by Christian Weller, lives in Singapore | www.quora.com
I’m European, and I have been living in Singapore for six years.
I will stay with the human element, as the rest has been discussed profusely already.
If you are ready to dive in head first into the culture, you will have a good experience. I rent an HDB flat, which is a first step. I consider Condos the “ghetto”, as they segregate you from the real life, that makes Singapore so charming, and keeps you with your co-nationals.
If you are a nice person, it’s certainly an advantage, as you will be easily accepted by the locals. Arrogance and condescension don’t fly here. This is not Thailand, where everybody smiles. It’s a fast paced environment, like NY or Tokyo, and people are focused on making a living and yes, getting rich.
So far, I’ve yet to find someone with whom I can philosophize about life and everything. Not so easy, as most people I know are quite mundane, or are specialized in their job.
But one thing they all have in common, is, that they are all foodies. They love to eat, any kind of food, and explore new things. I have observed food trends that change and rotate, just like fashion: from fried chicken, over bubble tea, to frozen yogurt, and now Japanese pastry. Stores pop up like mushroom, then stagnate after a few months.
All in all, I love it here. I don’t have many friends, but my wife does, since she is from the region, and this is more than sufficient. My personal experience with the people is excellent, again, mainly because I’m not troublesome myself, but I have heard about a lot of cases where foreigners were shunned for criticizing the system, or the people.
Generally, society is on the conservative side, and if you look at the government, it all makes sense, as both reflect each other. Everything works like a clockwork here, and everything has a shade of charming culture as well. Don’t worry, the occasional littering is also visible. It’s not as squeaky clean as people describe it. That’s reserved for the central areas. I like that “human touch” though.
2 anecdotes come to my mind:
I once reported a malfunctioning traffic light on the LTA web site. It was fixed after 3 days, along with a “thank you” via e-mail.
Once I was travelling in the subway, and saw an old lady faint. I went to her to prop her up and a few fellows joined to help. One called the emergency services through the train comm system. At the next stop, 2 people from the transport company joined. At the next-next stop, a wheelchair was waiting, at the “right” train door. She was lifted into the chair and carted away. Total delay: 2 minutes! A friend commented, in his city, they would have shut down the transport system for the rest of the day, and forgotten the lady at the platform ;-)
I’m European, and I have been living in Singapore for six years.
I will stay with the human element, as the rest has been discussed profusely already.
If you are ready to dive in head first into the culture, you will have a good experience. I rent an HDB flat, which is a first step. I consider Condos the “ghetto”, as they segregate you from the real life, that makes Singapore so charming, and keeps you with your co-nationals.
If you are a nice person, it’s certainly an advantage, as you will be easily accepted by the locals. Arrogance and condescension don’t fly here. This is not Thailand, where everybody smiles. It’s a fast paced environment, like NY or Tokyo, and people are focused on making a living and yes, getting rich.
So far, I’ve yet to find someone with whom I can philosophize about life and everything. Not so easy, as most people I know are quite mundane, or are specialized in their job.
But one thing they all have in common, is, that they are all foodies. They love to eat, any kind of food, and explore new things. I have observed food trends that change and rotate, just like fashion: from fried chicken, over bubble tea, to frozen yogurt, and now Japanese pastry. Stores pop up like mushroom, then stagnate after a few months.
All in all, I love it here. I don’t have many friends, but my wife does, since she is from the region, and this is more than sufficient. My personal experience with the people is excellent, again, mainly because I’m not troublesome myself, but I have heard about a lot of cases where foreigners were shunned for criticizing the system, or the people.
Generally, society is on the conservative side, and if you look at the government, it all makes sense, as both reflect each other. Everything works like a clockwork here, and everything has a shade of charming culture as well. Don’t worry, the occasional littering is also visible. It’s not as squeaky clean as people describe it. That’s reserved for the central areas. I like that “human touch” though.
2 anecdotes come to my mind:
I once reported a malfunctioning traffic light on the LTA web site. It was fixed after 3 days, along with a “thank you” via e-mail.
Once I was travelling in the subway, and saw an old lady faint. I went to her to prop her up and a few fellows joined to help. One called the emergency services through the train comm system. At the next stop, 2 people from the transport company joined. At the next-next stop, a wheelchair was waiting, at the “right” train door. She was lifted into the chair and carted away. Total delay: 2 minutes! A friend commented, in his city, they would have shut down the transport system for the rest of the day, and forgotten the lady at the platform ;-)
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