'Most depressing town' in S'pore? Yew Tee residents call it peaceful but lament chicken poop smell
It started online in April last year in a subreddit called askSingapore.
Someone asked where the less desirable areas to live in Singapore are.
The most upvoted answer was: "Yew Tee. IMO it's the most depressing town in SG."
This piqued the curiosity of Singapore-based Japanese YouTuber Ghib Ojisan, who recently decided to visit Yew Tee, which is really just the northern part of Choa Chu Kang.
In a video uploaded on Oct 20, he appeared to enjoy his visit, especially to the Pang Sua Canal and Park Connector, where he ruminated: "The river here is so beautiful. It kind of reminds me of summer in Japan when I was young.
"It's funny because this alone makes Yew Tee beautiful."
The 16-minute video has garnered more than 100,000 views.
Because of the video, someone posted a question in a Facebook group for Yew Tee residents: "Most depressing neighbourhood… agree?"
Here are some of the comments in the "Friends of Yew Tee" Facebook group:
- "I had been watching his YouTube videos, not bad. But I think there is a difference between peaceful and depressing."
- "It's called Yew Tee Village. It's supposed to be peaceful and tranquil."
- "Interesting that there must be something going on a lot around your place of residence. I wouldn't want that and this was why I moved into this area from Tampines."
- "Where got depressing? We moved here seven years ago and my daughter said she likes the peaceful environment here compared to the hustle and bustle of the other part of Singapore that may cause anxiety."
- "We used to be peaceful until you guys started dropping bombs on us. NOW that's depressing."
- "There are other more depressing estates if you get a chance to move around. It's very subjective on what you are looking for in a residential area. If you are looking for fun, shopping for expensive branded goods, lavish and posh malls or fine dining with Michelin-starred cuisine, of course, don't expect to find it here. Yew Tee is an ideal place for both young and old and MRT is central to all the flats around it. All the basic amenities, food shops and daily necessities are here. You name it, FairPrice 24 hours, popular fast food and coffee outlets. Clinics, hardware shops, banking, stadium with a pool as well as Limbang Shopping Centre to complement these. We even have Green Corridor linking all the way to Sentosa!"
- "Tell me if there's anything very happening other than chicken poop smell that has been around since 2000.
- "Yew Tee is a nice place, only the late-night fighter-jet-flying-over sound and chicken poop smell, hahahahaha."
- "I just moved into Block 608. Is the chicken poop smell seasonal or perpetual? Slightly depressed!"
- "It is way better staying in Yew Tee as compared to Jurong West Avenue 3 where you get that smell almost every other day."
YouTube also has videos about Yew Tee being the "most isolated" neighbourhood in Singapore.
