Living in Singapore: Lessons from Vika's Multicultural Journey
After reading about Vika's transformative journey in her Spotlight, here's how she figured out the art of building community, creating wellness routines, and establishing professional roots in Singapore - complete with the honest realities, breakthrough moments, and practical wisdom that can help guide your own path.
The Community Challenge: When Connection Doesn't Come Naturally
Vika arrived in Singapore during COVID-19, which meant her first months were marked by isolation rather than integration. “I came to Singapore at a very specific time, which was exactly when COVID hit. So the beginning of this journey of mine was very lonely, and there was no such thing as a community.”
Even after restrictions lifted, she discovered that Singapore's community landscape required a different approach than she'd expected. Her breakthrough came not through expatriate groups but through professional development. “The first feeling of real community was with CCI when we joined for our coaching training. I thought that we are all kind of in the same group of mindsets of people who want to grow and become better.”
The lesson: Sometimes meaningful community emerges through shared purpose rather than shared nationality or circumstances.
Your action step: Look for communities built around your interests, values, or professional goals rather than just your expatriate status.
The Connection Strategy: Beyond Small Talk
Through trial and error, Vika developed a practical approach to building relationships. “The biggest advice, the most practical advice, is to remain open to meet people. When someone says hi and asks a question, reply and be part of the conversation.”
But the crucial part comes next: “When someone offers a follow-up like ‘maybe we should go and grab a coffee,’ in this moment to reply with yes and actually to follow through.” She learned to move beyond surface-level conversations quickly: “I usually see from a first conversation if I can go deeper with someone beyond where I am from, when they came to Singapore, and those basic initial topics.”
The lesson: Real connections require both saying yes to opportunities and being willing to go beyond comfortable small talk.
Your action step: Practice transitioning conversations from logistics to values, experiences, or genuine curiosity about the other person's journey.
The Wellness Foundation: Creating Daily Anchors
As a mother and entrepreneur, Vika discovered that comprehensive self-care wasn't a luxury. It was essential for functioning in a demanding multicultural environment. Her daily routine became her anchor.
She starts each morning with what she calls ‘journaling practice’: “I currently have different journals for different purposes. One of my journals is mainly a Business Journal... Then I have a personal journal... and then I work on a journal where I write down what my current mood and thought process are.”
Her most transformative discovery was ice bath therapy. After becoming a mother for the second time, I wanted to get out of the house on certain occasions just for myself... I found the ice bath effect on me really helped me regulate my nervous system.
The lesson: Building wellness practices that serve multiple functions—physical, mental, and social—creates sustainable self-care that fits expatriate life.
Your action step: Identify one practice that could serve both personal wellness and community connection (fitness classes, meditation groups, hobby clubs).
The Cultural Navigation: Patience and Clear Communication
Living between Bulgarian directness, Portuguese warmth, and Singaporean efficiency required developing new communication skills. Vika learned to navigate cultural differences through calm persistence.
“Sometimes I see this misconception that there are no options or flexibility... I just try to handle it by staying calm and respectful and explaining what I actually want.”
She particularly noticed differences in attitudes towards families: “When I go to a restaurant, people here tend to go, ‘you need to go to that particular table in the corner,’ especially when they see me with a stroller.” Rather than accepting this, she learned to advocate for what her family needed while remaining culturally sensitive.
The lesson: Cultural adaptation doesn't mean accepting everything—it means learning to communicate your needs effectively within local contexts.
Your action step: Practice explaining your preferences or needs clearly and respectfully, without assuming malicious intent when cultural differences create friction.
The Professional Evolution: Proving Yourself Through Excellence
Coming from Bulgaria shaped Vika's approach to building professional credibility in Singapore. “As a Bulgarian, I tend to believe that with hard work and with good intentions and with intentional action, business can work... We tend to work from the perspective that we need to prove our worth.”
This mindset served her well in Singapore's competitive environment. Rather than assuming opportunities would come to her, she actively invested in skills development through an MBA and coaching certification, eventually launching Vibely, her life design coaching practice.
The lesson: In international environments, demonstrating competence through tangible achievements often speaks louder than networking alone.
Your action step: Identify one concrete way to showcase your expertise or invest in professional development that will build credibility in your new environment.
The Family Tradition: Creating New Rituals
With a multicultural family, Vika learned to honour different cultural backgrounds while creating something uniquely theirs. “We try to incorporate some Bulgarian traditions and some Portuguese traditions and then put them together and create our own traditions.”
The surprising discovery? “The best Christmas we've ever had was actually in Singapore when we were building it on our own.” This realisation freed her from feeling obligated to replicate either culture's traditions perfectly.
The lesson: Creating new traditions that blend your backgrounds can be more satisfying than trying to maintain all original practices.
Your action step: Choose one tradition from your home culture and one local practice to combine into something uniquely yours.
The Daily Rhythm: Activation and Winding Down
Vika developed what she calls “activation and winding down” practices that work for her specific circumstances. Her activation routine includes journaling, sauna, breathing exercises, ice baths, and magnesium baths. For winding down, she implements strict boundaries: “I don't check my phone or my social media before 9-10 AM, and I stopped checking my phone completely at 9:00 PM.”
The lesson: Having clear activation and decompression practices helps manage the additional mental load of living across cultures.
Your action step: Identify one practice that energises you and one that helps you decompress, then build your day around protecting these moments.
The Community Vision: Creating What's Missing
When asked what resource she'd create for women in Singapore, Vika's response was immediate: “A spot, a physical spot. I would love to see a physical spot where people can go and feel extremely welcomed and feel that everyone that goes there shares the same values of respect, uplifting and of supporting each other.”
Her vision extends beyond just space: “We do different events or workshops there that are for supporting women in all their various stages in life, from being an expert to becoming a mother to maintaining all the roles in life.”
The lesson: Sometimes the community you need doesn't exist yet—and that's an opportunity to create it.
Your action step: Identify one gap in your local community landscape and consider how you might contribute to filling it, even in a small way.
The Reality Check: Community Takes Intentional Effort
Vika's experience:
Initial expectation: Community would form naturally through expatriate networks
The reality: Meaningful connections required professional development environments and shared interests
The insight: Community building is an active practice, not a passive occurrence
Her encouragement: “A community feeling is unfortunately [still not] something that is part of my life,” she admits honestly, “but I am eager to create my own community.”
Remember: Each person's adaptation journey is unique. Some thrive in large expatriate communities, others find their people through professional or interest-based groups. Vika's experience shows that successful integration doesn't look the same for everyone.
What Vika Tells Women Moving to Singapore
Her advice centres on openness with follow-through: “Remain open to meet people... and when someone offers a follow up... to reply with yes and to actually follow through.” But she adds an important caveat: look for conversations that can go deeper than standard expatriate small talk.
For professional development, she recommends investing in yourself rather than waiting for opportunities: take courses, get certifications, and actively participate in Singapore's robust professional development scene.
Most importantly, she emphasises patience with the process: "Everything takes time... but more than time, it also takes effort and presence."
Connect with Vika:
LinkedIn: Vika H. Oliveira
Website: Vibely
Instagram: @be.vibely
Read Vika's complete transformation story in her Woven Spotlight feature.