Is it even worth living in SG anymore as a foreigner?

[Lisafuller]

As a Local here, I shall say " getting more and more boring " Daily mainstream always mention about property , HDB , private property sales etc. You see how the mainstream report news already tell u SG getting boring as years gone by .....unlike the good old days in 80s, 90s.

These days Singaporeans that live around me do not seem to welcome anything out of the ordinary. If it’s not boring and expected, they want no part of it. While in the lift, I can’t even tie my shoes without getting a horrified looks.

huh why cannot tie your shoes in the lift

You never know, it's so easy for people to find problems with everything nowadays.

[Lisafuller]

Click on "Flights" and "One-way." Problem solved.

https://www.expedia.com.sg/

Even crossing the border to Malaysia provides some good relief from the mundane… sometimes to the extreme, and you’ll be glad to come back here.

Can go both ways, you can take a one-way flight to Mogadishu and never complain about Singapore again (as you'll be dead), or you could find yourself in Geneva and never want to come back.

[Lisafuller]

huh why cannot tie your shoes in the lift

I live around some very sheltered and conservative types… middle aged or older, ultra strait-laced. I doubt they have had any fun or adventure in their entire lives. They just expect people to stand still in the lift, anything else makes them very uncomfortable. I also don’t understand it.

If you see things their way, though, there really isn't much reason to do anything in the lift. It's a 20 second ride at most, so doing anything other than standing there, which seem odd. On another note, we once took a company mandated personal safety class, and part of it was learning all about the dangers that can come with being in a lift alone with someone else. I was paranoid for weeks after that!

[SGBoyxxx]

As a Local here, I shall say " getting more and more boring " Daily mainstream always mention about property , HDB , private property sales etc. You see how the mainstream report news already tell u SG getting boring as years gone by .....unlike the good old days in 80s, 90s.

Agree, but perhaps it's better that life here is stable or what you call boring instead of being chaotic every day.

well you got mistaken, is not about chaotic. I miss is those days in 80s and 90s.

[Lisafuller]

As a Local here, I shall say " getting more and more boring " Daily mainstream always mention about property , HDB , private property sales etc. You see how the mainstream report news already tell u SG getting boring as years gone by .....unlike the good old days in 80s, 90s.

Agree, but perhaps it's better that life here is stable or what you call boring instead of being chaotic every day.

well you got mistaken, is not about chaotic. I miss is those days in 80s and 90s.

Oh! Misunderstood. There definitely was a charm not just about singapore in the 80s but just the way the world was.

[malcontent]

As a Local here, I shall say " getting more and more boring " Daily mainstream always mention about property , HDB , private property sales etc. You see how the mainstream report news already tell u SG getting boring as years gone by .....unlike the good old days in 80s, 90s.

These days Singaporeans that live around me do not seem to welcome anything out of the ordinary. If it’s not boring and expected, they want no part of it. While in the lift, I can’t even tie my shoes without getting a horrified looks.

That's a little dramatic! Granted, as a woman if I was wearing a dress and had a man crouch down right next to me I might be a little uncomfortable, but other than that there should be no issue.

Aaaaah, that must be it — they think I’m trying to take some dirty pics… guess I’ve been living in a condo for too long, I completely forgot that lifts are seen as “boxes of depravity” here.

[the observer]

A general theme seems to be that is God damn expensive to have kids in Singapore. What are the differences then in terms of help from the government? Meaning if you have kids as a citizen/PR/work pass holder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The main costs of having children.

1. Bigger housing : self explanatory.

2. Education :
a. pre school that varies frm a few thousand a year, to tens of thousands a year.

b. primary/secondary school, ie gahmen vs private:
gahmen schools cost almost nothing for citizens, a few thousand a year for PRs and and double that for international students.
private schools: varies from tens of thousand a year for the cheaper ones. The better brand names are 30+ thousand a year.

3. Healthcare: There's subsidies in terms of healthcare as well, ie immunization at polyclinics which are subsidized vs private clinics. It's welcome, but not profound.

The 10k or so grant from gahmen for popping out a singaporean kid is welcome but is not really significant. The biggest cost savings always is the tuition fee later on.

So to your question on differentiated govt assistance between citizens, PRs and foreigners, from the biggest monetary assistance perspective; the answer lies in schooling as per pt 2b) above.

Further down the road, there's a range of scholarships for bright kids, and it is not necessarily confined to local universities. It's almost always reserved for citizens.

[Lisafuller]

These days Singaporeans that live around me do not seem to welcome anything out of the ordinary. If it’s not boring and expected, they want no part of it. While in the lift, I can’t even tie my shoes without getting a horrified looks.

That's a little dramatic! Granted, as a woman if I was wearing a dress and had a man crouch down right next to me I might be a little uncomfortable, but other than that there should be no issue.

Aaaaah, that must be it — they think I’m trying to take some dirty pics… guess I’ve been living in a condo for too long, I completely forgot that lifts are seen as “boxes of depravity” here.

It's probably nothing against you personally, just that us women tend to be very wary of our surroundings, because we have to.

[Lisafuller]

A general theme seems to be that is God damn expensive to have kids in Singapore. What are the differences then in terms of help from the government? Meaning if you have kids as a citizen/PR/work pass holder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The main costs of having children.

1. Bigger housing : self explanatory.

2. Education :
a. pre school that varies frm a few thousand a year, to tens of thousands a year.

b. primary/secondary school, ie gahmen vs private:
gahmen schools cost almost nothing for citizens, a few thousand a year for PRs and and double that for international students.
private schools: varies from tens of thousand a year for the cheaper ones. The better brand names are 30+ thousand a year.

3. Healthcare: There's subsidies in terms of healthcare as well, ie immunization at polyclinics which are subsidized vs private clinics. It's welcome, but not profound.

The 10k or so grant from gahmen for popping out a singaporean kid is welcome but is not really significant. The biggest cost savings always is the tuition fee later on.

So to your question on differentiated govt assistance between citizens, PRs and foreigners, from the biggest monetary assistance perspective; the answer lies in schooling as per pt 2b) above.

Further down the road, there's a range of scholarships for bright kids, and it is not necessarily confined to local universities. It's almost always reserved for citizens.

If you go for the really expensive private schools like SAS, it can cost 60,000 a year.

[Wd40]

I would never live in a condo. Atleast in HDB people seem a bit more real. They go to the wet market and fair price themselves. In HDB lift, I have mostly seen people who are acknowledged my presence. In a condo setting, they would treat me as if I am invisible.

Today I struck a conversation with a local at the wet market while buying fish. He saw me taking pictures and sending to my wife, asking her which one to buy and then I told him I new to fish. He asked me how do I cook it, fry or steam and I told him fry and then he gave some suggestions on which one to buy. He was also looking around at the fish.

So yeah, HDB yes, Condo no, they have their own class system.

[malcontent]

I would never live in a condo. Atleast in HDB people seem a bit more real. They go to the wet market and fair price themselves. In HDB lift, I have mostly seen people who are acknowledged my presence. In a condo setting, they would treat me as if I am invisible.

Today I struck a conversation with a local at the wet market while buying fish. He saw me taking pictures and sending to my wife, asking her which one to buy and then I told him I new to fish. He asked me how do I cook it, fry or steam and I told him fry and then he gave some suggestions on which one to buy. He was also looking around at the fish.

So yeah, HDB yes, Condo no, they have their own class system.

Depends which condo. I’ve been to some where everyone is really uppety and pretentious — one reliable indicator — a car park full of trophy vehicles.

Other ones like mine, you see mostly ordinary vehicles in the car park, a lot of minivans… family types. Many expats who live there are earning normal salaries but the company is picking up the rent. They are often oblivious that they are living in a 7-figure home, and probably couldn’t fathom why someone would pay so much for a condo here. Such a condo doesn’t feel like anything special compared to their home country.

[smoulder]

^ there are a few guys in my condo who drive trophy cars but the owners are very down to earth and friendly. So it really depends.

[malcontent]

^ there are a few guys in my condo who drive trophy cars but the owners are very down to earth and friendly. So it really depends.

Agree, there are always exceptions. I knew an aussie expat in my condo who drove a brand new 5-series BMW that the company heavily subsidized, he even let me drive it. He couldn’t have been more friendly and down to earth. He now lives in Brizzie.

[x9200]

From my experience seems to be just opposite - more expensive place more friendly people, at least judging from the lift interactions. Low and middle end places tend to attract nouveau riche types.

[SGBoyxxx]

From my experience seems to be just opposite - more expensive place more friendly people, at least judging from the lift interactions. Low and middle end places tend to attract nouveau riche types.

So currently you stay in an Expensive condo ? Orchard road or near MBS