Americans React to Geography Now ! Singapore

[@Chiruchiru57]

I wouldn’t say everyone is rich or everyone is “scraping by” either. As always, in most developed societies, the truth lies somewhat in between. Singapore is highly dependent on its quality labour force due to a lack of natural resources. So depending on your qualifications, skill set and “desirability” as an employee, you could be very comfortable or not too comfortable. Given its status as a global business and financial hub, average white-collar salaries are inflated (many people from neighbouring countries experience an instant 2-3x increase in pay just from moving here) and so is cost of living compared to most other cities. I would say the best way to look at it is whether the middle-class lives comfortably, and I would argue that the middle class in Singapore has a slightly easier time of it than say in some US cities or places like Hong Kong. Of course, Covid has bumped some people out of the security of the middle class and gig workers have increased about 3-fold according to a recent survey, but the fresh grads who got jobs also reported a rise in average salary. Very much a question of increased competition for a lower number of high-skill jobs and individual ability to make sound financial decisions. If you don’t over-extend yourself on needless luxuries like a car, premium housing, drinking etc, general cost of living is quite affordable for the average working citizen and I’ve heard many foreigners say the salary vs cost ratio here is better than even neighbouring countries like Malaysia which we consider more “affordable”.

[@entrydenied]

Car prices in Singapore are usually about 2 to 3 times more than the US, even if you don't take the COE into account. So a Tesla Model 3 is about US$ 38K in the US, but in Singapore it is estimated to be about US $ 130K, and that's if you buy directly from Tesla. And you can only drive it for 10 years. We do have road tax on top of COE as well.

[@az0989ejdje]

130k with or without COE? I heard with COE its about 300k

[@kennyzeng21]

@@az0989ejdje 130k with 10 yr COE. exc road tax and road insurance

[@RonLarhz]

PC/laptops is also 2-3 times more

[@NoohCee]

@@RonLarhz rubbish.

[@somethingisbaking2401]

@@kennyzeng21 you go where buy tesla for 130k w COE. Lol

[@Sone_carat90]

Most Singaporeans here are well to do. Most have savings and frequently travel overseas. We rely heavily on food deliveries which is quite expensive. But the best thing is that we have huge number of volunteers helping out in the community to the less fortunate. That’s the part of the Singaporean spirit, we don’t leave anyone behind. We help when we can.

[@SitiSaad]

Much has been said about the economy, culture, politics, infrastructure for Singapore. But, the most unique trait and that is not mentioned anywhere, is how Singapore trusted it's government. Yes, Singaporeans may whine and complain about them, how they are strict, runs Singapore like a company, "big brother" ish, archaic policy making, etc. but the fact is when the going gets tough (Asian Financial crisis, COVID...), Singaporeans hunker up and do as is required. And we can't undermine how this effected the country's success. This I think is the secret; how Singapore sells any idea to the people, the people's trust in the government to do the right thing and unifying to see the idea to completion. In 1985 when Lee Kuan Yew sold his idea of the future of Singapore, all Singaporeans were like...we can't do this, it's too big a dream, we have nothing! It was believe, grit, and unification that gets us where we are today.

[@muhamadamirulhafiz2852]

Thank you for reacting to my suggestion yesterday! Also, one of the ethnic group of Singapore, the Malay people are achknowledged as native/indigenous people of Singapore since this country is part of Malay Archipelago, and even though most Singaporean speak English or commonly Singlish, the national language of Singapore is Malay language in order to respect the history of Singapore as part of Malay legacy and that is why the national anthem, Majulah Singapura (Onward Singapore) also sung entirely in Malay language!

[@eventhorizon3117]

Singapore was a thriving port city in 1300s before it was sacked by the Majapahit then it became an important naval and trading outpost of the Malacca empire and the Johore Sultanate after the Portuguese took Malacca. Was going to say it was not a sleepy fishing village. Parts of it may have laid in ruins as a result of wars with Portuguese and other local states. It was evident that the old Malay Wall from Temasek times was still in place in the 1820s when the second British governor gave a detailed account of it. Sleepy fishing villages don't need walls.

[@zebimicio5204]

Even then, Singapore has the highest gdp and per capita compared to the other malayan states during british time. One of the main reasons Malaysia accepted Singapore was how wealthy the state was. The whole "singapore was a sleepy fishing village" was mostly propaganda from the PAP party.

[@eventhorizon3117]

@@zebimicio5204 more of a misnomer... something they mention when talking about history but this myth originated from the British to legitimise their rule.

[@zebimicio5204]

@@eventhorizon3117 Kinda, but the PAP goes full throttle with that nonsense and uninformed Singaporeans kind of just went with it seeing how limited information was back then to the common people.

[@eventhorizon3117]

@@zebimicio5204anyone who can think can see that SG was not a village in 1965. It has a big naval base and was the crown jewel of the British

[@zebimicio5204]

@@eventhorizon3117 Yeah, anyone who can think, which is not the most singaporean i have came across XD Like, legit most sgs were surprised when i told em singapore was already a rich city state even before lky took over.

[@gideonlee6244]

Singapore isn't expensive to live in when you live sensibly. The public housing here is fantastic and safe and clean and cheap. Affordability issues arise when people want to own a car and a $1.5m private property. When people say they are scrapping by, it's either the poor (which every country has) or its because people try to keep up with the Jones as stated above. A meal at the food centre is less than $6. You can purchase a 99 yr lease public housing flat with 3 bedrooms a dining room, a hall and 2 bathrooms plus bomb shelter store room for as low as $250,000. That's like $210 /mth rental for life. This is available to Singaporean families only. So we locals aren't really scrapping by as we like to sometimes whine to our friends. 🙂

[@lxcites]

"scraping by" is definitely a huge exaggeration. Many "average" salaried workers are the most well-travelled people I've known in the world, who enjoys travelling all over the world at least 1-2 times every year. Most of them lived rather comfortably, with affordable food options , compared to many major cities in the world.

[@mdhilwan7321]

Born and raised in Singapore, relocated to the US (Missouri) afew years ago for a job. I miss home. I miss the discipline work ethics. I miss the public transportation. I miss the fast reliable government administration. But yeah, thanks for this video and it's great to get your perspective as an American watching this video. Peace!

[@leewn2319]

Singapore is a multiracial multi cultural society based in justice & equality regardless of race language or religion so as to achieve happiness prosperity and progress for our nation. As such, to gel everyone together to communicate & understand each other for racial harmony, our official working language is English. Our National language is Malay because the island original inhabitants were Malays before the British bought over the island. All other races were Immigrants who came from China, India etc to find a better livelihood. Our National Anthem Majulah Singapura is in Malay. Our education systems teaches English as 1st language and students learn their mother tongue (Malay, Mandarin, Indian) as 2nd language. Which is why we uphold racial harmony seriously and will NOT tolerate any form of discrimination.

[@jooz_brawlstars4731]

Im kinda offended how they say we are "scrapping by", the reason why most Singaporeans feel that they are not rich is because Singapore's expensiveness is kinda proportional to the Country's GDP per capita, so when a foreigner comes to Singapore, they feel Singapore is expensive, however, Singaporeans don't generally feel so. So technically when you feel rich in Singapore, you are rich

[@Trinetra3382]

but you cant omit the fact that there are ppl living under the poverty line in Singapore

[@jooz_brawlstars4731]

@@Trinetra3382 of course, but that’s a small percentage of people living in Singapore

[@davidleong7600]

Not more expensive than UK or Australia. Americans are kinda ignorant of most things. Nice try but rather short of the truth. They compare everything to their expectations which include a house and a big car! These are expensive in Singapore.

[@CT-oj4we]

Our food, services, recreations, and taxes are quite affordable. We are living quite nicely, so that is a reason PAP is still winning and 60% of the vote is considered a disgrace and losing the mandate.

[@juicywawa]

@@Trinetra3382 but there's people living under the poverty line everywhere??

[@fbr35]

thank u for reacting to this video, I have done go to Singapore in 2019, this country very well planned nice city, and well connected on public transportation, I hope can come back soon.. from Malaysia!

[@frenchmonchi]

The video touches on many topics. However, it didn't touch on Singapore's education system. The amount of money spent on education is the second greatest amount. Once you have taken PSLE in Singapore, as long as you don't fail anything, I'm pretty sure that you can skip the first year of secondary school in other countries. My teacher also shared the story of a student who did well for O levels in Singapore and skipped 2 years of the college he went to. If I'm not wrong, he did well and got a good job.

[@busmaniaMAN]

The old name for Singapore is Temasek

[@SSgtJ0hns0n]

I never knew about the "Pulau Ujong" moniker until Geography Now. It was either Singapura or Temasek for me.

[@busmaniaMAN]

@@SSgtJ0hns0n maybe we need explore more for the history,when I studied at shool for historical subject,

[@ferdsbayas1116]

Amazing Singapore.......

[@jdc3636]

Visited this month, loved it.

[@Soshiaircon91]

Scraping by is an exaggeration. TBH Singapore citizen received way more benefits from govt than foreigner also locals know where to get affordable food and daily necessity. So if you arent a citizen you might find SG quite expensive but average Singaporean are definitely far from rich.

[@injustice_gamingplaz515]

Amazing video but a common misconception is that we ca;t chew gum we can but we just can't buy it locally and we can only bring small amts. from overseas.also, Im kind of offended that you guys say that we are "scraping by" to survive. Well that's not particularly true since there are cheap things in our country and although the tourists think that it is expensive, for us, it's generally ok since our salaries aren't that low either.

[@lpericteo]

In Singapore 🇸🇬, we do have 4 seasons, Hot , Hotter, Very Hot and Raining.

[@JC-uz3ey]

Point to note: Of the 6m population demographic, less than 3m are native Singaporeans. More than half the people here are migrant workers or foreign workers from other nations. Easy way to identify a Singaporean? They each speak 2-3 languages, so conversations can go on in a mix of said languages, which foreigners find difficult to follow.

[@zainanuar6958]

Alright, this time it's about my native beloved country Singapura...a city state aka the Lion City and Garden City. Though some might say we are a bit too 'sterilised' and 'boring' but living in a multicultural, vibrant and limited space, being wholesome, law abiding with almost everything proper and in order are very essential. Surrounded by neighboring South East Asian countries, their prosperity are detrimental to ours too because most Singaporeans love to travel for leisure or do business around the region. So, welcome to Singapore, the gateway to South East Asia. 😊🇸🇬

[@audreychoong7323]

Hmmm... the Brunei currency is interchangable to Singapore dollar at par, that is, Singapore dollar is accepted in Brunei and vice versa. This is done to promote trade. However, the Singapore dollar used to be pegged against a hidden basket of currencies and now float against a basket of currencies monitored by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

[@Jiefeily]

Thank you guys! I'm residing in Singapore🇸🇬 Sometime its good see KZbinr share and talk about my country, cos we r very used to it alrdy...

[@muhamadamirulhafiz2852]

Don't forget to react to video titled: "Geography Now! Brunei". Brunei is a tiny but also very rich country in the island of Borneo neighbouring Malaysia. Don't worry, this video is way old so it's not gonna be very long video

[@sarawak6897]

Singapore and Malaysian best friend forever

[@ahmadfirdauz6322]

Singapore and Johor Bahru...bestest friends 😉👍

[@HopeforAllKind]

Just a note but COE is separate from our other taxes etc and the 30k price point is old - I just checked today and not including motorcycle COE, the cheapest COE for Cat A cars is more than SGD65k which is near USD49k (not including the price of the car itself) COE for Cat B cars are at over SGD85k

[@pardontube]

COE prices are back to $100,000 now, as of Mar 2022. It had hit the $100K level previously back in the 1990s. Heh, Dad refused to pay up for a new car with the $100K COE then, and so kept his old car for a long time, which was actually no problem cuz a well-maintained ten-year old car can still run very well. Over the decades, my family has paid ~$50K, 30K, 10K, and once lucked out on a $5K COE during/after the 2009 financial crisis when demand for cars plummeted. Urban myth: Apparently for a particular month of COE bidding, COE prices went down to $0 dollars ! For some really lucky buyers, they managed to secure COEs at zero cost. You can still find some of these cars somewhere in the secondhand car market, where the listings will show their COE cost as $0/- Its not a typo or a scam, there really are some cars out there with zero dollar COEs.

[@bukitkatilmp]

The Malaysia version of the toll device fitted in the car is called Smart Tag. Been around since the 1990s just after Singapore.

[@sambharat3532]

I am half singaporen, my mom is singaporen😘 n my dad is malaysian😘

[@JLDREAMS]

COE is not tax, there's a whole bunch of other scheme for taxes for cars😂 for example, import tax is 100%, there's also road tax, ERP, and some other ones that places a tax on some car models with inefficient/ high energy consuming/ luxury brand cars, plus additional taxes for if you own more than 1 car

[@rudro2387]

Underrated channel

[@manseb5211]

Wow that's a very indepth interpretation of what's Singapore is all abt. The facts shared are realistic abt the country in every aspects. Thx for a great job in doing a good research before sharing to the world abt us. Telling the truth is the most important thing in this era of lies & one sided story telling. Good job guys.

[@AndiAqmarFala]

yeah, finally geography again!

[@jayshen84]

"Up to 30K" for COE when that video was made and that was a period of time when the COE just dipped significantly. A better range would be 70-100K.

[@zulfikarshahzulkarnain8839]

Not all Singaporean r rich stuff here quite expensive 😂

[@athomenotavailable]

The national animal is not the Merlion, that's just something that the Singapore Tourism Board made up as part of it's marketing campaign. The actual national animal is the lion, which there are no native ones other than in the zoo.

[@danielc2701]

Singapore is expensive... if you don't know how to shop. I go to the Dollar stores and get a 1.25L bottle of Coke for $1 SGD (0.74 cents in USD), 9 bars of Kit Kat chocolate from the UK at $4 SGD (3 USD). A loaf of bread is $2.40 ($1.80 USD). This is the price range we are paying for groceries. This should give you a ballpark to estimate cost of living in Singapore.

[@MegaShaun99]

I love trees, greenery. After covid, cheap travel time! See Jetstar and scoot. Singaporean playground

[@punithacharles6931]

Hooray Singapore! Truly home♥️

[@MH-sq8zz]

i've been waiting for this.....😊

[@thereisnochannel8666]

4 some people it's hard to live in Singapore...but it really depends on your financial situation. And some people have some sort of image that Singapore is all tall buildings.....no that's the central only.

[@AkhiZakariah]

Wow…

[@wongedwardtuckhoe4284]

This system we learn from the america san franco bridge.

[@kevinkusman2081]

the parliment kick out vote was because LKY got his group and made a strong united chinese block of voters threatening the existence of the pure malay parliament government so they negotiated a separation of malaysia and singapore as long as LKY and his group stop with their bid for the malaysian parliament seats and this was where most chinese moved to singapore together with LKY.... it was not an easy seperation even though in history it looked like it was all agreed upon but this was due to the threat that they felt with the chinese population lead by LKY that could eventually take over malaysia's government because of LKY's charisma that can reach the whole of malaysia with just his first time running for seats in the malaysian's parliament... BTW the seperation was a very long negotiation between both parties... if my memory is right, i think it took like almost 2 years as a whole for the negotiations to complete... and yea after the negotiations completed those from malaysia spread the word to their parliaments and got them to not veto the separation vote.... the malays at first during the negotiation were dilly dallying but it all changed at one point... i forgot the reason but its probably related to both parties wanting to exterminate communism and some other matter that LKY did against them.... oh and they actually didn't want to separate singapore originally because of the pass through sea route access they had just above indonesia and the additional land they would control... look my memory is fuzzy on all the history details plus this is not a subject i liked... in fact i had never scored more than 10/100 in history subjects in singapore... but i roughly remember some important key points but the accurate details might be off... BTW malaysian government cheated on the election as well in this period, its just like the turn off light and win strategy in malaysia recently... fyi singapore only joined malaysia to get out of britain's rule... BTW it was not a moment of anguish if we look back in the history books... because LKY pretty much got what he wanted and more... he wanted to rule his land and he wanted out of britain's control.... his so called anguish is the fact that his support lines got cut off so early and very quickly after getting out of britain's rule.... but due to this fact he has free reign in ruling singapore and how much of his policies he could implement it was no anguish moment.... btw fun fact, most of the people that choose to go with singapore at that time were mostly oppressed chinese under malaysia's government and other people dissatisfied with the malaysian government... so did you really think those people actually felt anguish that they separated from their oppressors?... yea they didn't felt anguish for the most part but they felt empowered because they had their LKY leading them... in fact you can probably find some photos and videos of their people cheering after the separation voting thing was finalized.... i mean they had the pioneer citizen privileges... this was the main reason why singapore has so much chinese... and this is actually how you should do diversity.... it should be based on the percentages of representations and also people have to be tolerant and accepting to a certain extent to everyone... and if someone fucks up you just tell them they fucked up not berate them for fucking up or go on a flame war on the internet... unlike how the westerners are doing things now recently with their diversity BS along with their witch hunting and doxing...

[@luqhakim5711]

As a long time watcher of Geography Now but has kinda taken a bit of a break from their vids, i too didnt know that the videos nowadays go for 25+ mins long! Its longer than a TV show episode haha! But seriously though, dont get me wrong on this.. i just thought there was wayyy too much going on to the point where they added in like the music and sports scene were .. idk.. too much? Again, i appreciate their effort but they should stay at around 12-16 mins. All in all, i learned much more bout Singapore than before so all's well that end's well

[@bangunhapsoroofficial]

Wow you are give us nice reaction about singapore...

[@agusti_zainal0445]

#Singapore🇸🇬🇸🇬🇸🇬 #LittleTiongkok in #Southeastasia

[@ganhaithong2097]

Every countries have their rich n poor. Japan is also expensive country, but there also rich n poor. but don get wrong or mistaken those staying in HDB don mean they are poor . Singaporen many now not only staying in HDB but also have their private condos rented out . 😅

[@godspeedham9059]

Am I the only one but at 14:08 it sounds like dream?

[@siewkitlee4191]

Yall should react to Singapore History

[@mr.brightside6087]

Not fully 'green' but Singapore did their best to avoid coal-based energy. Unlike the neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia (my country hehehe sucks)

[@athomenotavailable]

Guy in red jacket has the most authentic singlish as well Singaporean accent for his normal English. Guy who looks like a Teddy bear, least authentic.

[@muhamadamirulhafiz2852]

Can you please react to video titled : "PERTABALAN AGONG KE-16 | SEMUA RAJA-RAJA MELAYU HADIR Kecuali Johor, Kelantan, Perlis & N.Sembilan" This video is about the coronation of our 16th King of Malaysia, also known as 'Yang di-Pertuan Agong' and this event were attended by nine Kings or Sultans of each nine state of Malaysia (noted : the King of Johor, Kelantan, Perlis & N. Sembilan didn't attended but instead taken place by their representative) To get you guys better understanding: Malaysia practices Parliamentary Democracy with Constitutional Monarchy and His Majesty The King as the Paramount Ruler. The Federal Constitution was legislated with the setting up of conditions for this system to exist. One of the characteristic of Parliament Democracy is the separation of powers into three parts which are the Legislative, the Judiciary and the Executive. Malaysia is also a country that practices a system of Democracy based on the Federation system. In accordance to this the states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johore, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Sarawak and Sabah have agreed to the concept of forming Malaysia Each state involved has surrendered part of its power such as financial, defense, education, foreign affairs and others, as stated in the Malaysian Constitution, which is administered by the Central Government. There are matters that are under the power of the state and each state administers the power over those matters. As a country with a Constitutional Monarchy, it is therefore allocated by the Constitution the institutions of His Majesty The King as the Paramount Ruler, the hereditary rulers of the nine states and the Council of Malay Rulers. His Majesty The King has the power to safeguard the customs and traditions of the Malay people and the administration of the Islamic religion in each state. His Majesty The King is the Head of the Islamic religion for the states of Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territories. His Majesty The King is the Highest Commander of the Armed Forces. His Majesty The King carries out his duties under the Constitution under the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Meanwhile, the hereditary rulers are Head of State of his own state and carry out their duties under the advice of their Menteri Besar.

[@kosuke3113]

It is not "Simhapura". It is called Singapura. Anyway Singa is "lion" ..

[@mnasirmnor]

Please react “Why Malaysia kick Singapore?” (Why Singapore get out from Malaysia)

[@lemonrand1]

as a Singaporean.. its starting to to feel like so, recently. attracting too many different kind of money ..80-90s were the better decades.

[@hengalvin8810]

You are right. The country Rich not the common ppls. Is a For the Rich ppls to migrate for low tax

[@ravenblackwood1291]

Like you both already know… I’m from Singapore

[@jemimychannel7893]

Whatttt!! In USA can get a Lamboghini for $30K???? Here in MALAYSIA we only can get Saga or AXIA for MYR30K.... What the!!!!

[@snowy_wolfyxx4606]

OOF. it's pronounced as as-pla-nade

[@steevan]

"moment of anquish" .... asean neighbours : right......

[@DCLOVESGOD365]

You’re 100% right, Singapore is an expensive place to live in.

[@JAYZXTTVG30DETT]

Ummm… the COE is up toS$132,000 in July 2022…

[@mohdnizamabdulrahman741]

Why I'm thinking the hat-guy imitating Steve Irwin?

[@mayyanovozhilova4449]

Wrong it is expensive but it is not expensive living with the salary you get

[@kiat80]

I am from SINGAPORE. All are correct.

[@austume6171]

Singlish : tabao Manglish: tapau 😂😂

[@wongedwardtuckhoe4284]

You forget about dick lee song writer & singer.

[@PancitKanton]

Please react to: FIREWORKS OVER METRO MANILA NYE

[@mingrat8866]

welp joseph schooling did cannabis

[@mmarican]

DONT' BE ROUDE TO THE SINGAPOREANS WHO ARE WATCHING THIS VIDEO🤬🤬🤬

[@triggerhappee]

100k coe now :(

[@franciscody9622]

Most Singaporeans have their retirements savings (CPF) tied up in their leasehold (publuc and private) property. The value of leasehold property will eventually (and rapidly) depreciate to ZERO within the next 10-20 years. Let that sink in.

[@yvonnetan2934]

A A A

[@ryokolynn6948]

Its a very boring place, no nice beaches ( they reclaimed the super nice beaches at the north-east area in the 1970s & built a international airport there.....really what a DUMB idea ). i highly recommend tourists to go Republic of Taiwan & New Zealands....its much nicer & worth spending your ,money there !

[@vrg2093]

JUST MSIA CUT OFF THE WATER FOR WEEK THEY WILL DIE.....HAHHAHAH

[@LinksRoyal]

laugh all ya want child. Do it then? talk is cheap. but hey your minister are doing a great job running Msia to the ground.

[@samloo8529]

Why would you want to do that?