We are officially moved out of Shanghai. I’m not sure how to gauge when we are officially “moved in” to Singapore, but I’m sure it’s not yet. We are currently living a hotel. A very nice hotel, but a hotel nonetheless. It gives you the feeling of being on vacation but you’re not. This coupled with the fact that we are in a tropical climate looking out on a lovely marina, it’s hard to fight the urge to sip cocktails poolside all afternoon. (Of course, two toddlers in tow help with this too.)
Instead, we’ve been searching for places to live and trying ways to keep two said toddlers from going rock star crazy in our room.
Luckily, we stumbled upon an indoor play place in one of the sprawling and glossy malls. It was a Friday morning and we were one of the first ones there. More kids and (mostly) moms kept tricking in, many of them friends meeting up for the morning. I found myself glancing towards the doorway as if a friend might walk in and see us. And in this moment, the other side of moving in started to sink in. Not that I was wrong about the wonderful lessons moving can offer, but like everything in life, there is another reality too.
Getting here and getting settled is the hardest part of the process for me. There is the reality that you don’t know where anything is or how to get to where you think you need to go. As a result, everything takes twice as long as it should. The reality that not only do you have no friends, but you don’t know anyone. You have no routine. You have no home in your new home.
But don’t feel too bad for me. Before I go drowning my lonely sorrows in chlorine and sunshine, I remember that I actually like seeing different apartments; our bedtime routine needed a change anyway; and when you don’t have “go to” places, you find things and places that are arguably better than what you maybe used to.
I think I might have been under the impression that the more you move, the easier the initial settling in will be. But that’s not true. Just because you know to expect a toddler tantrum after you say no to cookies for breakfast, it doesn’t make those seven minutes any less painful to endure. It just helps you to remember that it will pass, you’ll be fine, and (as toddlers so easily seem to do) you’ll forget you every felt this way in the first place.
Already, it looks like we might have a place to live! And really, Singapore is beautiful. I think it’s going to be easy to have fun here. Stay tuned…
Kathleen Siddell 
I completely understand this feeling! We are in the process of moving too. Our next location is Johannesburg, South Africa and we are currently living out of our suitcases in Luxembourg. Singapore sounds amazing. Just know that you are not alone! I wish you the best. Cheers, Keli
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Thanks! Johannesburg sounds exciting! Do you know when you’ll be moving? Hoping you don’t have to be in limbo too long!
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Like Pee wee’s big adventure. You will be busy and it will be like exploring new territory, especially looking at things thru the eyes of the little boys
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I have really enjoyed reading your blog. We moved from Singapore to China (Suzhou) with a short break back home in Canada. Singapore is a wonderful place to live….we loved it!!
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Thank you for reading! And how funny we’ve swapped countries. We never made it to Suzhou though. How are you liking it? We signed a lease and will be moving in this week so we are excited!
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Suzhou was fine …but I loved Shanghai(only 22 minutes by bullet train). We are back in Canada again not sure if we will return for the fall term(hubby is a teacher). Singapore is an easy place to live …with amazing food! Wait till the kiddos see Orchard Road at Xmas. The decorations are unbelievable. Good luck with your new place.
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