Singapore is the world's most expensive city!

[berserkfan]

The Economist has officially named Singapore as the world's most expensive city!

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-named-worlds-most-expensive-city-economist-intelligence-015408023--sector.html

  )  

Oh wait a moment. Most expensive doesn't mean highest standard of living...

 

No wonder I thought there was something wrong in that other geekhack thread where people were posting how much they spent on groceries. I was thinking that so many Britons and Americans seemed to be spending less than me on food, and these guys were eating meat and milk and what not (I hardly eat any meat or drink milk, and certainly not alcohol).

Oh well, I'm sure the sheeple in this country will reward the ruling family dictatorship with more votes at the next election... Disneyland is expensive, and so is Singapore.

[iri]

well, at least you don't have winter.

[phoenix1234]

The Economist has officially named Singapore as the world's most expensive city!

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-named-worlds-most-expensive-city-economist-intelligence-015408023--sector.html

  )  

Oh wait a moment. Most expensive doesn't mean highest standard of living...

 

No wonder I thought there was something wrong in that other geekhack thread where people were posting how much they spent on groceries. I was thinking that so many Britons and Americans seemed to be spending less than me on food, and these guys were eating meat and milk and what not (I hardly eat any meat or drink milk, and certainly not alcohol).

Oh well, I'm sure the sheeple in this country will reward the ruling family dictatorship with more votes at the next election... Disneyland is expensive, and so is Singapore.

Hahaha, I'm not going to argue with this  )

[Elrick]

Oh well, I'm sure the sheeple in this country will reward the ruling family dictatorship with more votes at the next election... Disneyland is expensive, and so is Singapore.

The best thing about Singapore, you could leave your car running out in the street and go inside your house looking for something and come out half an hour later,  the car is still there idling, waiting for you to return.  No where else could you do that in the world  .

Safest place to live and I wanted to move there some years ago after visiting.  The biggest complaint about the whole place is that it's packed with people, everywhere is taken up and that kind of freaks me out, I could never get use to that.

[kaz]

Last time I checked a cheap car in Singapore was in the region of $100k USD.

[iri]

Oh well, I'm sure the sheeple in this country will reward the ruling family dictatorship with more votes at the next election... Disneyland is expensive, and so is Singapore.

The best thing about Singapore, you could leave your car running out in the street and go inside your house looking for something and come out half an hour later,  the car is still there idling, waiting for you to return.  No where else could you do that in the world  .

Safest place to live and I wanted to move there some years ago after visiting.  The biggest complaint about the whole place is that it's packed with people, everywhere is taken up and that kind of freaks me out, I could never get use to that.

also fresh water situation isn't much better.

[berserkfan]

Last time I checked a cheap car in Singapore was in the region of $100k USD.

You're talking about low end Japanese and below. The price varies due to the need to bid for permits, but I don't think you can get a new Mini or Volkswagen for only 100k USD.

And as for that stuff about leaving your car running in the street - well, all Singapore cars are fitted with special devices that record when you pass traffic gantries, and most traffic junctions have cameras. A thief can't really go anywhere with a stolen car. Not to mention, garages and parking spaces are all either public, or else located inside multimillion dollar homes. The price for a teeny weeny leasehold apartment is around 800kUSD and the price for a cheap landed house with garage is minimum 1.5m USD.

There is no way a thief can find a private place to mod a stolen car. It's one of the least likely things to get stolen in Singapore. Elrick, if you wore a t-shirt with your national animal on it and hung around outside Singapore's courts, you'll probably get arrested, charged in court, after which you won't like Singapore anymore. Already three people have been jailed for no other reason than wearing t-shirts with Kangaroos on them outside a courthouse.

Yup, that's what it means to live in a Disneyland owned by the Wizard of Oz. We're just downtrodden Munchkins ruled by false characters with no courage, no brains and no hearts.

[vivalarevolución]

Oh well, I'm sure the sheeple in this country will reward the ruling family dictatorship with more votes at the next election... Disneyland is expensive, and so is Singapore.

Sheeple are everywhere.  Most people are scared to do anything outside the norm.  Just look at keyboards, for example.  It would be in every computer user's long term interest to get an ergo keyboard, or at least a mechanical keyboard for a better typing experience of an item you use everyday.  But I guarantee most people will not buy an ergo keyboard because it looks funny.   

Cost is nothing, because we can easily justify spending hundreds of $$$ on a phone or shoes or a more expensive car payment or a mortgage house with 3000 square feet instead of 2000 square feet, both of which are plenty large.  Over the life of the keyboard, cost is negligible.  Cents per day.  Just what people value and how willing they are to make themselves stand out.

/end rant.  TL;DR.  People are sheep.

[berserkfan]

Oh well, I'm sure the sheeple in this country will reward the ruling family dictatorship with more votes at the next election... Disneyland is expensive, and so is Singapore.

Sheeple are everywhere.  Most people are scared to do anything outside the norm.  Just look at keyboards, for example.  It would be in every computer user's long term interest to get an ergo keyboard, or at least a mechanical keyboard for a better typing experience of an item you use everyday.  But I guarantee most people will not buy an ergo keyboard because it looks funny.   

Cost is nothing, because we can easily justify spending hundreds of $$$ on a phone or shoes or a more expensive car payment or a mortgage house with 3000 square feet instead of 2000 square feet, both of which are plenty large.  Over the life of the keyboard, cost is negligible.  Cents per day.  Just what people value and how willing they are to make themselves stand out.

/end rant.  TL;DR.  People are sheep.

Haha, the American sheeple//.

I always tell Americans that I'm sure most of them will be happy to wipe their backsides with the US Constitution if the next Bush administration (Jeb for Prez, anyone?) decided to start another war and kidnap some people to torture a la Lynddie England.

Fortunately for the ROTW, the US now has plenty of shale gas and oil. When stuff like that happens, the US is less likely to invade other people.

[MOZ]

Having lived in Singapore for a good while, I can agree that it is certainly expensive, however very safe.

We (my family) are very lucky as we are Indian officials, so the Indian government pays for a lot of our bills (House, medical and education primarily)

[Elrick]

We (my family) are very lucky as we are Indian officials, so the Indian government pays for a lot of our bills (House, medical and education primarily)

You're lucky, having your Government foot the main bills.  Next time you should get posted to Paris, France. Always liked that place due to very little development of ugly skyscrapers.  Always hated seeing that sort of visual pollution on the landscape.

Plus the French way of life is far more relaxed today compared to the rest of our greedy world.

If my company could find any valuable underground minerals and are chosen to extract that resource, I would get myself posted there in a heartbeat  .

[MissMurd3r84]

The bi-annual survey says both cities were ranked lower than last year, when Sydney was listed at its highest-ever position in number three spot and Melbourne tied with Oslo for fourth. Sydney has now dropped to fifth place and Melbourne is in equal sixth, along with Geneva, Caracas and Tokyo.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/sydney-and-melbourne-still-ranked-among-worlds-10-most-expensive-cities

[iri]

We (my family) are very lucky as we are Indian officials, so the Indian government pays for a lot of our bills (House, medical and education primarily)

You're lucky, having your Government foot the main bills.  Next time you should get posted to Paris, France. Always liked that place due to very little development of ugly skyscrapers.  Always hated seeing that sort of visual pollution on the landscape.

enjoy.

[Elrick]

enjoy.

(Attachment Link)

Miserable frogs, gave up their heritage for that foul architecture.  Now it looks like Beijing  .

[stoic-lemon]

So Tokyo has been displaced? After skimming the article, it seems that currency valuations account for a lot of it. It is interesting how it says owning a car is very expensive. Seems understandable when space it at a premium.

[berserkfan]

So Tokyo has been displaced? After skimming the article, it seems that currency valuations account for a lot of it. It is interesting how it says owning a car is very expensive. Seems understandable when space it at a premium.

For that, you have to thank Shinzo Abe, who printed money by the trillions (of yen) and is making the yen fall considerably thanks to inflation.

I have a very, very pertinent manga to recommend to all Japanese (and Americans): Akumetsu 惡滅 'Evil Exterminator'

It's a very unique manga with a regrettably small following because the themes are so esoteric for most people. but since you are (presumably) a geek it is perfect for you.
check out my thread http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=55532.0

[stoic-lemon]

So Tokyo has been displaced? After skimming the article, it seems that currency valuations account for a lot of it. It is interesting how it says owning a car is very expensive. Seems understandable when space it at a premium.

For that, you have to thank Shinzo Abe, who printed money by the trillions (of yen) and is making the yen fall considerably thanks to inflation.

I have a very, very pertinent manga to recommend to all Japanese (and Americans): Akumetsu 惡滅 'Evil Exterminator'

It's a very unique manga with a regrettably small following because the themes are so esoteric for most people. but since you are (presumably) a geek it is perfect for you.
check out my thread http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=55532.0

That sounds interesting. I'm not into manga at all, but I will check it out.

Actually, the cost of living will go up next month since Mr Abe is raising the rate of consumption tax