‘I feel guilty to call S’pore a paradise’: Expat says foreigners and locals experience the country differently
An expat’s post about how foreigners and locals experience Singapore differently, in which she said she felt “guilty” calling the country a “paradise”, has gone viral, drawing mixed reactions from netizens.
Instagrammer @littleexpats_sg, who goes by the name Zita, shared a 40-second video on May 28 with the caption: “Being a guest in this country, it’s easy to enjoy the perks of this place while overlooking someone else’s reality.”
“Singapore is a beautiful country, and we shouldn’t forget that locals built this place through hard work before foreigners arrived and started calling it paradise,” she continued in the caption.
In the video, Zita says she has heard people saying that “Singapore is a paradise for foreigners but not locals”, After spending two years in Singapore, she says she understands what they meant.
Zita, who describes herself as an “expat wifey with kids”, says she feels guilty about calling Singapore a “paradise”.
She explained that many expats arrive in Singapore with “high salaries and expat packages”, and with the mindset that they are only here “temporarily”.
However, she pointed out that locals have to deal with “realities (they) often don’t see”. These include:
- Rising cost of of living
- Long working hours
- Relentless competition
- Competitive education system
“Singapore can be a dream for foreigners while being exhausting for locals,” she says in the subtitles. “Many expats dream of staying longer, while many Singaporeans dream of leaving Singapore for a slower life.”
Mixed recations to netizen’s claim
Her post has garnered over 189,000 views and 245 comments, with mixed reactions to littleexpats_sg’s claim about Singapore being different for locals and foreigners.
“Singaporean here. I left Singapore long ago. Never been happier,” said a netizen.
“Singaporean here. This is true, but also on top of it, I don’t see a possible future for starting a family and raising kids here. Life is too fast paced, I want my future children to enjoy nature and countryside more than computers and iPads. A country rich in culture, history, and traditions such as Korea and Japan are better than the city state Singapore,” said another.
One foreigner chimed in: “Thank you for admitting this reality, which some of us (the foreigners) do not, or fail to recognise. I’m a PR who came to SG on a local package, and I can understand both sides. It annoys me when some foreigners (expats, so to say) are so tone deaf to the reality of most locals’ lives without making any effort to understand the reality most Singaporeans are facing. In any situation, we can always pack our bags and leave the country, but the locals will stay and have to face the situation.”
Another foreigner based in Singapore said: “The huge difference though, is that expats have a choice to be here. But Singaporeans can sometimes feel their paradise to be limiting. It goes to show, nothing is perfect.”
However, it seemed not all Singaporeans are keen on packing up and leaving, even if they had the chance.
“I am Singaporean and widely travelled. While we are not perfect, it is still the best place for me to be. There is no place without challenges, and we should take these as opportunities for us to forge something new and grow. Those who need help are certainly not left behind. The difficulties you listed can be even more severe in other countries,” said a local.
Another said: “While Singapore may not be perfect (but which country is), it is safe, clean, efficient, and things work. There are many paths as far as the education system goes, so it doesn’t have to be stressful. I believe there are many others who feel the same way as me.”
One user who claimed to be a Singaporean living abroad chimed in: “I’ve been working and living in Canada for 20+ years. Can’t wait to come home to my homeland Singapore permanently in a few years’ time. Until then, I just need to bear with living here in Canada.”
Stomp has reached out to littleexpats_sg for more details.
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