Living an expat life is what my family and I have been doing for 15 years now. It doesn’t really seem that long, but that’s what happens when one is enjoying life. Our family is a constellation of East and West, my wife is from Japan and I’m from Germany, so our son is a true global citizen!
My expat adventure began in the United States, followed by a stint in the People’s Republic of China and now as a permanent resident in Singapore, a place we call home. Moving from one country to another has given us an invaluable opportunity to experience life as locals in the new country. But before we were able to appreciate the new environment, we (like many expats) have experienced the endless and unimaginable challenges which came with the new culture: discomfort with the strangeness of it all. It was a series of adjustments to be made not just in the way of life but with our mind-sets. Furthermore, learning and relearning how to deal with different situations, people and everything in general became a daily exercise.
As former head of global change management in Sales for a multinational company, I am fully aware that change, such as relocation can well turn out to be one of the most stressful events in life. I also realised that success in the relocation process can directly influence job performance. Fortunately, I had the advantage of having a knowledgeable, emotionally intelligent and understanding partner. The saying: “a problem shared is a problem halved” is definitely fitting in the relocation process since the family needs every bit of support in dealing with the upheaval during the period of tremendous change.
I have gone through this change process many times as a single person at first, then with a wife and now with a young son and have learned tremendously from people who took care of me and my family during this time. I would like to give this back to you for you to enjoy this wonderful city and all it has to offer from the very beginning. Experience it for yourself and become a lifelong friend and partner of RelocationsPlus.