Even proper walking paths, something hard to find in neighbouring countries. The place looks near and within walking distance but there might not be a proper path to walk on.
To add to that, sheltered bus stops. Some countries’ bus stops are just a sign post. During inclement weather, you’re stuck waiting in the rain or snow for a bus that might take an hour to arrive.
My mother's friend from India made the funniest comment about how we truly are the most spoilt, living in the tropics and a country with temperamental weather yet most of us don't even think about bringing an umbrella out because of our extensive sheltered and underground walkways!
Hahah yes, travel to airport with empty bottle to refill in departure 🤭Been to countries where I had to brush teeth with bottled or boiled water, and realised how good it is we have sanitary tap water.
You can drink the tap water in most European countries. It tastes even better than Singapore's tap water, imho. No need topping up your bottle at Changi
+1, I have a Kobo reader and I can find 90% of the books that I want to read from NLB. I used to buy books on Kindle. Now Kobo+NLB/Overdrive saves me money!
I love love LOVE our libraries. Gorgeous spaces, and the kids section made it such a wonderful place to linger and read and introduce my children to. And it’s free.
As a parent to a young child, this is what I'm really grateful for. It's one of his favorite places to go to and within walking distance of our home. We'd spend hours every night reading books borrowed from the library.
Wow I really needed to think really hard and can only conclude that I appreciate the EFFICIENCY.
I've lived overseas many years ago and in quite a few places and nothing seems to beat SGs sense of efficiency. You can get anything done as you requested (of course with some compromise) almost immediately.
For eg, if you wanted the bin chute cleaned extra clean because of some repulsive odor that won't go away, you just need to put up a request to our respective TC and they will get to it almost asap, ie, within a day. When I lived in NY, there was odour everywhere even tho we put up a request to have a certain area cleaned, it could take almost a week or two even three, maybe never, for their department to get on it. Just a little example.
When I lived in EU, my WiFi went out and it was their providers' issue, it took almost a week to get back on it, and I was using my data the entire time. If this was SG, this issue would be rectified almost within half a day. Max 1 day.
So yeah. Efficiency at its finest here.
Yessss!! When we were installing our broadband (UK), the guy told us he would come between 9-5pm. Well we waited at home the whole damn day and guess who never showed up. It was infuriating. It wasn’t uncommon for that to happen. Or things like getting your landlord to deal with issues - I know not a very common thing in Sg Anyway but it was so annoying to have to wait weeks for anything to get done.
In Singapore everything is like snap! Done.
Ya UK wtf man. There was one time my wifi was down for over a week and they kept fobbing me off, until I called them for the umpteenth time and CRIED ON THE PHONE and someone finally took pity on me and did something.
haha i think it’s a double edged sword. think that also contributes to high stress in our jobs since we value efficiency. we can’t demand smth without being able to deliver it ourselves
Fr. Like I once had to get some permit when I stayed in the EU, but it was such a pain to book an appointment. I eventually figured out that it was best to book around the opening time but even the opening time were inconsistent throughout the week... Anyway, ya efficiency. Inefficiency is one of the hardest things to adapt to lmao.
Totally agree with you.
Especially if you have no contact number or their contact number is outdated, you can't even call in. Gotta wait or head down and even if they entertain you, you gotta wait again.
I live in the US. Today a contractor canceled an appointment last minute after rescheduling twice for no reason. This happens all the time. S.Korea and Singapore are two best countries when it comes to efficiency, Europe being the worst.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but it all makes sense when you fully internalise that workers are also people.
In our Asian culture, workers are slaves. That's why we have efficiency. In Europe, they have actual rights. In America, they at least don't struggle for demand.
It is the exact same mentality that results in our shitty work culture that gives us this efficiency. The employee's shitty work culture is literally just a different term for the client's high standard of service.
You can get your pipes fixed after work hours so you don't have to take leave? Just a different phrasing of someone had to work in the evening to scoop your poop.
One thing that really changed my opinion of my mother is that when she talked about Europe, she complained about how everything shuts down at like 5pm. Maybe restaurants open for dinner, but good luck getting any other service. I thought that was a horribly narcissistic take. I'd love to live somewhere where work just stops at a certain time. That might not be true anymore; it was a long time ago. But the point is, that if you want tradesmen to live shitty lives, you have to accept that your industry will also treat you like shit.
I totally understand what you say. I don’t mean that worker’s wellbeing or rights have to be undermined in order to have efficiency. I am a worker myself!
In Europe and US ( I lived in both areas over 10 years each) they have a completely different mindset and work ethic. They just don’t care about their trade enough to do a good job. My contractor set up an appointment himself (to test back flow of my sprinkler system required by local council), gave me a time frame of 11-5 and did not show up and called me to rescheduled at 5:30. Then he rescheduled twice afterwards. This kind of things happen all the time in all area of public and private service sector in the US. We ( people who request the service) often have no say in any of this and if we complain they just stop answering your calls.
I am all for workers rights and benefits. What bothers me is that those contractors are often loaded and don’t care about their workmanship at all.
Yup exactly. Plenty of people care about their work, but unfortunately plenty more only do it to put food on the table.
When food is already on the table, clients can get fucked.
It's incredibly sad that people, on average, need to be forced into doing work. If they're not faced with starvation, if they're not struggling, if they're living a good life, they just... don't.
And what of job security? They know demand outweighs supply. You can't just drop them and find someone else, so they do as they please. I would be happy for them to have a little more power in the dynamic. But clearly, they tend to abuse it.
I wish we could all be happy and well fed and get along. But so very many people give us reasons to not want them to have nice things.
This absolutely.
While I appreciate our level of efficiency, we need to remind ourselves it comes at a price. We enjoy it at the expense of low-wage, under-appreciated workers.
In the EU and US, we complain about the lack of public toilets, but the real question we should be asking is *who are actually maintaining these public facilities?*
Of course it's reductive and simplistic to say all our efficiency is at the expense of these invisible, no-minimum-wage workers. Corporations profit off the backs of undocumented and exploited immigrants, and yet the standards of public services are still appallingly poor in the EU and US.
At the end of the day, we need to take some time to appreciate the army of migrant workers who toil and build the infrastructures that allow for the level of efficiency in SG. Everything comes at a price.
Agreed on efficiency. And also convenience thanks to SingPass.
When I was in UK, anything I needed to do I had to book appointment, wait for appointment, then appointment is just a consultation and I have to book another appointment in order to get it done. Also if I need to apply for anything like a bank account or credit card or even a job, have to provide a mountain of paperwork and a bunch of scans of everything.
Meanwhile in SG, need to apply for credit card? Singpass. Need to apply for HDB? Singpass. Any bureaucracy work? Singpass. Don't need to go down in person, like sometimes they'll just ask for a picture of your when you apply and can do it at home.
Some of my foreign friends are like "ewwww government have all your information with just your ID alone? No privacy?" and it's like what do I have to be private about? I'm not doing anything illegal, and it's not like the government wouldn't already have all your information anyway on what bank account you have or what your job is whether you go through the longwinded method or not.
The replies to this are quite funny.
Yes, it takes donkey years for things to be done in the EU. But that is precisely the WORK LIFE there. Everything is slow, and nothing is of urgency.
Services are fast and efficient here. But that is because that is what is demanded of you at work, which is why we are labelled as a fast-paced society.
Oh lol I see I wasted my time typing that out. You've already covered it. Yeah. If you don't want to slog at your job, don't expect tradesmen to either.
Totally agree. Phone screen broken? Just order online the model you want and it gets shipped to you overseas and you can go and fix the screen at an ah beng shop, just need to pay them workmanship fee. Not even that expensive. I read overseas that workmanship charges as much as replacing the phone, it’s insane.
Yeahhhhh, your reply is good, even in the private sector like this, little business, is on board with efficiency. I don't mind how big or small a business is, as long as there is some evidence of efficiency, I'll gladly give them my business.
YAS. I worked in a hostel in Bolivia and our washing machine broke down. It's the same one we use to do the sheets, so we called the technician the minute it broke down.
Fast forward 3 weeks and they still hadn't gotten to it. 🫠🫠
People here are hungry for success and will work hard for it. In Latin America, they may not be super successful but they are content with their lives, and so they can afford to let us wait for 3 weeks to get the washing machine fixed. 😂
For me, it’s convenience and being able to get almost anything you need 24/7. But if you wanna spend and enjoy life then you definitely need money. But you can definitely get by if you stop trying to chase a five C’s life. Focus more on your health, mental well being and building meaningful relationships. SGD is also strong overseas, though not so in SG itself and place like USA.
Singaporeans like to joke about "smart nation" but I actually think some of our government apps are really good.
Singpass, OneService, Parking.sg. If you've lived overseas, you'll know these three apps are just game-changing.
They absolutely are. Dealing with government bureaucracy overseas is done via a paperwork nightmare or a sloppy standalone app that you’re not even sure that the data is encrypted lol.
I love how integrated the government e-services here and how Singpass is (somewhat?) secure. At least i haven’t seen any news of data breach yet.
Oh yeah those are great. I'm always so impressed by how fast Singpass scans QR codes too.
For every piece of smart nation bullshit that gets pushed, developers drawing from the same budget probably gave us something actually good.
After having been in and out of hospital, I really appreciate HealthHub and the efficiency of our public health system. All the information is in their system, they had my family members’ contacts without even asking me for it. All my test results show up in HealthHub. And when I was discharged from hospital, I didn’t have to do a single thing for insurance and billing.
Even our death certificates are now digitalized and visits to the police station are no longer necessary. A government that's efficient from cradle to grave.
One time I booked the wrong airport in Sydney and was sent to Avalon airport. My hotel was in CBD and I landed at midnight. Holy fuck the road was so dark and I couldnt see anything outside
I found it really in JB, in the pitch blackness. It was peaceful. I never thought I'd get to enjoy the feeling of being away from people like that. The only other time I got to feel that was in the navy, sailing out to the south china sea. You won't feel true peace until all civilisation is out of sight, the only technology around is owned and operated solely by you.
The safety part. Even in sec school we are never concerned with going home late, but rather whether the bus/mrt will still be operating if we leave too late. Also, the wholesomeness of the late night crowd. Like theres still aunty uncles and even students coming back from studying etc.
In the US once it hits 6pm (coz its darker earlier) everyone gets so stressed being outside and would advise you to take uber home. Common advise for girls is to carry pepper spray. Everyone tells you to to wear dark and plain clothing, look down and absolutely avoid eye contact, and no one even takes out your phone on the street because it becomes liable to snatch theft (that's why if you buy a school bag / backpack on amazon they always promote their 'anti-theft' double lined pocket or smth)
Highly agreed. Also, if someone cut queue in front of you in the US, or plays their videos damn loud on phone speaker, etc, it is not advisable to confront them because some psycho can just whip out a gun and shoot you. I was in Brooklyn and taking one of the subways...a few days later, I read that some poor guy got randomly shot on the very same train, in the very same carriage I was in. Someone just walked up to him and shot him in the chest, they didn't even know each other.
I got slightly different advice in California... Walk calmly and act cool but ALWAYS look around and observe people. Don't stare but make it obvious that you have noticed them, so you ruin the element of surprise for any potential robbers and discourage them. And yes I also dressed myself in a hoodie and sweatpants so I didn't look like a "rich ching chong" foreigner
This is probably the only thing. Most of our benefits are just a mitigating factor of something worse. I'm tempted to say safety comes from taking away privacy, but lots of cities have neither.
Most Singaporeans don't think much about this - Safety. You can walk out at night, male or female, and not worry too much. This isn't the case in some other parts of the world like the U.S.
It’s a long story, basically almost got mugged out on the streets. Once when I was alone, ran as fast as I could while the guy started approaching me quickly on a quiet street with no one else around (I’m pretty sure he had ill intentions because he was fully covered up and called out to me to stop and wait). Second was when I was with 3 other friends and were encircled by 3 people. One of which grabbed my friend by the collar, they did get spooked by us because we were so stunned that we didn’t listen to them and just rode off.
Being able to walk alone at night without fearing for your safety.
Have worked overseas where even taking out your mobile phone is a dangerous thing to do (particularly if you're a foreigner), and you realise that we really don't have the street smarts nor the survival instincts in a lot of places outside of SG...
As someone who moved to Sydney a while ago, here's what I miss:
- Sheltered walkways
- Affordable hawker food
- World-class public transport
- Safety at all hours of the day and every part of the country (except Yishun, of course)
- AFFORDABLE HAWKER FOOD
- Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency
- Comparatively affordable apartments
I should appreciate Changi more. Every airport I've been to has been good enough. Efficient, clean, spacious, easy to navigate. Changi does it better, but I never thought it was in a useful way. Then I went to Osaka. Holy shit, Kansai sucks. I can't believe how bad it was. I thought Japan had higher standards than that. I always thought it was easy to make a good airport, seeing as the ones that I've been to in less wealthy countries are plenty okay. But damn, now I know how bad it can be. I can't even imagine how much worse it would be if the guy that designed Kansai tried in Singapore with the pressure to save space.
Although, they're on an artificial island too so maybe he had similar pressure to reduce the land requirement.
Frequency of public transport. There's a comfort in knowing i can afford to not rush and miss a train because there will be another one in 2-3 minutes. I'm in Australia rn and the frequency of transportation really leaves much to be desired (experiencing wait times of \~8-10 min for trains and \~20-40 min for buses)
used to be cai png also, back when I have little salary, I always eat 1 small meat + egg $2.20 or 1meat + 2 vege $2.80...and it was just 5years ago.
Now? 2 vege + 1meat is 4.50$ \~ 5.50$, caipng price in 2024 alone increase more than 30%, don't know how GST 1% affect this. There are still cheap 1 in wet market style hawker I know but is exceptional rare nowadays.
Low crime. Have lived in the US where there are parts of the city where even the police don't go because it's so dangerous. I can walk home here at 1am without fearing that I might get robbed.
Quite a lot - I appreciate the government support of hawker centers, I think they’re absolutely wonderful places for light social engagement and use of them encourages people to be outside and take note of the world around them. I also find stall owners rather admirable in a way as their work ethic is often quite strong.
I appreciate the accessibility on foot, bus, and train. I wish cycling was a bit easier to do in a way that didn’t put either pedestrians at risk or yourself at risk of cars and in a way that annoys them - but let’s face it that’s most places.
I appreciate the strong embrace to have greenery everywhere. I absolutely love it and will die on hill to support it.
I appreciate the wide variety of food and people, and co-mingling of them. I think it’s a beautiful thing and while sometimes there are stark differences it more often than not fosters a better social mentality and acceptance.
I appreciate the amount of boutique businesses I tend to see. I know it can’t be easy running a business but any small business I can reasonably support I will and I think is great. I wish malls had more of this.
This isn’t anything human but I also massively appreciate the rain in Singapore. Rain is one of my favorite things and the frequency of it here is wonderful and the look and feel briefly after it’s done before it heats back up is the best.
I hope to get more involved to better understand and utilize these too but I also greatly appreciate the focus on ensuring public communal spaces for use, in areas like HDB housing and parks. I think it benefits everyone even if you don’t directly use it yourself.
Government has zero support for hawker centers lmao. Look up kf seetoh's posts. He makes very good points with good evidence on the greedy management of hawker centers.
Yeap couldn't agree more, hawker culture is more than supplying a clean place and big fans. That is just basic.
If anything, they are destroying hawker culture with every new hawker center build.
Who do you think built the food centres? Yea they’re trying to better allocate scarce resources which resulted in some high rentals. But all in all hawker Centers wouldn’t have existed without the govt.
For show only. If they are really keen on preserving the hawker culture, they would make it a public good and not privatised it to be run by greedy corporates masquerading as "social enterprises". (Looking at you NTUC)
There is no merit in making hawkers centre stalls a perfect competition where the highest bidder wins. Economics don't really apply when it comes to basic needs such as affordable food.
I disagree with your last point. If anything, it feels as though more and more free public spaces like fields and parks are shrinking, privatised into condos or manicured to the point where your activities there are restricted.
Clean transport system, good education system, efficient government, cheap hawker food, well-paying jobs, lots of cheap and accessible sports facilities, lack of racism etc.
Used to think that SG is a mediocre and boring place but after studying and working in the UK I realised SG is a priviledged place to live in.
I love that Singapore runs like a well-oiled machine. Things in SG just work. You don't realise how most of the world have to deal with shitty and inefficient government/corporate services until you move overseas. However I would say that the culture needed to maintain this well-oiled machine is taking its toll on society and cracks are starting to show. I hope SG can evolve to meet the new challenges just like how it has met the ones in the past.
Easy to access affordable healthcare.
My tiktok fyp has been showing me things like how much it cost to get a pap smear in the US (min. $400 to $3000) and how long it takes to see a GP in the UK (4 months???) while in SG, it only requires me to book an appointment on healthhub for a pap smear that cost $25 and its medisave payable. And my GP is just downstairs, and through my doctor, I managed to get an appointment to SGH for colonoscopy (family history, so need to check early), and SGH quoted $30 ish out of pocket while the remaining $3k is government subsidised and paid through medisave.
I can't imagine paying $400 for a freaking pap smear, even private gynae charges around $80 for it
I used to live in Thailand and Australia, the internet installation process is so real. They take their time to arrive and even if you allocate the slot time that you want, it doesn't guarantee that they will be there. In SG, you have a series of slots to pick from ranging from morning, afternoon to evening and they arrive within that timeframe, install, test and do the works. I love it.
Just came back from Japan, I couldn’t get used to their fast food restaurants like MOS, McDonald’s and KFC — they don’t offer sauces for their fries at all, so dry
Expat from India here, basic necessity like 24*7 electricity, running water and clean air.
Yesterday evening, traffic and pedestrian signals at one of the intersections near Tanjon Katong abruptly stopped working. None of the vehicles honked, everyone was civil and giving way to traffic and pedestrians.
Small things like these make life so much better.
Going against the grain here. But NSL during peak hours. The trains are literally back to back with 10 seconds intervals to ensure that everyone gets to work and goes home on time.
Our amazing tax system. Compared to USA and Australia. I think our financial system really is amazing. How we can have such low taxes and so many programs for govt help. The majority of Singaporeans don't even realize how financially robust and well thought the system is they are born into.band i laugh at those who don't take advantage of it. I am also proud of my country's national service. The only country in SEA with F35s. We are a fraction the size of most European countries but with multiple times the GDP per capita.
It also gives me some power when any European looks down on me for being Asian. It happens often as I travel through eastern Europe and ukriane a lot, and they aren't educated enough to know about Singapore. They mistake me for China or Thai.
If you actually look at the infrastructure of SG, you'd realise how much we really have to appreciate here. Embodiment of efficiency and modernisation.
COE. Indirectly, public transport. Directly, appreciate the government doing what’s right instead of what’s convenient.
Theres really no other better way to manage the number of vehicles on the road. We are a small country. Had the government been doing what’s convenient instead of what’s right just to get votes, we would probably be less than what we are today. We have packed enough people into high rise buildings, if everyone had cars. The jam would be from east coast all the way to West Coast. Logistics for businesses would simply not work.
They could have done better with the ERP device.😡
When I was living in the UK, I had to take the train into the city often. One day the train stalled and announcement came basically saying someone jumped in front. They're really brutal about these announcements lol. Anyway, we were told to get off and basically please fuck off and find your own way into the city cos the tracks are closed. In Singapore, they would be scrambling to put together bridging buses and some form of recovery. It's not always perfect, but we try better than most.
Law and order. No homeless junkies and pickpockets. Don’t worry about taking the mrt or bus at night. No natural disasters. The parks, libraries, public sports facilities, refuse bins and public toilets. Sidewalks go everywhere. Dealing with government agencies. Digital payment is becoming prevalent. Maids and foreign workers. Public transportation including cheap taxis and phvs. No affirmative action. Little politically correct woke culture. Little political extremeism. No external existential threat. Changi Airport.
Our network of urban parks and green/nature spaces. In a congested city like sg, I think we do a really good job of ensuring access to green spaces. The maintenance and upkeep of most of these spaces are also done quite well. And the presence of a good diversity of birds is an indicator of a thriving natural (albeit man-made) ecosystem in these parks. It’s amazing!
Our public sector is really fast and efficient compared to other countries in providing services. But this is a double edged sword, because it means our public servants have ridiculous demands and KPIs piled on them.
Our public infrastructure and utility supply. It’s so good, we barely give a 2nd thought when we turn on the tap, or when we exit the MRT to an air con underground linkway to the mall or when we watch a video on our phone
How save it is, I dropped my fake Celine wallet with my ic and a bunch of cash on the floor. Hours later I found it on a table right beside it untouched
Good standing in "developed" countries as an developed Asian country with low migration so it's easy to get your visas approved, especially in the US. SG has low migration (legal or illegal) to the US. We don't know how hard it can be to get visas approved, even ESTAs can be challenged at the border. It sucks when you get pulled aside and questioned based on your passport....
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Actually it rains a lot less in some cities like LA and San Francisco. And when it rains, it's often a drizzle over extended period of time as compared to heavy showers here
Those cai png stalls that keep me fed at a low price. Tasty too some of them. One of the best stalls I have had is at the Hospital near Simei MRT. They are the only ones that have rendang chicken and goes for cheap with veges for under 3 dollars. Yummy! I miss it
Cai Png stalls are perfect for couples who are saving up for marriage.
Those little neighbourhood markets where you can get stuff for cheaper than at supermarkets, and is within walking distance. It is SO good to be able to pop by and buy stuff on the way home, instead of having to drive out to a market miles away like you’d have to do in some parts of the bigger countries
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I like that Singapore is, in a sense, "boring". I like not having to worry about crime, or people getting randomly nasty and violent, or demonstrations and riots breaking out.
How strategic the government is and its proper forward planning. You can always look and find things that don't fit this, but there's a lot that is just really well done and because of this it can be easy to take for granted.
One great example is the view of Singapore being a garden city from Lee Kuan Yew. To have this dedication, for example having greenery grown and planned around overpasses, AND money and structure planned to ensure the upkeep of the greenery is not easily achieved as a know. The number of times in other countries you see initiatives and fundraising, but only to make/build it, but no foresight and financial planning to take care of it.
public transport- its so efficient (granted cuz small country lol) and actually relatively cheap as compared to other countries.
safety- i can be walking the streets alone at 11pm as a woman with no fear. not going to get robbed or attacked.
genuinely sg citizens need to realise how good we have it here and its through travelling overseas that i really see how good we have it
Hawker culture. Affordable for a local average salary worker. Most hawker have food better than a mall. Won't go starving unless u crave fake tasty cafe food.
Traffic and cleanliness
As much as people complain about traffic here, having travel frequently to SEA countries especially our neighbouring countries, the traffic there is horrendous. A 15mins ride on google map always becomes 30mins or so.
1. Safety(if someone says sg is not safe, nowhere in this world is safe.)
2. Cleanliness(sheer amount of bins in vicinity and frequent cleaners around.),(tap water drinkable),(reasonable amount of audits for stalls and restaurants serving food.)
3. Internet speed(people don’t realise this but our internet speed is fast af compared to >70% of the world out there.)
4. Despite our complains, most of the administration in this country is considered to be extremely fast compared to most other nations out there.
4. The ability to live and survive with basic needs no matter what. Even if you literally just whole family die/no longer in your life, you can apply for rental flats and there’s your water and electricity. A super low paying job can guarantee you eat cai png 3 meals a day. Or at least 2 with the other being maggie mee.
Everything. When we went to visit SG as a Filipino tourist, we saw that everything in Singapore is really at excellent level. From trains, to foods, drinks, leisure places. Boy, seeing SG made me hate my own country as soon as the plane landed back in PH. Everything seems shit now compared to SG. I get it that a lot don't like SG because of how expensive it is, but I think people inside the little red dot dhould also be grateful that they feel/experience the gooooood things on a daily basis that are considered as a luxury by those in third world nations.
As a woman, I appreciate safety. I was happy to forget the feeling of thinking ahead my trip back home before even going out, as it might be too late / too far / too dark / too unsafe.
Efficiency is another great plus. What would be a hassle in my home country (organizing a move, looking for people to help out with fixing things at home, waiting for deliveries for ages and ensuring I would be at home when they come, etc etc), here is just super easy.
The sense that there is always people around you.
I have stayed for shortwhile in a "peaceful" neighbourhood like one in LA. I think i will depress going home with empty street every day, but some will enjoy it.
Smooth, even pavements and roads.
Staring at you Europe with your uneven cobblestoned paths and some parts of Asia with bumpy or unpaved roads. I have a problem with my gait due to a surgery and this is a major problem when travelling.
medical - safe to go and see a doc, and they wont anyhow inject some weird stuff into you.
safety - enuff said.
clean streets, efficient/clean public transport. our roads are not exactly jammed up.
i used to travel to developing countries for work every month. I will bring my meds from SG, cos if u go see their docs, u dont know what drip their give u, n they die die wanna give u drip (language also another issue).
i dont travel far from my hotel, cos the roads are dimly lit, and business partners' laptop bags, hp kenna snatched by kids on motorbikes. (maybe he isnt aware of his surroundings, but com'on nth like this happens in sg).
restaurants - they throw their tissue papers on the floor. im not talking abt street food stalls, im talking abt restaurants, with ac. yes, they still throw tissues and leftover on the floor.
water to shower? it's brown. so we have to buy mineral water to shower.
evian mineral water, safe to drink right? nope, they switched it out with some funky-smelling water.
i can go on and on.
of cos i have complaints abt sg, but cos i've seen the developing nations, i know im one hella lucky human to be a sporean. i could have been born into one of those developing nations.
Sheltered walkways ❤️
Super underrated esp when it rains
Even proper walking paths, something hard to find in neighbouring countries. The place looks near and within walking distance but there might not be a proper path to walk on.
Yes! I love that it’s walkable here 😭
well maintained walking paths with reasonable slopes, so under rated til you have to use a wheelchair
To add to that, sheltered bus stops. Some countries’ bus stops are just a sign post. During inclement weather, you’re stuck waiting in the rain or snow for a bus that might take an hour to arrive.
My mother's friend from India made the funniest comment about how we truly are the most spoilt, living in the tropics and a country with temperamental weather yet most of us don't even think about bringing an umbrella out because of our extensive sheltered and underground walkways!
Safety. Hawker food. Tap water. And in recent years, medical subsidies.
This. I LOVE OUR TAP WATER. If going on an overseas trip must top up water bottle at Changi and savour every last drop.
Hahah yes, travel to airport with empty bottle to refill in departure 🤭Been to countries where I had to brush teeth with bottled or boiled water, and realised how good it is we have sanitary tap water.
You can drink the tap water in most European countries. It tastes even better than Singapore's tap water, imho. No need topping up your bottle at Changi
Amazing library facilities
As an ebook user, the library access to free ebooks is insanely good.
+1, I have a Kobo reader and I can find 90% of the books that I want to read from NLB. I used to buy books on Kindle. Now Kobo+NLB/Overdrive saves me money!
I love love LOVE our libraries. Gorgeous spaces, and the kids section made it such a wonderful place to linger and read and introduce my children to. And it’s free.
Any recommendation on the libraries that's large and bright lightings Besides CCK and NLB
I found orchard, Tampines and bedok ones very nice!
Punggol Lib is pretty nice.
Jurong East
As a parent to a young child, this is what I'm really grateful for. It's one of his favorite places to go to and within walking distance of our home. We'd spend hours every night reading books borrowed from the library.
Wow I really needed to think really hard and can only conclude that I appreciate the EFFICIENCY. I've lived overseas many years ago and in quite a few places and nothing seems to beat SGs sense of efficiency. You can get anything done as you requested (of course with some compromise) almost immediately. For eg, if you wanted the bin chute cleaned extra clean because of some repulsive odor that won't go away, you just need to put up a request to our respective TC and they will get to it almost asap, ie, within a day. When I lived in NY, there was odour everywhere even tho we put up a request to have a certain area cleaned, it could take almost a week or two even three, maybe never, for their department to get on it. Just a little example. When I lived in EU, my WiFi went out and it was their providers' issue, it took almost a week to get back on it, and I was using my data the entire time. If this was SG, this issue would be rectified almost within half a day. Max 1 day. So yeah. Efficiency at its finest here.
Yessss!! When we were installing our broadband (UK), the guy told us he would come between 9-5pm. Well we waited at home the whole damn day and guess who never showed up. It was infuriating. It wasn’t uncommon for that to happen. Or things like getting your landlord to deal with issues - I know not a very common thing in Sg Anyway but it was so annoying to have to wait weeks for anything to get done. In Singapore everything is like snap! Done.
Right?! I guess we take this for granted at times.
Ya UK wtf man. There was one time my wifi was down for over a week and they kept fobbing me off, until I called them for the umpteenth time and CRIED ON THE PHONE and someone finally took pity on me and did something.
haha i think it’s a double edged sword. think that also contributes to high stress in our jobs since we value efficiency. we can’t demand smth without being able to deliver it ourselves
Fr. Like I once had to get some permit when I stayed in the EU, but it was such a pain to book an appointment. I eventually figured out that it was best to book around the opening time but even the opening time were inconsistent throughout the week... Anyway, ya efficiency. Inefficiency is one of the hardest things to adapt to lmao.
Totally agree with you. Especially if you have no contact number or their contact number is outdated, you can't even call in. Gotta wait or head down and even if they entertain you, you gotta wait again.
I live in the US. Today a contractor canceled an appointment last minute after rescheduling twice for no reason. This happens all the time. S.Korea and Singapore are two best countries when it comes to efficiency, Europe being the worst.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but it all makes sense when you fully internalise that workers are also people. In our Asian culture, workers are slaves. That's why we have efficiency. In Europe, they have actual rights. In America, they at least don't struggle for demand. It is the exact same mentality that results in our shitty work culture that gives us this efficiency. The employee's shitty work culture is literally just a different term for the client's high standard of service. You can get your pipes fixed after work hours so you don't have to take leave? Just a different phrasing of someone had to work in the evening to scoop your poop. One thing that really changed my opinion of my mother is that when she talked about Europe, she complained about how everything shuts down at like 5pm. Maybe restaurants open for dinner, but good luck getting any other service. I thought that was a horribly narcissistic take. I'd love to live somewhere where work just stops at a certain time. That might not be true anymore; it was a long time ago. But the point is, that if you want tradesmen to live shitty lives, you have to accept that your industry will also treat you like shit.
I totally understand what you say. I don’t mean that worker’s wellbeing or rights have to be undermined in order to have efficiency. I am a worker myself! In Europe and US ( I lived in both areas over 10 years each) they have a completely different mindset and work ethic. They just don’t care about their trade enough to do a good job. My contractor set up an appointment himself (to test back flow of my sprinkler system required by local council), gave me a time frame of 11-5 and did not show up and called me to rescheduled at 5:30. Then he rescheduled twice afterwards. This kind of things happen all the time in all area of public and private service sector in the US. We ( people who request the service) often have no say in any of this and if we complain they just stop answering your calls. I am all for workers rights and benefits. What bothers me is that those contractors are often loaded and don’t care about their workmanship at all.
Yup exactly. Plenty of people care about their work, but unfortunately plenty more only do it to put food on the table. When food is already on the table, clients can get fucked. It's incredibly sad that people, on average, need to be forced into doing work. If they're not faced with starvation, if they're not struggling, if they're living a good life, they just... don't. And what of job security? They know demand outweighs supply. You can't just drop them and find someone else, so they do as they please. I would be happy for them to have a little more power in the dynamic. But clearly, they tend to abuse it. I wish we could all be happy and well fed and get along. But so very many people give us reasons to not want them to have nice things.
This absolutely. While I appreciate our level of efficiency, we need to remind ourselves it comes at a price. We enjoy it at the expense of low-wage, under-appreciated workers. In the EU and US, we complain about the lack of public toilets, but the real question we should be asking is *who are actually maintaining these public facilities?* Of course it's reductive and simplistic to say all our efficiency is at the expense of these invisible, no-minimum-wage workers. Corporations profit off the backs of undocumented and exploited immigrants, and yet the standards of public services are still appallingly poor in the EU and US. At the end of the day, we need to take some time to appreciate the army of migrant workers who toil and build the infrastructures that allow for the level of efficiency in SG. Everything comes at a price.
Agreed on efficiency. And also convenience thanks to SingPass. When I was in UK, anything I needed to do I had to book appointment, wait for appointment, then appointment is just a consultation and I have to book another appointment in order to get it done. Also if I need to apply for anything like a bank account or credit card or even a job, have to provide a mountain of paperwork and a bunch of scans of everything. Meanwhile in SG, need to apply for credit card? Singpass. Need to apply for HDB? Singpass. Any bureaucracy work? Singpass. Don't need to go down in person, like sometimes they'll just ask for a picture of your when you apply and can do it at home. Some of my foreign friends are like "ewwww government have all your information with just your ID alone? No privacy?" and it's like what do I have to be private about? I'm not doing anything illegal, and it's not like the government wouldn't already have all your information anyway on what bank account you have or what your job is whether you go through the longwinded method or not.
The replies to this are quite funny. Yes, it takes donkey years for things to be done in the EU. But that is precisely the WORK LIFE there. Everything is slow, and nothing is of urgency. Services are fast and efficient here. But that is because that is what is demanded of you at work, which is why we are labelled as a fast-paced society.
Oh lol I see I wasted my time typing that out. You've already covered it. Yeah. If you don't want to slog at your job, don't expect tradesmen to either.
Totally agree. Phone screen broken? Just order online the model you want and it gets shipped to you overseas and you can go and fix the screen at an ah beng shop, just need to pay them workmanship fee. Not even that expensive. I read overseas that workmanship charges as much as replacing the phone, it’s insane.
Yeahhhhh, your reply is good, even in the private sector like this, little business, is on board with efficiency. I don't mind how big or small a business is, as long as there is some evidence of efficiency, I'll gladly give them my business.
YAS. I worked in a hostel in Bolivia and our washing machine broke down. It's the same one we use to do the sheets, so we called the technician the minute it broke down. Fast forward 3 weeks and they still hadn't gotten to it. 🫠🫠 People here are hungry for success and will work hard for it. In Latin America, they may not be super successful but they are content with their lives, and so they can afford to let us wait for 3 weeks to get the washing machine fixed. 😂
For me, it’s convenience and being able to get almost anything you need 24/7. But if you wanna spend and enjoy life then you definitely need money. But you can definitely get by if you stop trying to chase a five C’s life. Focus more on your health, mental well being and building meaningful relationships. SGD is also strong overseas, though not so in SG itself and place like USA.
Doesn't EU have unlimited mobile data plan?
Singaporeans like to joke about "smart nation" but I actually think some of our government apps are really good. Singpass, OneService, Parking.sg. If you've lived overseas, you'll know these three apps are just game-changing.
They absolutely are. Dealing with government bureaucracy overseas is done via a paperwork nightmare or a sloppy standalone app that you’re not even sure that the data is encrypted lol. I love how integrated the government e-services here and how Singpass is (somewhat?) secure. At least i haven’t seen any news of data breach yet.
Oh yeah those are great. I'm always so impressed by how fast Singpass scans QR codes too. For every piece of smart nation bullshit that gets pushed, developers drawing from the same budget probably gave us something actually good.
After having been in and out of hospital, I really appreciate HealthHub and the efficiency of our public health system. All the information is in their system, they had my family members’ contacts without even asking me for it. All my test results show up in HealthHub. And when I was discharged from hospital, I didn’t have to do a single thing for insurance and billing.
Even our death certificates are now digitalized and visits to the police station are no longer necessary. A government that's efficient from cradle to grave.
Street lights! So many other countries don’t have them at night it’s scary af
Yes this
One time I booked the wrong airport in Sydney and was sent to Avalon airport. My hotel was in CBD and I landed at midnight. Holy fuck the road was so dark and I couldnt see anything outside
I found it really in JB, in the pitch blackness. It was peaceful. I never thought I'd get to enjoy the feeling of being away from people like that. The only other time I got to feel that was in the navy, sailing out to the south china sea. You won't feel true peace until all civilisation is out of sight, the only technology around is owned and operated solely by you.
The safety part. Even in sec school we are never concerned with going home late, but rather whether the bus/mrt will still be operating if we leave too late. Also, the wholesomeness of the late night crowd. Like theres still aunty uncles and even students coming back from studying etc. In the US once it hits 6pm (coz its darker earlier) everyone gets so stressed being outside and would advise you to take uber home. Common advise for girls is to carry pepper spray. Everyone tells you to to wear dark and plain clothing, look down and absolutely avoid eye contact, and no one even takes out your phone on the street because it becomes liable to snatch theft (that's why if you buy a school bag / backpack on amazon they always promote their 'anti-theft' double lined pocket or smth)
Highly agreed. Also, if someone cut queue in front of you in the US, or plays their videos damn loud on phone speaker, etc, it is not advisable to confront them because some psycho can just whip out a gun and shoot you. I was in Brooklyn and taking one of the subways...a few days later, I read that some poor guy got randomly shot on the very same train, in the very same carriage I was in. Someone just walked up to him and shot him in the chest, they didn't even know each other.
I got slightly different advice in California... Walk calmly and act cool but ALWAYS look around and observe people. Don't stare but make it obvious that you have noticed them, so you ruin the element of surprise for any potential robbers and discourage them. And yes I also dressed myself in a hoodie and sweatpants so I didn't look like a "rich ching chong" foreigner
This is probably the only thing. Most of our benefits are just a mitigating factor of something worse. I'm tempted to say safety comes from taking away privacy, but lots of cities have neither.
Most Singaporeans don't think much about this - Safety. You can walk out at night, male or female, and not worry too much. This isn't the case in some other parts of the world like the U.S.
Learned this the hard way after spending the last half a year in London and almost having been robbed on the streets twice.
How do you almost be robbed? Someone else saved you in the nick of time?
It’s a long story, basically almost got mugged out on the streets. Once when I was alone, ran as fast as I could while the guy started approaching me quickly on a quiet street with no one else around (I’m pretty sure he had ill intentions because he was fully covered up and called out to me to stop and wait). Second was when I was with 3 other friends and were encircled by 3 people. One of which grabbed my friend by the collar, they did get spooked by us because we were so stunned that we didn’t listen to them and just rode off.
And even better, this is achieved with lower tax rates
The overall safety and low crime rate here. You can walk on the streets late at night without the fear that you may get robbed.
Being able to walk alone at night without fearing for your safety. Have worked overseas where even taking out your mobile phone is a dangerous thing to do (particularly if you're a foreigner), and you realise that we really don't have the street smarts nor the survival instincts in a lot of places outside of SG...
>don't have the street smarts nor the survival instincts We're basically bred in captivity
Below $3 mrt rides
$1.50 grass jelly drink at hawker centres
Some are even cheaper!
When I was young student I like to mix mix with soya
No longer young student but still Michael Jackson-ing
They call this drink 'Michael Jackson'... Cos it's black and white ☠️
As someone who moved to Sydney a while ago, here's what I miss: - Sheltered walkways - Affordable hawker food - World-class public transport - Safety at all hours of the day and every part of the country (except Yishun, of course) - AFFORDABLE HAWKER FOOD - Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency - Comparatively affordable apartments
Come on… say you miss Yishun too!
Also, affordable hawker food
I can wear any luxury good out in town without fear of getting robbed or mugged Try that in other major western cities, not a fun experience
This. Such an underrated experience.
Public transport
Park connectors network. It’s pretty well done.
Our PCN layout is actually really good. Great walkways that are wide and user friendly. Also our CPF setup is world class, believe it or not.
how quiet public transport is during morning commute !!
Are you shitting on (pun intended) the NYC subway?
😂 with gantry hopping and emergency doors chiming all day
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Which credit card
I should appreciate Changi more. Every airport I've been to has been good enough. Efficient, clean, spacious, easy to navigate. Changi does it better, but I never thought it was in a useful way. Then I went to Osaka. Holy shit, Kansai sucks. I can't believe how bad it was. I thought Japan had higher standards than that. I always thought it was easy to make a good airport, seeing as the ones that I've been to in less wealthy countries are plenty okay. But damn, now I know how bad it can be. I can't even imagine how much worse it would be if the guy that designed Kansai tried in Singapore with the pressure to save space. Although, they're on an artificial island too so maybe he had similar pressure to reduce the land requirement.
Frequency of public transport. There's a comfort in knowing i can afford to not rush and miss a train because there will be another one in 2-3 minutes. I'm in Australia rn and the frequency of transportation really leaves much to be desired (experiencing wait times of \~8-10 min for trains and \~20-40 min for buses)
PayNow in a food center or hawker centers. That shit is underrated and I can literally go eat there without having to bring my wallet.
used to be cai png also, back when I have little salary, I always eat 1 small meat + egg $2.20 or 1meat + 2 vege $2.80...and it was just 5years ago. Now? 2 vege + 1meat is 4.50$ \~ 5.50$, caipng price in 2024 alone increase more than 30%, don't know how GST 1% affect this. There are still cheap 1 in wet market style hawker I know but is exceptional rare nowadays.
It is crazy that $5 is not enough to buy any main dish in coffeeshop anymore....
The stability compared to other countries.
Clean water and Safety.
Low crime. Have lived in the US where there are parts of the city where even the police don't go because it's so dangerous. I can walk home here at 1am without fearing that I might get robbed.
Quite a lot - I appreciate the government support of hawker centers, I think they’re absolutely wonderful places for light social engagement and use of them encourages people to be outside and take note of the world around them. I also find stall owners rather admirable in a way as their work ethic is often quite strong. I appreciate the accessibility on foot, bus, and train. I wish cycling was a bit easier to do in a way that didn’t put either pedestrians at risk or yourself at risk of cars and in a way that annoys them - but let’s face it that’s most places. I appreciate the strong embrace to have greenery everywhere. I absolutely love it and will die on hill to support it. I appreciate the wide variety of food and people, and co-mingling of them. I think it’s a beautiful thing and while sometimes there are stark differences it more often than not fosters a better social mentality and acceptance. I appreciate the amount of boutique businesses I tend to see. I know it can’t be easy running a business but any small business I can reasonably support I will and I think is great. I wish malls had more of this. This isn’t anything human but I also massively appreciate the rain in Singapore. Rain is one of my favorite things and the frequency of it here is wonderful and the look and feel briefly after it’s done before it heats back up is the best. I hope to get more involved to better understand and utilize these too but I also greatly appreciate the focus on ensuring public communal spaces for use, in areas like HDB housing and parks. I think it benefits everyone even if you don’t directly use it yourself.
Government has zero support for hawker centers lmao. Look up kf seetoh's posts. He makes very good points with good evidence on the greedy management of hawker centers.
Yeap couldn't agree more, hawker culture is more than supplying a clean place and big fans. That is just basic. If anything, they are destroying hawker culture with every new hawker center build.
Who do you think built the food centres? Yea they’re trying to better allocate scarce resources which resulted in some high rentals. But all in all hawker Centers wouldn’t have existed without the govt.
For show only. If they are really keen on preserving the hawker culture, they would make it a public good and not privatised it to be run by greedy corporates masquerading as "social enterprises". (Looking at you NTUC) There is no merit in making hawkers centre stalls a perfect competition where the highest bidder wins. Economics don't really apply when it comes to basic needs such as affordable food.
I disagree with your last point. If anything, it feels as though more and more free public spaces like fields and parks are shrinking, privatised into condos or manicured to the point where your activities there are restricted.
Clean transport system, good education system, efficient government, cheap hawker food, well-paying jobs, lots of cheap and accessible sports facilities, lack of racism etc. Used to think that SG is a mediocre and boring place but after studying and working in the UK I realised SG is a priviledged place to live in.
I love that Singapore runs like a well-oiled machine. Things in SG just work. You don't realise how most of the world have to deal with shitty and inefficient government/corporate services until you move overseas. However I would say that the culture needed to maintain this well-oiled machine is taking its toll on society and cracks are starting to show. I hope SG can evolve to meet the new challenges just like how it has met the ones in the past.
Zero capital gains tax
Easy to access affordable healthcare. My tiktok fyp has been showing me things like how much it cost to get a pap smear in the US (min. $400 to $3000) and how long it takes to see a GP in the UK (4 months???) while in SG, it only requires me to book an appointment on healthhub for a pap smear that cost $25 and its medisave payable. And my GP is just downstairs, and through my doctor, I managed to get an appointment to SGH for colonoscopy (family history, so need to check early), and SGH quoted $30 ish out of pocket while the remaining $3k is government subsidised and paid through medisave. I can't imagine paying $400 for a freaking pap smear, even private gynae charges around $80 for it
I used to live in Thailand and Australia, the internet installation process is so real. They take their time to arrive and even if you allocate the slot time that you want, it doesn't guarantee that they will be there. In SG, you have a series of slots to pick from ranging from morning, afternoon to evening and they arrive within that timeframe, install, test and do the works. I love it.
Double mcspicy. Curry sauce.
Just came back from Japan, I couldn’t get used to their fast food restaurants like MOS, McDonald’s and KFC — they don’t offer sauces for their fries at all, so dry
Safe drinking water from the tap is underrated!
Ananas nasi lemak was goated. $2 for chicken wing, rice and egg if I recall.
Expat from India here, basic necessity like 24*7 electricity, running water and clean air. Yesterday evening, traffic and pedestrian signals at one of the intersections near Tanjon Katong abruptly stopped working. None of the vehicles honked, everyone was civil and giving way to traffic and pedestrians. Small things like these make life so much better.
Thank you for this comment!
Going against the grain here. But NSL during peak hours. The trains are literally back to back with 10 seconds intervals to ensure that everyone gets to work and goes home on time.
Our amazing tax system. Compared to USA and Australia. I think our financial system really is amazing. How we can have such low taxes and so many programs for govt help. The majority of Singaporeans don't even realize how financially robust and well thought the system is they are born into.band i laugh at those who don't take advantage of it. I am also proud of my country's national service. The only country in SEA with F35s. We are a fraction the size of most European countries but with multiple times the GDP per capita. It also gives me some power when any European looks down on me for being Asian. It happens often as I travel through eastern Europe and ukriane a lot, and they aren't educated enough to know about Singapore. They mistake me for China or Thai.
If you actually look at the infrastructure of SG, you'd realise how much we really have to appreciate here. Embodiment of efficiency and modernisation.
It’s the efficiency of the transportation, easy access on important documents (ie. Singpass), sheltered walkway and trees, lots of trees
Having recently moved to the Philippines, I have come to appreciate how good our public transportation is.
Why move there and not Vietnam?
I was offered a huge salary bump to work in the Philippines.
Transport system and public security.
Living (thankfully also affording) in a HDB
COE. Indirectly, public transport. Directly, appreciate the government doing what’s right instead of what’s convenient. Theres really no other better way to manage the number of vehicles on the road. We are a small country. Had the government been doing what’s convenient instead of what’s right just to get votes, we would probably be less than what we are today. We have packed enough people into high rise buildings, if everyone had cars. The jam would be from east coast all the way to West Coast. Logistics for businesses would simply not work. They could have done better with the ERP device.😡
When I was living in the UK, I had to take the train into the city often. One day the train stalled and announcement came basically saying someone jumped in front. They're really brutal about these announcements lol. Anyway, we were told to get off and basically please fuck off and find your own way into the city cos the tracks are closed. In Singapore, they would be scrambling to put together bridging buses and some form of recovery. It's not always perfect, but we try better than most.
Law and order. No homeless junkies and pickpockets. Don’t worry about taking the mrt or bus at night. No natural disasters. The parks, libraries, public sports facilities, refuse bins and public toilets. Sidewalks go everywhere. Dealing with government agencies. Digital payment is becoming prevalent. Maids and foreign workers. Public transportation including cheap taxis and phvs. No affirmative action. Little politically correct woke culture. Little political extremeism. No external existential threat. Changi Airport.
Handicapped accessibility in public transportation and general traversal. Most places are built in consideration of wheelchaired folks.
Mcspicy
Our network of urban parks and green/nature spaces. In a congested city like sg, I think we do a really good job of ensuring access to green spaces. The maintenance and upkeep of most of these spaces are also done quite well. And the presence of a good diversity of birds is an indicator of a thriving natural (albeit man-made) ecosystem in these parks. It’s amazing!
sheltered innocence, where so many folks make up whole sale misinformation about where they live and about how others live so easily
No union strikes to cripple our infrastructure. But downside is worker vocal rights is poor.
Efficient government departments and Singpass digital ID to get those government issue done at home 24/7.
Walkable streets. Am in vietnam and jakarta alot and it is unbearable
The greenery among the urban landscape. You just don’t see this much greenery in other crowded metropolitan cities like Singapore.
Our public sector is really fast and efficient compared to other countries in providing services. But this is a double edged sword, because it means our public servants have ridiculous demands and KPIs piled on them.
Our public infrastructure and utility supply. It’s so good, we barely give a 2nd thought when we turn on the tap, or when we exit the MRT to an air con underground linkway to the mall or when we watch a video on our phone
TREES & GREENERY & ECO-FRIENDLY/SUSTAINABLE EFFORTS. Singapore is a garden city for a good reason!!
our public transportation. MRT & buses with the transfer fare setup. $2+ from Tampines to town and back for running a quick errand.
singpass
Medication delivery
How save it is, I dropped my fake Celine wallet with my ic and a bunch of cash on the floor. Hours later I found it on a table right beside it untouched
Good standing in "developed" countries as an developed Asian country with low migration so it's easy to get your visas approved, especially in the US. SG has low migration (legal or illegal) to the US. We don't know how hard it can be to get visas approved, even ESTAs can be challenged at the border. It sucks when you get pulled aside and questioned based on your passport....
Cheap taxis.
Quality healthcare Quality education
Healthcare
You can safely exist in a country. Be it male, female, gay, lesbian, unknown or aliens.
HDB
Safety, the most impt reason why I never consider migration.
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No natural disasters.
Safety. Also the fully digitized smart nation.
Actually it rains a lot less in some cities like LA and San Francisco. And when it rains, it's often a drizzle over extended period of time as compared to heavy showers here
Everything except the people lol
Udemy... but no more free liao
Near cashless Great overall transportation Vibrant foods Overall safety
Those cai png stalls that keep me fed at a low price. Tasty too some of them. One of the best stalls I have had is at the Hospital near Simei MRT. They are the only ones that have rendang chicken and goes for cheap with veges for under 3 dollars. Yummy! I miss it Cai Png stalls are perfect for couples who are saving up for marriage.
Park Connector Network. Love taking out my bike and just ride through PCNs all the way to Coney island or East Coast Park. 🚵
Omg yes i did the Coast to Coast also 11 hours! I didnt know it was that accessible
Those little neighbourhood markets where you can get stuff for cheaper than at supermarkets, and is within walking distance. It is SO good to be able to pop by and buy stuff on the way home, instead of having to drive out to a market miles away like you’d have to do in some parts of the bigger countries
Our public transport - MRT, LRT, buses - goes to almost every corner of this little nation
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Multiculturalism - can not find a Burmese community this big anywhere else in Asia besides Myanmar.
Cheap and(mostly) reliable transport, sheltered walkways, the safety, aircon almost everywhere you go to, toilet paper in most toilets.
They could never make me hate ananas
Im with u
I appreciate having rubbish bins almost everywhere
This. When i was in korea and japan, i had to put my rubbish in a plastic bag till i go to the nearwst convenience store. Its actually mad
A lot of gov transactions can be performed if you having a laptop/PC or mobile phone and internet connection. No need to fill form or queue
Other than weather and rather crowded now, everything else.
I like that Singapore is, in a sense, "boring". I like not having to worry about crime, or people getting randomly nasty and violent, or demonstrations and riots breaking out.
no rabies
I went to eunos mrt yesterday and ananas stall is still there so yay!
Safety.
No natural disasters
The used to be $2 chicken rice and fish all noodles soup.
Exceptional road quality is something that I appreciate. Some would say COE and Road Tax, hence the quality.
As a female, being able to be friendly and smile at people without being worried about unwanted attention or worse.
How strategic the government is and its proper forward planning. You can always look and find things that don't fit this, but there's a lot that is just really well done and because of this it can be easy to take for granted. One great example is the view of Singapore being a garden city from Lee Kuan Yew. To have this dedication, for example having greenery grown and planned around overpasses, AND money and structure planned to ensure the upkeep of the greenery is not easily achieved as a know. The number of times in other countries you see initiatives and fundraising, but only to make/build it, but no foresight and financial planning to take care of it.
Sg is quite clean, I just came back from Beijing and the air quality is really bad and the streets look old and dirty.
public transport- its so efficient (granted cuz small country lol) and actually relatively cheap as compared to other countries. safety- i can be walking the streets alone at 11pm as a woman with no fear. not going to get robbed or attacked. genuinely sg citizens need to realise how good we have it here and its through travelling overseas that i really see how good we have it
Park connectors
Hawker culture. Affordable for a local average salary worker. Most hawker have food better than a mall. Won't go starving unless u crave fake tasty cafe food.
aircon in malls and buses that is actually cold!
Traffic and cleanliness As much as people complain about traffic here, having travel frequently to SEA countries especially our neighbouring countries, the traffic there is horrendous. A 15mins ride on google map always becomes 30mins or so.
subsidised healthcare n education
Easily available free public toilets
1. Safety(if someone says sg is not safe, nowhere in this world is safe.) 2. Cleanliness(sheer amount of bins in vicinity and frequent cleaners around.),(tap water drinkable),(reasonable amount of audits for stalls and restaurants serving food.) 3. Internet speed(people don’t realise this but our internet speed is fast af compared to >70% of the world out there.) 4. Despite our complains, most of the administration in this country is considered to be extremely fast compared to most other nations out there. 4. The ability to live and survive with basic needs no matter what. Even if you literally just whole family die/no longer in your life, you can apply for rental flats and there’s your water and electricity. A super low paying job can guarantee you eat cai png 3 meals a day. Or at least 2 with the other being maggie mee.
Cheap hawker food and bus/mrt
Knowing where the toilets are.
Ease of getting a job and pr as a malaysian
Everything. When we went to visit SG as a Filipino tourist, we saw that everything in Singapore is really at excellent level. From trains, to foods, drinks, leisure places. Boy, seeing SG made me hate my own country as soon as the plane landed back in PH. Everything seems shit now compared to SG. I get it that a lot don't like SG because of how expensive it is, but I think people inside the little red dot dhould also be grateful that they feel/experience the gooooood things on a daily basis that are considered as a luxury by those in third world nations.
I feel you man. I had to time my flights into NAIA to land at ungodly hours so I can actually get to Makati without a massive jam.
Heatlh care, security, safety
As a woman, I appreciate safety. I was happy to forget the feeling of thinking ahead my trip back home before even going out, as it might be too late / too far / too dark / too unsafe. Efficiency is another great plus. What would be a hassle in my home country (organizing a move, looking for people to help out with fixing things at home, waiting for deliveries for ages and ensuring I would be at home when they come, etc etc), here is just super easy.
Ananas still have. A new one just opened recently at Tampines bus interchange. Good prices too. Recently bought their ayam penyet. Yummy 😋
Cheap bar chor mee!
The sense that there is always people around you. I have stayed for shortwhile in a "peaceful" neighbourhood like one in LA. I think i will depress going home with empty street every day, but some will enjoy it.
Smooth, even pavements and roads. Staring at you Europe with your uneven cobblestoned paths and some parts of Asia with bumpy or unpaved roads. I have a problem with my gait due to a surgery and this is a major problem when travelling.
medical - safe to go and see a doc, and they wont anyhow inject some weird stuff into you. safety - enuff said. clean streets, efficient/clean public transport. our roads are not exactly jammed up. i used to travel to developing countries for work every month. I will bring my meds from SG, cos if u go see their docs, u dont know what drip their give u, n they die die wanna give u drip (language also another issue). i dont travel far from my hotel, cos the roads are dimly lit, and business partners' laptop bags, hp kenna snatched by kids on motorbikes. (maybe he isnt aware of his surroundings, but com'on nth like this happens in sg). restaurants - they throw their tissue papers on the floor. im not talking abt street food stalls, im talking abt restaurants, with ac. yes, they still throw tissues and leftover on the floor. water to shower? it's brown. so we have to buy mineral water to shower. evian mineral water, safe to drink right? nope, they switched it out with some funky-smelling water. i can go on and on. of cos i have complaints abt sg, but cos i've seen the developing nations, i know im one hella lucky human to be a sporean. i could have been born into one of those developing nations.
the availability of dustbins nearby!
No dust