Joo Chiat Jewel

After living on four continents, ISABEL PALMER and husband Sean arrived in Singapore, where a stroke of good luck led them to renting a Joo Chiat shophouse – and loving it!

Tell us about your expat trail to Singapore. 

My husband and I both grew up in families that blended customs, cultures and languages – he’s from the UK and the US, I’m from Germany, France and the Philippines. Between us, we grew up on two continents and have lived on four, and we speak five languages (not all of them fluently, of course…). Because of this, we both grew up with a sense of belonging everywhere and nowhere all at once, which really just keeps reminding us how important it is to keep reconnecting with our heritage – and also to stay curious about discovering new places and meeting new people.

I moved to Singapore with my husband and two children about a year ago, after living in Tokyo for nearly six years. Before that, a combination of work and family had us living in New York City, Doha and Paris for several years at a time.

What’s interesting about Singapore is that, of all the places we’ve lived, it’s the first place where I’m also often asked “What is your heritage?” and not “Where are you from?” For me, personally, this is a much easier question to answer. More broadly, the fact that this question is asked here so easily and naturally is testament to the history and diversity of Singapore.

When you arrived here, what areas did you look at to live? How did you end up in this shophouse?