CULTURE SHOCKS LIVING IN SINGAPORE! 🇸🇬 

A brief description of why Singaporeans (who are singles) still live with their parents is because you can't buy a house until you're 35 and you can only rent. If you're single, why not save the money and live with your parents.

On the note of the helper thing, as a Singaporean who has a helper myself I feel uncomfortable having one. For anyone who has a helper, I don’t think it’s wrong to have one. But for me, I just feel like we should be the one doing the housework and cooking and what not. And I really feel for the helpers cause it must be really difficult for them to be in a foreign country and staying with different families.

Eating loudly is not a Singapore culture. It is just a lack of basic ethics.

I think the queueing system that you mentioned is being practiced in certain places such as banks, post offices etc. For f&b like McDonald's, it's mostly a line for each counter.

The points that you brought up were really true! Regarding the old working till they die, it's definitely true. We have a saying here in Singapore, which goes something like: "You can die but you cannot fall sick". It refers to how we will not be compensated/taken care of when we fall sick/get injured because of the living expenses etc. Regarding the queuing system, it is due to the country being so small & overpopulated, resulting in most restaurant's and places being space-constrained. If we queued like the British did, the 'single formal line' would run all the way out of the restaurant! Regarding living with parents, it is due to our houses/flats being way too overpriced. Many of us would love too move out/get married early if we could, but typically you would have to complete university to get a somewhat decent pay. By then, the girls would have been at least 22, guys 24(with National Service). And this is presuming that they completed university via the fastest route possible! (Secondary School - JC - University). Unfortunately not everyone will be able to do the same and on average females end up graduating university at 23-25, guys 25-27. Not to mention that we come out as fresh grads, with close to no money in our CPF(Central Provident Fund - used by the govt to make us put 20% of our salary in to it, typically used to pay off our housing loans monthly after we purchase one). A fresh graduates' salary ranges from $2000 - $3500 monthly (depending on the Uni you grad/experience). Which is pretty weird because most fresh graduates would not have any experience, unless we did an intern job during university which barely serves up any useful experience when we apply for our first job. When we talk about getting our own apartment, the average price for a new flat (3-4 bedroom), costs about $250,000 - $350,000! And it takes about 4 years to build. Not to mention that the criteria includes (having to win a random bid with many others who wants to get a new house, paying a 10% or 20% down payment, which costs about $25000-$35000 off the bat and getting married!). Now when we talk getting married, the average wedding (for chinese at least), costs about $30000-$50000. And do not forget that renovation costs average about $55000! Now imagine you're a 25-27 year old Singaporean male, fresh university graduate with little to no experience. Earning $3000/mth (assuming on average). You have little to no money in your CPF to pay off your housing down payment of $25000-$35000 if you want to get your first house with your girlfriend(wife-to-be). You need at least $30000(cheap wedding)+$40000(cheap renovation) = $70000 at worst. How is it even possible for a Singaporean at 18 years old to even think about moving out? Unless he wants to live in the streets.. He can't even get a job that pays him enough to pay for a rented flat, even if he use up all his salary to pay for his rent, food and transport. In short, most Singaporeans move out & get married at the same time, which on average is about 27-35 years old. Factors include gender, the level of qualification, salary, etc. Most of the couple that are married before the age of 30 are typically one of these few cases: Shotgun wedding, rich parents/rich husband/rich wife to sponsor the wedding/house, did not enter university thus working right after polytechnic and have saved up enough/have enough money in their CPF for their wedding/house, sign on to the army/ air force/ navy/ police/ civil defence, thus earning decent salary to pay for their wedding/house. Of course there are some of them who were young entrepreneurs or really good at financial planning/saving money. But such cases are really rare. In Singapore, it's just not an easy thing to do when it comes to getting our own flat/getting married, at least for those who want to have a proper financial plan before committing in to their next phase of life that is.

I think the main reason for the “living with your parents” here is that the housing policy is keeping the young adults and slightly older unmarried ones from affordable rents and/or home ownership. They can’t buy a hdb flat until they’re either married or reach 35. By that time, i think they’d feel that its easier to just stay put while some would buy a house, which is restricted to 3-room flats. Anyway, good observation!

Love your music in the background!

i believe we would love to find out more about the UK. culture.. conversation topics... hope to see more of that. :)

When you said “school life for a lot of singaporeans is very stressful” I 100% agree to that. Like for real 😩

On queuing up, I'd survey the speed of each queue and pick the fastest one to queue! 😁

Retiring plans and benefits began as a measure to help people whose health and age would keep them from being able to work. However, it has been widely documented that a big portion of the people that 'just retire' get depressed, their health drops (as they become more sedentary too), and more. As it turns out, people need a reason to live more than just the means to live. Some find this meaning in work, some others in family, some are more hedonistic, etc. As long as they're not working out of necessity, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I am a Singaporean who studies in the US now. Your videos give me LIFE. Love u.

Basic education exam levels taken from the original UK standard "Normal,Ordinary & Advanced levels' were enhanced to make it 2 times harder to pass. For English language exam in secondary schools, any slight failure in English grammar,vocabulary and spellings mistakes can failed the whole English exam.

Im studying in Australia, but I can understand that individuals can move out of home, whenever is at a good time. However, the rent in SG is expensive because it costs about $1,500 to $4,500 to rent a studio apartment or one-bedroom unit in an HDB flat or condo.

Singles living with parents may have issues with the cost of living particularly with the high cost of subsidized HDB flats, also on the other end of the spectrum there is also the issue of filial piety is that perhaps the oldest or the non married sibling is obligated to take care of their parents

People of all ages work throughout North America in a lot of undesirable jobs now because the cost of rent in NA is skyrocketing, started a few years ago.

The queueing method is a pet peeve for me as well... 😤

My partners mum can retire but she wants to go out and work. We tried to convince her to chill but she didn’t want to stop working

i agree with u on the elderlies working part

Especially the point about phones. It didn't use to be like that. But in recent years I've heard so many of my friends get back the phones that they'd lost. I personally got mine back and just by the fact that my phone was left at a place with security cameras meant that I got the phone back within a week of reporting it online, on the police portal. AND the police delivered it to my office because I didn't have the time to get to the police station during office hours that week. About the part about having a maid... Yea, I find that very odd. I don't want to say that it is modern day slavery cus I understand that just working 2 years in Singapore would mean a fully paid house back home. But... ehhhh.... I wouldn't say that any of the contracts comply to the standards expected of good/ideal labour laws

Wow ! You looked so special and cute pinkish Red Strawberry here !

Singlish part is so true. Singaporean’s tend to not speak proper English. Unclear pronunciation and speaking so fast I sometimes I couldn’t catch as well. E.g. they tend to omit word endings. “Don’t want” becomes “Dowan” in Singlish which native speakers can’t understand. Another feature of Singaporean accents is its distinctly monotonous tone, and treating English as a syllable-timed language, when it shouldn’t be!!!!!!! The Educatoin Ministry should institute an entire module in the curriculum on internationally recognised English pronunciation and speech training. It’s an utter disgrace when you consider that English is the 1st language and yet so many don’t know how to speak the correct way.

Oh that thing about queuing at counters.... It's so ridiculous, especially at the ATMs.

Singapore encourages both the husband and wife to enter the work force to build careers. So they ease parents by providing maids at a cheaper rate. We have a small population and this is how we try to manage structure of families.

Georgia, there's no better place in Singapore than to experience eating in a hawker centres and grapple with the myriad of tea and coffee names. Try doing it. Kopi kosong, kopi o. The c kosong.

Sometimes if i'm in later but my Q is faster i'll gesture for those that were there first to move ahead if there's not many people behind me. But occassionally i do get frustrated and just go accordingly cos the counter is so slow....ESPECIALLY IN KFC!!!

Pretty sure most single adult wants to live alone, but with the house prices and average salary, it is really impossible to live alone Singapore is so small, imagine all the singles living alone, it is clearly impossible. Plus rent costs alot and it is such a waste of money since Singapore is increasing the water and electricity bills, and with everything else increasing ever year but our salary does not increase. I wanna move to the UK 😭

in some culture for e.g in a small family restaurant in japan u r slurping the ramen so loud suddenly u hear the chef say Arigato Gozaimasu(thank u) it's exactly a compliment 2d chef's cooking~

You're great ! ! ! Thumbs UP ! ! ! ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

I do want to move out , but houses are expensive here ...

The UK queues are much better then. Been in a queue behind someone ordering 20 meals at McDonald's. Not fun.

AHHH GEORGIA #EARLYSQUAD

The reason the government encourages the elderly to work until they die not because they’re heartless or anyth but because Singapore has an aging population and to place less burden on those working currently the elderly would have to remain active, also also because they’re older they work jobs that are lighter in workload and more flexible in working hours probably part time like at Mc Donald’s :D

Hi georgia. Let me give my 2 cents on living with parents. I am a singaporean myself and most time to be honest, singaporean have no choice to live w their parents till they are married cause only then u can literally buy a brand new HDB. If u r single, u can only purchase it when u hit 35. Unless, that singaporean is rich, he/she can move out and purchase a house early provided that it is a private housing or a resale HDB. In a nutshell, the average singaporean still lives with their parents because housing in singapore is crazy expensive from 3 room HDB ranging at $250,000-$350,000. Unless they are rich, then sure they can move out n buy a house :)

i have a maid who i adress as aunty for respect. im 14 now she took care of me for 9 years !

im sorry my mother she is garment but accident when working around in year 1998 now just osin?

I guess you could say they queue in a pequeueliar way

It's an Asian culture that adult children live with their parents until they get married. And if possible, we love to live near to our parent's home after moving out.

The other queue is always faster.

The thing about elderly working is actually either they don't have any relatives and need money or they are too bored at home with nothing to do, hence they want to work. I have asked them before

The baseline of Singapore's law derived from the military martial law mixed with the original old british common law similar to those commonwealth countries. Strong group policies implemented in a good way that locks down down people from doing bad things , going astray or deviate from the public order act which maintains public peace where people will become a good person. Quite many things cannot be done in Singapore. Consequences, Penalties and punishment (Physically/monetary) were brutally heavy and does not match up to the severity level of the offences committed. Therefore no one would thought doing things breaking the law which does worth individuals time and money.

we value creativity in Singapore but in a constructive manner. We value creativity if you can design something that is beneficial to the people and adds value to the environment.

Is Singapore is all about the respect 👌?

Buying a house is so regulated here in Singapore that it can take a long while for it to be approved. Also, like everything else is Singapore, houses are not cheap, even HDB flats are expensive these days. Staying in the family house is not only a Singaporean thing, but generally a very Asian culture. Our parents don't really see us as adults until we get married, tbh. Some people also find that with their parents getting older, they should spend more time with them. Also, I would like to say that eating loudly is not a Singaporean thing. Many of my friends eat with their mouths closed (or else they get told off by me). Those who eat with their mouth open have never been told that they do that, so they are pretty unaware of how disgusting it is.

The key point about living at home is mostly that at have no choice. Majority of Singaporeans depend public housing and unless you're rich, public housing is your only bet. You're only qualified for public housing as a married couple or at least having filled an intention to marry. That's why people only move out after they're married, because otherwise there's no place to move out to unless you're in a very lucrative line of work. As a single, you're only qualified for public housing after you turn 35, and even then, you're placed after married couples in terms of priority, and you may not get the affordable options. This environment has resulted in a culture where living with parents is the norm (or rather, a necessity).

Hi, my 2cents: Elderly working.....there's a myriad reasons but there ARE some who continue to work because they simply find it boring to relax at home for the next 10-20 years. I guess in Singapore some seniors have been working very hard and some find it very hard to suddenly put everything down and stare at the 4 walls in their flat forever. As for living with parents....I think the major reason is price of housing. Yes you can rent, but in the economics of it all, it doesn't make sense to waste money on independence. On the other hand, it is more common to continue living with parents in asia...I could be wrong.

I just learned in math class that having people lining up for each counter is more effective. Of course, I can understand it's kind of unfair...

People of adult,middle and old age survive or live their life based on their own merits through working. Working for life is very common.

For loud eaters, it's not a cultural thing but more of manners. Also it depends on the environment, if it's a hawkers centre, it has a naturally loud and comfortable environment so people don't really pay attention to their manners compared to eating in an "atas" or high class restaurant. In Singapore you can only get a house if you are married or if you are 35 and above. This is actually a law in Singapore so as to "encourage" Singaporeans to get married as we have a low birth rate.

Low crime is not no crime. Always stay vigilant.

I loved Singapore but sometimes I admit it felt extraordinarily regimented, meaning everyone was I found so well behaved, everywhere. I found them a little robotic at times, though in some ways I think I admired what came across as the constant discipline. On the plus side of this, yes it is fantastically safe. We had an amah, but the way I looked at it was she needed the employment, she could have had it worse and she knew it. It beats not appreciating that and well, turfing them out to do whatever. I've watched a lot of your videos now, was very taken aback how mosquitos seemed to like you when you first got there, maybe still do? I never had a big issue with them there. For culture I'd cover religion there, best to take a local with you who understands what's going on and can guide you on the etiquette, but the Temples on Sin Ming drive, Ang Mo Kio are well worth covering I think, though they are very much working temples, funerals, offerings to God's, the lot is going on there but worth visiting whilst you're there I think. With food you're braver than I was though I started off willing to try anything to rapidly decide to maybe not be too adventurous, I think white sea fungus soup remains the worst thing I think I've ever tried :)

Amazing how well you understood the South East Asian culture even though you have only been there for 3 years!

She may realized the rising cost of living in Singapore. Things are getting more expensive where the product quantity and quality was not there.

The stressful school life and emphasis on academics is prevalent in Asian society, not just Singapore. Students in Singapore actually have it way better off than those in China, where the competition is insane and people treat their high school final exams almost like a life-or-death challenge. And I've watched a YT clip by a young Taiwanese couple living in Singapore, in which they recount that back in their schooling days in Taiwan, they were at school for most of the day, whereas here in Singapore, students are only at school for half the day (i.e. morning till after lunch), unless they have extra-curricular activities. As for the lack of encouragement of creativity, art, and related stuff, I think it also has a bit to do with the small size of Singapore's local market. Even if most of the people of Singapore appreciate your work, that's still only a fraction of what you could get in say, the UK, China, the U.S., etc. Consequently, quite a few famous Singaporean singers or songwriters really made it big when they went abroad. Singaporeans are proud of them and would of course support them, but they cannot thrive on the support of Singaporeans alone.

Singapore culture is Eat, work, play across generations.

I am single, and I live with my parents. Becos its a social stigma to be frowned upon should one leave their parents behind to live in a rented apartment by themselves. It felt like a breach of filial expectations

She may realized the rising cost of living in Singapore. Things are getting more expensive where the product quantity and quality was not there. The product price does not match up to the product value.

I appreciate this outsider's perspective on Singaporean culture because I'm thinking of writing a novel set there for National Novel Writing Month. :)

Living with roommates or relatives is also fairly common in NY because of the high rent.

What happened to the Singaporeans's typical shout " We are RICH" ?

I disagree that if phone is lost it will be return

Living with parents. If let say you were talking about culture, traditional asian culture loves big family. However, in a modern sense, most staying with parents are because they cant buy a flat unless they are 35. Only married and above 35 are allowed to purchase a HDB flat. Renting a place in Singapore is too high a cost hence most choose to stay with parents. For me, i would prefer in a traditional culturally sense of big family living together but current circumstance i would want a flat of my own once im allowed to under HDB rules. Eating loudly. Well, Again, Traditions and cultures, we were taught when you eat shut your mouth, when you open mouth then dont eat. However, traditional culture table manners because of globalisation, westernisation and liberation, nobody cares. I understand how you feel though, as i was raised quite traditionally chinese. Elderly working. Some of the elders chose to work because they get bored and feelng useless wasting their lives at home doing nothing. Some had no choice but to work else they will have no food for their next meal. Some young ones is not fillial piety enough to care after their own elders at home.

the studying culture is korea is more extreme than in singapore.

Urgh, as if the public housing in Singapore can get any more expensive. Oh but guess what? Yes it can. So we all can’t afford to be packing up and just leaving our parents’ house. I wish I could, but it just doesn’t make financial sense. It’s worse that Singapore gov gives most public housing subsidies to married couples. And singles I assume, the government isn’t interested in helping probably because we’re not aiding the fertility section of the population. W.T.F If I have a choice to emigrate, I would totally do it immediately.

I feel so lousy being a Singaporean after watching your video

nah we will work until we die

Georgia, eating loudly is not the norm. It is not a Singapore culture. As Balaganesha had written, it is a lack of manners and home education. I remembered when I was young, my parents and aunts will teach us children (siblings & cousins) not to make noises when we eat or chew. No slurping when drinking. Making noises while eating is tantamount to pigs eating their feed. Also, no talking when one has food in his / her mouth. Talk only when you have swallowed the food.

Eating and slurping loudly is still happening in China. It is to commend the chef on how good the food is. Personally, i don't like to see or hear it, but it still happens in China Chinese Restaurants in Singapore.

CREATIVITY is being ENCOURAGED but there's NO MONETARY RECOGNITION for that. ARTISTIC is NOT EQUIVALENT to being CREATIVE. A creative person may NOT necessarily be artistic but artistic person can be creative.

Totally agree with your point no creativity encouraged!Yup.Singapore doesnt produce a lot of entrepreneuers cause we focused a lot on STEM(Science,tech,engineering,mathematics).Being in a country that doesnt have lots of resources and small unlike in the UK,we gotta create a strong skilled labour force(note this doesnt apply to the arts etc.).However,recently with the new budget 2018, there have been plans for innovation and boosting the arts in singapore(in the right track i hope).Thats one thing like i about the UK is that you dont have to be a science-related career person to succeed in life as you can be good in the Arts and UK does provide the capabilities for you to become that person one day...unlike in Singapore,its just unfortunates how the government doesnt push for this due to our constraints...Well then... PS:i hope you enjoy the thunderstorms for the next few days due to the Northeast monsoon period😂

Yes singaporeans speak/ eat / fart/ giggle/ fight/ snore/ SO LOUD!!!! Lol

There are products with very fine qualities but one needs to pay alot of money to purchase it.

I feel like eating loudly is not a Singapore culture but is just how each individual eats. Personally i find it annoying when someone eats really loudly. Also i feel like eating loudly is an East Asian culture

My heart breaks when I see the older generation working in Macs and what not. They really should rest in their older years. I think why it happens is cause some of them really don’t have the money. Another reason could be cause younger Singaporeans don’t really want to do those jobs so they end up falling to the older generation.

I want but no money...we also cannot do mobile homes.

I notice in asia the airstewardesses are young but british airlines keep the oldergirls which is good.

In the UK the only conversation you can have about food is how damned awful it is

In Singapore, we are all Foodies. We abstain from hunger pangs.

Many older generation do not like their children to move out unless they are married. It is part of the cultural but things are changing.

Living with parents is not really a choice like you have mentioned. Most of the time, it is a responsibility. Asian culture believe in filial piety. If a person is not married, he or she will automatically takes up the responsibility of taking care of their parents. Asian parents WILL expect their unmarried child/children to live with them. Another thing good to know is most Singaporeans own their houses/apartments. When a child is unmarried, he/she will inherit their parents’ house (and their property as well). This is why many "see" them as living with their parents, which in actual fact, is their parents living with them (the other way around). Again, why they would accept their parents is due to filial piety.

They hire older people because they want to show that age shouldn't matter when you're hiring people.

The studying one.... i think thats just Asians in general not just Singaporeans XD

The reason the queueing methods are screwed in Singapore is because they haven't really bothered investigating queue theory so they don't realize the way you describe it is more efficient. The single queue with multiple service points is also practiced here in the USA. Sadly, the government keeps raising the age for withdrawal of CPF as well as the minimum amounts that must be kept in the accounts, hence a lot of the elderly still have to work to make ends meet. The current “explanation” by the government that the elderly actually wish to continue working is an absolute farce. The basic etiquette where table manners is concerned is severely lacking in Singapore. Also, Western and Asian etiquettes differ quite a bit. Noisily eating with the mouth open isn't really belittled in Asian culture. It's almost a non-concern so you see even quite elite personages doing it if they haven't had the benefit of a Western upbringing. Those who do, merge the two cultures. Asians are more concerned with things like not eating or reaching for communal dishes until the most senior person at the table starts; asking them to start first; etc.

I rather look it from another perspective. Older people work partly because there are vacancies of particular kind of jobs available. While the older people fill in the jobs they are doing, there are other jobs that suitable for other age group of people ; a rearrangement of jobs so that everyone has job to do !

Admittedly, the UK method of queuing is more efficient; but when I try to do it here, as a Singaporean, I get evil glares.... Which I just ignore! ;)

Enyone go' a ciggy?

Could have added a bit about toxic work culture, the gossip, the seclusion, and gas lighting.

Oooh lol i rly wanted this my friend jyst mived to sydney so he has been telling me alot about australia....oh wait sydney is in australia

On the point of creativity not being encouraged, it's mostly the parents who dissuade their kids from being creative and preventing them from living their dreams to the fullest and instead choosing to force unreasonable expectations down their children's throats. It's ridiculous. I'm studying in Singapore, and thank God for my Russian father, because he's not so pushy in terms of being academically successful (more than I can say for my Asian mother though~)

Mathew maconohy intro?

Eating loudly is very rude indeed!! Those more "refine" Singaporeans will eat with their mouth closed. I used to tell my colleagues that eating loudly actually sounds like pig when that animal eats it makes a very disgusting sound. I also told them to imagine eating w a pig at d table. Not all Singaporeans use "Singlish". Yes unless we r wealthy we have to work till we die. Singapore is over populated so they build smaller apartments, but too costly. One unit of the public apartment can amount to almost a million Sin-dollar - only 99yrs lease.

it is rude to eat loudly in spore or in any country. ur friends probably are rude

Eating loudly is just rude and is considered without culture. Are you sure they are Singaporean or immigrants?

You really have a lot to say about the culture & behavioural of Singaporean as compared to other expats who just look at the broader picture & adapt.

Elderly work in school too! They work as Cleaners in the school. But don’t worry we greet them and we sometime give them biscuit if we don’t want it

if you want wear long shirt viet nam culture i saw one cookie man ( mr Tony Hiếu can giuoc town) he garment maybe cheap now? but who that want invite you tea japan you want? 10000 vnđ 1 bottle?

Hi georgia can u help me find a tourist guide i can hire to help me for half day pls on january?😀 i am a filipina.

my neighbour employs a maid to walk the dog

Eating loudly is very much frown upon in Singapore, it only reflect lack of proper upbringing.

you can't really find authentic fish and chips in SG like you can in the U.K.