I'm TRAPPED in Singapore (and it's my own fault)

Why Leaving Singapore Feels Difficult

The Swiss creator behind Swizzy SG says she originally expected her move to Singapore to be temporary. She loves her life there and doesn’t regret her decisions, but those choices have created significant financial, professional, and personal commitments.

Financial commitments

• Apartment lease: She recently moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Chinatown and signed a two-year lease for about S$5,000 per month—more than S$120,000 over the term, excluding utilities. Her landlord declined requests to add a roommate, shorten the lease, or transfer it to someone else. Her S$10,000 deposit could be at risk if she breaks the contract. A diplomatic clause may allow her to leave after 12 months, but only under specific conditions.
• Investments and insurance: She has four flexible Prudential investments, as well as two policies—Pru Advantage and Link Guard—that combine investment and insurance. She says cancelling the latter policies early could mean receiving no money back, though she may be able to keep them while living abroad, depending on their terms.

Work and relocation logistics

About 90% of her income comes from Singapore-related work. Her content focuses on local food, recommendations, and expat life, attracting Singapore-based brands and viewers. Moving could mean losing many local collaborations and rebuilding her audience, client network, and agency relationships elsewhere. She also notes that she was rejected for jobs 65 times before starting her business.

Relocating would raise questions about running her Singapore-registered company from another country, including taxes, payment arrangements, and work authorization. She would also need to understand what would happen to her Singapore work permit and private insurance, and find new medical specialists if she moved.

What makes Singapore feel like home

She values her friends, familiar routines, warm weather, nearby food, affordable and accessible public transport, convenience, and feeling safe walking or taking transit late at night. She misses her mother and brother in Switzerland, but says that alone isn’t enough to make her want to return.

She concludes that she is not literally trapped; rather, building a life in Singapore has created commitments that make leaving complicated. Each decision seemed reasonable at the time, and she still wants to invest in her future.

Notable locations and products: Chinatown, Maxwell Food Court, Chinatown Complex, My Food Street, FairPrice, Prudential, Pru Advantage, and Link Guard.