Anyone moved in from Singapore?

engee

Registered User
HAi

We are thinking of shifting to Spore but we have no idea how life is out there....is it as workaholic as HK?
engee
 
Hi,i;m from sgp and personally its just as hectic in sin.basic necess like housing,transportation food are almost as high as hk.
HAving lived in hk for more than 10 yrs...i love hk....the pace,the way ppl do and treat each other .(why is say this cos i went back when i was 6 months preggie....took the train daily to town for yoga sessions and for the pass 3 months........only about 3 or 4 ppl gave a seat to me.....not that i'm nt abled bodied but i'm really disappointed myself......
i sometimes drag to go back eccept for missing the food.
 
Hi Weishy,
I have a friend out there and she says when compared to HK spore is great..family oriented place ppl smile and are friendly(she was here for 10yrs)
But i guess....it depends isnt it....out here we r pretty lonely...no social gathering at all..work pressure is tearing my hus down....i mean...is this how it is for all...i dono.... the end of the day he is exhausted.

Thanx for the reply.
 
I've only visited S'pore - but to me, it seems more relaxed and also more "white" (or at least, more like Australia). Maybe that's because people's English is much better there, things are more in English than in Hong Kong. When I first visited S'pore and Hong Kong, I said I'd LOVE to live in Sing but I NEVER wanted to live in HK. But here I am ;) ;) I do love Singapore though. I've gotta go back again, haven't been there for ages!!
 
I definitely think that Singapore has a better environment for raising kids, houses are bigger, public playgrounds are common, less pollution, better public school system, more relaxed environment. While Hong Kong does possess one attractive quality... $$$=better pay. Hence the 'dog eat dog' environment, I do wonder whether the higher pay is worthwhile...as you just tend to accumulate more materialistic rubbish in order to compensate the stress and guilt ...

Children's upbringing in Hk is also more focused on 'extra-curricular' activities, for example learning the piano or a musical instrument is often considered a basic requirement. Come on, this is the first place (and I have lived in a few countries) that a 'portfolio' and 'resume' is required for a young child to get into a school that has a half decent curriculum. Not to say that education in Singapore does not have its problems, but it is definitely less stressful for both parents and kids. And at least you do not need to pay thru your nose in order to put your child thru quality bilingual education. Will like to go back if I can ever convince my husband.
 
well, i have a friend who is way too happy to be out of Singapore 4 years ago and they are really enjoying everything here including school, smaller flat, exciting life, children having more activities on every holiday and going places etc. The children are all in their pirmary and Kindy and they are dreaded to go back every holiday. I have live here for 9 for years and if i don't go back for 2 years (which i did exactly), i did not miss it at all, maybe the little bit of food. I love the village life style here - walking up to beautiful Island life - quiet and head towards a busy streets for work and back to my quiet cozy home. Life is certainly sweet and fun!
 
I have lived in both and for me, Singapore wins hands down. I guess though, it really all depends on what you do and how much you earn. My husband and I work a lot harder in HK for a much worse standard of living, in terms of work hours and stress.

But the stand out to me is that people in Singapore are so much more friendlier, laid back and have nicer manners/hygiene.
I love the food in both places, but Singapore is more diverse. The pollution levels and weather is also better in Singapore in my opinion.
 
Hi,

I'm from Singapore. Hubby is here for work. In fact Singapore is more family oriented compare to Hong Kong. Environment and working stress is much better. Otherwise, there's not much of a difference.
 
We are going through this exact dilemma right now - any Singaporean moms willing to PM this Singapore-newbie and answer a few questions for me? :)

Thanks so much. :)
 
Hi, i am from spore and i am here in HK as my husband is posted here. Spore is definitely a better place to live in if you have a family. The air for one is much better, and if you speak english, you will find it very easy to adjust to spore as it is a predominantly english speaking society.
Spore is much more relaxed than HK, the shopping malls for one are not as crowded.
All in all, if you are thinking of relocating for the good of the family, then i would say Spore is great. Schools are easy to find (no such thing as interviews), food is definitely more international, and while housing is not necessarily cheap, it depends on where you choose to stay as well. It is still cheaper than HK comparatively.
 
I lived in Singapore for most of my life and only recently moved to HK for 3 years.
The only attractive pt of HK is the higher salary and personally for me the fact that it has "winter" season with cooler weather also attracts me.
Other than that SG wins in terms of clean air, greenery, larger and cheaper (HDB) houses, better eductation and kids get to speak English at young age. Did I forget to mention the roads in SG are straight and much easier to manuver? I am one that is prone to car sickness and HK hilly roads are definitely not a plus.

Hk is more "traditional", crowded and dirty ( Mongkok, Kowloon places which I avoid) One of my top complaints is the lack of toilets in HK. Why are there no toilets in MTR?? you find in them in Japan, Taiwan, SG and yes even Shenzhen! This is something I cannot understand and find very frustrating as I always have a small baldder.
A minor complaint from a Singaporean will be the lack of spicy foods and chilli in HK...

So why am I still here in HK? Cos my hubby is from HK and he will not move to SG. But having said all that, HK is still a relatively easy place to live in, with easy access to transport, shopping, food...if you forget all the minuses I have just mention, one can still be relatively happy living here!
 
hi yuukalim,
i definitely understand what you meant by the hilly roads and the crowded places.
with a family, SG is definitely a better place to be in.
 
Thankyou everyone of you for the replies.We have decidd to move weighing the pros and cons :-)
love to all.
 
Hihi engee,

I just realize that these websites may help you to better compare your research.
I personally think it all boils down to what you want to achieve and what kind if lifestyle suits you and family best end of the day. There's always 2 side to a coin. =)

http://www.expatsingapore.com/
http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/index.asp?
http://fcd.ecitizen.gov.sg/
http://www.mfa.gov.sg/

Also, most corporate employers engaging expats will most probably advise their employees to invest alittle time to visit the country of desire and stay for a couple of weeks to see if they are comfortable with what they experience personally before making the big move.

Wish you good luck,
haz
 
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