SG Complains

Singapore Not That Pricy? Who Say!!!?

I Refer to the letter “S’pore not that pricey” (my paper, July 28).

Moving to Australia has made me realise something: We should not grumble too much about the cost of living in Singapore.

Many cities in the world have high costs of living, but in Singapore we have world-class infrastructure and facilities at relatively reasonable prices. It is no wonder that many foreigners want to settle in Singapore.

There are several differences between Sydney, Australia and Singapore.

1. Sydney’s minimum wages for retail is very high around A$16 per hour and Singapore is below SGD$4-5 per hour

2. Their food staple is not rice hence rice is more expensive but other food is cheaper.
3. Their food portion is much bigger
4. Their pay is much higher
5. Their suburban houses are so much bigger then Singapore’s HDB

Of course everything is depending on how you look at it, advantages and disadvantages between Singapore vs other countries.

It’s kind of unfair to compare Singapore with one of the expensive countries to justify our life is not expensive. It’s like we are chasing to be the most expensive country in the world before we can think otherwise.

What then? Zimbabwe then should be voted the most expensive country in the world since their one loaf of bread cost millions!

There is no different from the value of $$$ compared to the ability to purchase goods & services.

The idea is not to compare apple with banana which is totally unfair and bias in perspective and the over direction of the news article is not just to “verify” that Singapore is not expensive to live in.

The poor in Singapore cannot voice their opinions that they cannot earn enough to make their ends meets even with their hard work as shopping center cleaners, rubbish collectors, aluminum drink cans collectors, rubbish recyclers, tissue peddlers, construction workers, toilet cleaners and more.

Increasingly, food stalls owners are facing similar drop in earning due to higher rentals, cost of gas, cost of raw materials and cost of hiring. The pressure to be price competitively may force them out of the cooking careers or join large food court organizations that control every single aspect of how the stalls are ran making the stall owners just another employee.

Soon, the middle class workers might be caught in the inflation debt ridden cycle of doom. They might play risky investments and bet on dream scenarios that sometimes may not be realistic.

Some bet on joining MLM companies that promise early retirement but had to slave like a horse to build the network to slave for them…and continue etc etc. Soon many fall into even worst scenarios or borrowing from illegal loan sharks or worst…the banks.

People in such scenarios may not care what you say about comparison that Australia is good or not…but the pace of life people are struggling to get the hang of.

If the fast pace of Singapore is not ideal…moving overseas suddenly become extremely exciting regardless of cost.

Last words…”The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence“.