Non-obvious Things You Should Know About Singapore

and I was there with my five-year-old my three-year-old crying one on each leg and my bags full of groceries and I just started crying at some point I just couldn't hold it anymore and then there's this really fancy sophisticated lady on her high heels she looks at me and she said are you okay and she genuinely meant it there's that natural kindness that comes out of singaporeans but then disappears in some spheres this is Anna she's from Spain and has been living in Singapore for six years she works as an interpreter for the United Nations and what if I tell you that Anna translated for Elon Musk during our incredible conversation she shared what she likes and dislikes about singaporeans and the secret to obtaining permanent residency after only one year of living in Singapore IMAX entrepreneur and a YouTuber from Singapore let's go do you miss anything especially from your life in in Europe in Geneva or in Spain when you say the verb miss I miss my friends and family and all that but what I miss every day is amazing you can find anything from anywhere in the world food Cosmetics clothes anything you can dream of you can find it in Singapore but bread I mean bread because of the weather and the humidity you either eat it like out of the oven right there or it just becomes chewing gum and it's so disappointing I miss my bread I miss my bread did you have any changes to socialize or it was like smooth and easy for you socializing that's a that's like Geneva was the same it's very difficult to break into circles that have been established for years like if you went to school with your friends and you've been friends forever and you're in Friendship needs are covered but would you open the door to a foreigner the door of your heart since we're talking about love what would you open that door to a foreigner right and then with the expat or immigrant Community we're never here to stay so once you make friends they leave I mean if you've been around for more than two three years you've probably seen waves of people coming and going so I think it's difficult to make lasting friendships it's funny because you would trust your life you put your kids which is probably your most precious acid in the hands of someone you barely met like a neighbor because you trust them with your life because you know they understand what you're going through but at the same time two years later you won't even make a phone call it's a weird kind of friendship it's like very deep and very shallow at the same time you got PR after two years in Singapore like what's the secret one year one year one year I have no idea I actually have no idea because we have two girls and we thought you know there's all these rumors about what you think or what you know uh what you require so what we did we did a scouting we visited different agencies and they all said I'll file your profile which meant that we had high chances of being accepted and then we just did it online by ourselves when an agency says we have an 80 or a 90 rate approval it means that they vet your profile before they send it and they would only send it if they know for a fact that you're going to be approved so if two or three tell you that you're okay to go then probably have chances of it working I think there were several things there was the fact that both my husband and I went to really good schools the fact that we brought our savings here we showed that we were serious and committed to be in Singapore and then we also had requests I mean an inquire about my former employers and I think when I showed the UN card it kind of made them like me more it was a proof but you never know I mean the criteria public Singapore is one thing and that's very transparent if you fulfill the criteria I would just say try your chances I don't know I have no idea I don't know if you love Singapore as much as I do you will want to stay here longer or even forever all you need is VR a status of permanent resident but more than 100 000 applications are submitted each year including mine and only 30 of them are approved so to be like you have to be the best but don't worry you can increase your chances of success with the help of immigration at SG the service will assess the strength of your profile offer strategic insights and hold you through the process and manage the entire work for your Singapore PR application immigration SG is the leading One-Stop immigration consultancy providing full immigration services for individuals and businesses these guys have been in the game since 2014 so you can trust that they know what they're doing they also provide other migration services from work pass to citizenship applications due to the experience and expertise in Immigration at SG team and the Strategic and tailor approach to your immigration issues you'll find your path to your long life in Singapore mate is easy as possible so follow the link below and book a free comprehensive one hour consultation with immigration experts from immigration at SG plus use my promo code for 10 discount on other services tell me about your Social Circle here in Singapore you have local friends like your main Spanish friends or like the whole bunch of international people it's funny because I was thinking about that the other day most of my friends are mixed couples or people who've been abroad for a long time I don't even have your breed Spanish friends who just moved from Spain and this is the first country where they go to I also think you know because of immigration laws all of us were foreigners went to the same schools we will have a similar International experience we will have similar jobs we all speak several languages that kind of makes it easier to make friends because you share so many things so many life experiences I have a few local friends mostly through school through the children all my local friends all my Singaporean friends they've all traveled the world studied abroad so I don't think it's a matter of being Singaporean or being planet or being Russian I think it's more a matter of how exposed you've been to to other things which kind of is like what drives people together right when you share experiences so it is I think it would be difficult for a multilingual Multicultural person to make friends with someone who's never left the country in Singapore or anywhere in the world it's just a different mindset it's a different view of the world what's funny in Singapore is that I I have friends that I met 20 years ago in different cities and we all ended up for one reason or another because life has funny ways sometimes in Singapore I want to say those are my best friends here people that I met a long time ago you know we've done different things and then we've ended up here my wife's friend from the uni she ended up in Singapore at a similar time with us but she was abroad she was traveling and living in different countries for like a good 10 years as us as well as my wife and then she just came here and we become friends like again my husband actually plays the bus in a band with his best friend from college who just moved here a couple of years ago that's also the beauty of Singapore it's such an international City you never know who you're gonna find here you have PR and then you probably have plans to leave summer time in Singapore we're happy here my kids are thriving they're fluent in Chinese which to me it's amazing it's just very difficult because we are a third culture family we're neither from here nor from there I would say that it's easier maybe in Singapore because there's so many families is like ours but I have the feeling nothing is here to stay I felt like that already in Geneva but I think in Singapore maybe because there is such a quick turnover of people it feels even stronger and then also there's some precariousness I mean I'm a PR and I I think I'm privileged to be so and I'm very honored the Singapore granted me or granted my family a PR but at the same time you know every five years you have to renew it so every five years they're again asking are you really here for the long term and then who knows you know parents grow older you might want to go back for a couple of years and then telework for a while and then come back what if that's the year when you need to renew your PR then be over for good that kind of that precariousness also I understand it comes from a point of privilege because in the European Union we forgot about all that you travel there's 27 countries you can move freely and establish yourself freely in 27 countries but there is that sense of futility and precariousness in the situation in Singapore as a foreigner do you think Singapore could do some something like more for people for foreigners to feel more comfortable and more stable or it's like that listen I would not be the one to give lessons to anyone I understand that Singapore has a very specific set of characteristics and a very specific set of needs I understand they play their cars the way they think is best I don't necessarily agree with all the policies but uh you know it's not my place either as a foreigner who's bringing talent and capital to this country I find sometimes we're treated as an asset and not so much as people and it's it's a contrast because Singapore is such a kind country like I honestly like that was one of the first things that I noticed when I moved here and that really shocked me in a positive way was how kind people are like generally speaking on their everyday lives like I remember I was when I we first arrived here we're staying at a surface apartment all I knew was a hallway that took me to Paragon which is to me now one of the most hideous places in the world world just because it's so it could be anywhere in the world right so I was grocery shopping there because that's the only place I know freezing because you know in Singapore there's two seasons indoors and Outdoors I was freezing to death not understanding a thing because I thought this was a tropical country and I was there with my five-year-old my three-year-old crying one on each leg and and my bags full of groceries and I just started crying at some point I just couldn't hold it anymore and then there's this really fancy sophisticated lady on her high heels passes by me and then she looks at me and she comes back and she said are you okay and she genuinely meant it I was so impressed that had never happened to me and then I figured you know I'm gonna be okay it's gonna be fine there's that natural kindness that comes out of singaporeans but then disappears in some spheres when dealing yeah with immigration but I see that too this is maybe anecdotical but I see that too when they drive the minute a Singaporean the kindest Singaporean the kindest soul on Earth the minute he or she he jumps on a car they turn into monsters what is wrong with cars in Singapore they will scream at you they would yell they would never let you cross we used to joke and I'm just going on and on but we used to joke when I lived in in Geneva when my friends from Spain would come visit I would we would play a game I don't recommend don't do this at home we'll go to a pedestrian Crossing and I said just close your eyes and cross the street what guys cars stop they really stop they you know they respect pedestrians so much though again don't do this at home but it worked I mean that was that's how that's how Swiss Drive uh whereas here is the extreme opposite it's like you have to fear for your life even if you have priority even a pedestrians Crossing even if the car is turning just get out of the way because they'll run you over the kindness person would just run you over sorry I had to say that what do you think is that I don't know I see that attitude in many countries in the region though I mean it's not just here but here is it's just the contrast like they won't let the traffic rules are just like a suggestion like in Italy it's an indication it's a suggestion I mean it was the fun experience like I lived in in the UK for a year and the UK drivers are they're super polite and they let you let you in if you are like turning from the smaller road to the highway they actually change the lane to the second lane to let you in and then I was used to drive there and then I went to the well else and I tried the same thing and people just never let me go I was like oh so you it's used better to check how people used to used to drive yeah and it's basically it's like Wells it's a same island what else Westerner should know uh before moving to this country be prepared for peace of mind I didn't know that I had so much noise in my brain until I moved to Singapore I mean for me this is a new level of quality of life it's not so much I mean of course there's always things that you know that you miss that could be better every time you move the things that are better and things that are worse but the one thing that I would definitely miss if one day I move out of Singapore is the Peace of Mind there are all these things that are just super efficient in Singapore you know something breaks you can have someone in your house within the hour they say they'll come I just had a parcel delivered they said we'll come between 10 and 11 and at 10 15 they were here I mean what world does that happen buses run the taxes are super efficient super cheap like everything you have a question like you make your tax return in less than 10 minutes where does that happen I remember for months you know when the time of the tax return came you'd be thinking I need to do my tax returns I need to do my tax returns and you prepare mentally for that moment where you would spend three days just cranky trying to fight with a different no everything is just so efficient and it just it's just like it empties your brain like all of a sudden you have all that extra space to complain about all the things you don't like also one thing you need to be prepared of you need to be prepared for repeating things a gazillion times it's like like you order at a restaurant and then you make your order and then they'll repeat it to confirm and they might repeat it again like go to the doctors that's even worse like before they give you an aspirin or a paracetamol or Panadol they'll be like they'd be asking you your fin number remember your fin number that's a very important one they'll ask you a gazillion times and it's like yes it's me it was me two minutes ago when you ask it's still me it hasn't changed I still have a fever just give me my Panadol please so be prepared to repeat things maybe that's why it's working here otherwise it's like okay small mistake in one letter one number and it's something goes wrong so another thing maybe as Espana and I think Russians and Pioneers showed that any Italians and Latin Latin like more Mediterranean cultures share all that our brains are wired in such a way that we are always looking for the most efficient way of doing things even if that means cutting Corners sometimes because you just you know there's all this red tape and you need to you want to do that the most efficient way so that sometimes pushes us to bend the rules slightly right we're in Singapore you don't have to do that this is not necessary and it's so weird because you've been doing that your entire life that's how you work and then all of a sudden you realize like quickly within two three months you realize you're just following the rules and it's so smooth and everything just works you don't need to bend the rules because rules are there for you rules are your friends embrace your the rules and I don't know I mean when I when I talk about this with my European friends they don't really believe me they think I'm crazy I mean they're like oh you know that you've been brainwashed but no it really works when everybody follows the rules the rules work so that's that was mind-blowing for me let me be prepared for that too although it happens naturally organically you don't realize you become a Singaporean like like Singapore grows in you I don't know and then it kind of makes you totally unadapted to live anywhere else in the world I think it's also like a misunderstanding of Singapore in other countries people say like oh Singapore is like also Street everything is prohibited but no I mean it's strict in a good way it's just to make it a nice place to live and like easy place to live and it's funny how rules make you free I mean it sounds like big brother but but I can't explain it but I have some friends who are very radical about this in in Europe and I always tell them you need to come here and see it with your own eyes and feel it in your own body also I have to say that I'm a bit of a rule freak I mean I really like rules and I think it's you know basis for fairness so it suits me I was very happy in Switzerland I'm even happier in Singapore but it really works like you don't feel oppressed by the rules at all on the contrary like you it's predictable so you you know you know what's expected from you and it's actually common sense it's not like there's anything you know they always come back with the chewing gum anecdote and I mean sure if you can trust people not to throw the chewing gum on the floor then you know that's what I tell my kids if I can't trust you to do this and you're not doing it at all I think maybe Singapore will be ready to have chewing gums back I think that now people wouldn't throw them on the floor anymore but I don't know if we're ready for that radical change let's play with fire but but I mean you know when you go to European cities and the floor is disgusting then you sometimes wonder if they you know they're to be trusted with chewing gums in the first place then you mentioned Switzerland like we went traveling Switzerland in France and Italy last winter and we met some friends in Geneva and Zurich because like a lot of friends actually engineer because I used to work for proxy and Gamble and they have headquarters there and so we like our plan was okay like to meet people and like compare life in Switzerland and Singapore because no place can beat Singapore I haven't lived in Switzerland I think poison improve improve but it also also could a prize I mean one thing that I couldn't stand in Switzerland is the fact that on Saturday 5 PM everything closes and it doesn't open until Monday so you know if you haven't planned and I'm again I'm a plant freak and I love plans but that's too much even for me and it makes your life very very difficult as a working my case mother of two who also enjoys free time and exercising I mean how do you feel all that in into that very tight schedule at the same time I understand that the price you pay for that for you know having a ntuc 24 7 like the ntuc's the supermarket open 24 7 is that some people have very low wages and very difficult working conditions so I understand there's a price to pay for that comfort that some of us enjoy like having help at home which was something Unthinkable in Switzerland because you can't afford it I mean when my kids were younger but any month I'm a freelancer so many months my whole salary will go to us on babysitting so I mean of course here babysitting is cheap but you don't see your children because you're working all the time so you know there's it's a it's a difficult balance and I think both both Singapore and Switzerland have some work to do on that life work balance especially for women but yeah Singapore gets closer if you rate Singapore and like gender inequality in general like inequality between different layers of people would you rate Singapore High because let's say domestic helpers some people say it's a modern day slavery it's super useful super helpful for people who can afford them but do you think it's right the options that these women have are very very limited and for them I mean I would freak out thinking that I have to go live with a family that I don't know if you take five minutes to speak with them any of them they all have horror stories to share their lives are so difficult and then they still find that's the best solution I mean they rather do that than staying home because staying home is even worse these women they're stuck at somebody else's house in the intimacy of a family the the principle that work gives you dignity which is a universal principle depends in this case in particular a lot on who employs you and especially if you have someone at home it's your responsibility to give them decent work in decent conditions and with dignity I find some of the stories of these women I'm getting Goosebumps just to think about it I mean these women are single-handedly taking families out of poverty in another in in other countries I mean what they're doing is very brave and they're doing it because they have decent jobs in a developed country such as Singapore now if you take the responsibility of having someone living at your place working for you it is your responsibility to make her working conditions not only decent but dignified so at the end of the day it's not the Singapore does this or that is the employer as a human being I mean how decent are you as a human being sometimes just words like thank you or please go really really long way and they'd be happy to be paid less or live in a smaller room to be dignified as human beings if you like this video check out the next one but you have only 5 seconds for three two one

Channel: Max Chernov

Views: 269,806

Keywords: singapore, max chernov, expat, moving, singapore cost of living, moving to singapore, move to singapore, living in singapore, expats in singapore, what to expect singapore, life in singapore, singapore expat, expat in singapore, living in singapore expat, expat living in singapore, singapore expats, singapore vs europe, expat life, expat life in singapore, cost of living in singapore, expat lifestyle, working in singapore, pr singapore, singapore permanent resident

Id: AGkAyZ3tlj4

Length: 20min 40sec (1240 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 07 2023