By SGN | 17 Jul 2026
In the winter of 2016, six months in Stuttgart changed everything for Xinyi.
Her time in the high-tech city – where the automobile was born – was brief but formative, and it propelled the exchange student from Nanyang Technological University into adulthood. For the first time, she had to look out for herself, without family close by to turn to if something cropped up. “I really grew up, because I was so sheltered back home,” she says.
Through making new connections, her view of the world expanded. At the student housing alone, she mingled with over a dozen nationalities and formed enduring friendships. During the trip, she also met the man who would later become her husband.
This brief taste of life abroad left Xinyi wanting more, and she returned to the very same city five years later, not only to reunite with her partner, but also to embark on a new phase of her career. “Living here as a working adult was a long-term goal of mine,” she says. “I always knew I would come back at some point.”
Surmounting the language barrier
Since her college days, Xinyi has been drawn to the world of tech. Following internships at Grab and ShopBack, she worked for a year as content strategist at the personal finance platform Seedly, then for three years as head of e-commerce for the fashion brand Makerly.
When she began hunting for jobs in Stuttgart in earnest, she applied to over 200, tracking them all on an Excel sheet. It was an exercise in resilience. “Every time I got a rejection, I would put it in red,” she recalls. “And the whole sheet was red. It was tough!”
Her lack of proficiency in German proved to be a major stumbling block, so she took classes at the Goethe-Institut then flew to Stuttgart on a sprachvisum (language student visa) to do a three-month intensive while working remotely.
With a B2 (upper intermediate) certificate in hand, Xinyi finally clinched a product marketing job in 2022 at a leading tech startup in Stuttgart – though she remembers embarrassingly having to switch between German and English during her final-round presentation.
“The role required close collaboration with my German-speaking colleagues while crafting concepts and deliverables in English,” she shares. “It turned out to be the perfect sweet spot to combine both languages and kickstart my career in Germany.”
Three years later, Xinyi’s role evolved into regional operations as the firm sought to expand globally. Working with a very international team while applying her cross-cultural perspective has been exhilarating, an experience she may not have had in Singapore. “My work in expansions has taken me from India to Mexico and offered me the opportunity to navigate diverse markets,” she says.
At work, Xinyi quickly had to adapt the way she spoke, shedding any traces of Singlish in order to be understood. “Becoming more fluent in German unlocked a lot of conversations,” she admits. “Before that I felt a little like an outsider.” Today, she continues to practise on Duolingo and with friends, including those she met at language school.
Because most Stuttgarters aren’t familiar with Singapore, Xinyi finds herself constantly explaining where the country is located (i.e. not in China) and that its first language, across its multiethnic population, is English. Only after some time did colleagues begin to recognise her command of the language and turn to her for help with English writing and proofreading.
Foodie adventures abound
Life in continental Europe has given Xinyi a “borderless” worldview. France and Switzerland are only two hours away by car, so she can easily drive to Lake Constance to the south or Strasbourg to the west, a French border town with great seafood and pastries.
Within Germany, she enjoys the bounty of seasonal produce like strawberries, peaches, prunes, grapes and walnuts. Recently, it was white asparagus (spargel) season, a national obsession. Grown completely buried in soil such that the shoots never see the sun, the vegetable is usually steamed or boiled and dressed in a silky Hollandaise sauce.
While she occasionally drives to Frankfurt to enjoy Asian food like hot pot, Xinyi also frequently whips up feasts to host friends and for a taste of home. “10 years ago when I came as exchange student, there was like one Asian store here,” she says. “Now there are six big ones where I can buy all sorts of things I need.”
Her formidable repertoire includes chicken rice, ondeh ondeh, her dad’s Cantonese soups like pork rib with lotus root, and a version of mee siam that a fellow Singaporean made for her. “I have since recreated it every other week. It’s especially comforting in the cold,” she says.
In Germany, everything is closed on Sundays and public holidays, a phenomenon that still catches Xinyi by surprise from time to time. But she has come to appreciate it as a chance to switch off, slow down, go on a hike or catch up with friends. “It’s actually quite freeing and helpful to breathe and recharge,” she says.
Likewise, the quiet hours rule on these days – no lawnmowers, drilling, parties, etc. – creates a sense of calm. “Even throwing away glass bottles gets the occasional disapproving stare!”
Building a life abroad
Contrary to what most might assume, Xinyi didn’t just move to Germany for love. While reuniting with her husband was important – they got married in Singapore last year – it was more crucial that she could lead a full and fulfilling life in Stuttgart.
“Finding meaningful work, building my circles and creating my routines helped me feel like I’d truly built a life here,” she says. “If you don’t have a purpose, you end up heavily dependent on your partner, and it’s tough to feel like your own person. I didn’t want that kind of life.”
Besides connecting with Singaporeans in Germany and attending events supported by Singapore Global Network, Xinyi joined a tennis club where she plays twice a week and has met some of her closest friends.
Beyond hitting the courts, the members often gather for barbecue parties or to watch other sports like ice hockey. “The club has really expanded my circle beyond Singaporeans,” she says.
“When you’re younger, you want to spread your wings and experience the world,” Xinyi muses, “but the older I get, the more I long for Singapore.” As she starts noticing the cracks in society, such as the rise of drug use and homelessness on the streets, she wonders about returning to Singapore someday, perhaps when she starts a family, but for now she wants to continue building her career in Stuttgart.
“After nearly six years in Germany, I’ve become the most confident version of myself. I’m far more comfortable with uncertainty,” she says. “Building a life here has required me to put myself out there, and it’s been absolutely worth it.”
About Xinyi
Xinyi is a Singaporean in Stuttgart, Germany, where she works as a regional operations manager at a leading tech startup. She graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in design and visual communication.
Connect with her here.
