S’poreans say Toa Payoh’s vibe is ‘geriatric’, but the food is good

SINGAPORE: When a Reddit user who had just moved to Singapore for work asked locals to “explain the vibes” of the Toa Payoh district, many were only too eager to oblige.

In a post on r/askSingapore on Tuesday (Sept 2), u/VirtueOfInsight explained they had just moved from Australia because of their job, and they had very specific questions about one particular district.

“Can someone tell me what it’s like to live in Toa Payoh? Is it a nice place to live in as a professional in their 30s? What are the vibes of the place? Do people judge you on which district you live in?” they wrote.

As the population in Toa Payoh appears to skew towards older people, the most upvoted comment contained the word “geriatric” as a descriptor for the area.

A commenter who agreed noted that they “see funerals at the void deck every week and I wonder how we still have residents left”.

However, another wrote that this may be true of Singapore in general, with its ageing population.

“That’s basically like the whole island nowadays,” they wrote. Others chimed in to say there are even more elderly residents in places such as Bukit Merah and Bukit Batok West than in Toa Payoh.

A lifelong Toa Payoh resident, who agreed there are many old people in the area, noted that “the vibes are honestly just old folks minding their own business imo.”

They added, “Whenever I mention I lived in Toa Payoh, everyone’s reaction is ‘Ah, so many good food!’ so if you’re into that, that’s great for you.

“I’d say it’s a pretty laidback place here, although amenities can be a little run down compared to the newer estates. There isn’t much to do here, though, so you’d have to travel out, but you’re super close to the train station and plenty of buses here that get you to most parts of Singapore directly.”

They also wrote that they find Toa Payoh’s location to be “so convenient and central”, which makes them reluctant to move out.

Another commenter wrote that “the vibes are more local/heartland compared to areas like River Valley”, since Toa Payoh is not typically considered an expat neighbourhood.

“Nonetheless, I think it’s nice as the food options are more affordable (albeit more local),” they added.

On whether people in Singapore judge a person by where they live, the commenters wrote that, as in every other country, some do and some don’t.

When the post author wrote that they’ve taken a place in the district, they thanked everyone who took the time to answer their queries.

“Well, friends. We did it. I’ve secured (an) apartment. Thanks to everyone for explaining the vibes. I realised by all your comments that I do love a quiet district with it being central. I love food markets and local meals, which is what I crave. I’ve been addicted to claypots for the last few days. If anyone has food recommendations for the area or nice cafes, let me know! Also didn’t know that there will be nice markets, which is great!”  /TISG

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