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I moved to Singapore

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Re: I moved to Singapore

#131

Post by matimateo »

First post here - long time lurker. I was transferred to Singapore for work from Tokyo. Here are my impressions. -housing is extremely expensive, food is generally cheap, air quality is nice

-streets are not as clean as expected, especially compared to Tokyo, which is a much larger city. I lived in Chinatown in the People's Park Complex with 6 mainland Chinese (I'm American), which was an interesting experience.

-the expat community is dominated by the finance community, which can tend to limit the crowds you will run with if you're not in with the locals. I tried to befriend the locals, with limited success.

-it doesn't feel like the police state it's made out to be, don't worry about being arrested for chewing gum (I saw some T-shirts with a "Legalize It" theme referring to gum).

Overall, Singapore seemed sterile to me. That was part my reason for quitting my job and moving back to Tokyo in April. I like Singapore, but not my cup of tea. Maybe that's just because I'm a huge fan of Japan.

Re: I moved to Singapore

#132

Post by Daniel14 »

cletus wrote: post #122

I love Singapore, except for the climate, which is oppressive. There is amazing hawker (street) food everywhere and, thanks for strict enforcement of health regulations, it's pretty cheap too. At least it was. It's been a few years since I was there. I kinda view Singapore as the Zurich of Asia. Zurich (and Switzerland in general) is very regulated (although Singapore more than Zurich; there are no rules against chew…

I live near Zurich but don't perceive the rules to be anywhere near as strict as you described, and would certainly not talk about "being told what to do" by the state. In Singapur, there are lots of laws unimaginable in Switzerland (for example, it's forbidden to smoke in public, you go to jail for speeding/driving while drunk, spitting or chewing gum, you'll t get killed for possessing drugs...). In Switzerland, what I believe causes the low criminality rate is the even lower poverty rate because of the strong social system. What would be called socialist in the States is completely normal here in Europe, and often results in a much better quality of life for everyone living here.

Re: I moved to Singapore

#133

Post by whow »

Singapore reminds me of Apple.

A very focus country on being the most successful country in SEA and it's built on the vision of one man, LKY. However I do fear the day LKY pass and the government is lost.

Re: I moved to Singapore

#134

Post by mullr »

Lucadg wrote: post #79
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…

A few years back I was at Singapore's airport and I saw, along many other signs forbidding most human activities one which still haunts me at night. There was this symbol of a person reading and the text was: no studying. Then one day while I was walking down Orchard road I saw a long line of people quieing on the street to get in...Sweansens (a chain crappy ice-cream store). That's when I decided Singapore was lost.…

I imagine that "no studying" should really be read as "no loitering." Or perhaps "this is not the place to come and read all day, please, there are other people who need to use this space." It was probably a problem.

I've seen such signs at cheap chain restaurants in Japan. (I'm not attempting to generalize here, just relating an experience) The clear message was that high schoolers would come and buy the $3 all-you-can-drink soda package and sit and study and chat all day. Hence, no studying. Seems reasonable enough. Many places don't have that rule though, and there you can see many people studying all day.

Re: I moved to Singapore

#135

Post by htht00 »

cletus wrote: post #122

I love Singapore, except for the climate, which is oppressive. There is amazing hawker (street) food everywhere and, thanks for strict enforcement of health regulations, it's pretty cheap too. At least it was. It's been a few years since I was there. I kinda view Singapore as the Zurich of Asia. Zurich (and Switzerland in general) is very regulated (although Singapore more than Zurich; there are no rules against chew…

Singapore actually has one of the freest economies in the world, with an extremely friendly business environment that is free of trade barriers and free of strict regulations. Yup, it's ranked #1 on the Ease of Doing Business Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ease_of_Doing_Business_Index

Re: I moved to Singapore

#136

Post by jemeshsu »

Lucadg wrote: post #79
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…

A few years back I was at Singapore's airport and I saw, along many other signs forbidding most human activities one which still haunts me at night. There was this symbol of a person reading and the text was: no studying. Then one day while I was walking down Orchard road I saw a long line of people quieing on the street to get in...Sweansens (a chain crappy ice-cream store). That's when I decided Singapore was lost.…

It is common for students who go to Changi Airport studying and gathering. It became problem for the business owners because they are holding on to seats for long hours. The sign you see are put up by the business owners. Similarly you can see such sign at downtown at Starbucks for example. As for the Swenson, the queue is there not because Singaporean are crazy about Swenson. It is just that it is the cheapest western food restaurant the young can afford in Orchard Rd. That was few years back and I think the place is no more btw.

Did you live in Singapore or just stopover?

Re: I moved to Singapore

#138

Post by maayank »

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…

may you please elaborate? to what ideas of the enlightenment you think they aren't subscribed?

Re: I moved to Singapore

#139

Post by mestudent »

zizee wrote: post #87
fiblye wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And jaywalking is illegal in the US too. Depends on where you are. Most cities and college towns in the US don't care where you cross the road so long as you're not doing it recklessly, and places where laws are enforced generally have nothing more than extremely small fines. I'd rather not live in a society that restricts human liberties to the point of making citizens robotic. Yeah, the US has its share of problem…

My friends Dad, travelling in the US, had the police order him off the street at gun point because he was jaywalking. I'm sure that is not the typical experience of most people, but I thought it an interesting anecdote after seeing the parents post...

It depends where you are, I know I have jaywalked next to cops without so much as a word from them, but this was on the street next to a college campus.

Re: I moved to Singapore

#140

Post by robak »

cletus wrote: post #122

I love Singapore, except for the climate, which is oppressive. There is amazing hawker (street) food everywhere and, thanks for strict enforcement of health regulations, it's pretty cheap too. At least it was. It's been a few years since I was there. I kinda view Singapore as the Zurich of Asia. Zurich (and Switzerland in general) is very regulated (although Singapore more than Zurich; there are no rules against chew…

You say:

"When I worked in Zurich a colleague once described it succinctly: in England (and, by extension, the US, Canada and Australia) you can do whatever you want except for those things that are banned. On the mainland (of Europe) you can't do anything unless it's specifically allowed."

As an European I tend to disagree. You confused 'mainland Europe" with German-speaking parts of Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway). Trust me you will feel even more free than in the UK when living in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece... and then once you hit Eastern Europe - Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, etc. - you can be pretty safe by actually doing everything OPPOSITE to what the law, authorities, etc. tell you to do. Don't confuse Germany with whole Europe. I find it personally offensive. It's like saying that US is like Mexico just because you lived in certain parts of LA.

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