Why do so many Singaporeans who go to Australia for a degree eventually come back when they have so much space, subsidies and less stressful lifestyle than Singapore?

If you're young and have marketable skills that are in demand, the world is your oyster, so long you're adventurous.

However, if you are the owner of an average degree from an average school, and seduced by ideas such as a "slower pace of life", "less pressure", "non-kiasu" or want to experience "true democracy", "liberal freedom" and a "free press", you may be sorely disappointed when you try to make a living in Australia as an Asian.

It boils down to jobs. Yes. Jobs, jobs, jobs.

First, you downgrade to minority status, no more than 10–16% of the population. Your much vaunted English skills? Everyone speaks English, and many speak (and write) better than you. On the low end, there are plenty of young graduates who are hungrier. They don't know a "slower pace of life" when they have the same pressures of meeting rent, heating and food obligations in expensive Aussie cities. Sure, that pizza-delivery or pet-groomer job pays more than in Singapore but it's no long-term career—your standard of living takes a huge hit and you often end up in a seedy part of town surviving on savings.

I have friends who studied there and stayed on. I also have friends who emigrated in their late 20s or early 30s. Some are still there, probably for good. But there is a sizable number who chose to do an u-turn, especially the girls who don’t have to give up their Singapore citizenship when they get Aussie PR (apparently it is not strictly enforced here). I know several guys who went on to Hong Kong.

I am in no condition to elaborate on this topic tonight, so I may revisit it again. But my anecdotal experience is Australia is no paradise. The Aussie dream works if you have a cushy job or marketable skill that puts you higher up the food chain. You will find life much harder as an average Asian than an average White otherwise.

There are no fairy tales, especially if you don't have youth on your side.

P.S.: One more route to the Aussie dream: if you're the owner of capital.

Source: Quora 2019-05-13