Alright, the introduction was a bit on the heavy side, on to the lighter side of blogging. Moving to Singapore was great for several reasons.
First, the move freed us from that voice in our heads that repeats, “We-MUST-live-in-NYC-until-death-(or retirement, or bankruptcy)-tears-us-from-it”. The sad mentality you develop after a few years, or even a few months for some, of being in NYC. We had already moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn (1 stop), but moving further was not even in our scope of thought until this opportunity came up. Yeah, you know who you are New Yorkers, there are no 24hr delis around every corner!? No hipsters and their $6000 bikes!? No good thin crust Pizza!? (I do lament this) No coffee shops that roast their own coffee beans!? How can you live in such a place!? Shockingly, it’s possible. There’s already a great gawker article about leaving NYC, so I won’t try to explain. http://gawker.com/5922392/i-used-to-love-her-but-i-had-to-flee-her-on-leaving-new-york
Second, it got us more space. Well, we still went from apartment to apartment, but now have an office and a spare bedroom. There’s also more space outside for the kids to play, more restaurants where they don’t shun children and streets and subways that can accommodate strollers with ease. Having a full-time helper relieves you and your husband from spending every date night at home or counting the $ you spend on teenage babysitter sitting on your couch. There is space and time for parents to be human, not just parents. Priceless. Hey, we still do bitch about crazy rent in Singapore, but more on that later.
Third, fabulous Asia and SEA travel is suddenly so much closer and affordable. I’ve always enjoyed traveling in Asia. Love the food and culture. I’ve always felt (and some seriously disagree) I can go to Europe, as a mature adult with money and enjoy it. But when I’m young (OK, I’m pushing that young thing) or as long as my stomach can take some levels of street food, I want to travel in Asia.
And so, we moved out to Singapore 2 years ago and haven’t looked back.
2.空間の違い。アパート暮らしには変わりないんですが、それでもシンガポールの方がまだ広い、外出時の子供を走らせられる広さ、子供を迎え入れてくれるレストラン、ベビーカーを余裕で押せる道、乗れる電車。それとフルタイムのヘルパーさんを雇う事によって出来る、親が親でなくて人間であれるスペース(時間)。これが一番重要。二人の大人として話せるゆっくり出来る余裕。お金には変えられない!え、子供関連ばっかじゃん、て?ま、そういう時期に引っ越したのもあるけど、実際子供が育てやすい環境ではあるし、夫婦だけで引っ越して来たらそれ程にはシンガポールの良さは感じなかった気がします。スペースも時間も自分で作ろうと思えば出来たわけだし。家賃はNYCとそんなに変わらんしあほみたいだけど、ま、それに関してはまた今度。
3.アジア、東南アジアがグーンと近く!オーストラリアも不可能ではない距離に。私はアジアンフードが大好きだし、カルチャーも好きなので、アジアが近くなるのは嬉しい。オーストラリアも近くなるし。私はヨーロッパは年取ってからでもいいと思うんだけど、アジアは若い(もう若くないけど)というかお腹が丈夫で屋台とかでご飯食べられるうちに行っておくべきだと思ってるので、これは大歓迎。
と、いいじゃ~ん、シンガポール、と都星してもう二年があっという間に経ってしまいました。