Were Singapore’s ‘kampung spirit’ life in the 80s and early 90s really better than today?

SINGAPORE: When a Reddit user wanted to know if life was “really better in the 80s and early 90s” in Singapore, most commenters said yes.

“Always hearing older folks saying that life was much ‘simpler’ then and they miss the kampung spirit,” wrote u/LiveLaughLovesg on r/askSingapore earlier this week, adding, “I wasn’t born then to experience it. I know many modern conveniences and technology like mobile and internet didn’t exist. Things were cheaper but after a little research, apparently sub 1k monthly salaries were the norm in the 80s.”

Was life really better in the 80s and early 90s in sg?
by u/LiveLaughLovesg in askSingapore

He also wrote that he “Would love to hear from folks who lived thru (that) era what life was like!”

Many Redditors were quick to oblige, mentioning specifically what parts of life were better a few decades ago.

One commenter said that there were fewer crowds on public transport, cooler weather, and people were less judgy.

Another agreed that it was definitely cooler back then, writing, “Even the night air especially at beach/jetty were really cold. Definitely need a jacket. Now can sweat at night even while wearing just a thin t-shirt and shorts.”

“I remember in school, we could totally survive with just fans. The heat wasn’t a killer,” a Reddit user chimed in.

Another waxed nostalgic over the schedule of bygone shows on television.

“Everybody followed the same schedule. 7pm show, 9pm show, 10pm news, 10.30pm show, and those would be conversation topics to get past the next day.”

A commenter born in the early 90s wrote that there was “less stress” back then because of “Less access to Internet, mobile phone, slow paced environment. Strong neighbourhood bonding, less competitive.”

“Life was just slower paced, more relaxed,” another agreed.

One noted that prices were much lower back then, even for housing, writing, “My mum bought the 130+ sqm 5 rm hdb house for 200k sgd when she was working with 2.4k salary as an o level cert holder back in the 90s. Now seems i cant even get the same with a uni degree and higher pay.”

“Less pressure, more opportunities. Those working hard in the 80s probably can earn enough to like an okay lifestyle,” another Reddit user agreed. 

/TISG

Reddit user wants to know if others are also worried about being retrenched in their 50’s