By SGN | 7 Aug 2026
Growing up in Singapore, Nigel’s worldview was shaped by the stories flashing across his television screen. He harbored an early, immense curiosity about the world beyond the borders of Singapore, and knew early on that he wanted to venture beyond the country’s borders to gain fresh perspectives.
“The thought of studying abroad, meeting different kinds of people, and learning from them was really appealing to me,” he shares.
A self-described “city boy,” Nigel chose London and New York to anchor his studies. After studying economics and political science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he moved to Columbia University in New York for a Master’s degree in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences.
What began as a quest for global financial training quickly evolved into a profound, decade-long exploration of what it means to hold onto a Singaporean identity when the familiar anchors of home are stripped away.
The comfort of the Singaporean launchpad, and grappling with the ‘foreigner’ identity in Tokyo
Nigel returned to Singapore after graduation, the first stop in his professional journey. Before being deployed across continents, learning the ropes from Singapore let him build core technical competencies in a familiar safety net alongside peers.
Three and a half years into his tenure in Singapore, an unexpected internal opportunity arose: his first true test of cultural adaptability.
GIC was looking for a bilingual junior professional proficient in both Japanese and English. Having studied Japanese as a third language in high school, Nigel landed a six-month stint in Tokyo that unexpectedly extended to a highly rewarding three years.
Stepping into corporate Japan proved to be a profound lesson in strict business etiquette and meticulous protocol. He had to quickly adapt to a deeply embedded cultural fabric where every action had an established order; from which senior person entered a room first to exactly where team members sat based on seniority.
Yet, while respecting local customs was crucial, Nigel discovered that leaning into his identity as a foreigner actually gave him a unique corporate advantage.
“Because I didn’t grow up in Japan, I could share perspectives and raise concerns that a local colleague might find culturally difficult to do.”
“It was a constant negotiation of when to adapt, and when to stand firm in who I was.”
Local partners also deeply appreciated his efforts to converse in their native tongue, despite his self-professed lack of perfect fluency.
“While I could have gotten away with not speaking Japanese, my experience and lifestyle, both at work and outside, would have turned out very different,” he notes. “It’s rare to be given such an opportunity despite my limited language, and I am grateful that GIC took a chance on me.”
Eager to keep growing professionally and be exposed to one of the world’s largest real estate markets, he decided it was time for a new challenge. With the company’s full support, he made his next move: relocating to New York.
The hustle of Manhattan vs. the patience of Tokyo
New York offered Nigel an immediate sense of cultural familiarity, yet demanded an abrupt, high-intensity shift in behavioral tempo. “I grew up consuming American media, so the place is not foreign to me,” he explains. “But I had to exert a lot of effort just to keep up, because people here hustle a lot. In Japan, it takes time and patience to cultivate a relationship. In the US, if incentives are aligned, things get done immediately,” he shares.
This cultural pivot required Nigel to show up and speak up differently, especially in the workplace.
“In Japan, my collaborative approach worked well,” he shares. “But in the US, if you don’t communicate your point clearly, you won’t be heard.” This pushed him to become more confident about sharing his ideas.
Rebuilding from zero, and the power of improv
Relocating across continents meant that Nigel had to face the daunting task of repeatedly building a community from scratch.
“In Tokyo, I moved without really knowing anyone. Building a community there took longer,” he says. It would be a year before he felt like he had built a meaningful social circle or genuine friendship, bolstered partly by his hobby of improv.
While living in Japan, he joined The Pirates of Tokyo Bay, an improv comedy troupe that performs in both English and Japanese, comprising an even split of Japanese and non-Japanese members. The members gathered weekly, and performed regularly in Tokyo, and over time, formed a close kinship with one another.
“Everyone was so open and welcoming,” he smiles. “One of my Japanese teammates even married a Singaporean she met while we were performing at a festival in Singapore, and the whole troupe flew across the world to attend the wedding!”
In contrast, settling into New York felt much more natural.
“I have friends from high school here, and there’s a much larger Singaporean community,” Nigel says. “There are more Singaporeans working in finance, law and tech, so it’s much easier to find common ground.”
Regardless of location, the key to friendships, Nigel had realised, was to have a shared reason to keep showing up.
“As adults, it’s easy to stay home, because it’s more comfortable,” he says. “But it’s important to put yourself out there. Whether it’s an improv team or a weekly football game, regular activities help friendships grow naturally.”
Over the years, Nigel’s approach to socialising has become braver. “Even if I don’t know anyone at an event, I try to show up,” he says. “Often, something good comes out of it. If not, all you lose is a few hours of your evening.”
He also advocates putting in the effort to maintain these friendships. “Don’t wait for someone else to invite you – check in, reach out, and make the first move, if necessary.”
Grappling with an invisible culture
The true psychological weight of living overseas, Nigel notes, lies in the subtle erasure of one’s cultural identity.
“I grew up in the heartlands, and am deeply proud of our identity — whether it’s hawker culture or the Channel 8 dramas my family grew up watching,” he reveals. “Being overseas doesn’t change that.”
Yet, bearing this identity in global capitals has proven uniquely complex.
“If you tell someone you are Japanese or Korean, they have an instant, historically built understanding of who you are,” he says. “But Singapore is a young country, and our culture is much less familiar. As Singaporeans, we instinctively understand it, but overseas, it’s something you often have to explain.”
“To a foreigner, our culture doesn’t have much context.”
At times, Nigel felt a disconnection from his unique identity as a Singaporean, because the very core of his identity was something he had to explain repeatedly, rather than have it be comprehended right away.
Still, he credits Singapore’s multicultural environment with helping him build bridges. “We grow up exposed to different cultures, so it’s easy to find common ground with people. But as an adult living overseas, you definitely feel what it’s like to be an outsider.”
The bittersweet trade-offs of a global career
Pursuing a high-flying global career naturally demands steep personal trade-offs: missing family milestones, watching nieces and nephews grow up through phone screens, and seeing friendships from home transition into ‘catch-up friends’.
To cope with the physical distance, Nigel has found comfort in the little things: like bringing sachets of Milo from Singapore to the US and preparing it for breakfast, or watching Singaporean TV dramas like The Little Nyonya.
It is this distance, however, that has stripped away the romanticism of the West and crystallised what Singapore truly means to him.
“When I was in my 20s, I thought New York was the absolute center of the universe,” he admits.
“But in my 30s, my perspective shifted, especially after having to start a life here and worry about matters like visas and credit history.”
Nigel views his homeland with immense gratitude “All the things we complain about at home (like the MRT) are actually world-class,” he says. “I’ve come to deeply appreciate the stability, safety, and comfort that Singapore provides.”
For young Singaporeans contemplating taking a blind leap into an international career, Nigel’s advice mirrors his theatrical training: simply say yes.
“Go overseas. Say yes to the adventure, because the personal growth and self-discovery you gain far outweigh what you leave behind,” he urges.
“But do so knowing who you are. Cultivate your support systems, respect the cultures you enter, but never lose that connection to where you started.”
About Nigel
Nigel Poh is a real estate investment professional at GIC, where he has spent the last nine years. Currently based in New York City, Nigel holds degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Columbia University. Nigel interests include improv and travel.
Connect with him here.
Learn more about GIC’s early careers programmes here.
