Local who once ‘hated Singapore’ changes his mind after studying overseas, appreciates life back home
Man looking at the hazy skyline
SINGAPORE: It took moving abroad for one Singaporean to realise that perhaps home wasn't so bad after all. Having once admitted to ‘hating Singapore and being Singaporean,’ he now says living overseas has opened his eyes to just how much he had taken for granted.
In an anonymous post on the r/asksg subreddit, the young man confessed that when he was still living in the city-state, he could hardly think of anything about the country worth appreciating. Life here had simply become too familiar, perhaps even a little too predictable.
However, this changed after he moved overseas.
Meeting people from vastly different backgrounds, hearing about the difficulties they faced, and exploring unfamiliar neighbourhoods gave him a glimpse of what life could be like without the comforts he had always known. Suddenly, the things he once found rather ordinary about Singapore did not seem so ordinary after all.
He started to value Singapore's dependable public transport, the safety of its streets even at night, and being able to go for a walk without having to plan an escape route or anxiously watch everyone around him.
“I wonder if Singapore’s hyper-efficient culture has something to do with this. Out here, we’re constantly chasing basic safety, comparing how dangerous our neighbourhoods are, worrying about our immediate survival, and trying not to fall behind everyone else who actually has functional infrastructure. It’s almost as if we’re all trapped in a chaotic survival movie, and the moment someone mentions a place where things actually work, we start questioning whether we’re making the right choices by staying here.”
His newfound appreciation for home also got him thinking about how young Singaporeans tend to talk about living overseas.
For many, moving abroad represents freedom, adventure, and the chance to experience something beyond the familiar Singaporean routine, and there is certainly plenty to be said for that, but he felt the reality could be rather less romantic once the novelty wore off.
“The world outside is wild, competition just to stay safe is intense, and having a train arrive on time is a luxury. I’m not saying we should stop loving the chaos or that there’s anything wrong with wanting a predictable future. But sometimes I wonder if we’ve become so caught up in romanticising the ‘gritty overseas experience’ that we’ve forgotten how nice it is to actually live without looking over your shoulder.”
“Maybe Singapore isn’t actually boring. Maybe we’ve just become so accustomed to absolute safety and convenience that we’ve forgotten how exhausting the alternative is.”
He ended his post by asking fellow Singaporeans who had studied or worked overseas whether they had experienced a similar change of heart, and whether living abroad had altered how they viewed Singapore or even where they wanted to settle down.
‘I'm so impressed by how organised everything is’
The post resonated strongly with many Singaporeans, some of whom said they too had come to appreciate Singapore more after growing older or spending time overseas.
One commenter reflected, “As I grew older, I realised my hatred towards the government was just an excuse to justify the unhappiness I have with my own life. Singapore has all the basic necessities covered in our lives. Anything more is just excess of our basic privileges. We truly are blessed in this chaos.”
Another user, who had also studied overseas, said, “Finally, someone else who has the same POV. Thank you for saying all this. I studied overseas, and this is similar to my experience. Sure, SG isn't perfect, but... It could be worse. Then again, if you are fine with waiting 30 mins for a bus and worrying about being hurt even just standing on the sidewalk, then maybe sg isn’t for you lol.”
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A third commenter shared that working in Japan for a couple of years had given them a similar perspective. “I echo similar sentiments. Was lucky enough to be able to work in Japan for a couple of years and the difference between visiting as a tourist and being a worker there is staggering.”
Interestingly, even foreigners joined in with their own observations about Singapore.
One user wrote, “I’m not Singaporean, but I went there many times, and every time I'm so impressed by how organised everything is, and don't even mention the cleanliness, high-quality citizens, and safety.”
“Also, Singapore is like one of the few places with good working democracy, maybe because of the smaller population, but it feels like the government really care about the people rather than filling their pockets and lying to people.”/TISG