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As a German expat who lived in Singapore for 3 years, it’s still the best country I ever lived in and I’ve also worked in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan

by shell0x 8mo ago

As a German expat who lived in Singapore for 3 years, it’s still the best country I ever lived in and I’ve also worked in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan HK, and Germany. Everything works, it’s very efficient, public transit and internet is good and it’s extremely safe. It also has great food and has low taxes. Most Western countries just can’t compete and while the UAE is pretty well run in some aspect, there’s always the religious part which makes me uneasy when I’m there. As a single person without kids, there is no better place than Singapore.

rschachte 8mo ago
That’s a lot of places to live. Moving to the UK from the US for me was already mentally draining logistically so curious how you balance that
- shell0x 8mo ago
  When I was in my twenties, I didn’t really buy stuff and apartments in Asia are mostly fully furnished. All my stuff fitted in a 32kg luggage until 2022 or so.
  - red-iron-pine 8mo ago
    where in asia is fully furnished? in Japan and China the apartments I was in didn't even come with washing machines, dishwashers, and in one case, AC
    - shell0x 8mo ago
      Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan was all fully furnished. Most property sites have an option to filter for that. Also there are a lot of service apartments available too!
    - seanmcdirmid 8mo ago
      Most Chinese apartments come furnished, at least in Beijing. You have to negotiate with the landlord if you want to use your own furniture. I’ve never had an apartment in Beijing that didn’t have a washer machine. No dryer of course, and these are cheap washer machines, you could buy one yourself for 1k RMB or so, well 20 years ago you could.
huhkerrf 8mo ago
It's strange that you mention the religious part of UAE making you uneasy, and not the modern day slavery.
- destory-everyth 8mo ago
  To be fair, Since they have lived in quite a few locations you can easily become desensitized to the conditions of these so called "slaves". The conditions of them in the UAE are not verry different from Singapore. The law allows for transportation on the back of open trucks, mass casualty traffic incidents involving the poorest workers are common. For a maid if they want to change employees they need permission from their current employer and the current employer can choose instead to repatriate them, with 30 days to exit the country and no money or means to challenge any mistreatment the abused are simply expelled and forgotten about. You can imagine the power imbalance, sa cases, torture and malnutrition. To the outsider it looks well balanced but it is simply well segregated. Even public housing has a ratio per building causing minority races to be unable to sell their properties on a level market rate. The local mouthpiece even has a topic for maid abuse https://www.channelnewsasia.com/topic/maid-abuse https://www.channelnewsasia.com/topic/maid-abuse
  - shell0x 8mo ago
    Having a maid is actually a huge benefit for most expats/locals in SG, Hong Kong and Dubai. They’re basically part of the family but you need a helper if you work until 8pm. If you hire a maid and fire her, you have to pay her repatriation back to her country of origin.
- deleted 8mo ago
  [deleted]
- rayiner 8mo ago
  A country where 10% of people are citizens, there’s a few expats, and nearly everyone else is a Bangladeshi or Nepali slave laborer doing all the work. With no rights, no prospect of citizenship, etc. The Davos view of where societies are headed.
milchek 8mo ago
I would argue even with kids it is great (but of course can be expensive!). I lived and worked there for a couple of years during COVID with a young family and loved it (once the lockdowns and pandemic stuff blew over of course). As you mentioned, for families, it’s extremely safe, everything is well run and maintained so healthcare and education are not a concern. Proximity to other countries for travel is excellent (well, I’m from Melbourne so much easier to get places than from here!), and the country it self has plenty to do for families in terms of activities, shopping, and food. Beyond that, I found Singaporeans just really great to work with and be around. It’s really multicultural, they value education and talent so the workforce is full of bright and capable people, and there is a huge expat community as well. The only major downside for me - the heat and humidity! It was a struggle the first few months for sure.
- shell0x 8mo ago
  The heat can definitely be intense. It can also get a boring fast because it’s such small place, so traveling is a a must! I believe with kids it can be a challenge because there’s conscription for males and that also applied to permanent residents.
rayiner 8mo ago
> Everything works, it’s very efficient, public transit and internet is good and it’s extremely safe. It also has great food and has low taxes. Most Western countries just can’t compete… Why do you think New York or Chicago isn’t like this? What could western countries change?
- acrooks 8mo ago
  This is obviously oversimplified but I think this is a big factor: Singapore is a business masquerading as a country. While it is technically democratic, in practice there are some barriers preventing truly free and fair elections. That being said, the leaders in Singapore are not corrupt and truly do focus on what's best for the country. As a result decisions are made quickly, for the greater good, and are not politically driven. The leadership have the latitude to make decisions that they believe will make the country better. Sometimes these decisions don't have a lot of public support (because people are naturally more short-sighted) but, because of the political system, they don't need to rely on public support. In the case of Singapore, I think this dynamic has led to a compounding effect of good decisions that have put the country in such a strong place today. You see this similarly with Norway's oil fund; it was likely unpopular initially to reinvest so much money into savings, but today it's paying off where they have a $2T savings account, from which they can withdraw up to 3% annually ($60B) for the needs of Norway.
  - TremendousJudge 8mo ago
    > Singapore is a business masquerading as a country I don't see why this would lead the country to being well organized. All the big businesses I've seen are very inefficient and disorganized internally, where decisions are made slowly, mostly to benefit the decisionmaker's little princedom inside the company.
  - rayiner 8mo ago
    > That being said, the leaders in Singapore are not corrupt and truly do focus on what's best for the country. As a result decisions are made quickly, for the greater good, and are not politically driven. But what makes them act this way, lol? That's what every country wants out of its leaders. Why is Singapore able to do it? I know that's a hard question to answer...
GeoAtreides 8mo ago
As a german, are you ok with the human rights violations happening in Singapore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Singapore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Singapore https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/singapore https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/singa... As a german, are you ok with the death penalty (for as little as 14 grams of drugs)? Are you with violent and cruel corporal punishment (for as little as vandalism)?
- wormpilled 8mo ago
  Yes
- shell0x 8mo ago
  Yes, for most part. SG has a zero tolerance policy. I do think the death penalty for drugs is reasonable. Drug dealers destroy families and communities for their own profit. The arrival card in Singapore literally states that smuggling drugs is punishable by death. If you still attempt, that sounds like a “you” problem. Also the punishment for vandalism or rape sounds reasonable. The treatment of foreign construction workers is not good and can be improved.
  - JCattheATM 8mo ago
    > I do think the death penalty for drugs is reasonable. Well, it's not. It's barbaric and primitive. A warning is no justification.
    - dblohm7 8mo ago
      > Well, it's not. It's barbaric and primitive. A warning is no justification. It's actually Singapore that turned me against the death penalty. I saw a photo on a news site one day showing a casket in Singapore, with some kind of placard showing the decedent's name, DOB, and then the date that they "died." They didn't die due to illness or injury; they died because Singapore executed them. That was it for me.
    - acoard 8mo ago
sharmajai 8mo ago
They have a very opaque and subjective permanent residency program. So while they get all the benefits out of you as an immigrant, they may provide none in return.
currymj 8mo ago
Switzerland is like this and is also a real democracy. Although the food is not as good.
- lifestyleguru 8mo ago
  In Switzerland you're not going to rent or buy any housing. If a miracle somehow happens you'll live in hotel room sized studio and your full time job will be rental laws and regulations. With no housing it's irrelevant how real the democracy is there.
  - panick21_ 8mo ago
    The rail system is good enough that you can live 30min from most cities and be in the country side where prices are not crazy.
    - lifestyleguru 8mo ago
      No sorry, the real democracy has spoken and said no housing for you.
  - currymj 8mo ago
    I have rented an apartment in Zürich (a hotel-room sized studio as you say, though with high quality construction and amenities). it was indeed pretty frustrating to go through the apartment search, but it is possible to rent housing, as evidenced by the fact that millions of Swiss citizens and residents live indoors.
    - lifestyleguru 8mo ago
      > but it is possible to rent housing, as evidenced by the fact that millions of Swiss citizens and residents live indoors. Otherwise you are on a fast track from "unable to find housing" to "have to leave the country".

by shell0x 8mo ago

rschachte 8mo ago

That’s a lot of places to live. Moving to the UK from the US for me was already mentally draining logistically so curious how you balance that

shell0x 8mo ago
When I was in my twenties, I didn’t really buy stuff and apartments in Asia are mostly fully furnished. All my stuff fitted in a 32kg luggage until 2022 or so.
- red-iron-pine 8mo ago
  where in asia is fully furnished? in Japan and China the apartments I was in didn't even come with washing machines, dishwashers, and in one case, AC
  - shell0x 8mo ago
    Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan was all fully furnished. Most property sites have an option to filter for that. Also there are a lot of service apartments available too!
  - seanmcdirmid 8mo ago
    Most Chinese apartments come furnished, at least in Beijing. You have to negotiate with the landlord if you want to use your own furniture. I’ve never had an apartment in Beijing that didn’t have a washer machine. No dryer of course, and these are cheap washer machines, you could buy one yourself for 1k RMB or so, well 20 years ago you could.

huhkerrf 8mo ago

It's strange that you mention the religious part of UAE making you uneasy, and not the modern day slavery.

destory-everyth 8mo ago
To be fair, Since they have lived in quite a few locations you can easily become desensitized to the conditions of these so called "slaves". The conditions of them in the UAE are not verry different from Singapore. The law allows for transportation on the back of open trucks, mass casualty traffic incidents involving the poorest workers are common. For a maid if they want to change employees they need permission from their current employer and the current employer can choose instead to repatriate them, with 30 days to exit the country and no money or means to challenge any mistreatment the abused are simply expelled and forgotten about. You can imagine the power imbalance, sa cases, torture and malnutrition. To the outsider it looks well balanced but it is simply well segregated. Even public housing has a ratio per building causing minority races to be unable to sell their properties on a level market rate. The local mouthpiece even has a topic for maid abuse https://www.channelnewsasia.com/topic/maid-abuse https://www.channelnewsasia.com/topic/maid-abuse
- shell0x 8mo ago
  Having a maid is actually a huge benefit for most expats/locals in SG, Hong Kong and Dubai. They’re basically part of the family but you need a helper if you work until 8pm. If you hire a maid and fire her, you have to pay her repatriation back to her country of origin.
deleted 8mo ago
[deleted]
rayiner 8mo ago
A country where 10% of people are citizens, there’s a few expats, and nearly everyone else is a Bangladeshi or Nepali slave laborer doing all the work. With no rights, no prospect of citizenship, etc. The Davos view of where societies are headed.

milchek 8mo ago

I would argue even with kids it is great (but of course can be expensive!). I lived and worked there for a couple of years during COVID with a young family and loved it (once the lockdowns and pandemic stuff blew over of course). As you mentioned, for families, it’s extremely safe, everything is well run and maintained so healthcare and education are not a concern. Proximity to other countries for travel is excellent (well, I’m from Melbourne so much easier to get places than from here!), and the country it self has plenty to do for families in terms of activities, shopping, and food. Beyond that, I found Singaporeans just really great to work with and be around. It’s really multicultural, they value education and talent so the workforce is full of bright and capable people, and there is a huge expat community as well. The only major downside for me - the heat and humidity! It was a struggle the first few months for sure.

shell0x 8mo ago
The heat can definitely be intense. It can also get a boring fast because it’s such small place, so traveling is a a must! I believe with kids it can be a challenge because there’s conscription for males and that also applied to permanent residents.

rayiner 8mo ago

> Everything works, it’s very efficient, public transit and internet is good and it’s extremely safe. It also has great food and has low taxes. Most Western countries just can’t compete… Why do you think New York or Chicago isn’t like this? What could western countries change?

acrooks 8mo ago
This is obviously oversimplified but I think this is a big factor: Singapore is a business masquerading as a country. While it is technically democratic, in practice there are some barriers preventing truly free and fair elections. That being said, the leaders in Singapore are not corrupt and truly do focus on what's best for the country. As a result decisions are made quickly, for the greater good, and are not politically driven. The leadership have the latitude to make decisions that they believe will make the country better. Sometimes these decisions don't have a lot of public support (because people are naturally more short-sighted) but, because of the political system, they don't need to rely on public support. In the case of Singapore, I think this dynamic has led to a compounding effect of good decisions that have put the country in such a strong place today. You see this similarly with Norway's oil fund; it was likely unpopular initially to reinvest so much money into savings, but today it's paying off where they have a $2T savings account, from which they can withdraw up to 3% annually ($60B) for the needs of Norway.
- TremendousJudge 8mo ago
  > Singapore is a business masquerading as a country I don't see why this would lead the country to being well organized. All the big businesses I've seen are very inefficient and disorganized internally, where decisions are made slowly, mostly to benefit the decisionmaker's little princedom inside the company.
- rayiner 8mo ago
  > That being said, the leaders in Singapore are not corrupt and truly do focus on what's best for the country. As a result decisions are made quickly, for the greater good, and are not politically driven. But what makes them act this way, lol? That's what every country wants out of its leaders. Why is Singapore able to do it? I know that's a hard question to answer...

GeoAtreides 8mo ago

As a german, are you ok with the human rights violations happening in Singapore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Singapore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Singapore https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/singapore https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/singa... As a german, are you ok with the death penalty (for as little as 14 grams of drugs)? Are you with violent and cruel corporal punishment (for as little as vandalism)?

wormpilled 8mo ago
Yes
shell0x 8mo ago
Yes, for most part. SG has a zero tolerance policy. I do think the death penalty for drugs is reasonable. Drug dealers destroy families and communities for their own profit. The arrival card in Singapore literally states that smuggling drugs is punishable by death. If you still attempt, that sounds like a “you” problem. Also the punishment for vandalism or rape sounds reasonable. The treatment of foreign construction workers is not good and can be improved.
- JCattheATM 8mo ago
  > I do think the death penalty for drugs is reasonable. Well, it's not. It's barbaric and primitive. A warning is no justification.
  - dblohm7 8mo ago
    > Well, it's not. It's barbaric and primitive. A warning is no justification. It's actually Singapore that turned me against the death penalty. I saw a photo on a news site one day showing a casket in Singapore, with some kind of placard showing the decedent's name, DOB, and then the date that they "died." They didn't die due to illness or injury; they died because Singapore executed them. That was it for me.
  - acoard 8mo ago

sharmajai 8mo ago

They have a very opaque and subjective permanent residency program. So while they get all the benefits out of you as an immigrant, they may provide none in return.

currymj 8mo ago

Switzerland is like this and is also a real democracy. Although the food is not as good.

lifestyleguru 8mo ago
In Switzerland you're not going to rent or buy any housing. If a miracle somehow happens you'll live in hotel room sized studio and your full time job will be rental laws and regulations. With no housing it's irrelevant how real the democracy is there.
- panick21_ 8mo ago
  The rail system is good enough that you can live 30min from most cities and be in the country side where prices are not crazy.
  - lifestyleguru 8mo ago
    No sorry, the real democracy has spoken and said no housing for you.
- currymj 8mo ago
  I have rented an apartment in Zürich (a hotel-room sized studio as you say, though with high quality construction and amenities). it was indeed pretty frustrating to go through the apartment search, but it is possible to rent housing, as evidenced by the fact that millions of Swiss citizens and residents live indoors.
  - lifestyleguru 8mo ago
    > but it is possible to rent housing, as evidenced by the fact that millions of Swiss citizens and residents live indoors. Otherwise you are on a fast track from "unable to find housing" to "have to leave the country".