Strange but true

[Techgurl]

Realist!

there you are!! finally..

so, so, so.. you sounded rather defensive, dont you? oh come on, you started slamming the country.. while i do agree with most of the stuff which you mentioned, others may not. i believe the objective of having a forum or a message board is to facilitate interaction within the community, the exchange of ideas and views, info sharing etc- not to spark off such arguments or hate mails. also, negative feedback like these may well affect the way others perceive the country and its people. we have to remember that not everyone is like that. you may have seen and probably even encountered the ugly side of this country, but i bet not everyone had had such bad experiences at all.

[Pomp]

Realist,

You should publish this list as a primer for new expats.  If the newbie understand what you're saying, it's proof positive that they've been in Singapore for a while !  If they don't, then they haven't had the Singapore experience yet !

Btw, I can think of a whole lot more to add to your list, or any other lists about other countries !

[interloper]

PhilM - Bravo!
Anyone else game to grapple with insults and other nationalities?

[kievth]

To all %$#@!! expats who keep poking fun at us, the locals, try looking at this parody news website. http://www.cnc.00server.com/Dec2000/FILTS.htm

[Judy]

Pomp....sorry for the confusion...my fault...her document was quite superior and allowed me to make the right choice...but it was the fact that she couldn't express her own opinion on which was the better choice....seems to be quite common here in Singapore.....at least in Oz we all have an opinion and are not scared to voice...right or wrong....

[Stamford R.]

I fully support the notion that Singaporeans are indeed exceptionally efficient in the workplace - after all, if they weren't there would be a need (and perhaps even a very public appetite) to encourage workers from overseas on inflated remuneration packages - perish the thought. I'm sure it's eminently efficient to work until 9.00pm most days and spend quality leisure time at the weekends in the office - probably the superior work-ethic.

True, I am perhaps a sad, bitter, twisted creature who should "go home". However, if I did that I'd have to put up with:-

A glum, dour populous
Ridiculously bad weather
Drugs
Crime
Racism (as highlighted by one of Singapore's legendary flip-flop attired taxi drivers)
etc etc.

(London by the way).

Fact - everything Realist listed are daily occurrences, like it or not - big deal.

To all the critics, please stop taking yourself/Singapore so seriously and let's try and develop a couple of new phenomena in Singapore - wit and self-mockery. Believe it or not, it's actually quite healthy.

(Please, please, please give us another list Realist - has a certain ring to it)

[speak softly]

as a Singaporean, I agree with a lot of these observations. But I feel the first is a half-truth. Americans and Australians are really loud and they're more of them all over the world! You can hear them booming away in small European towns, hushed London museums and quiet trains, on the bus or in a busy seafood restaurant or intimate dining establishment in Singapore, the Four Seasons or Ritz resorts in Asia. Nowhere is exempt from these foghorns! And you don't even need a large group, just one person talking to another is enough for the rest of us to be unintended eavesdroppers.

[KT]

Kievth - just looked up the site you suggested - very funny!

[Drew]

Hilarious and right on target, realist, even though you said it wasn't meant to be funny. Thanks for the list.
I have a couple to add: Singaporeans who raise their own children instead of paying some uneducated Indonesian or Filipino $300 a month to do it for them.
Or how about: Singaporeans who understand how to wait their turn in a queue and not cut in front of people in the MRT, at the bus stops, at the ATM machines, etc, etc...
I've also noticed, as someone else mentioned, the vast majority of locals (not everyone of course) don't seem to give one damn about anyone other than themselves. They'll walk right by or over someone who's fallen or passed out with barely a glance. I've seen it happen twice. Both times it was a foreigner who came to the rescue. What kind of pathetic attitude is this? Is this more "Singaporeans don't want to take the lead."?  I'd consider that kind of behaviour extremely callous, rude and selfish.
Thanks again realist. And for those of you with your "if you don't like it here, go home" attitude, as realist stated, that list was never meant to be a slam on the culture here, merely some observations, which in my view are very accurate. Maybe realist very much enjoys living here, he never said he didn't. But ff you can't accept the truth, maybe you should think about changing YOUR attitude.

[Iceman]

If the bigger pay cheque was what it was all about then I'd be in NY, Tokyo, SanFran or even Hongkong.

I chose Singapore (after eight years in London) specifically for the (better)quality of life, the region and knowing that things worked - impt!

Might I suggest if the pay was all it was about then maybe some of the expats in this town couldn't get jobs in the big paying cities... seriously there are few 'obscenely rich' people in Singapore??  Now that should definitely set the proverbial cat amongst the pidgeons - be kind :-)

[Me]

Each and every of us have our own reasons why we are here in Singapore. Taken that we should respect other people so much that we don't give them nasty advice to "take a flight to somewhere else" if they seem to have opinions which differ from our own ones. Every day is not just plain sun shine - so the "negative" should feelings should also be allowed to be aired!

Just my humble opinion!

[jscfoto]

This is very funny, and most of it is true. I personally think the transportation system is fantastic, as we are from USA where absolutely nothing is possible without owning a car.