SINGAPORE—The two-year mark is the turning point. That’s when you choose to return home (assuming you can find your way back) to pick up where you left off—or you commit to the expat life.

Singapore is like an expat life starter-kit. The majority of the expats I’ve met out here are fresh off the boat and just dipping their toes into an international lifestyle. Many have investments elsewhere—a house they’re still paying the mortgage on, the next promotion, aging parents—that will inevitably summon them back after a few years. Expat children are sent to international school and expected to attend university back “home.”

This isn’t the place for those who want to immerse themselves in Asia; it’s a clean, safe outpost for doing business in the region. Other major cities in Southeast Asia are enmeshed with cultures that extend beyond the city limits. Bangkok is a gateway to Thailand. Hong Kong blurs into the Chinese mainland. But Singapore is tiny and neatly contained. We come here to boost careers that we likely intend to continue elsewhere—either back home or in a new city—and to learn whether we’re truly meant for life abroad.

It’s always a surprise when ang mohs (the local slang for "foreigner") divulge that they’ve been in Singapore longer than five years or that they’re Singaporean citizens. The Ministry of Manpower, the government branch responsible for labor policies and regulation, sets the default Employment Pass contracts for expats at one year. Even those who make so-called permanent transfers with their company often have contracts based on a one or two-year renewal cycle.

Eligibility for citizenship also follows this short-term rule, as you have to be a Permanent Resident for two years before you can apply (and it’s difficult to obtain PR if you haven’t held an EP for two years). I know one couple who has lived here 25 years, but the majority of expats at any given time are fresh transplants and will remain that way.