Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
there are some good points; i mean, Singapore is economically surging ahead for a nation of its size and population is not supposed to; economically and commercially speaking, it is sprinting ahead like its the olympics.
It takes quite while to understand Singapore's economy; for example, Singapore just built a financial hub at the Marina bay area, attracting mega-banks and finance corporations to set up shop and bringing thousands of banking and finance professionals from all over the world. What happened was that because it is right in the heart of the city centre, often appearing in tourism ads. what happened is that many western expats think that foreign banks are the beating heart of Singapore's economy.
But it is not; on the other end of the island, there is a mega-hub of petro-chemical refinery complexes built all over, and underground over an artificial island; there is nothing like it in the whole of south east asia; that hub is the heart of the petrochemical industry in all of South East asia and parts of asia-Pacific as well. Its profit is close to the GDP of some nations.
But western banking expats don't go to that area (it is a restricted area) and they think that banking and finance is all there is to Singapore's economy.
Same goes for biologic manufacturing factories, aerospace hubs, the oil rig manufacturing facilties and so on.
Unarguably, Singapore's economic strategy is beyond outstanding but it creates a lot of stress; sometimes, I look around and ask is this really the place i grew up in?
However, I would rather Singapore is economically strong and prosperous than anything else - i am glad of Singapore's economic prosperity, it is just that, sometimes, I look around and feel a little lost.
I didn't intend to say that Singapore is bad or anything, I just find it surprising that Koreans would consider anywhere else stressful as the level of stress in Korea is really unhealthy already, from what I've heard.
I didn't intend to say that Singapore is bad or anything, I just find it surprising that Koreans would consider anywhere else stressful as the level of stress in Korea is really unhealthy already, from what I've heard.
Partly because from what I hear from the korean expats, they was not expecting the level of competition they encountered in Singapore, working for a Japanese MNCs that has German and Singapore engineers in its ranks and working with American and Chinese subcontractors, they found the pace to be really fast and they often found that they could not keep up with the progress. he described it as everybody trying to show off that they can work harder, better, faster and cheaper than everyone else.
I suppose it is a trade off; economic progress in return for higher levels of urban stress; people in Singapore seem to get angry easily all the time. I might want to take a short holiday and go somewhere that has more green and less stress; maybe Australia or such.
Last edited by tigerbalm1985; 03-10-2015 at 09:15 AM..
I didn't intend to say that Singapore is bad or anything, I just find it surprising that Koreans would consider anywhere else stressful as the level of stress in Korea is really unhealthy already, from what I've heard.
There was a study released couple of years ago that workers in Singapore overtook Koreans and Japanese in terms of number of working hours in a year. Can't seem o find the link now.
Last edited by kent_moore; 03-10-2015 at 11:01 AM..
There was a study release couple of years ago that workers in Singapore overtook Koreans and Japanese in terms of number of working hours in a year. Can't seem o find the link now.
the report was from a US research group I think it was called the Conference Board
There was a study release couple of years ago that workers in Singapore overtook Koreans and Japanese in terms of number of working hours in a year. Can't seem o find the link now.
I don't think it's just about working hours, the environment makes a lot of difference as well. People also work very long hours here but Taiwan is just nowhere as stressful as Singapore/Korea/Japan/Hong Kong, or other Chinese large cities.
Its has been ranked number 1 for about 2 -3 years, oh, how i miss the mid 2000s! things were so much cheaper then.
Based on my own memory, prices really started shooting into the stratosphere from 2009 - 2011; transport, housing, but most of all, food and consumer goods.
I used to remember $2.20 for a plate of nasi lemak back in 2009. These days, you can get them for maybe $4-$5 at the very least.
Car costs have driven up a lot too; many wealthy immigrants from all over the Asia-Pacific region, I don't remember seeing so many Ferraris, Lamborghini, and Maserati before 2009. These days, if you walk past MBS, Shenton Way or Orchard Road, there is at least a 95% chance you would see a Ferrari roar past you at least once.
And owning a sports car in Singapore is not the same as owning a sports car in other parts of the world; in Singapore, right now, a Toyota Prius will costs around $160,000 to $200,000 - in US dollars. A BMW 6 series can cost somewhere around $300,000 (if your're lucky) to maybe $400,000 or more - in US dollars.
Nah. Bmw 6 series cost 200 k us dollars. Not 300 k or 400 k. 9 series than cost 300 k US dollar.
there are some good points; i mean, Singapore is economically surging ahead for a nation of its size and population is not supposed to; economically and commercially speaking, it is sprinting ahead like its the olympics.
It takes quite while to understand Singapore's economy; for example, Singapore just built a financial hub at the Marina bay area, attracting mega-banks and finance corporations to set up shop and bringing thousands of banking and finance professionals from all over the world. What happened was that because it is right in the heart of the city centre, often appearing in tourism ads. what happened is that many western expats think that foreign banks are the beating heart of Singapore's economy.
But it is not; on the other end of the island, there is a mega-hub of petro-chemical refinery complexes built all over, and underground over an artificial island; there is nothing like it in the whole of south east asia; that hub is the heart of the petrochemical industry in all of South East asia and parts of asia-Pacific as well. Its profit is close to the GDP of some nations.
But western banking expats don't go to that area (it is a restricted area) and they think that banking and finance is all there is to Singapore's economy.
Same goes for biologic manufacturing factories, aerospace hubs, the oil rig manufacturing facilties and so on.
Unarguably, Singapore's economic strategy is beyond outstanding but it creates a lot of stress; sometimes, I look around and ask is this really the place i grew up in?
However, I would rather Singapore is economically strong and prosperous than anything else - i am glad of Singapore's economic prosperity, it is just that, sometimes, I look around and feel a little lost.
one aspect i am different from you i have only stayed in Singapore my entire life, i have visited other countries as a tourist only and that's it.
in life you win some you lose some, we get the progress at the expense of other aspects..
All i am waiting for is the next general election.. Not sure how much life will change after that anyway no matter what the results of the elections are. Whether the ruling party PAP still remains the ruling party.
Perhaps if PAP is no longer the ruling party, the collalation party or whatever that takes over wont make major or drastic changes, but we shall see
one aspect i am different from you i have only stayed in Singapore my entire life, i have visited other countries as a tourist only and that's it.
in life you win some you lose some, we get the progress at the expense of other aspects..
All i am waiting for is the next general election.. Not sure how much life will change after that anyway no matter what the results of the elections are. Whether the ruling party PAP still remains the ruling party.
Perhaps if PAP is no longer the ruling party, the collalation party or whatever that takes over wont make major or drastic changes, but we shall see
If opposition really win, we won't see much change within the first 2 years but after that, we would either see good change or bad change - we wouldn't know. Maybe all the foreign MNCss whom employ tens of thousands of Singapore citizens will stay put - or maybe they will run away - we don't know.
Truth be told, I am far more worried about how the opposition (assuming they win in the first place) is going to handle foreign policy and military affairs. Our current government has actually done a very good job of being everybody's friend.
Our region, South-East asia, is heating up over the south china sea.
Say for example, admittedly in a very far fetched scenario, there is a military incident in the South China sea, between China and Vietnam or between China and Philippines, the situation becomes very tense (actually, it is already very tense).
Nearly 95% of the oil and gas that China imports and much of its maritime trade goes through the Malacca straits and the port of Singapore.
The US has a LCS naval ship based in Singapore.
In this hypothetical scenario, Let's say China's leadership becomes even more paranoid and decided that they want a overseas base on their own in south east asia, the same way the US military has military bases in South Korea and Japan.
So for example, in the purely hypothetical scenario, they say to us, we want such a so-and-so base. If China don't get what we want, China will cut off trade links with Singapore - no Singaporean businessmen or company will ever be able to do business in or with China. China will tell all their cargo ships to bypass Singapore and use the ports in Malaysia and Indonesia instead. Granted, Singapore's economy is so diversified, it would take a hit but will still survive.
In the hypothetical scenario, if we agree to such a demand, we lose all standing and credibility in south-east asia, virtually every other single nation in South east asia will regard us with suspicion, and the US and the rest of the western world will no longer sell us any more weapons.
If we don't agree, then we will locked out of China's economy.
How would the opposition handle such a scenario? the truth is, we don't know. Actually, if we reject such a demand, the economy will take a hit but we would still survive. The question is, how would the opposition party, (assuming they need to) handle such a scenario without damaging relations with other countries. This scenario would probably never happen but it would be an interesting test.
Last edited by tigerbalm1985; 03-12-2015 at 07:02 AM..
one aspect i am different from you i have only stayed in Singapore my entire life, i have visited other countries as a tourist only and that's it.
in life you win some you lose some, we get the progress at the expense of other aspects..
All i am waiting for is the next general election.. Not sure how much life will change after that anyway no matter what the results of the elections are. Whether the ruling party PAP still remains the ruling party.
Perhaps if PAP is no longer the ruling party, the collalation party or whatever that takes over wont make major or drastic changes, but we shall see
This saddens me about "some" Singaporeans. Why you guys need to rely on your government decisions/programs/policies?
Conduct a survey around the world, all are against their government. When you got bankrupt, government gives you the least concern.
You guys are bunch of fine and hardworking people but you are always destructed by your own government policies. Don't depend your prosperity to anyone, it's only you who can dictate it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
