PROS & CONS OF LIVING IN SINGAPORE! 🇸🇬 

Pros: It is always summer Cons: It is always summer

As a singaporean, I just realised that I had taken so many things that you consider pros for granted. Thank you for reminding us to be grateful! 😊

As a Singaporean, i can tell you that everything to us is expensive....

We have public holidays for each ethnicity not nationality :)

Welcome back! After living here for a couple of years now, Justin and I wanted to share our thoughts on the pro & cons of living in Singapore! (in our opinion.) Comment below and tell us YOUR thoughts on the pros and cons of living in Singapore! 😁

Let me rebrand this video as Pros and Cons of living in Singapore as Foreigners

Georgia, you can shop at those value dollar shop or a shop called ABC, they do sell some food items that are cheap range from 70 cents to less than $5. Locals don't usually buy stuffs from cold storage cause it is expensive compared to wet markets or local hypermart like Fairprice and Giant. Sheng Shiong would definitely be a better place to shop for groceries, it is one of the cheapest compared to the rest.

As a Singaporean I find myself melting under the sun

when even foreigners say groceries are expensive, they are really expensive!

FYI, it is easy to count the number of holidays. Each ethnic/religious video gets 2 days. Christians get Christmas and Good Friday. The Chinese get two days of Chinese New Year. The Malay/Muslims get Hari Raya Puasa and Haji. The Buddhists get Vesak Day. The Hindus get Deepavali. They are for the Indians. The "secular" holidays are our National Day and May Day. Everyone gets New Year's day.

This was such an interesting video to watch from a Singaporean’s point of view! Will definitely be watching more :)

Low crime doesn’t mean no crime. Jus got to be vigilant.

Thank you so much for this video. I am moving to Singapore sometime this year and I had absolutely no idea what to expect...now I’m getting a bit more excited 😊

Another con: School life is freaking stressful. Definitely not as stressful as Korea, but more stressful than most European countries. Which leads to people developing mental health issues (like me). Which leads to more people feeling suicidal and stuff. Yes, we have a strong-ish economy, but in exchange, most people work their asses off. Like, we've been drilled from young that if we don't do well in exams, our future is practically ruined. Edit 6/6/20: At the time I wrote this, I was preparing to take my N level exams so boi, I was STRESSED. I ended up doing decently for it but barely missed the requirements for PFP so I went on to sec 5 and did my O Levels. Didn't do as well as I was expected to so I was very bumped out about it. Almost ended my life that day but I persevered. I didn't managed to get into the poly course that I wanted (animation) so I ended up in a course that I had no interest in (I won't say what course cause privacy reasons but it's art related which is why I just put it in as one of my choices lmao) at first but I'm now in Year 2 and is slowly finding it bearable and a little enjoyable, even though the amount of stress this course had on me is extremely unhealthy. If anyone feels like their future is ruined, maybe take a look at other paths you can take. My point still stands that SG's education system is stressful af but please endure it. You have no idea how happy I was to be out of my sec sch. Also regarding talking to teachers about my struggles, I don't trust any of them. I have pretty bad trust issues so I don't even tell people close to me about my worst days. I complain A LOT about school (oh man being in this course is so draining. We're expected to put out perfect work even though it's literally impossible lol) but I'm quick to dismiss it. I'm unwilling to go to therapy cause it's ex af. The good thing is that I'm very interested in psychology so I've been searching for ways to cope and stuff :)

Strawberries, potatoes n chunks of meat are not usually taken as a meal on its own... because the diet of asians are mainly fish, seafood and Asian veges, these are really cheap... potatoes and meats are being consumed, but they are mainly chopped up and made into stew or curries to be shared with the entire family and eaten as a dish with either rice, bread or noodles... so, if u eat like the locals and shop where the locals shop, u can save at least a third of your grocery budget. My hubby is Belgian and he has to also learn to limit his steak, potatoes, pasta and salmon diets to only when he misses home or when he has a craving or when it is a special occasion... like the proverbial while in Rome... 🌸♥️👍🏼

Healthcare costs are subsidised but not provided for to prevent free rider problem in Singapore. However, working individuals are able to purchase personal medical insurance to cover healthcare costs.

Major Factors : Economy - Expensive Transport - Decent, but can be lengthy Safety - Can't really be anymore safer Cleanliness - Well, arguable. But mass pollution is virtually non existent here. Weather - Summer on steroids 24/7 Politics - Pretty oppressive country Law - Very strict, leads to low crime rate Food and culture - Multi culture, lots of food all around. Culture is pretty biased towards foreigners, especially foreign workers.

Love the vid! Always awesome with Georgia but always amazing with both Georgia & Justin!

Ah the cat-calling. I'm Singaporean and it's true cat-calling doesn't exist in SG, never experienced it in my life (and no I'm not ugly LOL!). So I get a real virtual culture shock when I watch vids of girls in new york getting cat-called. It's so strange, but so sad.

I’m currently living in Singapore, I enjoy watching your videos.

Thanks so much for this video!!! I'll be visiting soon and this is soooo helpful!!!

Just subscribed, love your channel. 💕

I found this video very insightful and interesting as a singaporean. I agreed with many of your points as well.

@16:26 It costs ~$2000 ( ~$4000 private) after Medisafe claims. But you get a $8000 "baby bonus" cash gift. And $5000 Parenthood Tax Rebate per year.

i'm a singaporean studying in australia at the moment. definitely agree that internet in singapore is a lot better. australian internet is shit. i can't even stream a proper video sometimes. never had any problems in singapore.

I think Singapore can be cleaner. Seems like we have a lot of trash and not enough bins to go around :D What i'm happy about is most people will hold their litter until they find a bin, this is very encouraging. And i love how both of your faces just lit up when talking about the Internet speed 😂

Really interesting and helpful, thanks!

Haha, this was actually extremely useful for someone like me moving from the UK to Singapore.

Well, I guess the tradeoff for having low taxes is the lack of an NHS. In fact, the government had discussed about this in the past and the prime minister then (LKY), he did not want the citizens to become reliant on government help as it would potentially breed laziness, complacency, and taking things for granted. Sort of like (oh, I don't have to take care of my own body and if I am sick, healthcare is free). This would have a bad economic impact on the country then, which was still developing, where if everyone falls sick/abuse the NHS system then productivity of companies would fall and so would revenue. The good part is that there are lots of social services around. An example would be the number of homeless citizens here. There are definitely homeless people here but it is very rare to find them due to the amount of social service we have here. Anyway, these social services or even the government would help, if they could, for those who really cannot afford healthcare. The subsidies provided by the government depends on the level of income as well (low income earners gets 80% subsidies on hospital wards and general bills). I guess this reduces the number of people who plans to live off others (the govt lol). Organisation for concert like events here really do suck. Another thing is that the audience more often than not feels so depressing that I get amazed how the people on stage are even still so enthusiastic. Road trips are the best. T_T

Work Life balance is a big problem, speaking as a Singaporean.

I lived in Singapore for 3 years. What I miss the most is the incredible food. omg my mouth is watering just thinking about all those delicious Singaporean food.

i love this video so much its something new !!

Being born and raised in Singapore,everything here is expensive.And low tax means less benefit for Singaporeans.Free healthcare is unheard of here in sg.

Great video! Surprised you didn't talk about the cost of owning cars too.

I laughed when he gave the example of breaking your arm in January and then again in December, I don't know why it's so funny HAHAH

the trees are thank to the ''city in a garden '' the govt try to archieve and did : ) i love it too

FYI: Cold storage is considered one of the higher tier (in cost) supermarkets, Fairprice or Giant supermarkets be more affordable. Even among NTUC there is a premium supermarket (NTUC finest - where products are more expensive).

It's so interesting to see and understand different perspectives from foreigners like you and us locals. I would complain about how humid and hot my city is and my foreign friends will be like noooo we love the heat. Didn't realise that winter can have that sort of effect on our mood.

Thanks so much! You guys are awesome

I can relate to you about the weather! Although, I've never lived in a cold country, I did stay in Korea for a week in winter during the holidays. I was so ready to come back to the sun! Food here is great too! And yes, it has been proven that you could get from one side to the other side of Singapore within an hour ^^ If you want to shop for normal groceries like veggies etc. I would best avoid Cold Storage and go to Sheng Siong or NTUC however, if you wanted specific items that aren't sold in local hypermarkets then Cold Storage is the place to go. I go there for sushi and chicken though XD

Hello! liked the video even before I finished watching it, knew it will be amazing :) I can relate to most of the points mentioned except for the weather, oh god I had enough of this super hot weather almost everyday hahah how I wish I'm living somewhere cooler.

Great video!

thanks for sharing your insights and experiences! random comment but Georgia your lashes look amazing here! I'd love to know how you've achieved this lovely look!

Great video! But I think you guys forgot about car prices in Singapore. From what I heard you can get a BMW for £22000 for life? But in Singapore we have to pay upwards of $400000 to get a BMW not including the Certificate of Entitlement(COE) which is a piece of paper that we need to pay at least $60000 and can hit $100000 in order for people to drive in Singapore for a maximum of 10 years and you got to renew the COE every 10 years which means another $60000 spent every 10 years. All these are also not including car insurance which cost another few thousand dollars and road tax and the much famed Electronic Road Pricing(ERP) which we have to pay another $1 - $4 in order to get to The Central Business District(CBD) every single day if we work there. Basically, you’re considered quite well off if you’re able to drive a car.

I like Singapore, I just moved here 3 months ago and Im happy to be here

good informative video! nearly everything here is costly. A vehicle is ex and last only 10 years.

You’re a lovely couple. Very informative video.

You are allowed 21 Sick days in the USA and you are encouraged to take them and you don’t need a doctor’s note because it hurts productivity if you come to work sick and spread the flu virus say. And if you don’t use all your sick days at the end of the year you can convert half of the remaining days to cash and receive a bonus. This is better than MCs in Singapore or the UK. I left in SG in 2012 because the conditions of work were worse than I had in the USA.

you can always drive into Malaysia!

if i'm not wrong , next year 2018 we get 30 days of public holiday .. loving it !! great vid by the way

Go to the market and search thoroughly. There are whole, humongous watermelons for only $2 and nice strawberries for $5.

The groceries and housing cons I myself as a singaporean I TOTALLY AGREE!!!

Pretty accurate description of the general state of Singapore. It's always interesting to hear about Singapore from other people around the world. Despite our flaws, I think Singaporeans have it really good and most of us are lucky to be here.

Although Singapore doesn’t have NHS or smt, we still have government healthcare schemes such as medisave and medicare which actually helps singaporeans alot. But nice video👍🏻

Great video! I used to live there for 4.7 years. You guys are on point about SG. Haha, now I am suffering from Hay Fever (Spring Allergies), which I never had in SG cuz it is summer all year there.

There is a way for weekend Getaway which is a roadtrip to Malaysia. I regularly travel to Malaysian for roadtrips and it took me only less than 5 hours to reach Kuala Lumpur. Some of us even travel to Thailand by land for 16 hours.

Have you heard of pasir panjang , it's a fruit and vegetables distribution centre, you can get your fruits and veg at much cheaper prices

imported foreign fruit like berries are naturally expensive as they come from further off countries that have a very different climate, thus the price. “cheap” fruits would be those grown in nearer /cheaper countries /less specific climates. eg apples, oranges also it’s common knowledge that cold storage is expensive and sheng shiong & giant are cheapest for supermarkets!

Love the claustrophobic part.

born and raised in singapore and i agree completely! great to hear your point of view. sometimes singaporeans live in a cage and we think other parts of the world are working long hours as us so why complain but it seems like there definitely is a need for changes like work life balance. i do feel it personally and it can get depressing that we singaporeans spent most of our time at work and simply is lacking in the 'life department. can you perhaps do a 'pros and cons of UK' next? would love to see the areas we can improve on and personally am thinking of moving there for a bit.

Hi Georgia, I used to be an expat in Singapore but now fly in several times a year to catch my connecting flights into the states or Europe, and I totally agree with all the points you guys have raised here. I especially agree with the lack of work life balance. I believe that is something that the government should really look into. Mental well-being is just as important as physical.

For annual leave, minimum requirement of employer to employees is 7 days. This is the labour law. Some companies will increase 1 day every year. Maybe to a maximum of 14days. Some will give 14days as a minimum. Some companies will give maximum of 21days or even to 28days. It depends on individual companies' policy. MC is our sick leave. 14days a year with doctors' certification.

Her eyes are like Sapphires and his hair is like a flood of rubies 😍😍😍😍

Love your videos! I also hate the autumn/winter here in Europe, makes me feel tired and pessimistic all day. The tax rate really is low! Do the figures include payroll tax and so on? Also 28 days + 10 days bank holiday is more than many people have in Germany Was it easy for you to make friends, maybe easier because you came as a couple?

Cold storage is the most expensive supermarket, ntuc is cheaper. There are good pros but also a huge list of cons. we have to improve alot more.

You can actually take roadtrips into Malaysia which makes travelling very affordable. Driving to Southern Thailand is also quite easy if you have a large group. :)

Spot on. U got it right

The rent is similar to mine in western Sydney. That makes me a little depressed about my daily cost of living!

Internet speed is in the GigaHertz range because of the small size of the country means cheaper infrastructure costs with no last mile issue

Hello from Singapore!! This video truly tells me how others (people from other countries) think of Singapore, be it positive or negative. I am not aware of some of the mention pros and cons of living in Singapore, because to me (a Singaporean) I just feel that it's normal. This video helps me alot to better understand my country and see from a different angle. Nice video!! XD

Annual leave actually starts at 7 days not 14 days. 7 - 10 days are normally offered to entry level staff and 14 days are only offered to much senior levels, mgmt or exec level positions.

So torn now. This answered a lot of questions, but now I have so much doubt and curiosity...

"And it's like ziiiip!" 😄

You can getaway! Drive up to Malaysia and cross the causeway to Melacca, Johor or Muar etc :)

Hi Georgia. Just stumbled on your video. May I know what lipstick you were wearing in this vid? It's so pretty!

Tips from a Singaporean: Singapore = Good place for a getaway, Bad place to live in. (Based on True Story)

Singapore is a city and also a country. If you prefer to live in outskirts with a slower pace especially when you retire, you could choose places like Wales or Bougna Regis instead of London. In Singapore the cost and pace of living is pretty much the same from east to west or north to south.

The tropical sun is an absolute dream! From 6am to 6pm I used to sleep very well in Sg. It feels like you're in a hollywood movie. Now living in Melbourne winter makes me feel sad sometimes and it's a struggle to wake up even at 9am in the morning. I even get sleep insomnia sometines. Wheras in Singapore I naturally wake up at 8am and feel fresh! (I only get sleep insomnia once in Sg)

really enjoy the video ! born and grow up in Singapore .. Cons: It's definitely an expensive country to live ! MRT loves to breakdown .. a lot of times .. Buses, doesn't always come on time. Even if it does, two buses of the same number will arrive back to back at the bus stop ... and unlimited list of Cons. Pros: We're Multi Racial Country.. Our very own English which is Singlish .. *thumbs up*

Thnku soo muchhhhhh both of u.. very helpful. Greetings frm India ❤️

Looking good!

14 leave days is the minimum and usually they will add an extra day every year. But some companies give 28 days leave

Many companies offer 21 days of annual leave too. I have got 21 days' annual from the day I started at 23 with a UOB Bank owned hotel ie was the Plaza Hotel @ Beach Road. I got 24 days and 28 days of annual leave at the National University of Singapore Society after 5 years and 10 years of service respectively with them.

I wince every time she says 'like'

you can drive up to kuala lumpur or genting from singapore.

save first spend later, you got a lot of savings at the end of the day is the King's rule, sleep on the street if reverse situation and you'll live like King

The leave entitlement varies. Some companies give more than 14 days :)

there are strawberries at supermarket for $5-6. The korean strawberries... and they are really sweet

I love the food courts in Singapore so much, Bukatimah is great but it’s getting taken down I believe

There is baby bonus but of course it’s not enough to cover all, and depending which hospital you stayed in.

Agree with most pointers that you brought up. Would appreciate if you'd make a video and perhaps share some of the pros and cons/ likes and dislikes living in the uk.

Hi. Singaporean here... true blue sgrean with typical singlish and shop in low cost places. Got to admit to a fair extend. This vid is quite fair comment on a general view. Forget those comments on breakdowns etc... just a typical sg whom likes to complain. This is by far the fairest video and kinda well balanced. Thanks for the post and looking forward to more such videos. Maybe can do like a overall score system on how livable is sg. =)

Thank u for video

Giving birth in Singapore is expensive as many families opt for private hospitals or choose their obstetrician. However, if you are a Singaporean or PR and is ok with subsidised healthcare by not choosing your doctor, the cost of delivery is less than $1k.

I love your eyes!

For tours out of town , Johol Baru is still a choice on weekends to spend

I suggest for the groceries shopping you can either go to the local wet market to get cheap groceries or even sheng shiong but then i do agree it can be expensive for certain items:/.

Hey. We're coming for a vacation. Can you recommend a tour guide for foot tours please?

Hi Georgina, do u prefer living in the UK or Singapore?

hey there, you guys should try out an italian restaurant - KuCina @ Onekm mall which is located near Paya Lebar Mrt Station.