You are lost my son. May god have mercy on your soul.
(Coincidentally, Singapire is a souless country. Hmmmm...)
You have highlighted some of teh good points about Singapore in
your post above, and as you have gathered, I was kidding (but only
just).
Some points to put things into perspective:
- Education in Singapore is a soulless and very
unpleasant experience. When you child enters school, he hits the
ground running and he is expected to keep running for at least 12
years. He will be indoctrinated to think that success and happiness
is a high salary and a high powered job (can't blame them as in
Singapore there is not safety net. You have no money, you starve).
He will be taught that there is only one way to go in life: get
good results, get a career, get money, acheive self-worth. After he
comes out of Junior College or Polytechnic, he will be like the
vast majority of Singaporean Youths out there - proficient at
rote-learning, highly ignorant and slightly fearful of the world
outside Singapore.
- Raising a Family. Are you sure Singapore is the
best place to raise a family? You son will have to do Natiojnal
Service. I know you many Americans have a fetish for all things
military but believe me, National Service is a tremendous
sacrifice. For one, NS is dangerous for a person's well-being both
physically and mentally. I do not claim to have had a very tough
time in the Army but I have seen at least 2 persons driven quite
mad by the army. One of them even tried suicide. The army is not
for everyone and not everyone comes out with all parts intact. For
all this, and a lime time of bondage to the nation, you son will
get nothing in return. A company, if he can get away with it, will
naturally prefer foreigners. This coupled with the 'free-market'
ethos of the Singapore Govt means that this is a country where
citizens are in a position that is not better than
foreigners.
- Security. Yes Singapore is safe. But really, it
is overrated. I've lived in England for several years whilst at
university and I came through it unmolested. All that is needed to
remove this advantage of Singapore's is a little commonsense.
Furthermore, I wasn't joking when I said that Singapore is a
sinking ship. There are more and more foreigners around in
Singapore today, the result of an attempt by the govt to halt the
ageing of the population. For some reason, most of these foreigners
are from China...and these people are not brought up to obey laws
like Singaporeans are. If you've had any contact with the CHinese,
one thing you will realise is that they are very devious ppl - they
want something and they will devise all sorts of schemes to get it,
the law be damned. That is in their psyche and I suppose they are a
product of hard times. Hence, the security situation in SIngapore
can only worsen.
- Job Opportunities. If you can get a job with
your histroy degree, fine. However, I doubt it would be a
high-paying job. If you've got experience you could perhaps be a
lecturer. They earn a decent salary.
-quality of life. The Singaporean quality of life
is, in a word, mediocre. Housing is very expensive, Cars are very
expensive, and the public transport system, while reliable, is
always crowded. There is not safety net in the form of unemplyoment
benefits or minimum wage so if you lose your job, you have no
savings and you have no familiy to bail you out, you are pretty
much on your own.
Another point is this: the fact that I, a Singaporean, am trying so
hard to dissuade you from settling in Singapore must surely ring
alarm bells for you. Take alook at some of the topics that crop up
here and you will realize I am not alone. Where else in the
developed world will you have citizens who so abhor their
country?
Go somewhere else. Really. Explore your options then decide. You
could almost certainly do better than Singapore.
