Singapore 10 love-hate

My first visit to the city state 4 years ago left few impressions except for "sticky hot" and "great shopping". Basically it was so hot that I hung out in the shopping malls most of the time. Having lived here for 18 months now, I have more distinct impressions obviously although above still form part of it. The heat has become normal, the shopping is still great. So here we go with the top 10 in "love and hate": Love:

1. Shopping: Yes, still a big part of Singapore's appeal and I think it's pretty much the best anywhere I've been. Bangkok is cheaper, Tokyo is quirkier, in Basel I find the right bras, Amsterdam has more charm. But Singapore simply outdoes them with the sheer breadth, depth, variety, accessability... Just one big mall. Vivo City the mega mall, Cathay, the boutique-y one, Plaza Sing, the family mall, Mandarin Gallery, the upscale one, The Heeren, the teenie trends mall, Lucky Plaza, the maids best Sunday hangout ... One for everyone.


2. Food: Again a "has it all". Famous for its numerous hawker stalls, at the corner of the HDB block, in a shopping mall, off Orchard road, in Jurong, just everywhere. And food is cheap, tasty and plenty. Not the healthiest always, but a great discovery. And lots and lots of more upscale options in every variety. Greate Italian, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Mexican and whatever else desired. Kitchens in houses usually small makes it even more appealing to eat out


3. Safety: A cliche, but it's nice I can walk around anytime at night and leave my door open without worrying. Nice not to be hassled and scamed. Comes at the price of too much control and a bit of boredom, but well...


4. Travel: Singapore is a great place to travel to and from. Cheap flights all over Asia are readily available and Changi airport is conveniently located. Top base to explore the region. Have never travelled so frequently before and my travel plans are far from being satisfied. And flying to a sandy beach for a weekend sounds like a dream come true for a landlocked European


5. Public transport: It's efficient, reliable and even cheap. A bus ride to the city is a Dollar, the most expensive trip is over 3 Dollars. Love the double decker busses. It's clean too (well, food, drinks and chewing gums are forbidden). You can almost count the taxis in, they are affordable enough to give you and excuse to be a bit lazy sometimes. I close an eye on the crazy bus drivers who stop so that everyone falls over.


6. Job market: There are lots of jobs around and if you look for a - if not greener, then at least different pasture, its easy enough. Lots of recruiters around to help you dig. And job hopping is not as much frowned upon as in old Europe. They don't fuss about visas either and the job market is still bustling. Colleagues from all over the world and usually at least regional roles with lots of interaction with the rest of APAC. Plus, experience in Asia is rated high on your resume, so all good stuff on the job front. But be warned: you'll work hard


7. Tax: Sooo low. Dubai undercuts it, but do you really want to live there?? Even tax filing is so easy and quick and electronic. Singapore Government really has the knack of e-governance.


8. 24-hour city: Life is round the clock. You can party till the wee hours every day of the week. The supermarket across the street is open 365 / 7, you can watch a movie at 3am, grab a late night snack at 5. A world city in that sense, alive at all hours


9. Diversity: It's easy to feel welcome in Singapore for anyone as everyone is represented. Yes, people talk bad in private sometimes, but in general everyone is respected. Maybe a good effect of the "hate" point censorship...


10. Household help: Call it colonial, call it exploitative, call it what you like. But it is distinctly nice to come home to a clean house, not having to waste weekends on cleaning and all at an affordable price.

Don't love so much:

1. Rents: Housing is a big headache. Expensive, hard to find decent quality at a reasonable price and not too far off location. Hate sleazy housing agents who think all expats have a housing allowance of several thousands (we don't, less and less). Speculating with real estate is a bid time national sport for anyone with a bit of money, so go figure how rents will develop


2. Censorship: I have to declare every single video that I bring into the country when immigrating here and every piece is subject to censorship. At the same time I'd have no trouble getting a visa working as a whore in Orchard Towers. Stupid, bigotry. And lately the erotic 3D movie "Natali" is being advertised here. What's the point if all the steamy pieces get washed down (thanks, will watch it in Hong Kong)


3. Service quality: People working in the service industry seem to have a really crap attitude about it in general. Slow, rude, not a tad of flexibility, poor service quality, talking back. It comes down to the management though, some places manage to have considerably better and consistent service standards. And it seems that rude service is a bit of Singapore local culture. I read this review in the Straits Times about the most popular and rudest hawkers - and they have long queues there (maybe that's why they are rude - stress)


4. Newspapers: The Singaporean ones that is. The Straits Times: Voice of the non-democracy (call it like that to preserve my work permit..), boring, lecturing, irrelevant, no clue about international issues, poor style. Above all it's a political instrument to lecture citizens and residents about correct behaviour and the consequences of non-correct behavior. Why pay for that? The alternative: The New Paper: Wanna-be yellow press. Since few juicy things happen and really open voice is not allowed, they make up latest gossip about aunties beating up husband in the Woodlands. Yaaawn...


5. Alcohol: One word: Too pricey


6. Crowded: It can be hard to find a quiet place and moment on your weekend. Your house maybe, if you can afford to stay on your own. Constant bustling and with the population growth target of 20% it will not get better


7. Snorting: At the risk of being culturally insensitive, but I really really hate how snorting snot sounds and how common it is. Hearing someone snort every 5 seconds can really drive you to want to shake that person - hard. I may be brainwashed by an education that taught me that this is rude and disgusting, but can't help feel it is.

No more major "hates" to add, so I will stop. There would be more to add to the "love" section really. And some things that I did not like so much in the beginning have become more acceptable or even somewhat liked. The weather, except for very sticky days, is pretty ok and even convenient to dress for. Singlish does not sounds that rude anymore and I catch myself using mutilized replies like "can" sometimes (no "lah" "leh", "wor" and so forth for me though).

Overall, a good place to call home for now...