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Looking to move abroad…


CaptOblivious

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CaptOblivious

Nozomi, you make a hard case for Singapore! We've been looking at apartments, and housing is well outside out budget. But we hadn't considered Malaysia yet at all, that's an interesting option indeed.

 

It looks like we may have scored an affordable apartment in District I (Castle Hill) of Budapest from another American academic expat; we're trying to determine now if signing up for Hungarian language courses will entitle us to a resident visa.

 

 

Thanks to everyone offering ideas and suggestions: Keep them coming! It has been a huge help thinking through our plans to see what you have suggested. Many of your suggestions are on our list of things to consider now, that weren't before.

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Edinburgh - the Capital of Scotland, great history, great food, and a great old railway station

 

Nah, It 's too expensive for CaptainOblivious to survive... :sad:

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Nozomi, you make a hard case for Singapore! We've been looking at apartments, and housing is well outside out budget. But we hadn't considered Malaysia yet at all, that's an interesting option indeed.

 

It looks like we may have scored an affordable apartment in District I (Castle Hill) of Budapest from another American academic expat; we're trying to determine now if signing up for Hungarian language courses will entitle us to a resident visa.

 

 

Thanks to everyone offering ideas and suggestions: Keep them coming! It has been a huge help thinking through our plans to see what you have suggested. Many of your suggestions are on our list of things to consider now, that weren't before.

 

 

 

BTW , if it 's Malaysia , it will be KUL(Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia 's capital..

http://www.iproperty.com.my/property/searchresult.aspx?t=R&gpt=E&st=KL&ct=&k=&pt=&mp=0&xp=3135&mbr=0&xbr=9&mbt=0&xbt=9&mbu=0&xbu=999,999&lo=&wp=&ns=1 (Here 's the price list from 0 to RM 3135)(RM 3135 is approx.. USD$1000)

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Just recently Hungary confiscated all the private pension funds of its citizen to cover its debt. There is some potential for political turmoils So you better think twice. Berlin or Vienna might be  the safer option.

Malaysia is not bad and the food is great. Even Singaporeans go to Penang to try the food there. Penang (Georgetown) is one of the old Strait settlements and has a rich history you can find old British colonial buildings and chinese temples and mansions . It has a lot of High Tech Industries and personally i like it more than Kuala Lumpur which translated to English means muddy confluence. Malacca has also a rich history and the bricks of the city halls where brought to there from Holland by the dutch however if you dont work in teh tourism industry Penang or KL are the places to go. Or JB which is not that nice but just next to Singapore.

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Yeah... I agree with Railzilla.. Malaysia is a great country. We were part of Malaysia in the 60s for a short period. We Singaporeans flocked to Johor Bahru(JB) , Melaka , Penang for great food and attractions plus buying pirated DVDs..(Which is why Johor Bahru) is not a good choice to stay)but Kuala Lumpur is safer.. It 's facilities are what you expect in a modern city.. Well-linked transport( Monorail , KTM Komuter(Malaysian version of S-Bahn) , KLIA Ekspres to KLIA Airport and Intercity trains to Singapore and Thailand and its sizeable Light Rail system (People Mover)Not only that ... Malaysia is great for diving and swimming with its crystal clear water that we Singaporeans enjoys.

Here 's the 2010 Tourism video for Malaysia...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwrL_hGKUjQ

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Some others here might also teach in Japan and might provide a better perspective, but if you are looking for an experience and not to make money, then you might give Japan another look. If you read the Japan Today and the English language versions of the various Japanese newspapers, especially the comments, you will get a good idea about working and living in Japan. The halcyon days of making a good living here teaching English are long gone, but if you look for a small one building school out of the city that teaches kids, you could capitalize on your strengths. One of the hardest things is to provide motivation for Japanese children to use the language as a medium of communication. Your child is what I call an English seed. If you have her in your class, it will allow the Japanese children to interact with a native speaker in situations that they would normally do with other children. You would also basically be homeschooling your child but in a class with Japanese children. If you had two children, it would be better as that would help maintain their English rather than see your child speak more Japanese as her friends become more important in her life. Some schools still provide an apartment for the teachers, but with the bad economy it might not be much. If you come here to make friends and nurture your love of Japan, you will find yourself more successful that one who came here to teach English. Why a one building school? I find shuttling between schools can make the teaching experience less personal and cuts into your preparation time and spreads you out rather thinly. If you have a class of preschool students for six hours ever day, you can personalize and tailor the environment for the students.  You will have more satisfaction, and sometimes more hair pulling than with any other kinds of students. But the satisfaction that comes from producing those students who can fit into any class abroad will be worth it. Many of the skills that you have learned from raising your own child will be useful in class.

Best wishes,

Grant

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Oh, if you do decide on coming to Japan and need teaching materials, visit me in Tokyo, I have boxes of stuff from when I had a one classroom school and would be glad to donate them to you. Sorry, but most of the good preschool stuff is long gone, but I have lots of stuff for your child, or older better students.

 

Grant

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Edinburgh - the Capital of Scotland, great history, great food, and a great old railway station

I loved Edinburgh, it is also a beautiful city!

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I spent time in Singapore. Had a seven year relationship with a Singaporean. It is HOT and HUMID, so if ya wanna get away from SL, then that's the place to be. Part of the reason I did not relocate perm to Singapore is because of their crackdown on journalists and freedom of expression. Singapore is constantly rated in the bottom of the polls for press freedoms by CPJ and other journalist rights organizations. On several occasions New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporters have been kicked out of the country for reporting on current affairs that portrayed the central government or any businesses working on the island in anything less than a shining right.  

 

On the plus side, Singapore is EXTREMELY expat friendly in that they want western dollars there, just as so long as you play by their rules. Unless thing changed, you need to show proof of a job offer before you can stay beyond that of a tourist visa. (Lord forbid, you're caught being there after your visa is up, it's 3 strokes of the cane)

 

I would NOT recommend Malaysia even less than Singapore. Aside from the fact that I found the country in general to be unsafe, there's a bit of rather open hostility aimed at westerns. If you want third world, then by all means go for KL, Malaysia or the countryside. Malaysia is the only country I have ever been to where I felt safer in the middle of Southeast Washington DC. I'm sure some tourists or passer-by's can say it's nice and not so bad, but I lived in Singapore long enough to know better than that.

 

Sidenote: I spent three months there several times over the course of seven years.

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There 's the Resort World Sentosa with child friendly facilities and a Casino.. (Just opened recently)

 

Don't forget the monorail.

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I spent time in Singapore. Had a seven year relationship with a Singaporean. It is HOT and HUMID, so if ya wanna get away from SL, then that's the place to be. Part of the reason I did not relocate perm to Singapore is because of their crackdown on journalists and freedom of expression. Singapore is constantly rated in the bottom of the polls for press freedoms by CPJ and other journalist rights organizations. On several occasions New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporters have been kicked out of the country for reporting on current affairs that portrayed the central government or any businesses working on the island in anything less than a shining right.  

 

On the plus side, Singapore is EXTREMELY expat friendly in that they want western dollars there, just as so long as you play by their rules. Unless thing changed, you need to show proof of a job offer before you can stay beyond that of a tourist visa. (Lord forbid, you're caught being there after your visa is up, it's 3 strokes of the cane)

 

I would NOT recommend Malaysia even less than Singapore. Aside from the fact that I found the country in general to be unsafe, there's a bit of rather open hostility aimed at westerns. If you want third world, then by all means go for KL, Malaysia or the countryside. Malaysia is the only country I have ever been to where I felt safer in the middle of Southeast Washington DC. I'm sure some tourists or passer-by's can say it's nice and not so bad, but I lived in Singapore long enough to know better than that.

 

Sidenote: I spent three months there several times over the course of seven years.

 

 

 

 

@ Shashinka.. I agree with you.. The government here in Singapore is TERRIBLE..??? They don't give a damn about human right etc craps. They charge locals levy fee to enter the casino which is very unfair and recently the prices of the cars have gone sky-high of more than 40% of increase. It is expat 's place to be.

 

@CaptainOblivious I suggest you stay in Malaysia for a short period of time and when you have found a job in SIN , move to SIN then. That will be much better. Try not to stay in Malaysia for a long period of time..

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Edinburgh - the Capital of Scotland, great history, great food, and a great old railway station

I loved Edinburgh, it is also a beautiful city!

 

Not to mention the new tram system which should be up and running soon  :cool:

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(Lord forbid, you're caught being there after your visa is up, it's 3 strokes of the cane)

 

Yikes! Forgetting to renew one's visa is so easy to do — my wife did it once here in Japan. (The punishment in Japan, by the way, is that you have to write a letter to apologize and explain why you were late.)

 

I would NOT recommend Malaysia even less than Singapore. Aside from the fact that I found the country in general to be unsafe, there's a bit of rather open hostility aimed at westerns.

 

Another reason Japan is a good option. I don't think there is a safer country in the world. I don't even lock my door.

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Edinburgh - the Capital of Scotland, great history, great food, and a great old railway station

I loved Edinburgh, it is also a beautiful city!

 

Not to mention the new tram system which should be up and running soon  :cool:

I missed seeing the work in progress on the tram system when I was there in May. I spent most of my afternoon in Edinburgh out at North Queensferry marveling at the Forth Bridge, it's one of those few things in the world that photos don't do justice, you can't really appreciate until you see it in person.

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(Lord forbid, you're caught being there after your visa is up, it's 3 strokes of the cane)

 

Yikes! Forgetting to renew one's visa is so easy to do — my wife did it once here in Japan. (The punishment in Japan, by the way, is that you have to write a letter to apologize and explain why you were late.)

 

I would NOT recommend Malaysia even less than Singapore. Aside from the fact that I found the country in general to be unsafe, there's a bit of rather open hostility aimed at westerns.

 

Another reason Japan is a good option. I don't think there is a safer country in the world. I don't even lock my door.

 

Well.. The apology letter is to be written in English or Japanese?

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For warm places you might consider something like Costa Rica or Belize, although I am not sure about rental prices.  Things may be cheaper than you think on Spanish coast after the real estate market collapse.

 

Central Europe has many beautiful cities, such as Krakow.  But the continental climate can be cold in winter.

 

I lived in a number of countries with my son, who is now 18 (he was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Antwerp).  A lot may depend on what sort of child care you have in mind - au pair, local language creche, English language preschool.

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If Canada is too cold, how about Australia or New Zealand ? It's spring down there right now.

Summer actually, from Dec 1st.

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CaptOblivious

We love Australia, dearly. Having been there already, though, it's not a the top of our list. :(

 

The Fall seems to be falling in place. At this point, we are going to try to spend 6 months, July–December 2011, in Budapest. Once a month, we plan to head to visit other places: We're (both!) really keen on meeting continental forum members. The Spring is less set, but post-winter we're leaning heavily towards Montreal. The winter is still up in the air, but we're leaning towards either someplace tropical, or a least in the southern hemisphere…

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Tell you what guys...

Since.. CaptainOblivious budget is USD$1000 per month.

We might as well let him stay in Budapest instead.

@CaptainOblivious...

Here 's the ideal page for you.Budapest has well-furnished apartments as seen here.. And its really convienient with metro stops ideally located. :grin

http://www.only-apartments.com/en/budapest/all/21/(Please take note, most of the apartments are not equipped with Air-Conditioning! )

If you want to visit Austria or Germany, just take RailJet by OBB(A high speed Loco-hauled train with modern interior)

http://railjet.oebb.at/

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For warm places you might consider something like Costa Rica or Belize

 

^^^^^

 

That was going to be my suggestion, too. I'm a lot less into big cities and shiny lights than a lot of people here, so I'd lean toward someplace interesting but quieter. We've only been to Costa Rica once, but it was a friendly place, the weather is pretty bearable especially in the dry season, and it's easy to get out to lots of countryside and tropical forests. Just take a good map and don't ask anybody for directions. :-) (They tend to use familiar landmarks rather than route numbers, signs, or compass directions, even if the familiar landmarks aren't there anymore....)

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CaptOblivious

Tell you what guys...

Since.. CaptainOblivious budget is USD$1000 per month.

We might as well let him stay in Budapest instead.

@CaptainOblivious...

Here 's the ideal page for you.Budapest has well-furnished apartments as seen here.. And its really convienient with metro stops ideally located. :grin

http://www.only-apartments.com/en/budapest/all/21/(Please take note, most of the apartments are not equipped with Air-Conditioning! )

If you want to visit Austria or Germany, just take RailJet by OBB(A high speed Loco-hauled train with modern interior)

http://railjet.oebb.at/

 

 

Hehehe. I will say, Amy and I are heartbroken that Singapore is going to be beyond our means. We're going to get out there some day!!

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Tell you what guys...

Since.. CaptainOblivious budget is USD$1000 per month.

We might as well let him stay in Budapest instead.

@CaptainOblivious...

Here 's the ideal page for you.Budapest has well-furnished apartments as seen here.. And its really convienient with metro stops ideally located. :grin

http://www.only-apartments.com/en/budapest/all/21/(Please take note, most of the apartments are not equipped with Air-Conditioning! )

If you want to visit Austria or Germany, just take RailJet by OBB(A high speed Loco-hauled train with modern interior)

http://railjet.oebb.at/

 

 

Hehehe. I will say, Amy and I are heartbroken that Singapore is going to be beyond our means. We're going to get out there some day!!

 

Well you will have to wait for Singapore 's house rental price to drop which may take some years to do so..

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