The Pros and Cons of living in SIngapore

[The Sun*]

The positive aspects:-

1) It takes only an hour or two by airflights and we have the vast countryside and hinterland of Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia....et al and where you can have all that you crave for...nightspots, touristy places...etc

2)This is a state whose leaders are obsessed with being Number One in infrastructure, airport, airline ...around the globe.

3) The country welcome Foreign Talents from the bricklayer up to the CEO and President of a company.

4) One of the best place of bringing up kids is living in SIngapore.

5,6.......etc
......................................................................................................

The not so positive aspects of living in sg.

1) Widening gap between the haves and the have-nots

2) Heavily censored "national newspaper" Ranked 154th in the world for transparency

3) There is no 4 seasons that most countries living in the northern or southern hemisphere can allow their residents to experience. The only snow is artificial snow at Snow City.

4) Island is getting too congested with every passing day......

.................................

[cutiebutie]

A very nice post but I wonder at two points you mention:

1) Widening gap between the haves and the have-nots

Do you have information on this and how do you experience it?

3) There is no 4 seasons that most countries living in the northern or southern hemisphere can allow their residents to experience. The only snow is artificial snow at Snow City.

At least we have snow!


There are many reasons why Singapore is a good place to live but also many why it is not.

I would add to the 'not' category the difficulties faced by non-Chinese to climb the economic ladder and our dependence on foreign workers of any kind.

On the positive side the list could go on and on. I am sadly in Bangkok again now and just looking outside at the garbage piling up on the street, homeless people, beggars and the lack of a sound infrastructure in general makes me sad at how human life is valued here. And there is no rule of law, aside from for the wealthy and influential. We often have senior police and army people in our lobby bar from the mornings to night just drinking and eating. These are the upholders of all that is (r) might here.

[sourisso]

One of the best place of bringing up kids is living in Singapore

I guess you mean, from a parents point of view only, not speaking about the benefits to the kid. Because i don't see why a business city fits particularly good for kids and teens.

[cutiebutie]

One of the best place of bringing up kids is living in Singapore

I guess you mean, from a parents point of view only, not speaking about the benefits to the kid. Because i don't see why a business city fits particularly good for kids and teens.

Have you walked outside of Suntec? Singapore is much more than a business city, but you do need to exit the CBD.

[sourisso]

yes i did, and i did a lot things here considering my common law spouse is a malaysian chinese PR here, considering im not a shopping freak and im not rich, and yes business city is the word that fits singapore the most to me, from my point of view, considering my background and where i used to live. Doesnt mean i put a negative side on this, i understand why some people would like it.

"singapore being one of the best place for bringing up kids" may be true considering only a practical parents point of view, thats what i was meaning. A certain point of view yeah.

[cutiebutie]

Of course you are right, there are limited opportunities to do many of the things that kids can do in places like the US or Australia. Simply put, there is no hinterland.

[sundaymorningstaple]

From a practical point of view, one of the reasons I stayed in Singapore all those many years ago was because it WAS a good place to bring up kids (not necessarily from their POV I grant you).

As I am from the US I had several things to consider.

Education up through High School/A Levels. The US public school system is dumbing down to keep the stats up.

The incidence of being hurt or killed due to drug related problems or having a drug dependency before graduation is around 20%. Not saying there are no drugs here but a whole lot less guaranteed.

Low crime, and less muggings here. Means my teenaged kids can go to the movies and come home without having to worry about rapists, muggers and so forth (again, not say it doesn't happen but %'s)

As far as things to do? Sure there are things you cannot do here (but you can go to Malaysia to do it). Things like skydiving, handgliding, snow skiing, spelunking, mountain climbing (which you can't do in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi or most of the gulf states cause it's all flat!).

The average kid here does nothing but hang out at the malls or skateboarding at the various skateboard parks. That's the average kid in the US as well isn't it. Gangs, yeah they got 'em here but they got 'em in the US as well but there they have guns as well.

The fact that Singapore is manufactured and or boring doesn't matter one iota to a teenager at this stage in their lives. They are more worried about peer pressure, schooling and music than anything else.

I only know of one US teen who had a bad time here. That's because he tried to act like he was in the US inner cities. His name? Michael Fay.

[sourisso]

safety, ok, but everyone is always saying this, like every other country would be a terror...

Now, i agree with what you say SMS, education in the US etc..

yet i still don't think Singapore is that great for bringing kids apart of that, it ain't got much diversity, in a lot of different categories and like you said "the average kid here does nothing but hang out at the malls or skateboarding at the various skateboard parks".
Well there are reasons to that, reasons coming from different sides, society itself, mentality of parents, parents priorities (usual scheme maths, school, piano/sport, point), paths given by gov, etc.

I dunno about US kids but i know about the kid i was.

And if i askmyself, could i have done what i did as a kid, could i have got the education, could i have got what made ME, could i have got and did all that here, i have to say no, point..

Now i know everyone is not like me and not like the kid i was, but from my point of view, i wouldnt like my kids to grow up here. I would have hard time to give to them what my parents gave to me (and what i took by myself).

About practical stuff, yeah no doubt. But practical stuff doesn't count much in a kid mind.

[huggybear]

From a practical point of view, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

i was wondering if you'd get roped into the friday special.

haha

[huggybear]

c'mon SMS ....

you've been brainwashed today?

Sourisso has a lot of good points. How many times were you raped, mugged, beaten up when you were a kid?

Are you thus suggesting that this type of crime doesn't occur at all in Singapore?

Sourisso brings up a very valid point.

The interest of a parent: lock the kid in a room with no windows and with nothing to do except study for some exam that will get them into harvard and make tons of money to take care of the family.


The interest of a kid: go out and cause trouble and piss off the parent.

The only reason a "kid" would like singapore is because they haven't really truly "lived" anywhere else and have no experience. When i was 18 i borrowed my dad's car and drove from detroit to Charleston South Carolina with a few friends. Then when we got back after five days, we decided "fcuk, let's drive to New York City!!!" so we jumped into a car at 6 am and drove to NYC and booked a hotel room outside some truck stop in Pennsylvania. Along the way i quit my job by calling in from Cleveland so i could go on the trip.

what's a kid going to do here? jump on his skate board and push themself to Jurong? And go to Malaysia for hang gliding? c'mon, you're kidding me right? there are many pros and cons but one HUGE pro of living in the states (or western countries) is free thinking people who don't have boundaries like parents to keep them holed in their room all day and night.

[Superglide]

Pro: the variety of food here (not talking about restaurants, but the hawkers and food courts).

The amount of sunshine would be a pro for me, even though it is too hot.

Con's:

To close my eyes and breath the seasons like back home in The Netherlands: crispy air in winter, the moulds of the forest at autumn, the new branches and flowering in spring.

[sundaymorningstaple]

c'mon SMS ....

you've been brainwashed today?

How many times were you ..............beaten up when you were a kid?

I was only 5'2" tall when I graduated. I grew 5" in the Army! Want to ask the shortest kid in the graduating class that question again?

Are you thus suggesting that this type of crime doesn't occur at all in Singapore?

As I said in my original post (%'s) It happens but not as often.

The only reason a "kid" would like singapore is because they haven't really truly "lived" anywhere else and have no experience. When i was 18 i borrowed my dad's car and drove from detroit to Charleston South Carolina with a few friends. Then when we got back after five days, we decided "fcuk, let's drive to New York City!!!" so we jumped into a car at 6 am and drove to NYC and booked a hotel room outside some truck stop in Pennsylvania. Along the way i quit my job by calling in from Cleveland so i could go on the trip.

I don't know about you, but my definition of a kid is not 18 year of age. I was a chopper pilot in a combat zone when I was 18. Sorry, bad example. Different era I guess.

what's a kid going to do here? jump on his skate board and push themself to Jurong? And go to Malaysia for hang gliding? c'mon, you're kidding me right? there are many pros and cons but one HUGE pro of living in the states (or western countries) is free thinking people who don't have boundaries like parents to keep them holed in their room all day and night.

I was thinking more along the lines of Expat kids and not local kids so I am assuming you are as well. therefore, if we are thinking about the same kids then why the reference to all the boundaries in your paragraph above? Surely the "western" parents wouldn't do that would they? Keep the kids holed in their room all day and night. Mine goes out till the stupid hours in the morning because he is in a rock band (been in the band since he was 15 or 16. Oh, forgot, we're in Singapore. I better stop giving him so much freedom to express himself.

Oh yeah, my son and his friends and my daughter as well often go in groups to Malaysia on day trips. He's got a passport. Not much different that our dashing off to Tijuana or across the border to Canada is it.

[Thaiclan]

safety, ok, but everyone is always saying this, like every other country would be a terror...

Now, i agree with what you say SMS, education in the US etc..

yet i still don't think Singapore is that great for bringing kids apart of that, it ain't got much diversity, in a lot of different categories and like you said "l stuff, yeah no doubt. But practical stuff doesn't count much in a kid mind.

I agree with you Sourisso. For younger children the biggest factor I found is being locked up in a condo all day - no matter how "posh" it might be. Now not everyone has houses and gardens in the UK (I'm a Brit), but for me personally we would have one and I had one as a child, of which the space and animals really marked my early childhood.
Secondly for expat kids the "Stepford Wives" aspect for the families is really brain numbing. I know I know I know not all families have the husband working and the Mum's staying home, but it is the vast majority. Its hard for Mum to fill up her time other than shopping and carting the kids to there next scheduled extra-curricula activity, and I believe the lack of things to do for expat Mum's (who end up relying on the maid) is a huge factor in the development of their younger children.
Add that to expat life in general with school kids seeing their friends move after the employment contract ends every 1, 2 or 3 years, this can be a huge deal for kids and adolescents forming social bonds.
I think Singapore is great for a couple of years, but I wouldnt want my children to be raised here having the opportunity to raise them in other countries.
Of course the choice between say Harlem, downtown Dertroit, Barking or a council estate in North London then OF COURSE Singapore wins hands down. But this isn't what this post is about.