ALOT has happened during this one month hiatus from blogging. We moved out from Joo Chiat serviced apartment to our one-year leased HDB flat, then literally moved out of it on the same day, then got entangled into a tenancy dispute, then incurred some losses on resolving the tenancy, then got entangled (again) into a property agent misconduct dispute, then has been camping at my parents' place for almost a month, then Olof got a 3-month contract (finally!!) from Ericsson, then lil' Tiger turned 5 months old yesterday. *Pant* Thank goodness I can say all that in one breathe.
The tenancy dispute was, doubtless, the most challenging and frustrating period for us since we moved to Singapore. Candidly, it was ignorance and ill-informed of the rental practices in Singapore that caused us to land in this thick mud. It's interesting to note that the rental practices between Singapore and Sweden are the exact opposite of each other; Singapore protects the landlord, Sweden protects the tenant. We have learnt alot in this entire saga, but we paid quite a hefty price for it too. Much as we incurred some losses, however, it could have been worse if not we were lucky to meet a responsible property agent who at least uphold certain moral values and exhibit professionalism in his job. Although we are now out of the problematic lease, the issue is not completely over. We are still fighting to get back the commission we paid to our irresponsible and dubious property agent who was supposed to protect our interests in the tenancy but never did. Let's hope that justice is on our side. It is long overdue that this industry and many of its practitioners need to be shaken up and disciplined to truly act like a professional property agent providing trustworthy and quality services to its customers.
We very much hope to put that tenancy issue behind us soon... we have more important things to do - securing our livelihood. Olof has started a 3-month contract at Ericsson while I still do not have any job offers in my basket yet. It's really challenging to look for jobs and care for Tiger at the same time. Fortunately, I have the help of my family to share the task of caring for Tiger. I feel the need quickly return to the working world in order not to be disconnected from it. It's unfortunate for women here that the working world is not very forgiving if you decide to take a few years to care for your little one. Rejoining it after a hiatus of, say, 2 years is extremely difficult.
It has been an uphill start for us in Singapore. But we still believe that we made the right decision to move out of Beijing. Simply being able to go out for walks with Tiger as and when we feel like it and breathe in fresh air sums up the saying "money is not everything." No doubt times are a little teeth-griting for us now, but the stamina that we will build up from this uphill climb is certainly going to propel us ahead when we eventually reach the plateau.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment