Why the craze of moving to live in Japan?

 Given the advanced economy of Japan and the high standards of living, buying a home there is surprisingly inexpensive compared to places like Singapore and Hong Kong. No wonder I keep seeing YouTube videos recently of people moving there to settle down, mostly to retire or do some laid back work to gain residency status.

There’s even this chap from SG who vlog his relocation of him and his wife and young kids to Japan. 

Why?

I do enjoy visiting Japan. It’s clean, safe and convenient. And food is good and suits my palate. But I am still not into their culture and norms, as I find it very rigid and intimidating, at least on the surface. I am sure if these are peeled off, they are not much different from us in Singapore. There will be ugly sides. Just that in Singapore, we don’t hide it as well haha.

But I can imagine living a very nice life there as a retiree. You won’t have to deal with corporate Japan, or general work culture there. You just enjoy the fruits of their hardwork and high quality outputs by paying your way through them. 

With about $700k SGD, one can get a decent 500sqft single bed apartment there at prime locations in Tokyo or Osaka, smacked right next to major JR stations. Of course there will be other upkeep costs but I don’t think those will be sky high. 

So imagine having such an apartment to your name, and you can just take a backpack and fly over whenever you want, using one go the various budget airlines (you won’t need check in luggage since your stuff are all in your apartment!), and spend up to 3 months each time there without requiring special residency status. You can experience the seasons (except the hot summer which Singapore can give you anytime). And you don’t have to hustle to hotels. You can even whip a simple meal in your apartment if you want. 

This sounds really enticing for a retirement plan. 

So what’s the catch?

TBH, I don’t know yet but I’ll find out. I can imagine the apartment will be a sunken cost, without expectation of appreciate in value over time. It won’t go to zero but it will definitely be a loss when it’s time to sell. Another concern is the issue of upkeeping it. But I think a small 500sqft apartment should be easy to clean and maintain. 

Say you spend 180 days per year. If it’s a hotel, say $200 per night, that’s $36,000 per year. So you will break even after 14 years, that’s quite a long time to break even. But as said, your apartment value don’t go to zero when selling. So break even time should be lesser at say 7-8 years. After that, it starts to pay.

Question is if you will get sick of staying in Japan for so long. You must have plans to travel out to see places. Or you really have something to do there each time you stay for 3 months. Like attending a class or doing some project (working from home in Japan?!)

Alas, this is an expensive journey, taking a chunk of funds meant for retirement. But it’s an option, made possible by cheap flights and inexpensive property prices there. And weak yen. 

clarity on your goals when working for someone

Now, this isn't about organisational goals or KPIs, but your private, personal goals.

Goals that you or your boss set for your job, those are the easy pieces, it's all about faster, cheaper, better, not for you, but for the company :)

Most employees will align their efforts towards such goals in order to meet targets and get their performance reviews in order.

The more difficult, and yet, often neglected goals are those for yourself as a person. Your own private goals, that you probably will not share with anyone in the office, except for very close friends and family members. 

I am talking about the answers to these questions:

1. Why I am in this job?

2. How long do I want to stay in this job?

3. How will this job help me in my financial objectives?

4. How much personal sacrifices am I willing to make for this job?

These are very important questions. You must have crystal clear clarity on these things while you hustle daily in your job, else you will be running around like a headless chicken. And who benefits from your ignorance/neglect of your own life goals, where you don't draw lines? Your boss and the company. He/she will get his/her promotions, bonus that allow him/her to hit his/her own life goals (if they have one), while the company will do well and enrich the owners/shareholders. Maybe you'll gets scraps, leftover budget for bonus and raises, distributed in some "fair" way among you and your peers in the team.

Remember, NO ONE is indispensable in the company. Even the founder/CEO can go missing and things will continue, and a replacement CEO will be found shortly. Assigning self-importance is good, as we all want to have a sense of responsibility as a good worker. But too much of it, and you will over sacrifice for nothing extra in return. We all work for money, let's be honest. To someone who tells me "I love my job! The money is secondary!",  I will always ask them : So will you work in this job for free??

So, if you are on vacation, please don't work, unless the company is going bankrupt and you are called in to fix some emergency. Likewise, if you are very sick and need to rest/sleep, get well before starting to work again. No one will appreciate you losing your health for work. No one will call you a hero (maybe they will say you are one, but inside, nope). Those who have clarity on their life, they will laugh at you inside, and use you as a reminder for themselves why they are on the right path, and why they must not do what you are doing to yourself. 

Yes, we all have to hustle like mad as we build careers, even Uncle also did that when I just started working. In fact, I hustled for 20+ years!

BUT, even from my first job, Uncle always put time aside to exercise 2-3 times week, mostly jogging. Uncle also don't take sugary drinks, preferring to just drink lots of water. Not much alcohol and no smoking. My health is as important as my work, if not more. If Uncle has to work overnight, I will ensure I take the time off for it, to rest (not to go shopping). This is the key : sustainability. No point burning out, or being super unhealthy. If you are sick and cannot recover well, you will be using up your money for medical bills, and it comes back full circle, no money, no health. It's very not worth it. So what if you can eat fancy food, drive fancy cars, go for nice holidays, live in nice apartments, when you are in poor health?

So please, please please, be very clear on what you want out of your job, and use that to guide your decisions, on how to spend your time and health. 

rat race, who are the competitors?

All of us heard about the term "rat race". Basically, it's a metaphor for being in pursuit of power and money, which in reality, is never ending. 

Why never ending?

Because the allure of the supposedly comforts that power and money will provide, so the more the merrier right? And hence, the rat race never ends. There is no finishing line unfortunately. You just keep running until you can't run anymore, maybe due to injury or worse, death from exhaustion.

Are you competing with anyone in this race? Absolutely. But I think, these competitors are only living in your own head. No one will openly say they are competing with you. So someone you think you are competing with, may in fact be someone who don't really care about how fast you are relatively. 

In this modern capitalist world, most adults are in the rat race. There will be some who knows and hate the race, and have clear plans laid out to allow them to leave the race intact. Think FIRE movement. There will be others who have no plans laid out to exit the race. They could be barely getting by with survival and have no bandwidth to think about exit plans. I feel sorry for this group. Then, there are some who have bandwidth to plan an exit, but are so bought into the system that they feel this is their life, and their mission is to grab as much as they can until whatever the government of the day says is the official retirement age. They feel obligated to work. These are the rats that the authorities and rich love; they are hardworking, productive, and they don't take care of themselves, putting the race above everything else, even their own happiness and health and life. If I am a rich land owner, business owner, I'll love these rats. I can enjoy my life while the cash flows into my pockets due to their hardworking mentality and sacrifices. 

Unless one is born into privileges, being a rat in this race is inevitable. But the exit can usually be planned out, except for extreme cases of really bad luck at birth lottery. When given a chance to plan exit from the race, please grab it. Don't waste the time and your life. You only live once. 

Everyone is different, and thus the exit plans will also be different. Typically, we plan for exit (stop working) when we have accumulated sufficient resources to sustain our life without earned employment income/active business management income. The key is "sufficient". What is sufficient to you is determined by you, not outsiders. Work out your sums, be realistic on what you want/need, what you can earn, what is your expected lifespan, and set that threshold and go from there.

Uncle thinks he has reached that level, took a break, build fitness and mental wellness focused lifestyle, and now have options. Options to continue retirement, or to go back to the race, but on my terms mostly. What terms? Reasonable stress levels, meaningful work, and clarity on when to stop. Such terms can only surface up when you have determined you reached your sufficient threshold, so you no longer fear. Fear of not bending backwards enough to please the company, the bosses, the managers. 

May you enlighten up and start your exit plan. Exit the race intentionally, and not be forced to exit at the worst possible time. 

Expenses of a middle-classy Singapore uncle with family

I don't know what exactly is considered middle-class in SG, but I figured its the fat range in the middle section if we were to line people up based on income. There will be a steep drop off from the bottom 5% and a steep surge from the top 5, and another galactic surge from the top 1%. Uncle is pretty sure I am in that middle chunk of 90%, and based on my estimation, should be in the front 30 percentile in this chunk.

Now, this is how my expenses look like for myself (excluding what my wife contributes). The numbers are on per month and in SGD

Car expenses (loan, insurance, maintenance, tax, fuel) = $2,500

Insurance premiums = $800

Utilities bill = $350

Mobile lines for 5 = $90

Home internet line = $30

Services (Netflix, Spotify, iCloud) = $60

Condo maintenance fees = $350

Property tax = $250

Groceries and take out meals = $1200

Allowance for my parent = $1000

Allowance for kiddos = $200

School fees for kiddos = $150

Tuition fees = $270

Piano, and music classes = $900

Sub-Total for above : $8,150

Uncle still have a mortgage, of which I pay my portion of $5,500 in cash

Income tax is around $4,000

Total of cash outlay per month for Uncle = $17,650

Uncle not sure how much Uncle beautiful wifey per month cash outlay is exactly, given her random haul of bags and clothes every week plus lots of bubble teas. But I can estimate it's max $10,000 including her share of mortgage payment. 

So there you go, if combined as a household, that would be $27k bleeding of cash per month.

Sibei Chor 

But that's the lifestyle we adopted based on our income and budgeting. Maybe you can say we spend a lot, but based on the breakdown above, I don't think so. The big tickets are mortgage, tax, and car. Mortgage can be paid off, car can sell or pay off, so those will go away. Large tax for income will go away when we retire. 

So minus all these extras, its probably $10k per month bah when we retire 

Preparing your mindset when starting a new job

Now that I am older, this seems to be more important to me personally.

Previously, I don't think too much when starting a new job. 

But now, I am more clear on what I want, and so I made it a point to tell myself what mindset I should adopt when I start a new job.

Especially after almost 1 year of not working, enjoying life without stress, seeing what is possible, going through the emotions of being laid off, changing job, quitting without a job waiting, worrying about finances, wondering if my calculations could be wrong etc, these all gave me new perspectives. 

So what gives?

First of all, this time, my mind is clear on the time horizon. I will set a specific time period that I will work in a new job. Not because I don't like working, but because I want to balance my life and not just slog for nothing or without planning. 

Then, I am very clear on what I want out of the job. It is to pay bills, allow me to save more for retirement, and also allow me to learn new things and be open to new ideas and also put my valued skills to good use. 

I also want to mentor and teach junior engineers, to pass on my experiences so they can build on it and contribute to the system we live in.

Most importantly, I will try to be more mature and steadfast this time round, less monkeying around, and be very intentional in my interactions with others at work, focus on sincerity, respectfulness and open-mindedness. 

Last but not least, I will strive to be healthy, continue my exercises and dieting, no matter how stressed or busy I would be. 

Somehow, this feels refreshing. A new job at this age means it's likely my last leg in my career life. And yet, its seems to be the one with the most clarity for me. I guess that's what you gain when you take a break from work and smell life. 

Luck in life

When someone is successful in life, be it in specific dimensions like finances or marriage, or a good mix of dimensions, it usually will attract envy of others, and one common refrain will be "you are lucky lah!"

Well, yes and no.

Yes, in that there are always elements of life which you have zero control over whatsoever. This is the element of pure chance. E.g pure chance that you would meet your future wife somewhere in a social setting where you weren't really looking for a date or someone to pick up. Or pure chance of a job opportunity showing up right when you think your current career is over. Pure chance you were born in a certain country, to a certain type of parent.

No,  in that if you didn't/couldn't seize the chance that showed up, nothing happens. If you are in a mental wreck when that dream job opportunity appears, you won't do well in the interview and the job goes to the other guy, right?

So if someone were to comment on your success as "luck", you must always address it on the spot, not to reprimand, but to set the record straight and make it known to that person that such a statement does not accurately nor fairly represent what had happened in your life. 

I will say "Yes, there's definitely a certain degree of pure luck and chance, but I also worked hard to grab them when they showed up...I am thankful for those chances that showed up without my intention, but I am also glad to know I didn't let some of them slipped past me." This isn't to say I am a better person than you, but I want you to be fair to me and respect my efforts that I put in to be successful in areas of my life as you witness today. I also want you to be fair to your own efforts in your life as well, and not simply discount them as "luck", or whine when things don't go your way because you weren't prepared enough to grab those chances. 

Someone who strike $10M in TOTO? Yes, that is almost pure luck, but hey, you still have to put some effort to buy the TOTO ticket right? Anyway, don't put your life success on gambling, the odds of success is extremely so, near zero. I do buy lottery regularly, but I don't spend more than $10 per month on it. It's more of a cheap game of chance entertainment for me.

I wish you good luck :)

rat person 老鼠人

 https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3305965/china-slang-term-rat-people-those-who-shun-success-attracts-2-billion-views

So another new trend for the youths? Before this, it was "lie flat", "let it rot" etc

What intrigues me is how these are trends people/influencers will show off on social media, which in turn rakes in views and possibly income for them. So it's still a job?

But what about the impact on youths consuming such social media promoting these trends/lifestyles? Are they being conned into something that actually isn't really common place? Really influencers at work lol?

The statistics are quite alarming, with around 10 million new graduates per year pouring into the Chinese job market, and youth unemployment around 15-20%. Those 15-20% will be under a lot of pressure for sure, as I can imagine armed with a degree and yet not being gainfully employed to earn income and accumulate working experience, and before you know it, one year has passed and another 10M fresh graduates are out competing with you for jobs, and they are 1 year younger than you, yet you don't have any advantage over them since you have not been working. I can imagine it being a gloomy situation. 

However, for those who are working, I feel the Chinese DNA of extreme hardworking, string work ethics, will bring them far ahead in life. I don't think Chinese economy will be like this forever, so there is hope. 

Just hope that all these trends of seemingly giving up your aspirations do not take root too deep and become entrenched and cause impediment for the economy. If the market becomes really bad, you will also find it impossible to slack and lie flat right? How low can you go? How much lesser can you eat? 

having a purpose in life

 Now, this is an easy question to ask yourself or someone, but it's very hard to answer.

Of course you can give standard textbook answers, those which are socially acceptable, easy for others to understand, maybe as a way to deflect the pressure and reality away from yourself so you can go back to going about your daily hustle.

But when you reach a certain age, having achieved several major milestones in your life : courtship, married, career, kids...

Plus as you age, you start to see and experience in real life 生老病死 , your perspective will definitely change. Of course there are people who somehow can live for long time without experience all of these, but I wouldn't want that for myself. Life is a journey to be savoured.

So why is it important to have a purpose in life?

this importance didn't show up to me until recent years. Before that, my mind was consumed by hustling, dealing with work and family commitments. It's only when I started to slow down, due to both age, as well as stability in work, family and finances, that I started to have more contemplative thoughts about my life and my purpose. 

TBH, I don't really know my purpose yet, but I think I could be close. 

What's important to me is that I can be a good provider to those I loved, including myself. I think I am doing ok there. 

Next, I cherish freedom a lot. Freedom from chores, freedom from routines that don't make sense to me. 

But in that case, what is my purpose? Just to provide food, lodging, education? lol

For now, I think I can say my purpose in life is to live my life fully while I am well. Yes, it's lame perhaps, but don't laugh, it's quite a good purpose IMHO. Maybe yours is to fix the world, cure cancer, eradicate aging, go to Mars to set up base. But I don't have such noble or specific purpose (yet), so I'll do what's best next, which is to live my life with intent, savour the beauty of things around me, the company of people I love, the smell and touch of my lovely partner. Even simple task like folding laundry, I do it properly now, with some OCD to ensure everything is folded nicely and not in a mess or in sloppy manner. It may seem trivial, but it gives me a sense of satisfaction too.

What is your purpose in life?

Pathless path

Completed reading this book recently.

Rather easy to read since it's pointing to a single simple concept/idea, but I liked it nonetheless as it resonates with what I think most people will experience in their life. 

Most of us has a template to follow in life, especially in Singapore. Parents set the path, the school system is singular and rather rigid, and if you decide to take a different route, there will be immense scrutiny and outside pressure to prove them wrong. 

Frankly, so what if you are wrong? It's your own life and you bear the consequences right? I think once you hit adult age, you should own your own path. 

Yes, the default path is well designed, proven for most people and you can just auto-pilot your way in it. Uncle did that too, up to a stage. 

I didn't pick a career that aligned properly with what I major for in NUS. But at least it's not too far off. Still, I had to start from zero in my first job, with almost 90% of the stuff I studied for being not relevant. 

Then, I resigned from a stable job, one that I just got promoted for, and joined an American MNC, which although was more prestigious and huge, was also well known for ruthless lay offs and re-orgs. I recalled my director (my manager's boss) giving me a face when I went to see him after I tendered. He wasn't happy at all. He seemed pissed that I would just tender resignation right after "he fought" for my promotion. Come on man, I also worked my ass off in the past 1-2 years to earn it. All he did was to approve it. What's so hard about that? It's as if I owe him a favour. I see it that he owe me one for working diligently so that his seat is safe! Anyway, I apologised if I digress here lol. Not a fan of this person I would say. (imagine someone telling you "working hard" is an expectation, so you cannot put it in your self review.While true, its also very rude)

Anyway, my point is, I didn't follow what most of my peers were doing, which is to secure a stable job and stick with it. Don't rock the boat, don't go somewhere where you could be harshly treated and fired/laid off anytime. And, I just got married, bought a new HDB, and got a car too. 

But, I wanted to see the world, and while I enjoyed the first job and the peers were really good to work with, the company simply don't have the scope and runway I was looking for. So when the MNC opportunity came, (I had to go through 7 rounds of interviews), offer was really good (a 70% pay jump with sign on bonus too), it was a no brainer for me. And, my manager, he was sad to see me go, but he was genuinely happy for me as he felt there is a bigger world waiting for me out there. He was the best mentor I have in my career so far. 

The MNC role was unique, because I was the only one in the team who was located in Singapore office. I could literally work from home all the time if I wanted to since I don't have anyone I work with in the office, except for a PM and some site folks. I spent a good 9 years there, and survived 3 rounds of layoffs lol. And I had 7 or 8 managers, so the re-org thing was real lol.

This role opened my view, as I got to work with people all over the world. US, Europe, China, HK, Japan etc. It was exciting, rewarding, stressful, but fun and enriching. That it also paid well was a bonus of course. 

And then I decided to jump ship to a start up, which is a huge leap of faith, given how risky it could be if things don't work out. But I knew my skills were immensely valued by them and I could make an impact, so heck it, I went ahead. It was another win, I got lucky. Team was good, they treated me very well, respected me, allowed me to work from home all the time, and I could travel if I want. It also paid more handsomely than my previous job, so that was sweet. 

I think while I could still be considered mostly on a default path, the experiences I had were unique to me and I wouldn't want it another way if I looked back now. It was awesome. And then I also experienced a layoff where I was impacted! That caps the experience!! nice! 

Now I am really on pathless path, I have no reference and I feel naked sometimes. But like the author, I should have faith as I forge a way forward. 

The joy of freedom

As a parent with young school going children, you want to be there for them all the time, being available when they need help, guidance, company etc. You also want to not miss major milestones, achievements, celebrations as they grow up. 

This by itself is a luxury that not many parent can afford in Singapore. With most families having both parents working full time, what happens to their kids?

When they are very very young (below school age), there's full day childcare, either with professionals or with extended family help.

When they start going to school (primary, secondary), there's after school student care options, or someone could be at home (a grandparent), or a live-in domestic helper, or maybe even just the kids will be home alone after school and before parents leave office. 

Then when you finally got vacation leave approved, maybe for 7-10 days a stretch, you plan efficiently for your family overseas trip, squeezing as much itinerary as you can possibly afford to, both time and money wise. But you probably don't enjoy the break. It's like a compression of everything you wanted to do, a big rush, a major hustle, not very different from your day job. Its ironic. 

Things could had been better in past few years due to WFH possibilities forced by Covid. But WFH is gradually and surely being pulled away, with most companies starting to mandate 3 days or more in office, and I suspect, full time back in office soon. There are lesser parked cars in my apartment during weekday day time in 2025 vs 2024/23. That's the reason

Now, imagine you had lived a life in last 20 years or so, gainfully employed but allowed to fully work from home as a remote worker, with the occasional travel overseas for 1 week or so, 3-4 times a year. This is huge. It means, you literally are present to your kids all the time! You see all their milestones, you get to pick them up after school, where you either see kids being picked up by grandparents, domestic helpers most of the time. Your kid won't know the privilege given his/her young age, but you definitely feel it yourself. It is magic for a parent do be able to do that. 

This was my life while I was working in past 20 years. I am hugely cognisant of how fortunate I was to be in such a situation. Zero regrets to be able to do something like this period of my life. I continue to enjoy this freedom, in fact even more now, given I no longer have to work. It's icing on the cake. No more work commitments, stresses. Just freedom to continue to be there for my kids and family, PLUS having all these free time to use while they are at school/work. I had felt the freedom of living unstructured time periods, experience spontaneous decisions to do something, go somewhere. I have tasted honey, honey that is out of reach for many others. I am grateful. 

This joy of freedom comes with a price, which is lesser financial means for future. But tomorrow isn't guaranteed, as they say. So when is it enough to start enjoying this joy of freedom? 

This is a very hard decision. I always see myself as a provider kind of person. So my constant worry is whether I can provide, for my wife, myself, my kids and my parent. If I made a wrong decision, I will be very upset and disappointed. It's like falling just 10 meters before finishing line of a 42km marathon, because I decided to sprint towards it, but my legs were actually jello. 

Still, this joy that I had and continue to enjoy, its too attractive and seductive. It's like winning the game in life. 

Income tax YA 2025

 Forgot to post this. Not for showing off, but as a record for myself in future

this roughly translates to a monthly repayment of just over $4k, which is about 25% lower than before. 

Certainly welcomed, as it means less cash outflow per month. The reduction is simply due to Uncle not working the full 12 months in year 2024.

If Uncle do not secure a job in 2025, than the YA 2026 will be pretty....$0 tax LOL

Was it grief?

 Just came to my mind so I'll pen it down here now

Looking back to the first 6 months after quitting my job...

I think I was actually grieving, without knowing that it was that. Grieving about the loss of a job that I enjoyed, a job that I was excellent at, a job that provided company of good co-workers. A job that paid well was obvious, but surprisingly wasn't a reason for the grief at all. That loss of steady income was a stressor, not a grievance. 

I am done with it? I think so, and I am glad to have experienced it and I believe I came out of it a better person. I am glad I gave myself space and time for it, and didn't ignore it and just went ahead to pursue whatever I thought I should to fill up my time and space that were freed up after quitting. 

One key aspect was my focus on exercising, my time spent with my brothers, chatting about my feelings, chatting about things in life, as we are all about same age and have similar aspirations. I am really grateful to them for spending time with me during this difficult but important period of my life. I couldn't had done it without their support. Really appreciate it bros!

Should I go full retire mode?

 At a potential crossroad here...

Likely will be offered a job soon, assuming they can match my asking, should I take it up?

Pro:

- will have positive cashflow of close to $10k pm with job

- this will help me save $100k per year, which is going to help me grow a fatter retirement fund

- the company is growing and is modern, so this will be a plus to my career

Con:

- Cannot work from home. What if my hours are long?

- Starting it right now means I will not be around for major exam preparation for my kiddo coming up in Sep/Oct. I wonder what would be the impact

- Losing my free time to do exercise, to take care of my health, to be there for family

What about my own gut feel of things?

I think the job will be exciting, primarily of the different culture and environment, though I will be still in same line of work as before. But I also have doubts about my own energy level to keep up. 

Also, my motivation may not be strong. 

My priority now is mental and physical health, spending time with my loved ones. And freedom.

Also, starting work in 2025 wasn't in my plan. But of course opportunities don't always present at the best time based on my schedule lol.

I just don't want to regret making sacrifices for this job. 

At this age, and with quite certainty of being able to sustain myself and family without a job, taking on this for extra $$ could be a gamble that may not pay off.

How how how??

It's a good problem to have, but it's also a big headache. 

Uncle needs to think about it more....