Nicole Seah Instagram – This past week, we chanced upon Fengshan’s answer to Gardens by the Bay – A neatly manicured homegrown corridor of beautifully maintained decorations and plants. Also spoke to some foreign residents on rental leases, which have spiked significantly in recent months and in many cases, more than doubled. Foreign residents here are prone to unfortunate trade-offs and sacrifices as a result of these recent changes. One such example that was brought to my attention recently was a family of Malaysian white collar professionals, for whom the combination of cost of living, childcare and rental has gotten unsustainable to the extent that the family has to leave their young baby back in Malaysia, and commute back and forth every weekend for visits. Foreign residents being affected by cost of living and rental hikes affect us to a degree as well, as many of them are colleagues and friends in our midst, whom we have grown accustomed to working with and living alongside.