2. China’s booming. Singapore’s economy is sky rocketing. Singapore is well placed to ride the China and India boom. Singapore’s GDP per capita (nominal) is expected to overtake Japan this year. Becoming the highest per capita GDP in Asia amongst all non oil countries! (Note UAE and Qatar will always have higher GDP than Singapore because they depend on their oil. They don’t have a free market system like Singapore)
3. Singapore has an exciting future. ASEAN might become another CARICOM or MERCUSR, your Singapore passport can allow you to work and live freely in other ASEAN countries. Growth in Singapore is so tremendous. Asia is booming. Singapore will ride China’s and India’s wave because Singaporeans speak their languages.
3. Singapore is much safer, less corrupted and has more convenient amentities (library, food court, everything just 15mins away) than Australia. You can walk down any streets in Singapore and feel safe anytime everytime. Can you do that in Australia?
4. Singapore offers a better place to bring up kids. Bilingual education. Chinese is the language of the future. In Singapore, your kids will learn Chinese. Jim Rogers once said: “If you were smart in 1800, you lived in London; if you were smart in 1900, you lived in New York.; Now if you are smart in 2010, you live in Asia”. The billionaire moved to Singapore. And he is not alone, Gong Li, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Co Co Lee etc all want to move to Singapore.
Singapore has no drug problem. Australia has a serious drug problem. 40% used drugs before. ( http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/…a04/sdua04.pdf ) That is just disgusting.
5. Alot of people talk about the less stressful lifestyle in Australia. But in Singapore, if you just be a bit creative, you can easily get a nice house in JB, Malaysia or Indonesia and enjoy the less stressful lifestyle there as well every weekend or day. Plus the cost of things are so cheap.
6. In Australia, technology is so backward. In Singapore, you can get a 100mbps internet line for less than $50 a month. In Australia, it will only get you a CAPPED 120GB 5mbps internet line. And how much is the activation fee? 400 sgd!
Same goes for public transport, infrastructure, business etc. Singapore is much better.
7. Australia has water problems. South Australia is rationing water. Small towns only have rain water tanks. Yucks, do you dare to drink rainwater?
8. Australia has lots of dangerous animals. Jellyfish that kill , most dangerous snakes, most dangerous spiders, all found in Australia.
“Funnel-webs are probably one of the three most dangerous spiders in the world and are regarded by some to be the most dangerous.”
Here’s what someone living in Australia thinks about the funnel web spiders around her house (most dangerous spider in the world, one bite and your child can die of posioning)
“Because……we get them in the house constantly, and since they are NOT afraid of people, you can step on one and get bit quite easily.
I’d say here in the house, because of my living situation, I see prolly a funnel web once a month now in winter and last summer I saw them once a week, crawling near my bed quite often, and yes they hide in shoes…so when u have to get up to pee in the middle of the night…given they really can kill you…and talk about having a baby here in a few months…it’s the only scary thing here, really.”
9. In Singapore, you can hire an expatriate maid to help you do your family chores. You can’t do that in Australia.
10. Running a business in Australia is exhorbitantly expensive. You pay 20AUD/hr just for a waiter. Plumbers cost hundreds of dollars.
In Singapore, unskilled labour is cheap. Very good place to run a business.
11. In Singapore, there are much much more jobs and career options than Australia. If you live in a small Australian town, there are no jobs for you. Even their biggest cities like Sydney etc cannot compare to 1/4 of Singapore’s career choices. Singapore has more than 100 banks! Lots of career choices from banking, healthcare, etc.
12. Food. Food is Singapore is much cheaper and better than Australia. 1.50 AUD for 12 eggs! 1.5AUD for big packet of soya bean milk! 2.50-3 AUD can get you a decent meal of Wantan noodles, Char Kway Teow, Mixed vege rice etc. In Australia, it cannot even get you a drink!
Chinese, British, American, Indian, Turkish, all kinds of cusine cuisine can be found in Singapore!! In Australia, it is 90% the usual Australian food.
13. Military defence. Australia has a very run down armed forces. only 50, 000 soldiers. Their strategy is basically to wait for America’s help in the event of a war. Indonesia has an army of 500, 000. Singapore has 400 ,000.
14. Singapore’s property prices will skyrocket in a few decades. For example, 20 years ago, 3 room HDB flats cost $20, 000k SGD. Now they cost $300,000 SGD. Ten years’ time? Maybe $500,000!
15. Singapore’s CPF! You will have money for old age, housing! The employer puts in 12% as well dont forget! Australia has the superannuation pension scheme but their taxes will frighten you off!
Contributed by senatorabudelai; 19-05-2010 at 06:46 PM – SG forums
Drafted editted by Gilbert on 21 May.
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Yeah right. Australians should be flocking to Singapore in droves, and Singaporean families should quit moving to Oz.
Im pakistani and moved to Sydney 4 years ago.. I ve been to singapore thrice including visiting there in the 90′s. Its got to be the most clean and beautiful and well managed place in the world with less traffic problems etc.. But the problem is that it is just too small to make any significant impact on the world. Unlike Australia which is atleast a super power in far east asia.. After all why do so many singaporeans migrate here.. But that is my opinion..
I believe this is a case of 3 blind mice. The author of this article has probably not been analyzing both country in an unbiased perspective.
I’ve been living in both countries for over 7 years each. Being able to experience both countries in depth, allow me to give a testimonial that is more accurate and unbiased.
Both countries have their pros and cons. I wouldn’t lean toward any of them. For example, I agree that Singapore is in the heart of the Asia growth and would be an advantage from economical point of view. However, it is still constrain by the size which will create some social issue of over-crowded population, higher stress level, over competitive, scarcity mindset, etc. These are the by-product of a high growth country, the people has to be able to catch up with the pace or be left behind. Unfortunately, majority of people are not able to catch up and developed a defense mechanism which is known as ‘kiasuism’. There is no right or wrong, it’s just how it evolves and whether we can live with it.
When the author discuss about the property growth, I’ve seen the property in Melbourne grow from 300K to 450K in less than 5 years. Base on historical data, the property double up every 10 years. In saying that, Singapore has got it’s good run for the pass few years. That’s how it created so many millionaires.
CPF and Superannuation is an idea to help people to save so that they will be able to survive through old age. It is a good idea for people who doesn’t know how to plan for their future and depending on government to plan for them, as any plan is better than no plan. But everyone should be responsible for their own financial, no matter where they live.
As for safety, every country has got it’s fair share of problem. The sheer size of Australia is already a challenge to maintain the coverage of safety, transport, network, etc. Given that Singapore is smaller than the smallest state in Australia (Tasmania), coverage is comparatively easier to deal with.
War in Singapore? I don’t even think the government will allow that to happen anywhere near Singapore. War in this era is not by brute force, in fact we’ve just experienced a war in the stock market. Military strength are for the industrial age.
However, there is one unchanged fact that we cannot change the geographic location of a country. So we’re given a choice between hot and humid of Singapore and a range of tropical, sub-tropical and cool climate of Australia. Personally, I prefer the cool and dry instead of sweaty and hot climate. And I do enjoy snow in winter and fallen leaves in autumn, the ever changing picture of nature.
Talking about dangerous animal, I think this should be the least of our worries. After all, WE ARE the most dangerous species in the planet.
I hope my 2 cents worth of opinion will provide a better view of the world and not just 2 countries.
[...] If you're new here, you may want to sign my online petition Employ Singaporeans First!. Thanks for visiting!Reader Bo says: June 11, 2010 at 7:29 am (Edit) [...]
Interesting article. Having lived in both countries, let’s look at this point by point.
1. Article says – Australia cost of living is very high. Daily products and houses are expensive – much more than Singapore.
1. Not true. Australia is cheaper for lot of daily necessities such as subsidized healthcare, education and cheaper housing given a greater supply of land vis-a-vis a smaller population. In Singapore today (2010) $500k will get you a moderate-sized HDB flat, whereas in Australia that will buy you a house on an adequate size of land in a decent suburb in Sydney or Melbourne. In smaller cities like Adelaide or Brisbane, you’d get something pretty close to a mansion.
2. Article says – Singapore’s GDP per capita (nominal) is expected to overtake Japan this year. Becoming the highest per capita GDP in Asia
2. Agreed. But Singapore is a service-based economy & the value of its domestic goods and services is heavily reliant on external market forces over which it has no control. However the point about Singapore being well-placed to take advantage of the growth in China & India is true.
3. Article says – Singapore has an exciting future. ASEAN might become another CARICOM or MERCUSR, your Singapore passport can allow you to work and live freely in other ASEAN countries.
3. The Australian passport allows you to work & live freely in other ASEAN countries as well.
3. (Note point 3 appeared twice in the article so the same goes here). Article says – Singapore is much safer, less corrupted and has more convenient amentities.
3. Safer, yes. Convenient amenities, yes Singapore is more efficient & has better infrastructure. Less corrupted – not true. Corruption in Australian parliament would be exposed by the media the very next day. Openess & accountability to the Australian public is something every politician understands and accepts. However, Singapore politicians have walls & do not allow the media to probe behind the scenes. Therefore, given this lack of accountability to the public, if the corruption level in Singapore is higher I would not be surprised because nobody gets to know about it – unless the government wants to occasionally make an example out of someone. That said, I can’t comment on the specific level of corruption in each country.
4. Article says – Singapore offers a better place to bring up kids
4. Not true – it depends on what you consider important when bringing up your kids. Singapore may offer bilingual options in schools but Australia offers the same. The problem is the ‘kiasu-ness’ in Singapore society takes its toll on the kids very early on in life resulting in a highly stressful environment for them to grow up in. Although the Singapore government wants to encourage creativity & innovation, the school environment in Singapore is not conducive to this. Australia offers a much better work-life balance with more time given to working parents to look after their kids, higher baby bonuses & other government perks that encourage this work-life balance. There’s also a lot more activity in schools that foster play & learning through which children develop more holistically rather than being overly focused on just the academic aspect of education – which is just one part of the picture.
But as for the drug problem – agreed. Australia should adopt the same law as Singapore does when it comes to the drugs as this is a problem & causes a huge hole in the pockets of Australian taxpayers.
5. Article says – you just be a bit creative, you can easily get a nice house in JB, Malaysia or Indonesia and enjoy the less stressful lifestyle there as well every weekend or day.
5. Probably. But the weather, climate & countrysides in Australia are very beautiful too and there’s no need to bring your passport along when going on holiday.
6. In Australia, technology is so backward
6. Absolutely agreed. Technology here seems light years behind Singapore.
7. Article says – Australia has water problems. Small towns only have rain water tanks. Yucks, do you dare to drink rainwater?
7. True but the author makes a misinformed point in the article. There are water rationing regulations at certain times in the year – usually in summer. This means that there are certain days & times during the week when you can wash your car or water your garden but this has little impact on day to day living. As for small towns, yes may have a different source of water supply but these are towns in regional areas with tiny populations where most migrants do not live in. As for the point about rain water, one could turn the tables & say ‘Yuck, do you dare to drink new/recycled water?’
8. Article says – Australia has lots of dangerous animals.
8. True so does Singapore – especially the kiasu road drivers.
9. Article says – In Singapore, you can hire an expatriate maid to help you do your family chores. You can’t do that in Australia.
9. Yes, the cost of labour is far more expensive in Australia.
10. Article says – Running a business in Australia is exorbitantly expensive
10. Yes – compared to Singapore it is because of the heavy taxes in Australia.
11. Article says – In Singapore, there are much much more jobs and career options than Australia.
11. Not true. Both countries have a specific list of skills that are in demand based on the requirements of their economies. Depends on what one’s line of work is.
12. Article says – Food is Singapore is much cheaper and better than Australia.
12. Cheaper, yes in Singapore. Better quality, no. The quality of fresh produce is better in Australia. Plus the Food & Drug Regulations are stronger in Australia than they are in Singapore.
13. Article says – Australia has a very run down armed forces. only 50, 000 soldiers. Their strategy is basically to wait for America’s help in the event of a war. Indonesia has an army of 500, 000. Singapore has 400 ,000.
13. The author can’t be serious about this point. Numbers doesn’t mean an army is competent & besides Singapore, like Australia, needs its allies should there be a war.
14. Article says – Singapore’s property prices will skyrocket in a few decades
14. This point was covered previously.
15. Article says – Singapore’s CPF! You will have money for old age, housing! The employer puts in 12% as well dont forget! Australia has the superannuation pension scheme but their taxes will frighten you off!
15. Australia’s Superannuation pension is taxed at around 6.5%. The other type of tax is that over & above one’s pension such as investment income & other streams of income which is taxed at around 15%. Yes the taxes are higher in Australia but medical benefits also come with it. So it eventually evens out.
In summary, Singapore offers a lot of advantages to younger people with years of working life ahead of them but when it comes down to retirement, quality of life and family living, Australia is a better option.
Hi this site is exactly what I am looking for as we’re thinking of moving back to Sg in 2 to 3 years’ time. Tee’s last paragraph “In summary, Singapore offers a lot of advantages to younger people with years of working life ahead of them but when it comes down to retirement, quality of life and family living, Australia is a better option.” hits on the nail!
We just bought a house here in Northern Queensland, for the price of a 3-room HDB flat in Sg. When we are back in Sg, we plan to rent it out and then come back to retire in it.
However, Australia is the place where I learn how to live independently without having to rely on MAIDS. Here you can get cleaners who clean your house at AUD40 per hour and my house takes 2.5 hours to clean. So I clean my own house, patio and a double locked up garage as well. And I am proud of it!
Hi this site is exactly what I am looking for as we’re thinking of moving back to Sg in 2 to 3 years’ time. Tee’s last paragraph hits on the nail!
We just bought a house here in Northern Queensland, for the price of a 3-room HDB flat in Sg. When we are back in Sg, we plan to rent it out and then come back to retire in it.
However, Australia is the place where I learn how to live independently without having to rely on MAIDS. Here you can get cleaners who clean your house at AUD40 per hour and my house takes 2.5 hours to clean. So I clean my own house, patio and a double locked up garage as well. And I am proud of it!
[...] Tee says: July 4, 2010 at 1:57 pm [...]
Sounds as though this article was written by a PAP ( publicity and publicity ) member , or someone who has not lived in Singapore for a long while and does not understand what really goes on . I thought it was all great when I first went , but have learnt the hard way since , even down to what you really get with the CPF
Wow, the culture of endlessly comparing Singapore to everything and anything is still alive and well. That’s why I left Singapore for Australia. Number #9 made me laugh. We have washing machines! Australians will be embarrassed to have a maid because they are independent and proud of it. A true sign of a developed country is when the Primary issues discussed is individual rights & welfare. I’m smart enough to appreciate what’s good about other countries without continuously comparing ourselves to cover our insecurties.
Gilbert,
I think I can write an article on Singapore insecurity. Some of us are in SAF and some have worked in high level areas and we know how the top people are thinking.
People forget the Indonesian riot in 1998 where a sudden economic crisis, has caused 1000 people to be killed, Indonesia chinese girls being raped and shops being looted.
Just look at the map of Singapore, we are living in false sense of security. If the author says Singapore is a good place to live, they are just looking at the short term security. With the events being develop around Middle East and the brotherhood of Muslim are rising in every new Middle Eastern countries where the call of unity of Brotherhood are being asked around all Muslim world to unite, I tell you things will be different in the next generations where every Singaporean would want to have another passport out.
Joe
I am a Australian Citizen and have been in Syd for 20 years. My origin was Rangoon or Yangon. I have been to Singapore for many times. You mentioned that racial riot caused in Indonesia. Therefore Singaporean Chinese will feel insecurity. In Syd, we have a Cronulla racial riot between Middle Eastern & White Australians back in 2005. Therefore Oz has a racial tension too. Besides that 1998 riot was occurred in Indonesia not in Singapore!
Insecurity feeling existed in Singapore back in 1960s. That small island is sandwiched between two Muslim nations which are conservative. They have no natural resources, drinking water and fertile land for surviving. Now a days, they are more secure, confident and optimistic about their future.
When I compare the economy, GDP and Infrastructure of Singapore with resource rich nation of Myanmar or Philippines, I am very impressive and envy about that small nation achievement. In the old Chinese saying, the little Chilly is the hottest.
As a middle aged man, I prefer to live in Oz. The weather, food quality and life style are more pleasant. However if I am young and skilled, I think I might have to move to Singapore for promising career development & efficiency.
Singapore public transport, banking, technology and infrastructure are more advanced than Oz. Australia has more space, food & energy security and media freedom and of course easy going and friendly people.
The big cities of Melbourne and Sydney are densely populated. For every single job vacancy, there are at least 16 applicants for competition. Unemployment rate is higher here. Some are depending on Government handouts. Some are on and off low seasonal employee who are insecure about their future.
Singapore blossomed without natural resources for many decades. Australia economy is resources base economy like gulf nations. If the commodity and fertile land reached out their limit, it is questionable about the competitiveness of Oz. In the reality, nothing will last forever!
I used to life in Melbourne,Australia and now living in Singapore. I would like to give some response to the up stated post.
1.Australia cost of living is very high – Since the income are very far from Singapore the living cost is expensive than Singapore but the proportion of expenses against our income is very low in Australia. For example a 2 bed room house can be rented SGD 1500 in a nice suburb but the same property needs SGD 2000 in Singapore. “Singapore is one of the 10 most expensive cities in the world for past few years” and every year its going up in its ranking.
2. Singapore’s per capita is higher since Singapore politicians are the worlds highly paid. Also all the highly paid CEO’s are situated in Singapore as its the business hub for Asia-Pacific region. But most of the CEO’s (around 90%) are foreigners!
3. I totally agree with 3rd point mentioned about singapore regarding safety, corruption and amenities.
4. I am not sure about the fourth point mentioned above. But its drug free country as the law against the thread is Death penalty.
5. Personally i feel very stress-free living in Australia! Its in comparable with Singapore in any sense. Australia is much far better life style than Singapore. Most of the Australian cities are occupying the “Most livable places in the world” list. Exclusively MELBOURNE is the most livable city for the past few years.
6. The internet connection is nothing to do with the technology advancements! We can say Singapore is little bit advanced than Australian counterpart. But definitely not far from Singapore.
Actually very few people are using public transportation in Australia, as its common for every individual have its own transport! Though Singapore is a small island there is a MRT,BUS & LRT systems only available, but no water ways yet. Also the population is simply scattered 720sqkm only. But One Australian city like Sydney spreads double the size of whole Singapore country! Also all the Australian cities are having extensive range of public transport system. Double decker trains, trams, ferries, busses, LRT, mono rail etc.,
7. For your information- Mostly water is purchased from neighbor countries for Singapore. Now recycling plants are constructed to recycle sewage water to drinking water!!!! Rain water better or recycled sewage water better!!! YUCK
8. Its quiet new information for me! Its true all the dangerous species in Australia but not living in home are residential areas! Not sure about other informations.
9. Its true cheap maid available in Singapore. Australian human rights is tougher!
10. Unskilled/skilled (But cheap) workers from India, china, bangladesh, malaysia are available in Singapore. In Australia all highly paid jobs! Though you work as waitress are the head of all waitress, still you paid same. Which means work respect is much higher in Australia but doing a business bit expensive.
11. Personally i feel Australia have more job opportunities than Singapore. Wide part-time employment options available and can be avail any time. So many peoples just do their part time jobs and earning quiet good money for years.
12. Australia is more multi-culture than Singapore. In singapore mostly the population is filled with singaporeans, chinese, malays, indian and few other races, can say mostly Asians. But Australia have wide range of other nationals like europians, asians, middle east etc., Very obvious! the food rages are more but the price may expensive than Singapore.
13. The figure is wrong!
14. This gives contrary info with point #1. So which means Singapore is expensive than Australia! The basic three things for a human being are food, shelter and clothing!!!!!!!
15. CPF? do you know the retirement age to withdraw your CPF money? The retirement age is called grave age! the age just before you prepare to go and meet Lord Jesus Christ! But its very much useful for hospital and medical cover.
7.
When you decide to move away and giveup your Singapore citizen ship and migrate to other countries,the Singapore government ask you to give feed back in a pre-printed yes or no type questions. That points will clearly mention about the facts and truths . . .
I thought Singapore’s GDP per capita is already way higher than Japan’s?
Singapore’s GDP per capita : $59,936
Japan’s GDP per capita : $34,362
Singapore’s GDP per capita is the 3rd highest in the world, after Qatar and Luxembourg.
Seems a bit pointless trying to compare the two countries as they are vastly different both geographically and culturally. Also some of the points raised are just plain silly i.e. yes maybe someone living way out in the bush might have a problem with spiders, but here in Sydney where I live and work I have yet to see a dangerous spider or snake or any dangerous animals and I’ve been here over two years.
I found this site because I am considering a career move to Singapore for a year or two. Mainly because I like Singapore and it’s handy to go explore the rest of Asia and pretty well half way between London and Sydney and my home country New Zealand.
Living in Sydney is amazing. Not only do we have a great climate and I enjoy a relaxing walk thru Hyde Park in the morning from my apartment to work, but I can be at any number of great bars and restaurants overlooking the harbour within minutes, or only 30 minutes to some of the best beaches in the world. Also I live in Chinatown so I get to eat fantastic Asian food regularly for around SGD$10. So while I expect I’ll love Singapore, I know I’ll miss Sydney, and I will be surprised if I’m actually any better off financially in Singapore.
AND we have four seasons here. You only have one