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Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

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Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#11

Post by forktheif »

fvrghl wrote: post #5
forktheif wrote: post #2

The quick search I just made for suicide rate per capita shows the rate in Singapore is kinda average.

"The suicide rate in Singapore is rising at an unprecedented rate of 29% a year. With people between the age of 20-29, the increase is a horrifying 80%." The author said that it is rising rapidly, not that it is currently high.

Yup, I did read the article. But thanks for the recap

Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#13

Post by VMG »

fvrghl wrote: post #5
forktheif wrote: post #2

The quick search I just made for suicide rate per capita shows the rate in Singapore is kinda average.

"The suicide rate in Singapore is rising at an unprecedented rate of 29% a year. With people between the age of 20-29, the increase is a horrifying 80%." The author said that it is rising rapidly, not that it is currently high.

Indeed. In a few decades the suicide rate will be 200%.

Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#14

Post by mvikramaditya »

twelvechairs wrote: post #12

how about 'because it is an authoritarian single party state'?

Nowhere in the article does the author blame this for the perceived issues he mentions. In fact from his tone, this seems to be a positive in the way Singapore has improved in modern terms.

Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#15

Post by JonnieCache »

This is basically a shorter, more weakly-argued version of William Gibson's first piece of non-fiction writing, Disneyland with the Death Penalty:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/gibson_pr.html

EDIT: not that it isn't a good blog. But if you like it, you should really read the gibson article too.

Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#16

Post by mvikramaditya »

product50 wrote: post #9

So he doesn't want to return to Singapore because everything went right in that country? People are never satisfied! He doesn't list a single problem except for suicide rates going up - which on a per capita basis is average when compared to the other countries.

The article seems to be a summary of the consequences of modern living, and the loss of "community", "fun" and "enjoyment" which goes along with it.

Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#17

Post by seivan »

I've lived in Singapore. It's actually a pretty amazing country for such small years into existence. There are some shady stuff being done in the name of profit at the expense of its population, but then again so does any country that has high taxes with mediocre added value.

This person argues about foreigners - in only to become one henself. Ironyyyyy

Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#18

Post by Luc »

girvo wrote: post #6
Luc wrote: post #4

I feel dumber for having read that.

Seriously? I agree with the OP. And I've spent quite a bit of time in Singapore when I was younger.

See, you have your own experience to rely on, but I know very little about Singapore. I read through those few morsels of, uh, peculiar observations, and was left with the feeling that it was perhaps relevant to the author's family and friends, but it didn't leave me feeling like he made a good case for his point of view. I think the article says more about the author than about Singapore, and I'm not particularly interested in the author.

Oh look, he's peddling some self-improvement story, what a surprise. And he's an SEO guy, that explains the writing style at least.

In fact, some of the comments are better than the article. Shorter, too.

Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#19

Post by ewang1 »

seivan wrote: post #17

I've lived in Singapore. It's actually a pretty amazing country for such small years into existence. There are some shady stuff being done in the name of profit at the expense of its population, but then again so does any country that has high taxes with mediocre added value. This person argues about foreigners - in only to become one henself. Ironyyyyy

I'd say the US has more problems than Singapore... And on the topic of taxes, the tax rate in Singapore is actually much lower than in the US (based on CA; middle class).

Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore

#20

Post by rdl »

I just spent a few days in Singapore with some western expat friends, and their local friends, and I really love the place for what it has accomplished. If you compare it to Malaysia (a racist command economy), Indonesia (kleptocracy , until recently -- in the past few years it has gotten a lot better) and Thailand (how many coups?), and remember how few natural resources Singapore has, it is even more amazing.

I agree it isn't perfect; I prefer living in the US, both because I'm a citizen and because I like land, cars, guns, etc -- but compared to where Singapore could be, it is almost unbelievable.

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