singapore? (crime, life, country, place)

[biggspc]

can anyone tell me about expat life in singapore and how it would compare to expat life in Hong kong, Shanghai, and Bangkok? thanks

[Teak]

Boring. Have to go to Indonesia (Batam) or Malaysia (Johor Baru) for excitement.

[Gudra]

! What do you mean by excitement, speeding, bungee- jumping... ? They have a great nite zoo. Hated that Haw Par Villa, which I think closed down some time back. Have you been there ?

[biggspc]

what makes it boring? what is in those other two places thats more interesting?

[Gudra]

Singapore is very well- planned so people who love order and tidiness tend to like it. The more unconventional ones call it boring. Most people speak English , also Mandarin. Very easy for foreigners- good infrastructure, good malls ,signs are in English (it's a Commonwealth country) so no need to kill yourself learning a new language. Little corruption, very business- orientated and pragmatic. People are not as harried and agressive as those in HK (money, money and money !). There are Malays and Indians so there is more ethnic variety. The standard of English 's better . Cars are expensive, though ..

[Teak]

Originally Posted by Gudra

Singapore is very well- planned so people who love order and tidiness tend to like it. The more unconventional ones call it boring. Cars are expensive, though ..

Yes, Stink-a-poor is a fine city. There is a fine for everything. It is an example of how people will put up with a police state simply because the buses run on time. (Could not find a Far Eastern Economic Review mag in Stink; why not? All opposition MPs are in jail. Why? Yad-da-da....)

"Person in the street shrugs 'Security comes first", but the trouble with normal is it always gets worse."

It is Asia-Lite for Americans who don't want/can't handle smells, rubbish, late buses, noise, a little bit of dirt in the hawker stall.

The entire city feels like a gigantic shopping mall. HDB flats. Many white people running around pretending that they are living in Asia.

Yes, I have been to Stink-a-poor; many times.

If so great, why do Stink-a-poreans visit Malaysia so often on their vacations?



Okay, rant over. Now to answer the OP question: how is expat life in Singapore, I would suggest he go over to Dave's ESL cafe (do a google search; cannot post a url here) and do a search of the forums. Few ESL teachers in Singapore post. What is there to post about?

"Today the bus was on time. Everyone queued up and waited their turn to board. I saw a policeman arrest a little boy for chewing gum. I got to work on time in my new Brooks Brother suit, but of course, my office mates were dressed in even MORE impressive suits. I just cannot keep up with the Wangs and Lees in this dress-to-impress culture."

I found Hong Kong to be far more vibrant and interesting. A lot happening there. Never been to Shanghai, but I doubt that Stink will displace Shanghai for cachet and swagger now that the CCP has re-discovered capitalism. Bangkok was okay, but quite spread out and hard to travel in (this was before the rail system was put in).

What restricts you, OP, to these few big cities? How about Kuala Lumpur? Jakarta? Manila? Or smaller cities (much more interesting): Chiang Mai, Penang, Kunming.

[Teak]

Originally Posted by Gudra

! What do you mean by excitement, speeding, bungee- jumping... ? They have a great nite zoo. Hated that Haw Par Villa, which I think closed down some time back. Have you been there ?

Yes, you can make the rounds of Singapore in a day or so. And then what? Sentosa's gambling houses will make the city a bigger destination (for gamblers) than before, I suppose. But have you seen Sentosa? Not that big or interesting. The beach is quite dirty.

[Gudra]

But lots of people like it there. And I refrained from mentioning fines or chewing gum. Why do you like Penang ?

[biggspc]

Originally Posted by Teak

What restricts you, OP, to these few big cities? How about Kuala Lumpur? Jakarta? Manila? Or smaller cities (much more interesting): Chiang Mai, Penang, Kunming.

nothing restricts me. im currently a college student(majoring in anthropology and economics with a minor in east asian studies) and im actually probably going to be studying abroad in Kunming to focus on chinese minority policy. More than anything im just trying to get a feel of vibrant Asian cities worth spending some time in, and singapore caught my eye do to low crime, cleanliness(i hate pollution), and the fact that i could get by with english. i assumed it would be a culturally exciting place since it was such world renowned city. i guess i may be mistaken

[Gudra]

I see. Do you speak or understand Mandarin, Malay, Indonesian (a sister language of Malay) or Tagalog ? That would be helpful. Go with your instincts.