https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/kiwi-traveller/117414474/the-cons-of-living-in-singapore
The cons of living in Singapore
Tom Wallace 09:00, Nov 15 2019
There have been a few articles on the Stuff website recently written by Kiwi expats living in Singapore.
These posts have generally given glowing accounts of life on this small island.
Singapore is a great country with great people, and it certainly has many pros – the low income tax rate is the biggie. In Singapore on a 100k salary you take home 94.5k versus 75k in NZ, on a 200k salary you take home 179k versus 141k in NZ. It's the main reason many expats are prepared to put up with the heat and other cons (see below). Efficiency, low crime rate and excellent (though expensive) schooling are other big pros of living here.
I've lived here for 5 years, and in the interests of giving people who aren't familiar with Singapore a more balanced view of life here, I will touch on some cons of living here.
READ MORE:
* The truth about living in Singapore according to Kiwis who live there
* The truth about living in Dubai according to Kiwis who live there
* The truth about living in London according to Kiwis who live there
* The truth about living in Melbourne according to Kiwis who live there
123RF
Singapore lies very close to the equator and is very hot and humid for most of the year.
Are you a Kiwi living abroad with a story to share? Email [email protected]
* If you exclude its small offshore islands, the country of Singapore is about 65 per cent of the size of greater Auckland city. And it's an island.
With very tightly controlled borders. So it's not easy to leave. You can drive across one of two bridges to Malaysia, but that entails immigration checks, and on the weekends queues of an hour or more at the checkpoint are not uncommon. It's not like say London, where you can jump on a train at one of a number of stations in the city, or jump in the car, and be in the countryside, or the seaside, in less than an hour (and reasonably cheaply). Or like any New Zealand city where you can get out of town easily.
* So if you like the great outdoors, wide open spaces and distant horizons, you may therefore struggle. A sort of cabin fever can set in for some people who aren't used to living in a densely populated, densely built city with no easy way out.
Sure, you can fly pretty cheaply to lots of SE Asian destinations, but it's not the same as being able to jump into the car and get out of the city for the day, and travel directly from point A to B. And those weekends away aren't that cheap - a weekend in Bali or Phuket for two staying in reasonable hotels might still cost you approx $400pp once you include air fares, accommodation, food and other costs.
* Due to the high cost of car registration (to help limit the number of cars on the roads), buying a car is very, very expensive in Singapore.
123RF
Gardens by the Bay do nothing for me.
* Singapore lies very close to the equator and is very hot and humid for most of the year, with no discernible seasons. This can be a huge issue for some people. It partly depends where you've come from.
If you're from a very cold climate you might quite like the heat, as do some northern Europeans I've spoken to. I find the heat and humidity unbearable at times, and the relentless, metronomic sameness of the weather throughout the year can drive some people a bit insane.
For 10 months of the year the maximum daily temperature is typically between 32-34 degrees. It really is that consistent. December and January can be a degree or two cooler.
* For most of the year Singapore is so warm and humid it's barely habitable without aircon.
Singapore's former president Lee Kuan Yew regarded aircon as the greatest invention of the 20th century. Perhaps he was right. Singapore has been carved out of steaming, sweltering tropical jungle. The small pockets of remaining jungle in Singapore remind you of what once would have covered the place. Many people stay indoors on the weekends. In sunny weather, the parks are almost empty, the shopping malls are full.
123RF
Shopping at malls like Marina Bay Sands is a big deal here.
* It is a huge generalisation, but many locals seem to have few interests other than shopping, eating, and perhaps, washing their car on the weekend (or getting their maid to do so). I know locals who will drive across the city on a Saturday to try out a new prawn noodle stall. You could view this as an admirable sign of the passion that Singaporeans have for food. Or you could view it as a tragic sign of how little there is to do in Singapore.
* While locals are generally quite softly spoken, polite and friendly, I would say that people here give less consideration to others than what we may be used to in NZ. Some Singaporeans might talk a good game about being nice and considerate to each other (they have public campaigns promoting kindness), but as they say, judge a person by their actions not their words.
There is no better example of this than door etiquette. The concept of holding the door open for people behind you as you pass through it in a public place has for whatever reason not taken hold in Singapore. People will slip sideways through a closing door in front of you and let it shut in your face (the "Singapore swerve"). It happens all the time.
* There are around 300,000 foreign construction workers in Singapore (mainly Indian, Chinese and Bangladeshi). Without them Singapore could not have been built. You see them being ferried around town sitting in the back of trucks, and on public transport. They are everywhere, and yet you get the sense that most Singaporeans have no interest in interacting with them, and look down upon them. It's almost as if they are invisible.
Coming from a reasonably egalitarian country like NZ (NZ isn't perfect either), I find this a little disconcerting. But having said that, I believe foreign workers are generally treated very well here.
* I can't comment on the female population, but the state of toilet training of many Singaporean men (including in corporate office toilets) is so bad I would almost describe it as a national crisis.
The main offence is men going into the toilet cubicle to urinate standing up, not bothering to lift the seat, spraying the toilet seat and floor like an out of control garden hose, and then leaving the crime scene without cleaning up the mess of even flushing the toilet. Kiwi men aren't great in this department either, but Singaporean men really outdo us.
TOM WALLACE
Singapore's national dish: Chicken rice.
* The local food is overrated in my view. One of the national dishes is chicken rice, which is…slices of roasted or steamed chicken on top of some rice, with some sauce and a few slices of cucumber.
The many hawker centres (sort of covered markets with lots of small food stalls) can seem tantalising in the first few months with the Chinese, Malay, Indian and other food stalls, but the novelty soon wears off and you realise most of the food is pretty average (or possibly your foreign palate doesn't appreciate the subtle flavours), and as you sit down to another plate of noodles or rice with inadequate portions of veggies and/or meat you find yourself yearning for a Pita Pit kebab.
* Singapore can occasionally get quite hazy, particularly in August-October, due to crop burning in Indonesia. Some days (but very rarely) it can get very bad, such that the government advises people to wear face masks outdoors.
* Singapore's tourist attractions are mediocre in my view. Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I can't think of a single "attraction" here that would be worth travelling to Singapore to see.
One popular attraction, Sentosa, is an island connected to Singapore that was probably quite pleasant 50 years ago but as with other parts of Singapore has been "modernised" with a few million tonnes of concrete. What was once a peaceful tropical island is now home to massive Universal studios theme park, a giant casino, hotels and some man-made beaches which look out over a busy shipping channel and distant oil refineries.
And as for the Gardens by the Bay – big man-made structures which are meant to look like giant trees but don't – they do nothing for me. I guess it's understandable that with few natural tourist attractions Singapore might feel the need to create attractions. But the contrived/manmade nature of these attractions leaves me underwhelmed.
So there are some of the cons of life in Singapore. I want to emphasise that Singapore is a wonderful country with great people, and it is superior to NZ in many respects.
Many expats love it here. Singapore just isn't really my cup of tea (I've never got used to the heat) – but that's just been my experience. Your experience may be different.
My family and I have saved a lot more money here than we would have in NZ, and we have been able to do quite a lot of travel in the region, so on balance I would say our time here has been worth it. But now its time to go home.
The cons of living in Singapore
Tom Wallace 09:00, Nov 15 2019
There have been a few articles on the Stuff website recently written by Kiwi expats living in Singapore.
These posts have generally given glowing accounts of life on this small island.
Singapore is a great country with great people, and it certainly has many pros – the low income tax rate is the biggie. In Singapore on a 100k salary you take home 94.5k versus 75k in NZ, on a 200k salary you take home 179k versus 141k in NZ. It's the main reason many expats are prepared to put up with the heat and other cons (see below). Efficiency, low crime rate and excellent (though expensive) schooling are other big pros of living here.
I've lived here for 5 years, and in the interests of giving people who aren't familiar with Singapore a more balanced view of life here, I will touch on some cons of living here.
READ MORE:
* The truth about living in Singapore according to Kiwis who live there
* The truth about living in Dubai according to Kiwis who live there
* The truth about living in London according to Kiwis who live there
* The truth about living in Melbourne according to Kiwis who live there
123RF
Singapore lies very close to the equator and is very hot and humid for most of the year.
Are you a Kiwi living abroad with a story to share? Email [email protected]
* If you exclude its small offshore islands, the country of Singapore is about 65 per cent of the size of greater Auckland city. And it's an island.
With very tightly controlled borders. So it's not easy to leave. You can drive across one of two bridges to Malaysia, but that entails immigration checks, and on the weekends queues of an hour or more at the checkpoint are not uncommon. It's not like say London, where you can jump on a train at one of a number of stations in the city, or jump in the car, and be in the countryside, or the seaside, in less than an hour (and reasonably cheaply). Or like any New Zealand city where you can get out of town easily.
* So if you like the great outdoors, wide open spaces and distant horizons, you may therefore struggle. A sort of cabin fever can set in for some people who aren't used to living in a densely populated, densely built city with no easy way out.
Sure, you can fly pretty cheaply to lots of SE Asian destinations, but it's not the same as being able to jump into the car and get out of the city for the day, and travel directly from point A to B. And those weekends away aren't that cheap - a weekend in Bali or Phuket for two staying in reasonable hotels might still cost you approx $400pp once you include air fares, accommodation, food and other costs.
* Due to the high cost of car registration (to help limit the number of cars on the roads), buying a car is very, very expensive in Singapore.
123RF
Gardens by the Bay do nothing for me.
* Singapore lies very close to the equator and is very hot and humid for most of the year, with no discernible seasons. This can be a huge issue for some people. It partly depends where you've come from.
If you're from a very cold climate you might quite like the heat, as do some northern Europeans I've spoken to. I find the heat and humidity unbearable at times, and the relentless, metronomic sameness of the weather throughout the year can drive some people a bit insane.
For 10 months of the year the maximum daily temperature is typically between 32-34 degrees. It really is that consistent. December and January can be a degree or two cooler.
* For most of the year Singapore is so warm and humid it's barely habitable without aircon.
Singapore's former president Lee Kuan Yew regarded aircon as the greatest invention of the 20th century. Perhaps he was right. Singapore has been carved out of steaming, sweltering tropical jungle. The small pockets of remaining jungle in Singapore remind you of what once would have covered the place. Many people stay indoors on the weekends. In sunny weather, the parks are almost empty, the shopping malls are full.
123RF
Shopping at malls like Marina Bay Sands is a big deal here.
* It is a huge generalisation, but many locals seem to have few interests other than shopping, eating, and perhaps, washing their car on the weekend (or getting their maid to do so). I know locals who will drive across the city on a Saturday to try out a new prawn noodle stall. You could view this as an admirable sign of the passion that Singaporeans have for food. Or you could view it as a tragic sign of how little there is to do in Singapore.
* While locals are generally quite softly spoken, polite and friendly, I would say that people here give less consideration to others than what we may be used to in NZ. Some Singaporeans might talk a good game about being nice and considerate to each other (they have public campaigns promoting kindness), but as they say, judge a person by their actions not their words.
There is no better example of this than door etiquette. The concept of holding the door open for people behind you as you pass through it in a public place has for whatever reason not taken hold in Singapore. People will slip sideways through a closing door in front of you and let it shut in your face (the "Singapore swerve"). It happens all the time.
* There are around 300,000 foreign construction workers in Singapore (mainly Indian, Chinese and Bangladeshi). Without them Singapore could not have been built. You see them being ferried around town sitting in the back of trucks, and on public transport. They are everywhere, and yet you get the sense that most Singaporeans have no interest in interacting with them, and look down upon them. It's almost as if they are invisible.
Coming from a reasonably egalitarian country like NZ (NZ isn't perfect either), I find this a little disconcerting. But having said that, I believe foreign workers are generally treated very well here.
* I can't comment on the female population, but the state of toilet training of many Singaporean men (including in corporate office toilets) is so bad I would almost describe it as a national crisis.
The main offence is men going into the toilet cubicle to urinate standing up, not bothering to lift the seat, spraying the toilet seat and floor like an out of control garden hose, and then leaving the crime scene without cleaning up the mess of even flushing the toilet. Kiwi men aren't great in this department either, but Singaporean men really outdo us.
TOM WALLACE
Singapore's national dish: Chicken rice.
* The local food is overrated in my view. One of the national dishes is chicken rice, which is…slices of roasted or steamed chicken on top of some rice, with some sauce and a few slices of cucumber.
The many hawker centres (sort of covered markets with lots of small food stalls) can seem tantalising in the first few months with the Chinese, Malay, Indian and other food stalls, but the novelty soon wears off and you realise most of the food is pretty average (or possibly your foreign palate doesn't appreciate the subtle flavours), and as you sit down to another plate of noodles or rice with inadequate portions of veggies and/or meat you find yourself yearning for a Pita Pit kebab.
* Singapore can occasionally get quite hazy, particularly in August-October, due to crop burning in Indonesia. Some days (but very rarely) it can get very bad, such that the government advises people to wear face masks outdoors.
* Singapore's tourist attractions are mediocre in my view. Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I can't think of a single "attraction" here that would be worth travelling to Singapore to see.
One popular attraction, Sentosa, is an island connected to Singapore that was probably quite pleasant 50 years ago but as with other parts of Singapore has been "modernised" with a few million tonnes of concrete. What was once a peaceful tropical island is now home to massive Universal studios theme park, a giant casino, hotels and some man-made beaches which look out over a busy shipping channel and distant oil refineries.
And as for the Gardens by the Bay – big man-made structures which are meant to look like giant trees but don't – they do nothing for me. I guess it's understandable that with few natural tourist attractions Singapore might feel the need to create attractions. But the contrived/manmade nature of these attractions leaves me underwhelmed.
So there are some of the cons of life in Singapore. I want to emphasise that Singapore is a wonderful country with great people, and it is superior to NZ in many respects.
Many expats love it here. Singapore just isn't really my cup of tea (I've never got used to the heat) – but that's just been my experience. Your experience may be different.
My family and I have saved a lot more money here than we would have in NZ, and we have been able to do quite a lot of travel in the region, so on balance I would say our time here has been worth it. But now its time to go home.
