Country -
Singapore
Firsthand Experience - I'm a
Citizen
Currency
USD1 = SGD 1.35
Population
5.5millions (65% Chinese, 15% Malay, 8% Indian, Others)
Default Language
English
Cost of Living - 1/10- Ranked #1 Most Expensive city in the world by Forbes for 5 consecutive years. To rent a Condo in city area with 3 bedrooms is about SGD4000-SGD6000, depending on the facilities and location. Studio apartment cost around 1500-2000. There's Free Wifi everywhere but don't expect good connection, it's free. Food and Transport are the only 2 things that are cheap in Singapore. You get a decent lunch box for as low as $2.50 and to travel with public transport is so easy and accessible and really cheap. It cost like $2.80 to take the MRT from the very western side of Singapore to the Changi Airport(extreme East side) which took about 1.5 hours ride. You can buy an Apple for like $0.30 in the wet market/ Fruit stall while the very same Apple might cost you $4 in Cold Storage(Supermarket who claim they are the freshest.....).
Recreation - 9/10 - If you plan to holiday here, don't come on a short trip. I'm 100% sure you'll regret for not planning anything between 12-16 days. Even though we are a small country(Country name-
Singapore, State name-
Singapore, City name-
Singapore), it's like you can't cover all the tourist attraction in less than 2 weeks. My Ex-wife, she's from Mainland China living here for slightly over 5 years, yet she have not been through everything.
NOTE: We are near the equator and a very tropical humidity. It can reach 95% every now and then. Temperature between 28-35 Celsius in the day and -5 of it in the night. Hot season between March - August. Nov- Jan rain the most.
We have a very different 4 seasons, we called it as
Hot(your winter), Very Hot(your Autumn), Super Hot(your Spring) and F..king Hot(your Summer).
Nightlife 2/10- It cost between $15-$25 for a shot of Whiskey, a bottle would prolly cost about $300-$400. $30-$50 per pitcher of beer.
Very restricted and limited and costly. Bars and Clubs close after 1am. Weekends 3-4am only with special permitted licence.
Boobies and Booties
Unlike 3rd world Asia countries, Singaporean ladies are mostly rich, capable and independent. They have this mentality that they can live without man...WTF...lol
And if you managed to hooked onto one, GOD BLESS YOU! You will find out soon that you are playing your Hooks vs her Rockets.
How Scary - 10/10 - Crime rate is like the Police will put up a Hugh Notice signboard on your void-deck to warn that someone had their bicycle stolen yesterday.
You don't even need to close, let alone lock your front door at any point of time.
You can leave your unlock Ferrari or any supercar unattended and come back a few hours later.
You can leave behind your handbag with like $5000 in a taxi or any restaurant and still get it back with everything intact.
NOTE: The police always say this 'Low crime doesn't mean no crime'.
Just don't make yourself prone to become the next f..king imbecile victim because you asked for it.
Poker Playing - 1/10 - Only 1 venue to get legal poker that is Resort World Casino located on Sentosa Island. 5-10 game to 10-20 usually. Six - seven tables. Rake 5% capped at $200.
Online is really really really a goner. Only manage to get GGpoker and ACR yet to deposit and withdraw is another bigger headache.
No transaction in/out from banks. Most Ewallet forbid transaction too.
ACR can deposit thru BTC, withdraw to BTC
GGpoker can deposit thru Astropay, withdraw to Skrill
There's a quarterly tourney(SPC) on a cruise ship. Check this link:
http://www.pokerkaki.com/
How Easy to Get There and Stay There - ???/10 -
This depend on your purpose of visit. For tourist other than China and India, You don't need any visa, you get a 30 days visa free on arrival. You get to extend a further 59 days upon request when you visit the ICA(immigration department) to get your passport stamp. It's still free! Best thing is, when you request again with valid reason and proof of business here, you get another 90 days(that is if you are legit on business).
For Chinese and Indian, you need to apply Visa before arrival. They will usually issue you a 180 days valid visa(
that's not your duration permitted to stay, it's the dateline you are permitted to enter the country).
If you marry a local, you can apply for Long term Stay. They will grant you a 1 year multiple entrance which you will have to renew every year if you plan to stay longer. On the 4th year onward, instead of 1 year they will allow 3 years which make things easier.
You can apply for Permanent Residency on the forth year onward(it's like climbing the mount Everest)
For poker player
Forget about coming here to grind, this is like USA. Everybody thinking of relocating somewhere else(including me).
To base but not to play in Singapore
I'm not joking. Unless you have 7 digit cash in your bank account, and that still make you feel very small and poor here.
Last edited by YKCaiTLH1314; 07-02-2019 at 03:07 AM.