Retiring abroad ain't bed of roses
By Philip Lee
August 31, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
THEY are day-dreaming, those young Singaporeans who said in a recent survey that they wanted to retire abroad.
A make-believe Utopian world is always more pleasant than the real one.
Harmless reverie, I suppose. A form of escapism when all roads here seem to lead to ERP gantries.
But we need to also get real. It ain't all hunky-dory in the US. G'days come with bad ones too in Australia. And there's no milk and honey aplenty in Canada, Malaysia or China.
Who needs this reality check? The poll result showed that a desire to live abroad was the highest among those aged between 21 and 34.
They probably had in their young minds attractive lures such as cooler climate, cheaper housing, lower cost of living, wide open spaces and so on.
Pardon me, while I burst a few bubbles.
First, housing abroad is not as cheap as we once thought, except perhaps for sub-prime property.
Nor is the cost of living. And by the time these youngsters retire, costs would have soared even higher.
A change of weather? Yes, spring, summer and autumn are nice seasons, although in many countries early spring and late autumn are as chilly as winter.
Winters can be so severe that old joints ache, parched lips crack and aged minds go into depression.
The last is the result of a phenomenon known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
This is believed to be caused by the deprivation of sunlight during the short winter days.
I was a sufferer when I lived in Vancouver for 10 years. Some are afflicted year after year and may need exposure to artificial sunlight. Some feel suicidal.
When one has reached retirement age, making new friends is not going to be easy. Set in their ways, they cannot discard their idiosyncrasies accumulated over so many years on earth.
Idiosyncrasies and new friendships don't mix. Don't believe that everyone ages gracefully. Many are cantankerous, irascible, suspicious and anti-social.
At a time when you most need the sight of the familiar faces of family and friends, you'll find yourself among virtual strangers - living in a strange land and feeling like a second-class citizen.
I know of friends who migrated to the West years ago after renouncing their Singapore citizenship, only to regret this after a few years.
Immigration: Many countries in the west and in Australia today prefer young, qualified immigrants, not oldies with money.
So the picture is not as rosy as the young imagine. Let's hope they wise up
By Philip Lee
August 31, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
THEY are day-dreaming, those young Singaporeans who said in a recent survey that they wanted to retire abroad.
A make-believe Utopian world is always more pleasant than the real one.
Harmless reverie, I suppose. A form of escapism when all roads here seem to lead to ERP gantries.
But we need to also get real. It ain't all hunky-dory in the US. G'days come with bad ones too in Australia. And there's no milk and honey aplenty in Canada, Malaysia or China.
Who needs this reality check? The poll result showed that a desire to live abroad was the highest among those aged between 21 and 34.
They probably had in their young minds attractive lures such as cooler climate, cheaper housing, lower cost of living, wide open spaces and so on.
Pardon me, while I burst a few bubbles.
First, housing abroad is not as cheap as we once thought, except perhaps for sub-prime property.
Nor is the cost of living. And by the time these youngsters retire, costs would have soared even higher.
A change of weather? Yes, spring, summer and autumn are nice seasons, although in many countries early spring and late autumn are as chilly as winter.
Winters can be so severe that old joints ache, parched lips crack and aged minds go into depression.
The last is the result of a phenomenon known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
This is believed to be caused by the deprivation of sunlight during the short winter days.
I was a sufferer when I lived in Vancouver for 10 years. Some are afflicted year after year and may need exposure to artificial sunlight. Some feel suicidal.
When one has reached retirement age, making new friends is not going to be easy. Set in their ways, they cannot discard their idiosyncrasies accumulated over so many years on earth.
Idiosyncrasies and new friendships don't mix. Don't believe that everyone ages gracefully. Many are cantankerous, irascible, suspicious and anti-social.
At a time when you most need the sight of the familiar faces of family and friends, you'll find yourself among virtual strangers - living in a strange land and feeling like a second-class citizen.
I know of friends who migrated to the West years ago after renouncing their Singapore citizenship, only to regret this after a few years.
Immigration: Many countries in the west and in Australia today prefer young, qualified immigrants, not oldies with money.
So the picture is not as rosy as the young imagine. Let's hope they wise up
