8 Things I Love about Living in Singapore!
[A shot with a doggie mascot as we walked down Orchard Road over the weekend]
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One of the questions I often get from taxi drivers here in Singapore (upon hearing me speak ‘Bahasa Indonesia’ with the kids) is, ‘Oh, you’re Indonesian? How long have you been in Singapore?’
=)
Well, I have so far lived in Singapore for 12 years. Yes, TWELVE years.
Wilson and I came, worked full-time, got married, started a family, and started our business here too.
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Some people (usually those who don’t live in Singapore) do wonder WHY we’ve lived here for THAT long.
They’d ask us things like, ‘Why did you come to Singapore in the first place anyway?’ and ‘What is it about Singapore that you like?’
[Note: I’ve lived in Jakarta for 14 years, in Perth for 9 years, and now in Singapore for 12 years]
And so I thought of listing down my top eight things about Singapore that make me feel comfortable about living here so far:
Here goes:
1. Convenient Transport System
Throughout the years, we’ve never had a car, and YET, we can conveniently travel from A to B!
I can go out and about on public transports, without my hubby, and just with Anya and Vai (since they’re babies). And I love this kind of ‘freedom’.
[Photo was taken in 2008, when the kids and I traveled on a public bus. Anya was 4yo and Vai was less than 2yo]
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2. Relatively safe environment
I can walk alone, or just with the kids, to the nearby supermarket, at 10.30pm at night and NOT ‘worry’ about our safety (errr … not that we do this often =)
This, I feel, is one important factor to me as a parent of young kids, ie. I value the fact that Singapore’s crime level is low and that we can feel safe living here day to day.
(Note: It doesn’t mean we ignore ‘general precautionary measures’, ie. We do avoid going to quiet parks or alleys at night, etc)
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3. Clean and Orderly
Of course this doesn’t mean there’s hardly any rubbish around. But really, I must say, Singapore IS a relatively clean and orderly city.
[Sentosa’s Palawan Beach]
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4. Easy access to the outdoors (eg. Parks and Beach)
As a parent, I feel I need to let my kids enjoy the outdoors too (ie. not always be confined within buildings). And here in Singapore, I can conveniently take the kids to parks and beaches!
Yes, the beaches may not be as nice as those in Australia, and the parks may not be within ‘walking distance’, BUT they’re all well-maintained and most of them are easily accessible by public transports. My kids can comfortably (and safely) run around and play together out in the open.
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5. Great libraries!
Books. Lots of books. Available for all of us to borrow.
The public libraries are well-maintained (with children sections too!), and I love how they’re interconnected. This basically means, I can borrow a book from Public Library A, and return the book at Public Library B.
I can easily search and extend the deadline of my borrowed books online too (on www.pl.sg)
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6. Clear legal system
If I were unfairly treated (eg. by a hospital), there’s an institution or a government body that I can go to that will ‘protect’ my personal interest.
And when something goes wrong (eg. when the law is broken), I can feel sure that the government or the police will look into the case.
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7. No mosquitoes!
I know a lot about mosquito bites (since we always get LOTS of it whenever we go to Jakarta =).
So, to be able to open our windows (during the day and night!) and NOT get a bite here, … it is something which I appreciate a LOT! =)
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8. Relatively affordable education
Primary School education here in Singapore is subsidised by the government, and there’re no ‘Entrance Fees’ like those required by schools in Indonesia (where parents need to pay more than S$1,000 per child to get him/her to any school)
Here in Singapore, although Permanent Residents pay MORE than Singapore citizens, the monthly school fee is still affordable.
(It costs less than S$40 per month for Singapore Permanent Residents. This fee however excludes any additional fees that may be incurred, like books, uniforms, fees to attend certain classes, etc).
[Singapore HDB flats. Photo taken with iphone]
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Having shared my personal list above, I must say that every country has its pros and cons.
There’s NO one perfect country to live in, I mean.
[eg. Singapore’s ‘kiasu culture’, warm weather, ‘expensive’ daily cost of living, ‘excessive’ pressure on young children’s academic achievements, high property and car prices, etc are some of the commonly ‘less-liked’ things about Singapore]
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Well, I say … Country A may have 1, 2 and 3, … but Country B may have 4, 5 and 6 which Country A doesn’t quite have.
A particular country / environment may suit one person and yet is despised by another.
(Someone once said to us too that excessively complaining about what a particular country doesn’t have will not do any good, or change anyway!)
So.
I guess, in the end, can I say that it’s all about learning to be content in whatever situation / environment that we’re in at any particular time?
(I know. More easily said than done, huh? =)
Anyway. What say you?
29 Comments »
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Love this article! We LOVE Singapore! My husband grew up in Malaysia so we visit Malaysia every year and we NEVER neglect visiting Singapore while we’re there! In fact we just returned from there a few days ago! This time, we visited not only Malaysia, but also Thailand and Bali. Singapore was our last stop before heading back to Europe and let me tell you, it was like being back in civilization! Not that we didn’t enjoy the other countries that we were in, but really, there’s no cleaner, safer, easy, convenient, better place in Asia than Singapore! And I didn’t even mention the fabulous food! I can definitely see why you love it!
Dear Leonny,
I’ve been looking for Indonesian blogger who also live in Singapore. But while I did, suddenly I found this post and reeeaally enjoy reading it thoroughly until the last comment. Now I add your blog to my ‘must read’ list.
Although I will subscribe this post right after I finish write down my comment, would you mind if you contact me thru email? It’s andinaseptia@gmail.com, only if you don’t mind. Or maybe you can just write the blog list here, so everyone can also visit them. 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind help.
Salam,
Andina
dee recently posted..Binar Mata Si Kecil
Hello Andina!
Welcome to my blog =)
Salam kenal.
Hai,
Liburan kami ke Singapore kali ini, selain membawa oleh-oleh pulang ke rumah membawa juga PR (pekerjaan rumah). PRnya yaitu, gimana kalau kita bedol desa pindah ke Sing (desa dlm arti sebenarnya karena sekarang kami tinggal di Jepara-Jateng). Kami wiraswasta yang bisa bekerja di mana saja, anak kami 2 mereka homeschool. Semakin besar anak-anak, kami berpikir untuk memberi mereka kesempatan yang lebih baik. Dari segi pendidikan, kesempatan untuk mengembangkan diri dan kesempatan untuk kehidupan masa depan yang lebih mapan. Pertimbangan kami baru sampai pada tempat tinggal (browsing via internet) yang ternyata muahal, biaya hidup yang bisa di sesuaikan dengan kebutuhan, pendidikan dan fasilitas untuk anak-anak.
Gimana pendapatnya ? Bisa share tips and tricks nya ?
Trims,
Devi
Hi Devi,
Thanks udah stop by dan share di blog Our Everyday Things =D
Memang benar, biaya hidup di Singapore semakin tinggi sekarang, dengan makin turunnya nilai Rupiah, semakin berat pula utk orangtua yang membiayai anak2nya sekolah di Singapore.
Secara umum, ini ada beberapa sisi baiknya studi dan tinggal di SG :
– negara yang aman dan sistem hukumnya jalan
– Utk Permanent Resident, uang sekolah dapat subsidi dari pemerintah (Kalau citizen, subsidinya lebih besar lagi)
– Kualitas dokter / medis, jauh lebih baik daripada di Indonesia
– Transportasi sistem yang baik, sehingga kita bisa hidup disana tanpa punya kendaraan pribadi
– Akses ke perpustakaan yang baik sekali, dan bisa banyak aktifitas outdoor bersama dengan keluarga secara ‘gratis’ (eg. main ke pantai di East Coast dll)
Nah, sisi yang lebih kurang OK, menurut aku pribadi:
– Harga apartemen (HDB) sekarang jadi tinggi sekali
– Pemerintah sekarang lebih condong mendukung mereka yang siap untuk menjadi warga negara, dibanding pendatang yang hanya mau jadi Permanent Resident (PR). Jadi, untuk aplikasi baru PR, atau perpanjangan PR, lebih dipersulit dibanding sebelumnya
– Tingkat kompetisi yang tinggi, otomatis memang mengakibatkan level stress yang lebih tinggi juga. Dimulai dari mereka yang studi di SD, kompetisi dan mengejar nilai yang lebih tinggi dari orang lain, sudah sangat terasa.
– Secara masyarakat, di SG memang serba nyaman, tapi akhirnya tanpa sadar membuahkan masyarakat yang lebih mudah mengeluh kalau2 sedikit ada ketidak-nyamanan, yang kurang hormat kepada orangtua, kurang toleran terhada anak-anak kecil. Tentu ini tidak berlaku kepada ‘semua’ warga disana ya.
Di kontraskan dengan Indonesia, memang masih jauh sekali secara perkembangan teknologi, dll, tapi di Indo, masih banyak orang yang baik hati menolong orang lain, tersenyum, bahkan waktu ada anak-anak yang berlari2 dan tertawa2, masyarakat pada umumnya bisa ikut tersenyum melihat anak-anak kecil yang enjoy bermain-main. Ini lebih jarang ditemui di SG =)
Semoga masukannya menolong =)
How can you all mothers in singapore taking care your babies alone? Without a nanny, without your mother’s helping?? Do you still working? Or you send your babies to child care while you’re working?
Hi Nia, welcome to Our Everyday Things ya =)
I guess it comes down to ‘how and what’ we’re used to over the years? I’m used to not having any help since my first child was born. Help from mom and mom in law for a month, and that’s it. Same thing happened when my 2nd child was born. And, just 10 days of help from my Mom in law who flew to Singapore when I had my 3rd. And that’s it =)
We had no families when we’re in Singapore, … just friends. I worked from home, and no, the kids were never sent to child care centres. They started going to 3-hour Nursery school when they turned 4yo. And, no .. no nanny or fulltime maid / helper too.
There are quite a few moms in SG who also have no fulltime help and raise the kids themselves as stay at home moms … I guess, after some time, we are used to the whole routine and just go ‘with the flow’ ? =)
(Doesn’t mean it’s all easy, but … it’s manageable … =)
@Tim agreed
@Me agreed
@Me agreed,especially the last line of what nickie posted.Anak Singapura is a good example of what that line meant.
@Anak Singapura You are a good example of what nickie is talking about. 🙂
@Nikkie: So how friendly and nice are you? Let me guess, are you of a lighter skin colour so you expect LITTLE ASIANS to smile, fawn and if we can, PROSTRATE AT YOUR FEET?
I noticed you mentioned that Singapore has lots of CHINESE People. That says much about you, your origin, your EXACT SENTIMENTS towards Chinese [haha, but of course every ASIAN person looks Chinese and every unintelligible Asian language is Chinese to you] and your level of intelligence.
By the way, I would have taken you more seriously if you wrote grammatically. See level of intelligence.
I guess you will find my nick Anak Singapura sounds Chinky to you too.
Leon,
I’ve been in SGP, and here is the tip:
Learn Singapore English language – aka. singlish (esp the one with lah lah lah at the end of the words). And you will be surprised with the respond from native people. For example: if you talk using singlish to buy a prepaid voucher, you will never asked for a passport, but if you (all asean people, no matter what the color of your skin) talks using native english, you will be asked for passport (and maybe with bad face too).
cheers.
Hi.. i was thinking to move in to Singapore .. Me and my hubby went to Singapore last Dec.. and— sure it was kinna nice to be able conveniently travel from A to B! But I notice one thing : PREJUDICE !!
Most people there are Chinese.. If you are not Chinese, they make it hard for you !! Is true.. So When u said there is no discrimination : IT”S A LIE .. Singaporean’s are mostly rude , super bussy and unfriendly people !!
Oh Nickie, I assumed you had negative encounters during your recent visit to SG? What happened?
When you mentioned ‘unfriendly’ and ‘rude’, well … I had bad encounters too … (which involved really rude people, young and old).
I’ve met people who don’t help out, who care less about others, who don’t smile back, who look pretty much stressed out everyday and they pass this negative vibe to everyone else around … (Generally, the people here don’t proactively greet and give smiles to people they don’t know …)
Having said that, I have had many positive encounters too though.
I guess, it’s tough having the right balance in everything in a country?
10. there is no “discrimination ” from the government.
that’s why SG so advance in economy and technology!
Yes! we plan to move to SG in next 3-4 years from now. I am learning mandarin as a preparation for living in SG. Is that necessary?
Hello! =)
Here in Singapore, you are okay even if you can’t speak Mandarin. But then, if you CAN speak it, you can nicely avoid ‘language problems’ when ordering your drinks from the China ladies =)
Oh, just thought I quickly point out that PR pays a little extra compared to citizens when it comes to children education. But even then, primary school education fee is very much affordable compared to what we need to pay in Indonesia.
Totally agree with all your points. Probably the exact same reasons my family are staying in Singapore as well (we originally come from the Philippines). Cheers!
Thanks! And now that you also mention it … somehow I feel, these factors are ‘better appreciated’ by those who come from other countries than those who’re born here in Singapore? (I guess because coming from other countries, we have more obvious comparisons)
9. The makan 🙂
The food is awesome here, don’t you think? Maybe you’re used to eating excellent food in Indonesia too, but for us, expats from Europe, the local food here, the huge variety and the exotic spices and herbs, are a major draw.
Added to that is the relaxing weather. Then again, perhaps you need to live on the coast to appreciate this, as it does get a little hot and humid in Singapore. On the East Coast, we always get a nice little sea breeze going, so yeah, the weather here is ideal, perpetual summer days 🙂
Thanks for your post. Good point on the safety too.
Cheers.
Hi Bryan!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Yes, to me … when it comes to food, the variety and the ‘level’ of yumminess … Indonesian food is better by far ! =)
I know the ’round the year summer’ aspect is a big draw too for those who come from 4 seasons countries =) It sure is nice to only need to keep summer clothes throughout the year! =)
@pc :
Hi hi … =) We may still need to keep our Indonesian citizenship (for work purposes), so as much as we’re open to converting to SG citizen, I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes … ? 🙂
@xin :
Disini memang byk sekali orang lanjut usia yg masih kerja di food court (bersih2 meja), Mc Donald’s atau bersih2 WC dll … dan memang itu ‘kerasnya’ hidup di negara berkembang spt SG yang otomatis lebih prioritaskan mereka yang muda, pintar dan bertalenta. Jadi yang lanjut usia masih terus kerja di sana sini utk biayain hidup …
@Christine :
Driving in Jakarta especially is an adrenaline rush 🙂 Will keep the driver awake for sure 🙂 Not to mention the possibility of someone knocking on our car window (to ask for our mobile phones or something).
Safety and convenient transport system here sure help a lot …
@Siska:
Kalo udah biasa tinggal di Singapore, banyakan orang ga suka utk tinggal di Australi (yg sore2 toko2 udah pada tutup 🙂 Kecualiiii memang sukanya negara lebih scenic dan less hectic, nah cocok deh sama Australi.
Tinggal di Australi jg ada pros and cons, dan in the end, mmg tergantung lagi ya sama familynya … apa yang menjd priority keluarga mereka?
Soal orang2 yg lanjut usia tp masih kerja di Spore, memang … kasian deh kita jg liatnya. Itu jelas2 karena tuntutan hidup, utk biayain hidup sehari2. Yg lebih di hire dlm perusahaan berkembang itu tentu yg muda2, lulusan sekolah tinggi dll. Yg lebih tua2, end up di Mc Donald’s, atau food court beresin meja =(
kayanya mah tuntutan hidup deh klu udah tua hrs bersihin toilet, cuci piring. krn klu cm sekedar habisin wkt mah, byk hal yg lbh ‘enak’ dikerjain utk habisin wkt. mgkn CPF ga cukup krn klu ga salah dgr dr tmn, CPF di sgp itu dipake buat macem2, eg. beli rmh, dll. dan sgp yg sgt kompetitif, utk kerjaan kantor pasti lbh milih anak muda. jadi yg tua2 kebagian cm kerja gituan. dan krn mrk butuh duit jg, drpd ga dpt krjan lain, yah apa pun jadi lah.
very ‘sokong’ point 2. as well as point brought up by xin:).
so… you will be permanently staying in sg? thinking of conversion? ^^.
Ci, yg saya bingung kenapa di singapore banyak orang yg sudah lanjut usia masih bekerja, mis membersihkan toilet atau mencuci piring? mereka bekerja karena memang tuntutan hidup atau sekedar menghabiskan waktu saja?
Yes! I totally agree with your point no. 1 about the good thing of living from Singapore. I always appreciate Singapore’s Convenient Transport System. I felt so relieved to leave Indonesia 4 yrs ago and lived in Singapore because that meant there won’t be pressure to drive anymore (in Singapore). The so-called “Freedom” as you said. I am always nervous and pressured when I am asked to drive independently. 🙂
Very interesting read, Le!!!!
Baru aja kemaren ada temen (who’s currently tinggal di sgp) yg consider utk migrating here telponan sm gw selama 1.5 jam. brainstorming, listing pros and cons living in Sgp. stlh menimbang pros dan cons, dia memutuskan utk pindah kemari. walaupun cons disini pdhl stlh gw list down yah lumayan byk hahaha. tp sgp trnyt lbh parah lagi cons-nya. as you said, no perfect country. and the grass is always greener on the other side. buat gw, kayanya enakan tinggal di sgp. tp stlh dia list down cons-nya. wah… ternyata not as good as i thought