Table of Contents
Tell us a little about yourself.
Where have you lived? Where are you from? And where do you live now?
We left Sydney for Stockholm nearly 18 years ago. Then Warsaw, London, Kuala Lumpur, London, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore. Also moved around Australia as a family – one child was born in Launceston, Tasmania (the state I grew up in ), and one was born in Melbourne. We moved to Melbourne in our first move – for my job – Phantom of the Opera. As a family, we also lived in Adelaide. I grew up in Somerset, Tasmania, Australia (near Burnie) on a fabulous wild beach – I am very fussy about beaches! We have lived in Singapore for four years and hopefully another 2!
Fun fact – the four years in Singapore so far was in 1 condo – (we just moved), and that four years was the second longest I have ever lived in the one house since I left school for uni in 1978. The longest was five years in a Sydney house while the kids were at primary school
What is the hardest part of living away from your home country?
Not having a constant long-term community, although I have moved around Australia a fair bit as well. NOT SEEING CLOSE FAMILY OFTEN – ALTHOUGH WE TALK A LOT – SOME OF US – I HAVE 6 SIBLINGS! And now we have been away from our kids for nearly ten years while they went to uni and started working – the kids were 10 and 11 when we left Australia; they are now late 20s and live in London! And they still have noticeable remnants of Aussie accents – win!
What is the most rewarding part of being an expat?
The travel and the opportunity to see how other people live, and also the interesting people we meet along the way, showing the world to the kids
Expat Advice
What advice would you give someone starting on their expat journey?
Be careful what you put in storage!!! That tea towel you stored five years ago or more? Waste of space and money!!! Lol. Also – think about retirement savings etc. I am 63!
What is the one tip you could give someone moving to Singapore?
Look for shade and aircon! And use the fabulous air-conditioned public transport – as long as you don’t have to walk too far to get to it!
Where have you loved living the most and why?
We all loved Stockholm – the first snowy place – with lovely European architecture. Learning some Swedish, although not really necessary (unless you need to call a company…” Trick et….”.)
What are you doing now?
I did have a business set up here in Singapore to teach singing, which is one of my passions. But I recently closed it down as it was so hard during covid with constant official government closure for singing activities. Then testing got too hard, and it took a lot of work to keep building and growing – and expensive to keep the business going – paying someone to set it up plus a local director etc. So now, unless I give free lessons to help people, I am running a new group with ANZA, “Keep calm, and join the choir!” We have had four sessions so far, and it is a great group, and they are progressing so well!
Click here for Bernadette’s details, or join her Facebook group here.
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