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My Life Abroad: Dreaming big brought me to LA as a content creator

From meeting celebrity chefs to working with Asian-American restaurants to fundraise for the “Stop Asian Hate” movement, marketing manager and content creator Vickii Ma’s life has been filled with new experiences. As she takes her life and career to greater heights, she hopes to help Singapore businesses expand to the US market too

By Kimi T - 

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Curious about what it would be like to work or study abroad? My Life Abroad is a column by Her World that gives a glimpse into the lives of women from Singapore who have pursued their dreams and ambitions overseas. If you would like to share your experience, please email us at magherworld.com@gmail.com with the subject “My Life Abroad” in your email header, and one of our editors will get back to you.

In today’s column, we speak with 32-year-old marketing manager and content creator Vickii Ma (@vickiima) who has been living in the USA for almost three years.

Growing up in Singapore, I’ve always wanted to experience living abroad. I would travel to New York City quite often in the past for work and holidays and thought I would like to live here someday. After being self-employed for years, I thought there could be an opportunity to do more marketing and content creation in the US. I wanted to challenge myself even further, grow my brand presence and learn from the best out here. Building a successful career is important to me but my goals are never stagnant.

I came here on a self-employment visa which involved quite a tedious process – I submitted eight reference letters among other documents. New York City was my first choice but after over a year,  I decided to move to LA because I realised that there could be more opportunities for me work-wise here. After living in New York City for a year, I got tired of the long winters there. I felt like LA would be a better fit for my lifestyle and career, and I could always travel to New York City when I missed the city or when work presents opportunities. 

New York City and LA are both very different cities. New York bubbles with an energy of its own; It's so dense that you get to walk everywhere and it’s easy to meet other Singaporeans there. LA on the other hand is more spread out and you need to drive to get around. The move itself may have been quick but it took me more than a year before I fully adapted and LA felt like home. Furthermore, living in New York City first has taught me to always be hustling. There’s hardly any downtime when living there, and I carried this mindset with me to LA. 

Driving around regularly was new to me. I already had a licence in Singapore but didn’t really have to drive so to do so here took some getting used to. Looking back, it wasn’t easy but I’m glad I did it. It is liberating to be able to go wherever you want – to go on road trips and commute for work.

When I first moved to both LA and New York City, I used Bumble BFF and found cool people with whom I share similar interests. We’d go to concerts and travel together. It was a bit easier in New York as I already had friends there and meeting one person would usually lead to meeting another. But in general, in these major cities, most people weren’t born there so there’s that common ground and people are usually excited to hang out. 

My living situation

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I’m currently staying in a two-bedroom apartment with one bathroom and I share the space with a Canadian flatmate. Rentals here can go as low as US$800 or US$900 for a room or even as high as US$2,000 or US$3,000, depending on what you prioritise. A lot of families live in either Orange County or the South Bay areas but LA is so spread out. Some might prefer to stay within walking distance of shops, and areas like Koreatown, Larchmont or Los Feliz might be a good fit.

I found my apartment through a women’s only Facebook group. There are a number of different sublet groups for anyone looking for housing. In the US, there are also Singapore associations, WhatsApp groups, and Telegram groups, which could be useful for making friends and building your network here.

Personally, I found Instagram to have been the most supportive community. It was really sweet how a follower in Spain sent me a selfie the other day, saying she had succeeded in driving to the supermarket on her own! She previously felt nervous about it and had asked me about my experience driving around. Moments like this make me feel less alone.

Weekends in LA

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Before living here, I thought LA would be like any other city but I was surprised with the nature in and surrounding LA. You could go on hikes every weekend and not have to repeat trails for a year. Music concert tickets here can be as cheap as US$30, even if you buy them at the last minute. I enjoy a lot of jazz concerts and recently caught FKJ live.

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I am trying to eat healthy and cook more, although I do also enjoy exploring new cafes and restaurants. There aren’t many cheap options here if you eat out and have to account for tipping, so it’s unlike in Singapore, which has plenty of hawker food at affordable prices and eating out could be more cost-effective than cooking at home sometimes.

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I think I’m more financially responsible than before and have learned to be more organised as well. I juggle multiple projects at one time so I update my calendar a lot and plan what I want to do for the week. Working on different projects energises me so I enjoy doing that for a living. Otherwise it gets a bit mundane.

A career path off the beaten track

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I’ve recently started doing marketing work for a food startup based in Singapore and New York City. It’s an exciting time for food startups. There are more events now that we’re post-pandemic. It’s exciting because it’s really fast-paced and there is a ton of competition; we're competing against the very best snack brands out here and I enjoy travelling for food shows. I was recently at one of the biggest food expos in the nation and will be in New York City soon for another. Being there, I am exposed to so many different brands and shows, and can see how they work.

I hope to bridge knowledge gaps for brands and companies looking to expand their business from Singapore to the US market. I recently advised a bakery-cafe that was looking to franchise here, and you see more and more brands like Love, Bonito making a move here too. Someday, I would love to conduct workshops and pass on my knowledge to people who are interested to learn more about being an entrepreneur or social media marketer in the US.

During the weekends, I manage social media marketing for different brands across platforms and have been developing my next business idea. I currently run my homeware brand Olive Home, but I’m interested in exploring more lifestyle goods, like bags and plan to possibly introduce them at pop-up events.

Credit: Vickii Ma (@vickiima)
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I also do photo shoots and shoot portraits of couples and families on holiday. I am on a platform that works with different photographers, which is how I get bookings. I have also done volunteer photography work with a charity organisation that helps marginalised individuals improve their mental health and physical health. Being here in LA has opened my eyes to the homeless crisis as there are people living in tents out on the streets, especially along Skid Row. It’s a far cry from what you see on TV.

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Singapore is home to me but there is still more that I want to do here. For the first year or so, I was finding my footing and now, I’ve got a good momentum going. I want to see what more I can do.

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