Liking your new life overseas?
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What do you like? Dislike?
I like the open spaces, the lack of throngs and throngs of people and mostly, better social graces.
What I dislike? Easy access to drugs, guns, hearing story after story of sexual predators. The closest one that hit home was the recent story on Chelsea King and Amber Dubois. Scary when you have teens.
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yup..definitely better social graces! i also like affordable housing/car and great shopping (both at stores and online). clean air, lots of land (translates to home privacy), nature...
i dislike....expensive healthcare insurance, f**king complicated tax filing, lack of public transport options, poor accessibility to amenities...and some financial systems which i find to be not so smart (not that it bothers me a great deal though).
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im not working in oz and can still buy 2 brand new looking sedan cars and automatic too!!!:)
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Many things don't make sense. Take for example the day I found out my ITIN was a recycled one! Three years after using the number to file income tax, there was a hitch in getting our returns. My CPA investigated and found out that the number I was given used to belong to someone else who had since passed. Come on! Recycled ITIN?? Are you kidding me? Sheesh, that was when I decided to forget that ITIN and get a SSN.
On the other hand, I found out that sometimes when you include a note with an explanation, the body you're dealing with will waive the late fee/fine. Or when you're short on change, the cashier will reach into the change jar to make up the difference. How nice is that?
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my realtor told me that you can still get a 30-yr mortgage at age 80! how crazy is that? i feel bad for those people who've to sell their houses suddenly cos the main breadwinner had passed away. so far, most of the sales around my area have been estate sales, due to death of main breadwinner or divorce cases.
ohh...and when you try to save some money by ordering the "specials" here, the servers won't give you that "you are a cheapskate!" look. i've servers highlighting to me that there are more affordable options....or the fastfood guys who'd tell me that there's no need to order a "LARGE" drink 'cos you can always refill your cups. i like that!
another thing....i love love love the home furnishings here...and the interior design styles. i used to buy stuffs from Howards storage in SG but the things are SO expensive. when i go back to SG the next time, i'm sure to bring loads of home storage systems and other home accessories back with me to furnish my flat.
ohh...i love the baking utensils and supplies here too!
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Originally posted by jetta:
Many things don't make sense. Take for example the day I found out my ITIN was a recycled one! Three years after using the number to file income tax, there was a hitch in getting our returns. My CPA investigated and found out that the number I was given used to belong to someone else who had since passed. Come on! Recycled ITIN?? Are you kidding me? Sheesh, that was when I decided to forget that ITIN and get a SSN.
Now that's just weird. What's it cost the tax office to issue a new number?
I love the fact that I live on the edge of wine country and I'm still 25 minutes' drive from my office in the city. I love being able to strike up conversations with strangers without getting that "you've grown a second head" look.
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Having grown up in land-scarce Singapore, I truly appreciate the wide, open spaces here. I like the fact that I can come home from a tiring day at work and still have time (especially at the height of summer when the sun doesn't set until well after 8 p.m.) to take a relaxing drive out into the countryside, or hop into the club plane for a scenic flight to a remote airstrip situated next to a lake.
The ability to purchase just about anything through the internet is another truly enjoyable aspect of life here. The savings can be considerable vis-a-vis buying the items locally from brick-and-mortar stores, as in most cases you do not have to pay sales tax and many internet retailers like Amazon and NewEgg also frequently offer free shipping and handling. There are few things more satisfying than coming home and finding a package on your front porch--in fact, I'm on a first-name basis with both the FedEx and UPS delivery drivers who service my neighbourhood!
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Man, how I love online shopping.
High 5 MG!Lost: have you visited zappos.com? Love that site! Shoes, handbags, accessories galore!!! 365 day no questions asked return policy, free shipping both ways... Nice!
Another thing I love about being here is: dress sizes in every size imaginable.
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lol... jetta....u funny lah. anyways, i've to contribute too hor? but wait. i eating lunch. :P
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Originally posted by jetta:
Lost: have you visited zappos.com? Love that site! Shoes, handbags, accessories galore!!! 365 day no questions asked return policy, free shipping both ways... Nice!
thanks jetta....but nooooooooooooooooooo....i can't shop anymore *determined*!...this online shopping thing is TOO EASY and too addictive.with paypal...dun even need to key in card number/account details....at least when i go buy stuffs at the shops...i still need to fish out my wallet from my bag and then take out my cash/card for swiping...so i've a lot of time to feel guilty about spending hardearned $
& at the mall...at least my spending is constrained by the phyiscal size of the shopping basket or shopping cart or the number of shopping carts i can push effectively....online, my shopping cart is limitless/bottomless! *shudders*
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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Originally posted by jetta:
Man, how I love online shopping.
High 5 MG!Lost: have you visited zappos.com? Love that site! Shoes, handbags, accessories galore!!! 365 day no questions asked return policy, free shipping both ways... Nice!
Another thing I love about being here is: dress sizes in every size imaginable.
* High-fives jetta back *Nowadays, about the only things I don't buy online are food and clothing. Everything else--from most of my firearms, to almost all of my home electronic stuff (including my recently acquired 55" Toshiba HDTV), to both of my vehicles--has been purchased through the internet.
A few winters ago, the extractor fan blower motor in my furnace seized up, rendering the furnace inoperable. The local HVAC shysters wanted upwards of $300 to come to my house with the replacement motor and install it, and wouldn't sell me just the motor alone. They probably thought I'd bite as this was in the middle of winter. Well, I hopped onto the internet and found the same motor being sold at (of all places) Amazon.com for a fraction of that price. I purchased it immediately, and even with overnight shipping, the total cost came to well under $100.
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Whoa! You go, dude! Ama-za-za-ing! Don't cha just lurve the internet? I think pretty soon, you'll start buying groceries online, what you do say?
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better weather, better social mannerisms and cheaper cars, got a mustang for the week gonna drive up to SF for the weekend pch cruising fwwaaahhhh!
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Originally posted by vito_corleone:
better weather, better social mannerisms and cheaper cars, got a mustang for the week gonna drive up to SF for the weekend pch cruising fwwaaahhhh!
wat's with guys and cars??!! hubby thinking of getting a mustang...is it really suitable for new england weather? -
Who cares if it's suitable, it's a 'Stang!!!
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Originally posted by jetta:
Who cares if it's suitable, it's a 'Stang!!!
i heard it's not good on snow?? not sure if true....i refuse to let him buy anything that's useless but look good. "sorry dear...but i hold the purse string!!!" =P -
Originally posted by lostintransition:
i heard it's not good on snow?? not sure if true....i refuse to let him buy anything that's useless but look good. "sorry dear...but i hold the purse string!!!" =PTire chains.... but it's a 'stang!
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
wat's with guys and cars??!! hubby thinking of getting a mustang...is it really suitable for new england weather?
well as a car its utetr rubbish. poorly made, horrible fuel economy, utterly obselete technology and crude (they still use live rear axels and extending antennas for heave's sake!) but as a piece of americana its brilliant and god the exhaust sound is sexy! -
Originally posted by jetta:
Tire chains.... but it's a 'stang!
*sings* getcha motor runnin', head out on the highway! born to be wild...
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all i want from car is aircon,,,,,
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Originally posted by jetta:
Tire chains.... but it's a 'stang!
Meaning it guzzles gas and breaks down often, as do most American-manufactured vehicles.
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sounds bad....so no 'stang!!!!! will cut-&-paste your comments here to fwd to hubby for his kind attention! =P
we have a ford fusion 2010...it's been pretty good so far. we got it last year and there weren't that many on the streets then....now i see them everywhere.
the fords in SG all looked so boring (test driven many times but hubby always chose the european makes over ford 'cos of the latter's appearance and rough interiors)....but the US models here look pretty good and you've the option to add all the bells and whistles. and 'cos i'll be driving...hub added the rear-view camera and blind-spot information system...soooooooo useful!
last year, we had many people stopped to admire and ask us all sorts of questions about the car on the streets. hubby might've convinced numerous of his colleagues to buy it too....kekeke, told the Ford salespeople that they shld give us a cut of their comms =P
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
sounds bad....so no 'stang!!!!! will cut-&-paste your comments here to fwd to hubby for his kind attention! =P
we have a ford fusion 2010...it's been pretty good so far. we got it last year and there weren't that many on the streets then....now i see them everywhere.
the fords in SG all looked so boring (test driven many times but hubby always chose the european makes over ford 'cos of the latter's appearance and rough interiors)....but the US models here look pretty good and you've the option to add all the bells and whistles. and 'cos i'll be driving...hub added the rear-view camera and blind-spot information system...soooooooo useful!
last year, we had many people stopped to admire and ask us all sorts of questions about the car on the streets. hubby might've convinced numerous of his colleagues to buy it too....kekeke, told the Ford salespeople that they shld give us a cut of their comms =P
eh the sg fords are better! the mondeo is like a bajillion times better looking and engineered than the US market fords since they're built in germany but ford sedans are good cars! -
Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Meaning it guzzles gas and breaks down often, as do most American-manufactured vehicles.
i still dont get the redneck v8 trucks and pickups here, they're damn crude and pointless! -
I can't stand pick ups!!!!