habang tumatagal, mas lumalaki ang diperensya between locals and foreigners. kahit gano ako ka-comfortable ngayon sa SG, iniisip ko parin na short term lang to.
in the end, if things take turn to worse, madali ako masipa sa bansang ito kasi wala akong extensive (much more, permanent) legal rights. more than that, at the things are going, nagiging parang dubai narin si SG, na practically walang chance na magiging citizen kahit matagal ka pa nag stay.
so iri-risk ko na at makapag-start ule mag plant ng seeds, this time at least legally permanent na status π
<blockquote rel="wizardofOz">Na-recall ko, dati SG was the land of opportunity for most professional Filipinos, now parang lahat ng Pinoy na kakilala ko gusto nang umalis ng SG dahil sa mga alam na nating kadahilanan...
Sa tingin ko lang naman, ganyan din ang mangyayari sa mga kababayan natin sa Dubai, everything will get saturated to the point where alam na natin ang susunod na mangyayari...
We live for the now, but plan for the future ika nga.. do you like to see your children and grandchildren and subsequent generations of yours living in Dubai... what future do you see for them?</blockquote>
<blockquote rel="QQ21"><blockquote rel="aprildelarosa">Im actually torn between middle east and australia--- naiisip ko ung money na pwede ko agad kitain s kung sa middle east ako pupunta-- pero kung eventually pupunta din naman ako sa OZ why not now? ugh!--i'll keep praying for this.</blockquote>
Obviously I don't know your circumstances. If you have the capability to make it to Australia via the skilled migrant stream, I'd say you can't be wrong with pursuing it. It's a no-brainer. But if you believe you need to prepare for it more, e.g. save up more $$, enhance your work experience (either more years or better role, etc), improve your qualifications (e.g. further studies, online courses, etc), the Middle East can definitely be a good venue for you to prepare yourself. In a prior comment I mentioned that generally the take home pay in Dubai (or the Middle East for that matter) is much higher than in Australia, depending of course on your occupation, your level of experience and qualification, your location even -- basically your overall competitive advantage in the job market. However, it doesn't matter how long you have been living there: your status will always be as a foreigner/expatriate. This means, among others, that you can only rent an apartment and not buy it, your children will attend school as foreigners and therefore pay international student fees, and your residency is always tied to your job; your employer is your visa sponsor -- if you lose your job through voluntary or involuntary termination, your visa is cancelled and you have a month to either leave the country or secure another job. If the visas of your family members (spouse, children) are attached to yours, they will also be cancelled. Hence it really boils down to what your personal circumstances are and how much you are willing to risk. Think it through very thoroughly and I wish you all the best with whatever it is you decide in the end. I lived 9 years in Dubai and am now living in Sydney and loving it here way more. Any specific questions I'd be happy to assist. π
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