Singapore: How is life in the mysterious Lion City?
Hint: Probably better than where you are right now.
No place in the world is perfect. Singapore is also not perfect.
There are noticeable flaws in the Singaporean model, for those who look close enough.
Still, the tiny city state tops out many international rankings. How is this possible?
Let’s take a look at life in the Garden City, now brought to global fame thanks to “Crazy Rich Asians”.
Money — Singapore has a strong currency. It is close in value to the Australian and Canadian dollar. While there is an over-supply of properties available on the market presently, this is an opportunity for investors as prices may come down. Singapore is infamous for relatively expensive home prices. A weaker market makes it a great place to buy while prices are lower than normal. Singapore has a world renowned investment community and the country offers many investment and business opportunities to the savvy expat.
Establishing credit in Singapore takes a bit of time but is not an arduous process. There are many credit products available. The cost of living is high in Singapore, but you will often find it is still much lower than London, Vancouver or Hong Kong. Wages are middling to high and taxes are lower than most countries.
Weather — Yes, Singapore is hot and humid almost all year long. What often is left out of this picture is that when Singapore gets extremely hot, it rains shortly after. This can be quite refreshing. Weather is a matter of personal preference, but one who isn’t addicted to the cold or lack of sunlight will prefer the weather of Singapore to the U.K. or Canada. Singapore also does not experience the dry heatwaves of countries such as the U.A.E. or Qatar. It’s location insulates it from natural disasters.
Family — Much has been said about how Singapore is an authoritarian state. Singapore in reality is more of a “nanny” state. The country will ban music acts from performing if they present a risk to the family values. There are laws against pornography in the country. For those with traditional family values, Singapore offers a sanitized, drug free and incredibly safe environment to raise a family in.
Dating — It can be a pain to date in just about any major, cosmopolitan city nowadays. There will be lazy, uninspired, miserable people anywhere. Singapore is a city of high performing people. The vast majority of people in your dating pool will be reasonable, highly motivated people. This greatly helps to ease the annoyances of meeting new people. While not perfect, Singapore can be a breath of fresh air to those coming from the major “western” cities such as Sydney, London, Toronto, New York, etc. It might not be as easy going as Berlin, but the quality of the people you meet tends to average higher.
The LGBTQ community may experience some issues in Singapore. There are openly transgender people in Singapore. There are openly gay couples in Singapore. Legality and acceptance tends to be a grey area. This is a complex situation and Singapore is a traditional country, but not an irrational one. Some countries have laws in place just to express values and not to actually be applied. While Malaysia is a much more conservative country and Taiwan is famously liberal, Singapore sits somewhere in the middle. LGBTQ people should do their own research beforehand. At the most basic level, LGBTQ couples will not be in any harm in Singapore. Nobody is going to attack you or send you to jail for being gay. I highly suggest any LGBTQ person interested in Singapore to give it a shot before making any conclusions.
Ironically, there is a lot of interracial dating in Singapore. The country’s ethnic makeup is quite diverse and as such, people will date other races. Racial harmony is much better in Singapore than London or Dubai.
Work — Singapore’s working culture is unique. Being an Asian nation with traditional values, if you are coming from Europe, you may find yourself working harder. Each employer and job is different so this is not always the case. While already a huge success, Singapore is still growing in some areas and as such, you may not end up in a job that is as demanding as you are used to. High performers are looked up to, hierarchy and process are valued. Singapore is much less extreme than Japan in this regard, but is vastly more structured than the U.K. in terms of work. Singapore’s work life balance greatly depends on your specific job.
Recruiters in Singapore are frankly below average. While they are much more professional than in GCC countries, you can still be asked silly questions such as race, religion, height and weight. This tends to only happen with amateurish job agencies, however recruiters in Singapore are not the most professional in general. If you are looking to escape poor quality recruiters, think again.
Speaking of jobs, Singapore’s current job market is very complex. Unlike the U.A.E. where young expats of varying skill levels flock to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Singapore tends to attract older expats. This is partially due to how immigration works. There are are exceptions for established entrepreneurs and investors. The working class needs a work visa known as a work pass.
If you have a salary from a full-time, permanent role that pays at least $18'000 SGD a month, you will be able to enter Singapore on a personalized pass that gives you freedom to switch jobs without an employer’s sponsorship. The situation is more complex for less high earners.
Government and locals are feeling the heat due to their stagnant wages v.s. wages of expats. Therefore, as a result, the local government has made it tougher for companies to sponsor a work pass for a foreign worker. There has been an emphasis placed on local talent (citizens and permanent residents). You will find that you may not even be able to apply for many jobs in Singapore without permanent residence status or at the very least an existing work pass.
How does one get to work in the country in the first place? Many expats tend to arrive in Singapore as part of a work transfer.
Realistically, while Singapore has a highly educated local talent pool, workers in the tech and medical sectors with niche skills are not readily available anywhere. The Singapore government will soon realize that not being able to hire the best talent in these science related fields is a recipe for disaster for a nation looking to grow in these areas.
Not even America has enough software developers in Silicon Valley.
If you can get a work pass from an employer jump at the chance. Otherwise, you may need to sit tight while the government resolves this mess.
If you are an entrepreneur, there are passes available for you.
Getting around — Driving is much more expensive than most places on earth. This is because the Singaporean government limits driving, by capping the amount of cars on the road and adding high taxes on car purchases. This is due to a complex licensing system. Without getting into the minutiae, a very old Honda Civic can run you north of $10'000 (SGD).
The reality is that you NEVER need a car in Singapore. The MRT public transport system is extremely efficient, clean and reliable. It is also much cheaper than most systems around the world. You can easily get around by bus or train. The public transport system as a whole is very fast as well.
The Grab app is used instead of Uber. Grab rides can be half the cost, or even cheaper than Uber rides would be in other major cities. You can also pay with cash. Grab is so cheap that it is feasible for many to use Grab to go to and from work every day.
Aside from the hottest days of the year, Singapore is a very walkable city and is also a great place to bike ride.
Education — Singapore has elite quality public and private educational facilities. Its local universities rank among the top in the world. The same can be said for its primary and secondary schools. Costs will vary depending on the school. Being an Asian nation, there are also many professional education programs available in Singapore which are often highly affordable.
Healthcare — Singapore is world renowned for its quality of healthcare services. It puts other healthcare hot-spots such as Canada, the USA and the U.K. to absolute shame. Shorter wait times, better quality of service and better facilities are to be expected. While there may be a cost attached to your visit (subsidized heavily by the government and often by your employer), paying a small price for a trip to the hospital or to a doctor is worth it.
The attention to detail and treatment of patients is unmatched. For the wealthier expats, there are even hospital rooms available that would put most hotels to shame (seriously). First responders are also well trained whereas this is often neglected in even more developed nations.
Fun — There are quite a few local activities to visit. Amusement parks, luxurious malls and of course, beautiful nature is abundantly available. Still, given its small size, Singapore can get boring for those looking for more excitement.
Singapore makes up for this with location. Relatively short and affordable flights to all the popular travel destinations in Asia makes Singapore one of the best spots for frequent travelers in the world. It also helps that Singapore Airlines is one of, if not the best airline in the world.
One would also expect that with the fame brought by “Crazy Rich Asians” and the upgrades to Changi Airport, Singapore will continue to double down on tourism related investments.
If you are a single, driven professional, with an interest in living in an Asian culture, I would highly recommend Singapore. If you have a family with children, I would also highly recommend Singapore.
Party animals and people who love social media showmanship are better off in Dubai. Singapore is a better alternative for those looking to make a great income, but not give up on quality of life. This is in stark comparison to working in most GCC countries.
Still, if you want a very relaxed, decently paying job, the E.U. has better options.
Singapore mixes the best of Asian culture while managing not to feel unfamiliar to those from Western cultures.
While getting into Singapore can be difficult, it is surely worth it for those who have the opportunity.
