I lived in Houston for 7 years old. The tax here is lower but nevertheless, it’s still high. Furthermore, you don’t really see any much government initiative in bettering the lives of people. My health insurance was US$650 per month per person! It was crazy! When I visited my GP, I still have to pay a co-pay of around US$80. That’s just consultation fees. Despite living in a middle upper income area, every other days, my Ring feed would informed me on shooting near my neighborhood, mainly at apartments. End of the day, I found Singapore is the best country to live after working overseas for more than 30 years.
And there are still singaporeans unappreciative living in Singapore.Complaining grumbling with the government.These peoples should work and live overseas ( first world countries)
Why compare? Solve the local issues on hand first People have grouses pertaining to these issues and we must not discount these people and the problems they encounter even though they may seem like peanuts to others
@@benjaminyh6252agreed and that's the way to improve, but she is just saying the truth also because the things we complain about are relatively trivial. Like how ppl here complain abt hospital bed availability, but they wont even go to a hospital in the US if they were Americans because even things like ambulance are sooo expensive not to mention the treatment itself. The homeless here are pulled into shelters before allocated to a rental. The homeless there live together under bridges for years.
Thanks to Eumi for her realistic perspective of living outside of Singapore. Having also lived in many countries, what SG has and provides for it citizens is pretty amazing. Always good to gain perspective to appreciate what you have. Yes no where in the world in easy to live, but safety, subsidised healthcare & housing, top-class MRT, efficiency and low tax. Things almost no where else I can think that compares in those aspects.
Better bored but safe and alive, than exciting life but dead prematurely in a random mass shooting. 😜I think perhaps boring has to do more with the individual than the environment. I am never bored wherever I am.
@hieveryone2003ofc other countries are more exciting, they have more crimes, more shootings, more riots, more conflicts for you to look forward to! Oh wait, dont u dare leave those countries when they're in trouble and fly to another safer country then come tell us abt "statistics" 😂😂😂
@@SohaiKia not sure what the question is. Big or small country it's all based on an individual's ability to live and survive in a country. You can compare individual safety, purchasing power, tax, mobility etc etc.
My conclusion from this video from the 2 subjects are simple. They lived there because for better pay and career development but if any Singapore company offer them similar same opportunity and slightly better, I bet they will feel Singapore is 100x better and fly back immediately
Wow, Jon still has his Singaporean accent after staying in the US for so long! Eumi's perspectives are very honest. The strong sense of Singaporeanship's present in both of them. Thank you Ghib (and missus) for the video!
Don't underestimate the scariness of unsubsidized medical care in the US. Even if you are on tourist visa and have enough income to just pay for basic treatment when you're traveling, the other thing foreigners don't realize about US medical is that prices for prescription drugs are also almost totally unregulated. The clinic you visit could prescribe you an antibiotic that ends up costing hundreds of dollars at the pharmacy!
@@MoneywithEumi Our friend fell while visiting a model home here and was taken to the hospital. She spent about 5 hours there, did lots of scans, checks etc and the bill came up to US$12,000! Thankfully the developer paid the bill. Singaporeans should be more appreciative of what we have.
Love this video! Jon and Eumi are both very inspiring individuals who carved their own life in US. Very interesting to hear their perspectives on life in SG vs USA. Indeed America is a huge country with endless possibilities (and land). I guess the point is wherever u are, if you are willing to work hard, u can make it!
I grew up in LA and lived in Singapore for 26 years. Your subjects painted an accurate picture of life in LA and California in general. I just returned from a trip to tour the Rocky Mountains, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park and Grand Canyon. I am sure we crossed paths on the hiking trails.
I’m fortunate to work in California and work takes me to Asia about three times a month. And every month I have a week to 10 days off during which I fly back to Singapore. It’s the best of both worlds.
Was a pleasure being interviewed by Ghib in this video and to share about some of the differences and my observations about life in the US. I happened to already be familiar with his content before meeting him so that was a huge plus! Thanks again man!! Lovely to see all the positive comments too! 🙌
Great video! but 6 days vacation is not normal in the US. Most companies imo across industries in the US usually averages 2 weeks vacation for full time employees.
@@paulinetan4502 Not true, 6 days is not normal. I got 10 vacation days (2 weeks) right out of college in an entry level corporate job. And according to Forbes "The average American worker gets 11 days of paid vacation per year. In the private sector, the average number of paid vacation days after five years of service increases to 15 days. After 10 years of service, it rises again to 17 days." Thats a day over 2 weeks
There are pros and cons. She is right. Tax is high and most people can save more when living in Singapore. There is capital gain tax too in US and it matters a lot if your income is from US equity. Working long enough in US will subject you to be taxed world wide income (meaning they can tax your Singapore bank interest and etc.) even though you are not Green Card holder.
US has a strong hustle culture. Even though there’s a lot of lip service in politics, very few concrete civil improvements take place in time for when its needed. California is a very difficult place for businesses with its tight leash on regulations. With the homless tent cities and exodus of talent I don’t really see growth in the near future.
My hubby is American from California. We spend 2-3 months a year in Pasadena, California and our preferred place to live and what I call home is still Singapore. ❤ Singaporeans have it so good - excellent housing (homeownership), medical care, education, transport, food! Right now in California, been here about 2 months and already missing home.
@@MoneywithEumi Oh nice - Pasadena is quite nice. We started playing table tennis on this visit so we drive to many surrounding cities, like Arcadia, Rosemead, San Gabriel, Alhambra looking for table tennis tables and kakis...these cities are so much more Chinese than Singapore, even the banks' names, street names are in Chinese! :-) And of course Chinese food! But still nothing like Singapore! 🙂
I can relate to the experiences by fellow Sgreans in LA. Currently living in greater Seattle area, but I go back to Sg at least once a year during the non-touristy times. My primary reason to be here is lifestyle. Work, I am possibly better off back in Sg or maybe about the same. Medical, I head back to Sg. Even as a private patient, its cheaper.... and definitely better. When I am really old and unable to travel easily on my own, I probably will stay much longer in Sg. As I only left Sg just when I turned 40, I had worked up a full CPF retirement account and a HDB flat by that time. So life is all set in both places for me to retire anyway, but home is still Sg.
May i ask what work u do in Seattle? I just have this impression that will be hard to find job overseas after 40, so quite surprised u left at 40. I'm in my late 30s so trying expedite my planning to move overseas.
@@p6h14 I was a principal engineer in Sg and my American husband was retired. We moved to Seattle because we like access to water and sailing. There is no job for my specialty field in this state. So when I was low on funds, I worked at the gas station, and then amazon warehouse for a few months. Finally I had to work for my old company in NY for almost 2 years, and then switch to general engineering consulting for FB, ... quite low end for my skills :p . During COVID, things change, and now I am working 100% remote for another 1 of my old company. But I know that, even if I work at amazon warehouse, my single income will allow us to live quite well and still enjoy good life, because we have no mortgage in SG or US. My HDB and US properties are 100% paid, and we have rental income. That is the key. So any job would be fine, high paying job will be great :) . All the best for your planning.
Really such an eye-opener for Singaporeans making it well in USA. And its heartwarming to hear that both Jon and Eumi still wants to retire in Singapore eventually
I just wanted to let you know that most places I've worked here in the US always had at least 2-3 weeks of vacation to start and it will go up there to 4 to 5 weeks.
@@MoneywithEumi my coworkers husband I think doesn't get any either. They give him some extra money on this pto bucket he can draw from when he takes time. It is quite strange
In Singapore they punish small crimes so that they don't develop into larger crimes. In the US we reward small crimes and develop our serious hardened criminals.🤣 The US would never be able to have a restrictive government. The political corruption would abuse the system. The people are not seen as "Customers" that need good service. We are just a wallet that the government keeps reaching into for funding their pet projects. I want to retire in Singapore, but the country doesn't want idle retired people. Now I know why your English is so Asian accent free.
Having to live in New Zealand as a Singaporean for the past 26 years, it is true that Western working culture is definitely incomparable to Asian working culture. A true work life balance! Having say that, I paid a much higher taxes for now but when I get to my golden years, I will be taken care of in the form of subsidised or free (but waitlist) healthcare, pension and nursing care. Yes, I agreed infrastructure, transport, and health care system in Singapore are top notch, and indeed envious in the developed world, but what happened if you do not have sufficient CPF account to fulfil your retirement! Perhaps dependent on your grown-up children even-though they have their own life to be taken care of. Not too sure if this is fair to your children... although from an Asian culture perspective says yes it is! Sorry if my above comment may upset some Singaporean viewers but I do think grass is always greener down under.
We know what life is like outside this small country. This vlog is another eye-opener. Can accept the trade-off, no issue. Like they say, the world is our oyster.
Healthcare in the US can be easily summarised by the amount you have to pay for an ambulance. That's why you sometimes hear cases where patients refuse treatment upon arrival of EMTs. The only reason to work in the US is the experience & connections from working in Silicon Valley, not the pay.
You know when I visited L.A. for holiday with my wife like quite a number of years ago, as we walked down the street, everyone walking toward our direction was like smiling and greeted us like " Hey, how are you today? " Remember vividly there was one black man who removed his baseball cap, and said " Good evening sir". I was like "Wow" What on earth?! And I ain't no ang moh but a SG Chinese, didn't my friends say they were racist 😅 A few weeks ago when I was strolling in Changi Airport, a lady who looked like American walked toward and smiled the same way at me, nodding her head. I was telling myself I hadn't had that good feeling of being greeted amicably for a long long time.
I had different experience compare to you, was at LA couple of years ago, and me and my wife was scolded by a couple and ask us to f off from their country. Won't bother to go back to US now
@hieveryone2003 yeah you are right.. it just not because of just this case that i am not going to US.. there is a couple of reasons. I believe everybody have their fair share of personal reason not or to travel to another country.. E.g. some people like Korea or some don't like.. well just follow your preferences :) .
When my husband and I take walks at the Arboretum here in Arcadia, we make it a point to greet everyone we come across, and we don't always get greeted back in return. But we still continue to greet everyone because it makes us happy to do so :-)
14:20 Singaporeans are 'direct'? I guess they can appreciate the directness of the Dutch people also! Come visit the Netherlands, Singaporeans! (And I like to visit Singapore.)
Been in LA and Vancouver for 3 weeks last year. The cool weather makes a person extremely lazy, and the high taxes makes one put in 50% effort in whatever they do. That’s why Asia is rising.
That toilet looks fantastic. During a 12-hour flight, I would at least spend half an hour on it, shitting out all that delicious airline food (which really looks really delicious and perhaps even healthy).
Thank you Ojisan for this great video... I've many foreign friends & they told me the same thing that Singaporeans are taking everything for granted...
Most industry have mroe then 6 days. In the finance industry where I work, it is standard to start with 15 days or so and it goes up to 20 to 25 days. (4 to 5 weeks)
usa is 99% better than spore except for obscene health care costs.... health plus insurance....sg hdb cost of sgd 1 million can buy a 3 bed/2 bath house with garden n swimming pool...usd 76,000.00 4 a new Porshe..cheap fresh foods , vegetables, fruits n vegs...cheap kfc, mac, tacos, free speech, fantastic weather, free car parking, free swimming pool, tennis courts , free golf courses etc...
Feel safer but get robbed by all kinds of indirect taxes which goes into a black hole and citizen have made a choice not to ask for a full financial statement.
The US is so huge so you really can’t compare apple to apple. If you’re talking of an equivalent city lifestyle, selling your $1m HDB home might buy you a 500 sq ft studio where you pay upward of US$500 HOA (management fees) a month. Your prop tax would be about US$20,000. Somewhere near the boonies, you might be able to buy a house with your HDB sale proceeds, but can you live in the boonies after having lived in Singapore where everything is so convenient? You might still be able to buy something nearer the cities but you might go away for a holiday and come home to find a homeless person has moved into your home, or all your belongings emptied out! And that car? Do you know parking in NY city can be $50 for 2 hours?! Do you know traffic fines are usually at US$400? For speeding (10 miles above speed limit and they have helicopters to track you), not stopping or stopping beyond the STOP line. Having lived in the US and Singapore, it’s Singapore for me anytime.
u hv. not been 2 usa... thre is wat's called MEAN price...;now u hv.been educated....hdb in woodsland n holland road...still over sgd 1 million 4 99 yrs lease....u can own 3/4 vehicles at cheapest prices...free tennis courts, swimming pool, gyn, farmers' mkt etc...@@helenteoct
Standard = civility, morality, logic, ... breeding, educated politicians (hahahahaha), informed policies (wah.hahahaha), logical implementations, less-hypocrisy ("ha~! I kill me" - alf), get-real (bwahahahahahahahahaa). OK, be serious, are they even humans.?
Enlightening video about the comparisons between living in the US and Singapore, and what Singaporeans may think about when comparing costs of living, the laws, taxes, wages. Thanks for showcasing 2 of such individuals Ghib Ojisan! Hope you had a great time over in the USA.
World most expensive country to buy a car but taxi & ride hailing ride fare are way very low comparing to other major economies. Have anyone ever thought about it, driver daily overhead such as rental/lease, petrol, carpark and many more.... everything are getting expensive but fare are still pathetic. For driver, more daily trips plus longer working hours. How to have work life balance like that? Western tourist also wonder and ask driver how they earn with low ride fares in Singapore.
I lived in US for 16 years (12 in California and 4 in Texas). I think the vacation days refer to public holidays, annual leave should be 14 days, not 7 days.
Singapore is the most clean and safe country..but if you living in singapore you are stress..so crowded lot of people inside the shopping mall,beaches,as you can see mostly looks stress..you going out around singapore is the same place.unlike than the big country in asias,like taiwan,thailand,malaysia philippines is lot of places you can explore..
You just need to venture to St John Island....Lazarus Island.....both are connected to each other by a mini causeway........weekends are not limited to orchard rd......😂😂😂😂 People who kept complaining about this........bloody hell....I travel.alot......and this complain about SG...just tickles.
my experience in La is.. angmo skip paying bus ticket From La airport to union station and that stranger angmo sit beside me and act friendly talking about stuff😂 i m like can like that one meh.
I worked with Singaporeans in the bay area (Santa Clara and Sunnyvale California) in the semiconductor industry they were great colleagues. 6 days vacation is not standard many industries have at two weeks or more. Singapore, ANA and EVA are my favorites airlines going to Asia
I’ve lived in both countries. US is way cheaper and much higher std of living. Of coz don’t compare NYC with Ang Mo Kio. Or Nassim Hill with North Dakota.
Standard = civility, morality, logic, ... breeding, educated politicians (hahahahaha), informed policies (wah.hahahaha), logical implementations, less-hypocrisy ("ha~! I kill me" - alf), get-real (bwahahahahahahahahaa). OK, be serious, are they even humans.?
So misleading. First California is not representative of America as it is the state with the HIGHEST taxes. Secondly, because of the many credits and tax deductions, nearly half of Americans pay 0% fedieral income tax. After credits, the average effective federal income tax rate for $50k-75k is 6.5%, $75-100k is 8.1%. Many states also have 0% state income taxes. The US is a huge country, lets not overly generalize based on ONE person's experience living in ONE city. I have lived and worked in BOTH Asia and US. I never buy things (clothes, appliances, etc,) in SG or HK because I can always find it cheaper in the US. Any Americans living near a Chinatown or other local markets can purchase groceries dirt cheap. Throw in the relatively cheaper price of cars and petro and it is way way cheaper to live in America than SG. I understand this is a pro-Singapore channel so ...
She is not wrong. Even cities like NYC have to pay 3 taxes, federal, state and city tax. Most people have to pay federal taxes. You are right that some state don't have state tax. But the tax are higher in other aspects like property tax.
Err, not sure who is misleading who. If you've watched the video, she clearly mentioned she is speaking from a perspective of living in CALIFORNIA, not USA as a WHOLE. If you decide to be ignorant, then please save yourself from writing such a stupid comment. 🙄 Oh and by the way, what you are saying is also from your '1 person's' POV. You alone are also NOT representative of the American population. Just quit trying to sound like a smart ass lah.
I lived in US for 10 years, racism is much more obvious on African American and Mexican; more cosmopolitan areas (LA, NYC, Chicago, etc) are much better. Americans are usually friendly to Chinese
