high but it's surprising how little rents have risen-yields must be very low. Today's asking price for lettings of the apartment I rented in South Bay Road in 1988 is barely double what I was paying but you could buy it for HK$3 million then!
I am sure there's loads of active traders in HK, may I ask what alternatives there are these days for offices etc?
 
It would be very much easy for a trader who is single to move from country to country this way, but if we are living with family, then shifting with the entire family is a hassle.
 
Quote from Ghost of Cutten:

Even better - why make any personal sacrifice to the security of the place that offers you safety, law and order, civilisation and prosperity. Let the sons of poor factory workers get bombs and bayonets to keep you and your offspring in the lifestyle to which you are accustomed.

If everyone took your attitude I am sure the world would be a veritable paradise!

You mean like the soldiers in Iraq who are fighting for...I forgot, what are they fighting for again? Oh, Lockheed, Northrop and Halliburton - that's it. So yeah, there are people who understand this and don't want their offspring to risk their lives to make someone else just a tiny bit richer.
 
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