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Having said all the above, the one thing I miss most about Singapore is my mom. She is a single mom and despite my constant nagging and urging, she refuses to move to the States with me. I miss her terribly and with us being a single-income household, it is tough for us to visit her in Singapore. She does visit us once a year for about 2 weeks (she is still working and so, cannot stay long) but it is just not the same… sometimes, you don’t realize how important someone is to you until they are far apart from you. My mom and I definitely have our ups and downs but when all things are said and done, I miss her terribly and wish I were there in Singapore to look after her, to bring her for vacations around the world. [Kevin: Ya, I feel the same way for my parents too].

3) What do you miss most about Singapore?

The States has taught me a very valuable lesson in that you have to dare to dream and dare to grab any opportunity that presents itself to you. I’ve also learned that there is nothing wrong to be a Stay-At-Home-Mom (SAHM) and just spend time with my children (though it may mean that we are not as financially well-off as our peers back in Singapore who enjoy dual-income). I recalled my friends back in Singapore being so shocked when I told them about my decision to be a SAHM. Reactions from them range from “Are you crazy?” to “What will you live on then?” to “How are you going to have your own money – independently from your husband’s?” to “What about your career?” and so on….

There are so many things about the U.S. that I like and so, it is quite difficult for me to choose the best. One of the things that I like most about this country is the unlimited amount of opportunities out there for everyone in the country regardless of your ethnic, educational, economic, and social background. Coming from a fairly stern, materialistic and somewhat superficial small country, it was a real eye-opening experience for me to see that you do not really need to have the right connections or have First Class Honours in your degree to be successful in the States. Even the definition of the word ‘successful‘ can mean so many things here in this country, unlike in Singapore where I feel that one’s success is measured only by the type of house or car you own, the schools you attend, your job title, your salary & even the brand of the clothes you wear!!

2) What do you like best about living in the States?

We lived in Seattle (specifically in Kirkland – which is on the east of Seattle) for close to almost three years before my husband’s company moved us to Atlanta, GA where we have been calling home for now. Frankly speaking, I’ve no idea where 2010 will bring us :0)

My son and I visited my husband in Seattle after he had already settled into his new home for two months. My husband arranged everything perfectly for us, making sure that we do all the usual touristy stuff and that his apartment was super-comfortable for our visit. He brought us to Asian grocery stores and restaurants to show that it is really not that bad to live in the States after all. I have to admit that the visit was amazing as we had really missed each other while we were apart and Seattle is simply beautiful!! On June 2003, my son and I finally made that international move from Singapore to Seattle. I remember thinking to myself at that time I must have been absolutely crazy for giving up my career, close friends, yummy foods, but most importantly to leave my mom to come halfway across the globe!!

We moved from Singapore to Seattle back in early 2003 due to my husband’s job. His company, an engineering firm based in the US, decided to move the bulk of their APAC operations from Singapore to China and offered my husband to relocate to the States. My husband loved working at this company and so he said ‘yes’. At that time, I had just started to be very successful as a sales person with Starwood Hotels APAC and was being groomed by my manager to help grow the China market, as such, I wasn’t really willing to make the move. I also didn’t wish to leave my mother alone in Singapore, was concerned for my son who was only barely 2 years old, and finally, whether I would be able to adapt to the new country. My husband decided to go ahead with the move while we worked out a plan for us to meet up around twice or thrice a year.

1) As a Singaporean, what made you move to the States?

As a working mother of two school-age children, Audrey Lim was constantly on-the-move. Being in the States, she craved for food from Singapore and Malaysia, yet wanted a easy way to fix up an authentic-tasting local meal without the required hassle. Seeing a need, the SingaporeMalaysiaStore.com was created to help overseas Singaporeans and Malaysians re-connect with their heritage through simple-to-prepare delicious food.

Sipping on a nostalgic white milk tea Audrey Lim had kindly sent me, I ask this extraordinary expatriate mother of two what made her move to the States and how she got started with her online Asian grocery store,

A tasty care package courtesy of Audrey’s online grocery store.

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Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:34:19 +0000

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Confessions of an Expatriate Singaporean Mom (turned Accidental Entrepreneur)

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:01:52 +0000

kevin lim . social cyborg . cyberculturalist . edupunk . futurist

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