My friend migrated to Canada after working for ten years as a permanent resident in Singapore. I asked him to share his experience about working in the new environment
Hi Mr Tan
After working here for like two weeks plus, maybe I will say that things tend to move not as fast as Singapore. I can leave office at 5pm (and most do) - nobody bats an eye. People very rarely have to work at home (as in OT). And, if you have appointments or so, you can choose to work from home that day (we just have to make sure that we work 8 hours that day.)
And, right into my third week, I have got a certificate training (today and tomorrow). Company is also paying for the certificate exam. It’s a foundation certificate but still I will say that they really invest in people. I heard that some companies have tuition allowance if you decide to take up a course (of course, manager’s approval is required.) I guess that’s pretty good. Not only education allowance, there are some baseline benefits that most companies would include in our offer package such as extended health care for me and my family, basic dental care for me and family, and eye care (we can make glasses!). Some companies would include chiropractic/physiotherapy/massage allowance for their employees, too. So, in short, so long as you’re working, you don’t have to worry much about your well-being as well as your family’s. If we have kids, all benefits apply to our kids, too.
Regarding citizenship, we have to stay here for 1095 days (during the five years before the date of the application) to become eligible to apply for citizenship. Social welfare is pretty good. We pay quite a high tax for our income compared to Singapore, too, plus Employment Insurance etc. (Employment Insurance covers us from lay-offs or so.) We also pay like 12% tax (GST + PST) for our transactions (online and off-line). On the other hand, we don’t have to worry much about our health. Education is very very affordable, too. So, yeah, there are some trade-offs here and there, I suppose.
On the other hand, Singapore will be unbeatable in certain aspects as well - convenience of doing everything - commute, banking, mobile communication etc. Weather and food are some of the things people who moved here from Singapore would dearly miss. And, yes, Singapore's public safety (or rule of law) is top-notch! (probably only second to Japan, I suppose?)
Hi Mr Tan
After working here for like two weeks plus, maybe I will say that things tend to move not as fast as Singapore. I can leave office at 5pm (and most do) - nobody bats an eye. People very rarely have to work at home (as in OT). And, if you have appointments or so, you can choose to work from home that day (we just have to make sure that we work 8 hours that day.)
And, right into my third week, I have got a certificate training (today and tomorrow). Company is also paying for the certificate exam. It’s a foundation certificate but still I will say that they really invest in people. I heard that some companies have tuition allowance if you decide to take up a course (of course, manager’s approval is required.) I guess that’s pretty good. Not only education allowance, there are some baseline benefits that most companies would include in our offer package such as extended health care for me and my family, basic dental care for me and family, and eye care (we can make glasses!). Some companies would include chiropractic/physiotherapy/massage allowance for their employees, too. So, in short, so long as you’re working, you don’t have to worry much about your well-being as well as your family’s. If we have kids, all benefits apply to our kids, too.
Regarding citizenship, we have to stay here for 1095 days (during the five years before the date of the application) to become eligible to apply for citizenship. Social welfare is pretty good. We pay quite a high tax for our income compared to Singapore, too, plus Employment Insurance etc. (Employment Insurance covers us from lay-offs or so.) We also pay like 12% tax (GST + PST) for our transactions (online and off-line). On the other hand, we don’t have to worry much about our health. Education is very very affordable, too. So, yeah, there are some trade-offs here and there, I suppose.
On the other hand, Singapore will be unbeatable in certain aspects as well - convenience of doing everything - commute, banking, mobile communication etc. Weather and food are some of the things people who moved here from Singapore would dearly miss. And, yes, Singapore's public safety (or rule of law) is top-notch! (probably only second to Japan, I suppose?)
1 comment:
Truthful fellow.
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