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I moved to Singapore

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101–110 of 239 posts

Re: I moved to Singapore

#101

Post by dualogy »

david927 wrote: post #83

Whenever I go to a new place, it takes about a year to really understand the true "costs" of living there. (The benefits are usually obvious on the first day or two.) I have a friend who lived in Singapore for many years. The biggest "cost" for her in living there was that it is not fully subscribed to the principals of the Enlightenment . I know this is like saying, "Yes your new girlfriend is cute and smart, but yo…

No place on earth is "fully subscribed to the principals (principles acshully) of the Enlightenment" -- once you fully grok that, every place is perfectly fine for tourism and every place kinda sucks for citizenship. Of course, degrees vary. But... in principle!

Re: I moved to Singapore

#102

Post by cageface »

seri wrote: post #77
cageface wrote: post #64

Singapore seemed a little to squeaky-clean and expensive, so I did the same thing, but in Vietnam instead. Internet infrastructure here isn't great but other than that I haven't regretted it for a second. The U.S. and Europe just seem so boring now when I go back.

I'm Vietnamese, so I get a little curious here. Would you mind sharing what you particuarly like about Vietnam? And which city are you living in?

I'm in Nha Trang. I love the food, the friendly people, the beautiful beaches and the countryside. It's also very cheap to live here so I have a lot of personal runway to work on my own projects before I have to consider getting a real job again or consulting for somebody else. It's a perfect place for a little hacker sabbatical.

Re: I moved to Singapore

#103

Post by ori_b »

netcan wrote: post #96
yaix wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you take a look around Singapore's neigbor countries and their living conditions, you must admit that the Sing' government did a pretty good job so far. And then there is the asian culture of not being to critical to the "superior". You even have that in democratic Japan and SKorea. Talking crap about the gov is more a Western life style (mine too, 'cause I m from Europe too, but have lived in Asia long enough t…

I think we really need to watch out when we label certain sorts of thing Western. I know it usually comes from an attempt to be culturally sensitive, but it's just not true and potentially harmful. Gender equality is not rooted in Western culture. It sucked being a woman equally in Glasgow, Shanghai & Algiers. Gender equality was spread with difficulty and imperfectly over a decade in throughout liberal democracies a…

Western culture does include the changes since the enlightenment era and forward, you realize? Culture isn't static, and gender equality has become a part of western culture -- at least in principle. Similarly, freedom of speech has slowly become a part of western culture, although it has a way to go as well.

This wasn't always the case, but that doesn't disqualify the current situation.

Re: I moved to Singapore

#104

Post by [deleted] »

shii wrote: post #49
keyle wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've visited Singapore twice. I've settled in Australia, originally from Europe. I was really worried when I visited Singapore and took their 'tourist' tour. They put you in a bus, drive you around all jetlagged and give you orange juice on the beach. Completely surreal. What really put me off was their unconditional love for their government. The woman 'tour guide' in the bus just couldn't stop thanking the governme…

s/communism/totalitarianism/g and you'll make better sense.

[deleted]

Re: I moved to Singapore

#105

Post by rickmb »

mingyeow wrote: post #28
kylec wrote: post #11

I'm surprised at his choice of location - Singapore is quite a nanny state, and the punishments are sometimes quite severe. "Singapore society is highly regulated through the criminalization of many activities which are considered as fairly harmless in other countries. These include failing to flush toilets after use, littering, jaywalking, the possession of pornography, and the sale of chewing gum." "Singapore has o…

i live in both sf and singapore (50/50), and i am actually very much in support of these rules. my only grouse is the suppressed political scene, and i am glad that even that is being lifted in a slow but steady manner. and trust me, 90% of my friends have criticized the government in a very public manner on facebook/twitter. last i checked, they are still running around town and still complaining. do not believe 90%…

I've never heard executing people referred to as "quirky".

Re: I moved to Singapore

#106

Post by vegai »

true_religion wrote: post #48
vegai wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is anyone's freedom of speech violated if they're not allowed to litter?

You can't possess or view pornography---that's a violation of free speech. There's more. But the only positive that's trumpeted about singapore is that their streets are clean and their city beautiful. This is good for the tourist, but not necessarily a place you want to move to.

"You can't possess or view pornography---that's a violation of free speech."

I'm not sure I can digest that outright. Can you elaborate?

Re: I moved to Singapore

#108

Post by vpdn »

cageface wrote: post #64

Singapore seemed a little to squeaky-clean and expensive, so I did the same thing, but in Vietnam instead. Internet infrastructure here isn't great but other than that I haven't regretted it for a second. The U.S. and Europe just seem so boring now when I go back.

> Internet infrastructure here isn't great

I was in Vietnam last year for a longer trip (worked remotely for a client in Germany). I found the internet to be working extremely well in Saigon, so it might just be your region. For two weeks I worked off Phu Quoc Island. A few times, we had power outage on the island, yet I was able to go online through my 3g connection. Pretty amazing change compared to the last time I visited he country four years back to visit my grand family.

Re: I moved to Singapore

#109

Post by nishantmodak »

charlesbarbier wrote: post #107

Why is this post get so many vote? I understand that this guy is famous for some of the stuff he did, but hey... hacker news is news for hacker, right? not news about hacker?

Totally agree. I wondered the same. May be - since he is a _famous_ hacker - an update about his location might help those in the area with communities / talks etc?

Re: I moved to Singapore

#110

Post by kgtm »

astrec wrote: post #94
keyle wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you referring to rights of anarchism? I'm no trespasser and trouble maker, but I can tell you that anybody is free to do whatever they intend to in Australia, so as long as it doesn't impair other people doing so. In other words, you're as free as you can be without causing damage to others. I'm not sure what you're referring to though. On my way home I saw dudes roller-blading half naked in the city. I call that…

No. I'm referring to the constitutional right to free speech. The statement "anybody is free to do whatever they intend to in Australia, so as long as it doesn't impair other people doing so" is as absurd as it is false. There are reams of legislation to prevent you from doing everything from arriving unlawfully by boat, to lying about your income, to using a wire carriage service to cause offence. As to speech, here…

I'm sorry, but I think you are confused regarding what constitutes free speech. Either that, or a very poor example you chose...
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