Still yearning for 'Swiss standard of living'? These two former Swiss residents prefer Singapore
Like "ponding" and "every school is a good school", the "Swiss standard of living" has been a long-running joke in Singapore.
Credit (or blame) Mr Goh Chok Tong.
In a 1984 speech before he became Prime Minister in 1990, Mr Goh set the target for Singapore to attain the "Swiss standard of living" by 1999.
It was such a enduring sound bite that even after 40 years, Mr Lawrence Wong referenced it in an interview in May 2024 before he was sworn in as Singapore's fourth Prime Minister in July.
So perhaps it should come as no surprise that in a video posted by YouTuber Swizzyinsg on Dec 7, three people at Chinatown Point told her that if they could live somewhere other than Singapore, it would be Switzerland.
One man said: "Singapore is like the Switzerland of Asia. So maybe I'd like to try Switzerland?"
Even though he has never been to the European country, he said he could imagine living there.
The YouTuber, whose real name is Marion Müller and who happens to be Swiss, said he was the third person to name Switzerland.
Other countries mentioned were Japan, Taiwan and Australia.
Ironically, a few days earlier, Ms Müller had posted a short video explaining why she chose to live in Singapore over Switzerland.
The reasons are the weather, food and safety.
"You could never find hawker food for $4 per meal. In Switzerland, eating out will cost you at least $40 per meal," said the content creator who has been in the Lion City for two years.
"Even though Switzerland is clean and safe, Singapore beats it by far. I'd never leave my bag unattended in Zurich. It will be gone in 10 minutes."
Ms Müller is not the only one.
Another former Swiss resident, Mr Philippe A. May likes Singapore so much that he became a Singapore citizen in 2008.
"I'm happy to be a Singapore citizen and I see more and more foreigners taking up Singapore citizenship, including Europeans," said Mr May in an interview with YouTuber Max Chernov in a 43-minute video posted on Dec 12.
Like Ms Müller, Mr May talked about safety and not having to worry about leaving your phone on the table.
When Mr Chernov said that Switzerland also has the reputation of being pretty safe, Mr May corrected him.
Mr May said: "Well, you are not up to date. Read the news. Nowadays, there is a lot of crime."
He added: "It's a beautiful country, but it's not the Switzerland I grew up in and I wouldn't want to go back there...
"The Switzerland of my youth in the 70s, 80s and 90s, yes, that was a good place. It was indeed safe."
At the end of the video, when Mr Chernov asked Mr May what the meaning of life was for him, Mr May replied: "So long as we can enjoy life in a place like this in Singapore, in a green walkable city with a clean river, life is good."
