Being born in SG is like winning a lottery at birth

SINGAPORE: When a local Reddit user asked others on the platform if they felt lucky to have been born in Singapore, many who replied said yes, they do.

In a post on the r/askSingapore subreddit, u/Atmosphere_Calm wrote, “Sometimes I look at the news—wars, disasters, protests, shootings—and it really hits me how sheltered our lives are here. No earthquakes, no floods, clean water, safe streets, reliable transport.”

And while the post author noted that many complain about the high cost of housing and car ownership, a tremendous upside is being able to live in one of the most secure and stable countries across the globe.

As a follow-up question, they asked: “If you had a choice to be born again, would you still choose Singapore?”

Commenters on the post showed a high level of self-awareness. For example, the comment that received the highest number of upvotes was from a Reddit user who simply wrote, “Yes. All our problems are first-world problems.”

In response to this, another wrote, “Exactly my mindset. All my problems are to some degree either first-world problems or self-inflicted. Being born in Singapore is, comparatively speaking, akin to winning a lottery at birth.”

The post author also replied, saying they prefer to have first-world problems rather than third-world ones.

“I think no matter where you are in the world, there will always be dissatisfaction,” answered another, although they added that in Singapore, “you will always have a shelter; the government always has your back. You’ll never suffer here. They provided my brother, who has no work, a 2-room flat and a monthly stipend of S$800. All that for nothing at all.”

A commenter who has been to over 60 countries wrote, “Being a Singaporean automatically guarantees us a decent standard of living; it’s like winning the birth lottery. In contrast, you have like a 1 in 3 chance to end up being born in South Asia or China. So the moment you’re born, you’re guaranteed great education, safety, healthcare, peace, and prosperity… Being Singaporean also means statistically you have a very high chance of being able to travel internationally to many different countries.”

They added, however, that the weather in Singapore is nothing to be envied and that it would be nice not to always live amid a concrete jungle.

Another had this to say: “Lucky to be born in Singapore in current times is more exact. But to be fair, if you are born into a family of the top 1 per cent and have a loving family and good health, you are extremely lucky no matter where you are.” /TISG

Read also: ‘SG would still be 3rd-world full of gangsters if not for LKY’ — S’poreans share how ‘extremely lucky’ they are because of Lee Kuan Yew