【Career Development】Moving into traditional Singaporean shophouse, I met a novelist and embarked on different life journey
After graduating from INSEAD, I successfully landed my first full-time job in Singapore and moved into a shared space. Living in a shophouse, I had the opportunity to interact with people from all over the world, closely observing the different work patterns, lifestyles, and values, thus beginning an extraordinary chapter of my life in Singapore.
After graduating from INSEAD, I landed my first full-time job in Singapore unexpectedly. When considering ideal work locations, many native Chinese speakers set their sights on finding employment or immigrating to Singapore. The low-income tax, more competitive salary packages, and the predominance of Chinese culture in this international metropolis make it an appealing destination for many.
However, my opportunity in Singapore was purely fortuitous. Initially, I had targeted job opportunities in the Middle East, as being a third-culture individual, I was drawn to the diverse racial composition of the work environment there. But fate had other plans, as I missed out on offers in the Middle East and instead, a healthcare management consulting firm, which was my previous employer, offered me a job. After a week of fruitful discussions with the interviewers, I was handed the ticket to start my career with this multinational company in Singapore. Regardless of outcomes, I tend to view all experiences as ‘learning experiences,’ and thus, I embraced this unexpected offer as an opportunity to experience working and living in Singapore.
Once the decision to settle in Singapore was made, finding a place to live became the top priority. Given my employer offered remote working opportunity, I set out to find a place that not only made me comfortable working from home but also added an element of “interest’”— whether through intriguing roommates, unique decor styles, or anything that kept me engaged and lifted my spirits during work hours.
Unfortunately, during the house-hunting process, I discovered that many residences, despite their exquisite designs, seemed to lack character, as if they were all cut from the same mold; I couldn’t envision myself living in them. Then, by chance, I came across a startup proposing the concept of shared living. They were refurbishing the historically rich shophouses of Singapore, infusing them with elements of artistic creation. These old-time structures, once abandoned, were being transformed into communal living spaces imbued with artistic flair. The purpose was twofold: to acquaint residents with Singapore’s history and culture and to provide them with a place for mutual exchange and shared living experiences. This innovative approach aligned perfectly with my desire for a ‘unique experience,’ prompting me to move into one of their houses and officially embark on this distinctive journey of life in Singapore.
In Singaporean shophouse—a much-coveted living experience unfolds
In Singapore, most locals rarely rent outside accommodations due to high rental costs. Instead, many young graduates opt to live with their parents after graduation. It’s common for them to wait until they reach a certain age for marriage and purchase a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat together. (HDB flats, also known as public housing, can only be purchased after marriage according to Singaporean government regulations.) Consequently, the majority of my roommates in the shophouse were expatriate white-collar workers who had come to Singapore for work, rather than locals. Each of us had different occupations and reasons for being in Singapore. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to observe firsthand the diverse work patterns, lifestyles, and values of my roommates due to our shared living space. Conversing with them was quite different from my student days spent on exchange programs abroad, where interactions primarily centered around cultural exchange. As working professionals, our discussions focused more on work ethics and life philosophies.
First Roommate: Novelist
The first roommate I met was Nadia, a Singaporean novelist who lived on the same floor as me. It’s rare for Singaporeans to rent outside accommodations, but Nadia was an exception. When I met her, she was 35 years old, unmarried, and childless, yet she appeared to be in her mid-twenties, which surprised me. Writing books had always been Nadia’s dream since childhood. Being an only child, she lacked companionship growing up, and books became her best friends. She was delighted to finally pursue her childhood dream of writing and publishing books. It was my first time getting to know a writer up close and witnessing the daily life of an author.
I’ve always believed that everyone who comes into your life has a purpose, whether it’s to expose you to lifestyles you’ve never encountered before or to help you understand life lessons you’ve never considered. Initially, Nadia’s work and mine couldn’t have been more different. As a business analyst at a management consulting firm, my daily tasks involved using my left brain extensively to break down and analyze problems, hypothesize possible solutions, and systematically validate them through data research and expert interviews. It was a job that heavily relied on logical thinking and causal reasoning. In contrast, as a young adult fiction writer, Nadia often tapped into her right brain to unleash her wild imagination and capture the emotional responses of everyday life, creating unique literary works.
When two people with contrasting approaches share a workspace at home, magic happens. As Nadia crafted stories for her new novel characters, she couldn’t resist asking for my input, sparking brainstorming sessions between us. Eventually, Nadia even invited me to collaborate on creating new characters for her story, as we jointly developed their personalities and interwove storylines. Undeniably, the imaginative process with Nadia added a lot of enjoyment to my otherwise logic-driven work content — it’s the charm of remote work! Unlike traditional offices where I’m surrounded by people in similar roles and thinking styles, here, I not only work with individuals from diverse professions but also never experience monotony!
After a day’s work, Nadia invited me to dinner. It had only been two weeks since we met, and we didn’t know much about each other. Suddenly, she asked for my birthday. It was early August, and I said, “Actually, my birthday is this month, coming up soon. I’m born on August 29th.” I distinctly remember her eyes widening as I said “August 20…” before I could finish, she exclaimed loudly, “Me too!” In the restaurant, we hurriedly pulled out our IDs to prove we weren’t lying, surprised and delighted to find out we shared the same birthday, the first time either of us encountered someone with the same birthdate.
We shared the same birthday but pursued vastly different careers. It made me wonder, “Do I also have potential in writing, but it hasn’t been ignited, or has my past education confined my thoughts to certain specific careers?”
Having a roommate who shares my birthday seems like fate’s design. Now, as I embark on my nomadic journey, deciding to turn my past experiences into a book, Nadia has been a significant inspiration. I believe, “You can’t live a life you haven’t seen before,” because witnessing a writer’s lifestyle firsthand makes the idea of such profession feel less distant to me, even sparking thoughts of “maybe I should give it a try too.” Perhaps one of the meanings of living abroad is finding inspiration from different individuals and experiencing diverse lives✌️
