SG is not a relax country (feel like HK but at least HK got benches to sit down)
I feel like a mice on an exercise wheel when I am there.
There r no places to sit at all !
not even the bus stops !
not even the shopping complexes !
Most of the time have to stand, walk
on the bright side, good exercise

For my case, my salary in Australia is 2000 higher than what I can rent in SGD (dollar to dollar), so I guess it depends..

Singaporean companies treat Malaysians like their own people.

Whereas Australian companies have slight discrimination against foreigners

Migrate there before finding a job? Was it because of his age so it took him that duration to find a job?

For Australia or anywhere, the older u r the harder to migrate.

So best is to migrate when u r very young

Why did ur friend decide to migrate at his age?

he was married to a foreigner vietnamese

he saw how difficult his wife could get citizenship or PR, he was very frustrated.

now they migrated to Australia, his wife met many compatriots in Australia, enjoice.

they have a kid.

me wish have the chance to work in these countries haha..
AU higher tax but the benefits also good right?

I've worked in both countries and I would say it sums up to what your life phase is and what's important to you.

In a very very simplistic view,
Career minded working in large corporations - SG
Family minded with young children and prefer better work life balance - AU

[Update]

I have done some research based on the construction-related job postings and salary in both SG and AUS recruitment website.
Here are some comparisons after taking into account the taxation of both countries:

At entry level (assuming I have to start from scratch), for similar job posting with experience requirement, I can earn more in Australia than Singapore after tax, about 22.5% more.

At executive level (higher salary), based on the experience requirement, I can earn roughly 7.2% more in Australia than Singapore after tax. The difference now is less between both countries due to AUS notorious tax bracket.
If convert AUD to SGD, my disposable income in AUD is about the same as SG since SGD appreciates more than AUD.

Now I am at the crossroad, seems like SG is more attractive location due to its low tax? But the rent now in SG is so unreasonably high that the huge chunk of salary will be taken out from the disposable income, although Australia is about the same (Sydney and Melbourne area).

Welcome any input on this as my comparison maybe quite basic.

I worked in both countries and I am now based in Sydney though I am in the finance / tech sector (Fintech).

It is really hard to compare both equally though it's generally true that if you want to get a car, have more space and better work-life balance, Australia definitely is the place to go. But there are so factors to consider so it is truly difficult to pin down which one is exactly a better one. I personally would wanted to stay in Singapore but I moved to AU like yourself because of my elapsing PR. I struggled for few years with loneliness and adapting to new cultures but I think I got something which I could never have gotten if I am still in Singapore (e.g., very specific technical skillsets, stronger command of English and a can-do and confident Australian attitude)

I personally had not faced any discriminations so far (maybe because I am in Sydney) and in fact, most of my colleagues (Caucasians) respects me and vice-versa - i think it boils down to how you carry yourself and i personally think that having your personal point of view and be courageous to voice out your opinion is important, it is a very western way of thinking and they will always respect people with their own views and willing to defend it. They still casually throw some racist jokes and I throw it back to them too (I call my British colleagues bloody Poms and my German colleagues Sauerkrauts in exchange for similar racist slurs - all in good spirits)

I also personally enjoyed a lot of freedom from work which includes arrangements such as work from home, leave as and when I need to and work from Malaysia from time to time, maybe that is maybe my employer trust that I will deliver regardless of where I am, but I won't be able to do so in Singapore or Malaysia.

Like someone has indicate, the biggest drawback for AU is the heavy tax system - in fact, if you still earn income from Malaysia (e.g., rental), you are suppose to declare it in AU and it can be taxable.

On the other hand, construction sector in Australia is having a bit of issue recently due to inflation, supply chain and interest rate increase issues and a few well-established construction company actually went down - not sure if this may affect your decision to go AU but thought you should be aware.

Hello Justin, thanks for your thorough reply.

Regarding the racism bit, I actually studied in NSW for a couple of years and probably faced one or two incident that I suspected was aimed at me. One was me walking at night in the city and someone threw a half-empty coke can at my feet. I was not sure if this was racist act cause it was dark at night and I didn't think they could see my face but it was not a pleasant feeling. Another was me walking in Newtown and someone shouted the c-word from the car. Again there were other asians walking in the street so again I was not sure if it was directed at me. I just dismissed these people as bitter cowards who only dared to perform racist act from inside a car.

Apart from these two incidents, I don't think I experienced any racist act from anyone else during my study years, but mind you this was before the covid pandemic though. Not sure if covid made the situation worse.

Regarding the heavy tax system, do you think you actually benefit a lot from it now you have worked there for so long? What is the quality of the free medical service you have thus received in the public hospital? What is your opinion that the taxpayer money also goes to the Centrelink? Do you already have a family in Sydney?

Regarding the issues in construction sector, thanks for the heads up as I am also very well aware of it . However as mentioned I am vying for jobs in property/design planning sector per my OP.

I have friends who are currently working in Sydney in the related sector. According to them, the recruiters are approaching them like hot cakes, not too sure about next year though.

Any chance I can get your contact? Do you live in the city or suburb? Would like to make more friends if I ever work there.

Australia, lesser people bigger land.

its a mix result.

I know some people who migrated to Australia and Spore, can't find life partner, remained single.

I also know few people (far less) who managed to find their life partner in Australia and Spore.
One such in Spore, when this dude I know went to work for Big 4 in Spore, met his future wife is a johorean who worked in one of his clients.
Another dude in Australia, found his other half, after many years, through a catholic dating website. But she was from Indonesia, she had to relocate to Australia, it took a lot of persuasion before she changed her mind and moved to Australia to join him.

I notice Australian interviewers are very good at asking constructive questions, which bring me to a mind block.

But case in note, I think I can improve, maybe its due to over exposure to asian type working styles.

On the other hand, when I talk to Hongkongers, Singaporeans I could easily impress them with my presentations.

10/10 will be going to AUS given that you are PR. One thing not discussed in this thread is the medical costs. I am currently in SG and let me tell you I do not dare to go to the doctor when I was sick given that the medical fee here is crazy high! Even their over the counter meds are unreasonably priced. For example, a Difflam (sore throat over the counter med) is priced RM8 at most in Malaysia Guardian but the same is priced SGD 13 in Singapore Guardian. Simply absurd!

Icic, medicine for "relatively light" ailments like sore throat is not covered by Medisave?

Sometimes we put too much thought into whether to move or stay in one particular country, but are any such decisions irreversible? You could stay in Aussie now and move to SG next time, and vice Versa, obviously retaining the PR would be a limitation, but other than that, let’s just go where the opportunity takes us. If you’re below 50, your normal retirement age would probably be 70, so plenty of time to make different career decisions

Yea, if you have children etc it would be more complicated. But children are more resilient than we think — far more important to spend time with them and give them the right attention, more impact on their well being than where they study.

Good luck in the next step!