Plan to Move to Singapore

I'd like to share one of my 2008 new year resolution here.
It is: Get a job in Singapore by the end of the year, or early next year.

Why?

That resolution didn't come up impulsively for sure. I have been thinking about it for quite a while. There are a lot of reasons behind it. But I think the biggest one is, since I've been living in Jakarta for 23 years (yes, since I was born), I desperately want to experience living in other country. I think it will open my mind. I can learn about other cultures, and adopt good values from them and enriching my life.

Frankly said, Australia was my first choice. Come on, laid-back working environment (9 to 5 anyone?), good pay, and I heard that they actually need much skilled worker these days. The population of Australia, the continent, is actually just a bit more than the population of Jakarta, the city. And there are a lot of investments getting there, so they need a lot of manpower.

But, Singapore is more.. familiar. Not that I've never been to Australia, and I've been to Singapore a couple of times. But it is the.. um.. emotional thing that I feel about the city state. I'm wondering, what makes it so organized, so tidy, so clean, so improving in the middle of developing countries.

And I love Southeast Asia! My kind of new hobby, semi-backpacking traveling, will be more easily satisfied since it's really close to the pristine beach of Krabi, the wonderful Wat of Angkor, the laid back cities of Laos, the cool-aired Cameron Highland, and the interesting Ho Chi Minh City. And many many more.

Oh, if it turned out that I got a job not in Singapore, but Kuala Lumpur, I'll go there instantly too. I went there last year, and I love it. KL is somewhat a combination of Singapore and Jakarta. It has great public facilities as Singapore but not as clean. It looks like Jakarta, but more organized.

So, by October, I have been working for 2 years in my company and that is enough (I'll tell you why later, and, hey, maybe it's the main reason about all of this). And I better start looking for a job and applying for SPR in July.

Singapore, here I come!