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ardvarkforce t1_iyi9p95 wrote

For how fucking expensive the city is, I wish we'd get better quality of life.

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Grass8989 t1_iyiy6rq wrote

That’s what happens when our elected officials listen to the bleeding hearts who make excuses for quality of life crimes.

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Evening_Presence_927 t1_iyjlojk wrote

Lmao Eric Adams is not a bleeding heart progressive, my friend. You people voted him and his tough on crime persona into office. You should take a long hard look at yourself knowing that.

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DirtySkell t1_iyzw94h wrote

Don't blame me, I voted for that moron in the red beret.

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Grass8989 t1_iyjnto2 wrote

No one said he is. There are many politicians in this city with influence that are tho. Poor and low income PoC voted for Adams in the mayoral primary overwhelmingly btw, not sure what point you’re making.

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Evening_Presence_927 t1_iyjomz4 wrote

And those same voters voted in a progressive city council and also the rest of those positions, so clearly it’s not a rejection of their policies like you think

Either way, it shows you that stupidity does not choose any particular race. PoC can make bad decisions with their elected leaders.

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savageo6 t1_iyja87p wrote

I mean we can cane people for chewing gum in public...

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[deleted] t1_iyjgt3r wrote

[deleted]

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savageo6 t1_iyjid9z wrote

Ok how about getting executed for having weed on you? That better?

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[deleted] t1_iyjj9jc wrote

[deleted]

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savageo6 t1_iyjjy2k wrote

Or you can read something instead of attempting to be clever...

The law creates a presumption of trafficking for certain threshold amounts, e.g. 30 grams of cannabis. It also creates a presumption that a person possesses drugs if he possesses the keys to a premises containing the drugs, and that "Any person found in or escaping from any place or premises which is proved or presumed to be used for the purpose of smoking or administering a controlled drug shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have been smoking or administering a controlled drug in that place or premises."

Just over an oz is enough to be convinced and executed. The threshold for trafficking is absolutely ridiculous and at their whim to make the case.

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[deleted] t1_iyjk4d5 wrote

[deleted]

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savageo6 t1_iyjlcdd wrote

Read me the law then princess

0

[deleted] t1_iyjln6r wrote

[deleted]

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BiblioPhil t1_iyn9qn7 wrote

Sounds pretty fuckin dystopian

2

lazerphace t1_iynaz5z wrote

totally can see that viewpoint but singapore is an authoritarian state and they make the rules very clear. the flip side is having zombies walking around the city like we have here. that’s pretty dystopian too imo

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BiblioPhil t1_iyrcjze wrote

>singapore is an authoritarian state

Yes, a small point to consider.

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savageo6 t1_iyjo5ec wrote

And I'll state it again, slowly for you this time. The law creates a presumption of trafficking for certain threshold amounts, e.g. 30 grams of cannabis.

So if you have 31 grams on you you're now a trafficker of which hanging is the harshest possible penalty...so let's spend another 45mins arguing semantics you sentient potato...

1

Elandtrical OP t1_iyhh4sp wrote

Having lived in Singapore for 7 years till last year and now in NYC, we have found NYC far more expensive after taxes (federal, state and city).

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threenamer t1_iyhhm4j wrote

I lived in NYC and was shocked that I had to file City taxes as well. It still beats living in CT and paying federal, NY state, CT state, and NYC taxes.

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ChrisFromLongIsland t1_iyhkew1 wrote

You should never have to pay 2 state taxes on the same income. Or to be more precise you get a credit on taxes you pay to other states on your state of residency. So effectively you never pay more than 1 state. If for whatever reason you end up in a situation like this you will effectively pay whichever state has the highest tax but not both. You could still pay NYC tax though on top of CT I think if you had a home on both places and spent any part of a day for more than 183 days in NYC I think. Though the tax should still be a credit against CT if CT is your permanent home.

Edit: Wow after some research having a place in NYC that is not your permanent residence no matter how many days you spend in NYC does not get you taxed as a NYC resident anymore. This was changed 4 months ago.

https://www.troutman.com/insights/ny-supreme-court-rules-taxpayers-ny-vacation-home-not-permanent-place-of-abode.html

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MBA1988123 t1_iyhx97m wrote

You do not pay NYC city income tax unless you live in NYC.

You can work in NYC every single day and still won’t pay it if you live outside the city.

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oreosfly t1_iyiexuc wrote

Sorry buddy but you filed your taxes incorrectly. You way overpaid if you paid NYC taxes while living in CT.

If this was within the past few years you should file an amended return and get your money back. Consider consulting a CPA since you probably overpaid by thousands.

What form did you use to file your NY taxes? IT 201 or IT 203?

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threenamer t1_iyijuqh wrote

I’m not exactly sure… confused Kanye noises

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oreosfly t1_iyim6yv wrote

I’d just bring all your affected years’ tax forms to a CPA, explain your situation (I paid NYC resident taxes while living in CT), and ask if they could help you sort it all out and remedy the situation.

Like I said, it’s probably thousands of dollars at stake, so it’s worth your time to get a consultation.

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JordanRulz t1_iymys6j wrote

the subway doesn't smell like piss there either and there's no literal shit in the stations

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyhzlwb wrote

Were you an expat? Having your company cover many of the cost mitigates things quite a bit.

The only thing Singapore beats NYC on is public transport and Mee Goreng

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thebigsplat t1_iyi1m3l wrote

Singapore's public housing situation is far better too. 80% of the population lives in public housing.

Cost of eating out is a lot less with hawker fare even compared to street carts, let alone the variety and the experience.

NYC doesn't win on cost of living. NYC wins on the strength of its arts scene. Music, galleries, broadway etc.

Other CoL factors: Singapore has public healthcare (See a doctor for $30 or $50 for a private consultation to skip the line), Public education ($2 in fees for locals monthly for elementary and like $20 for middle/high school).

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nightkingscat t1_iyi2k7s wrote

NYC weather is a lot better lol

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thebigsplat t1_iyi5cw5 wrote

Roasting in the sun isn't great, but neither is being dark out at 4pm amazing.

I'd take the heat over the winter, but that's not an all year round thing. Honestly I'd call it slightly in favor of NYC since the weather isn't always miserable here, but not a lot.

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nightkingscat t1_iyia7u7 wrote

it's not really roasting as it is steaming in singapore. it feels like you're swimming in air, even at night.

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Elandtrical OP t1_iyirdvn wrote

That 90% constant humidity makes your blood run thin! You get used to it but still need to drink lots of water and learn tricks like standing in the shadow of a traffic light waiting to cross the road.

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thebigsplat t1_iyienv3 wrote

Fair - I never had a problem with Singapore's weather at night, but I'm from there and acclimatized. 6-7pm you'll see the locals all out enjoying the cool breeze and sunset while sipping hot drinks.

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Chromewave9 t1_iyjjgtq wrote

80% of the population lives in public housing by design. They have limited land space. Try raising a family in these HBD flats. It's tight as hell. Even for a couple, it's really tight.

Besides, people are using these HBD flats to flip. They get sold on a 99 year lease (similar to China, you don't physically own the rights to the housing unit. You're basically just a long-term renter) to Singaporean residents for $300k-500K (depending on the unit) but after five years, they're able to sell them in the resale market with many units going for $600-$1 million. Private rentals or housing is way more expensive so there are very few options, hence, why 80% live in HBD flats. You have a ton of people who basically just get their family to sign up for HBD flats and sell them after five years for guaranteed profit.

You'll hear that housing is one of the biggest issues in Singapore. The lack of space, high demand, and people being allowed to flip them is way worse than in America. In America, you can just move elsewhere. In Singapore, you have no choice.

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thebigsplat t1_iyjpy3j wrote

> Try raising a family in these HBD flats. It's tight as hell. Even for a couple, it's really tight.

I grew up in Singapore. On my mom's side they had three nuclear families + grandma living in one HDB flat with 2-3 kids each.

America has its own housing crisis. Singapore has basically solved homelessness, that's for one. You can just move elsewhere doesn't apply to everyone, and we all know that "just moving elsewhere" means giving up a lot of things, especially if you're a PoC.

There's a reason it costs more to live in Singapore and NYC than East St. Louis or Wichita.

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Apart-Bad-5446 t1_iyk0x00 wrote

It doesn't really cost more if you know what you're doing. AKA, shop at Malaysia. Housing is really the only thing truly expensive. Owning a car isn't a necessity because their public transportation is amazing.

America's housing crisis is because of NIMBY's. Not because there isn't enough land. That's why Singapore's housing is expensive. Either way, if NYC is too expensive for you, you can relocate to Florida, Texas, down South, etc., If you're retiring, many people eventually move away from cities and into suburban/rural-ish homes. Don't say it's not really an option because it is. In Singapore, if you're old, you have nowhere to go. I was quite alarmed by how old some people were but still working. Singapore is more of a "tough luck" situation if you're poor.

What works for Singapore doesn't work everywhere. A lack of housing in NYC/L.A. is because of again, NIMBY's.

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thebigsplat t1_iyk3u07 wrote

> I was quite alarmed by how old some people were but still working. Singapore is more of a "tough luck" situation if you're poor.

Are you really comparing that to America? Sure Singapore's worse for poor people if you don't consider the homeless passed out on every corner to be people. Of course housing is going to be expensive, but if you're poor the government puts you in an apartment for as little as $26 a month.

If I was poor and destitute it's absolutely no question where I'd want to be.

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Apart-Bad-5446 t1_iyk6jgt wrote

Lol. Come to NYC. NYCHA housing (while bad because the government sucks at running things) is basically free. You get $280 per person to buy food every month. A family of five gets over $1k for food stamps. If you're poor, you get free health insurance. I actually have lived in NYC and Singapore. You must not be aware of what NYC offers, honestly. NYC by far spends more on social programs than Singapore. It's just that Singapore is one of the least corrupt countries in the world and the government knows how to run shit.

Singapore's population is also incredibly small with a large % of people being expats who are only there for business/huge financial banking services in Singapore. Let's not kid ourselves... The 'actual' population is much smaller.

Also, the homeless people in American cities are usually caused by drugs. Something that Singapore doesn't have to deal with as they are not located near the Southern border where drug trafficking is rampant.

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thebigsplat t1_iykb6da wrote

Firstly, NYC isn't America.

Secondly, just like how there are gaps in my knowledge of the programs for poor here, you're talking like Singapore's government doesn't provide food stamps and the like for the poor? And NYCHA housing? That compared to Singapore's one BR flats are miles apart. When everyone lives in public housing there is no ghetto.

Singapore's government is better run yes, but NYC doesn't get plus points for De Blasio's wife making a billion dollars supposedly meant to help the mentally ill disppear into the ether.

Also this

> Singapore's population is also incredibly small with a large % of people being expats who are only there for business/huge financial banking services in Singapore. Let's not kid ourselves... The 'actual' population is much smaller.

It's not a mystery or anything. It's a population of about 3 million locals, expats make up a tiny number. The rest are temporary workers from poorer countries.

> Also, the homeless people in American cities are usually caused by drugs. Something that Singapore doesn't have to deal with as they are not located near the Southern border where drug trafficking is rampant.

Yeah again you don't really get it. New York is a thousand miles from the Southern Border, about the same distance from Singapore to the Golden Triangle.

Lastly homelessness by drugs, jury's out on that - but I'm no expert so whatever.

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Apart-Bad-5446 t1_iykoq8c wrote

I never said NYC isn't America but Singapore is a country. Hence, why I said what works for Singapore doesn't work for other countries. What worked for Norway hasn't worked for Venezuela despite both countries having vast resources of oil. It's much easier to run a homogenous country with just a few million citizens than it is to run 330 million people all being managed in different states with each state having their own separate values, tax structure, etc.,

NYCHA is proof that the governments suck at running stuff in America. It's also a cultural thing but I won't get into that. Singaporeans follow the laws very closely. NYC, not exactly the same. The government owns the property, leases it, and people are allowed to flip it. NYCHA doesn't have that, hence, people don't really care for their property which means people piss on the elevators, break stuff, don't clean, etc.,

I can assure you Singapore doesn't spend more than NYC on social programs. Again, the factor here seems to be money. NYC spends more than any city on social programs when you account for education, healthcare, etc., NYC spends $30k per student annually from K-12. No other country comes close. It's just inefficiently spent and a very corrupt government overall which you yourself highlighted. Thing is, Singapore manages a few million people. Brooklyn+Queens alone has a higher population than Singapore.

30% of a country's population being expat is tiny? Hmmmm...

New York could be a thousand miles from the Southern border but the drugs coming from the Southern border means you can easily transport those drugs to other states... I think YOU don't get it. Try transporting the drugs from Mexico or South/Central America to Singapore... You're telling me there isn't a difference? Once it gets past the Southern border, getting it to NY is the easy part because the logistics becomes much easier. The bottleneck is the border - not crossing state lines.

As for the homeless statistic, I said usually. The study you linked shows that it's high in areas with high housing prices. Again, caused by NIMBY's. If you're unfamiliar with that term, it's because people who own property with high valuations do not want their property prices to decline with more housing. Aka, artificially increase the price of housing. Many homeless people move to California because of the warm weather and lenient policies toward homelessness.

Anyways, I'm not here to slight Singapore. I loved visiting there. Not as much as Malaysia but the crime is low, food is pretty cheap, and it's very clean with great transportation. But what works for Singapore doesn't work for NYC. And what works for NYC, doesn't work for Singapore. You initiate policies based on what fits your people. I'm just saying the housing crisis in Singapore is due to a lack of land. The housing crisis in NYC is due to NIMBY's and politicians. You have NIMBY's who don't want high rise buildings because it blocks sunlight from entering their home and then environmentalists come out and start causing mayhem which means nothing gets built.

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thebigsplat t1_iykqb72 wrote

Yeah I don't think I disagree with much of what you said - just a misunderstanding. I'm saying there's more effective spending in Singapore vs NYC. The money in this city, it all disappears into some bottomless pit or is inefficiently spent like you said.

> 30% of a country's population being expat is tiny?

Do you count workers from poorer countries working in construction as expats? If so then yes they're expats, I was under the impression that expats only referred to highly paid workers contributing to the knowledge economy.

> The study you linked shows that it's high in areas with high housing prices. Again, caused by NIMBY's.

Totally in agreement - just confused because you said it's due to drugs when my understanding was it was due to home prices, and a lot of the people take up drugs on the streets.

Malaysia though? Man. That's another place with a stupendously large amount of money and a sad amount of poverty. It all disappears into a bottomless pit in Malaysia and people suffer.

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyia4o1 wrote

I wouldn't call HDBs better. They live in them because the BTOs are provided at below market rate. Kind of a Jevon's Paradox situation. Clear cutting rain forest to build massive concrete block housing using Bangladeshi slave labour and PRC companies laundering funds out of China isn't exactly a sustainable model. Did you live in an HDB? I'd take a prewar walkup in a vibrant local community any day over that again.

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thebigsplat t1_iyidxxy wrote

Yes? I'm a Singaporean. Calling them concrete block housing is disingenuous. This was my neighborhood. And the latest HDB developments are basically indistinguishable from luxury condos...

Singapore has it's problems but calling it unsustainable or lacking a vibrant local community compared to NYC is pretty wild and entirely off base especially since that's how the entire city was built and has been built since the 1960s.

If you think Singapore is going to run out of money to fund it's housing market and is dependent on money from China your grasp of the economy there is very weak to say the least.

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Elandtrical OP t1_iyislj1 wrote

I think HDB's are one of Singapore's better features. Some of the older ones are a bit tatty but that is to be expected when the country was just starting and not as wealthy. Also an annual 9 feet of rain is harsh on building exteriors.

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyipexd wrote

I have a long view of history. Singapore exist as a portal for corporate access from east to west and as a tax haven. It has almost no inherent value differentiating it from Malaysia and will look like Detroit in 100 years.

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thebigsplat t1_iyjpk5p wrote

Yeah I mean Singapore's infamously incorruptible and business friendly government isn't inherent and there's no guarantee it's going to remain there for the next 100 years, but you don't have to be a betting man to put good money on Malaysia, a country where a single man stole so much money from the national sovereign wealth fund the US DOJ raised their eyebrows, not getting anywhere close anytime soon.

Oh what's that? Despite it's reputation as a financial playground did you know that Singapore is the world's largest trading port outside of China?

Not sure what your long view of history has anything to do with the cost of living here and now anyhow.

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyjs3y8 wrote

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thebigsplat t1_iyjtmux wrote

> A canal through the Kra Isthmus, which would shorten shipping times around Asia, was suggested as early as 1677.

> The idea of a Kra Canal has been proposed in modern times since the 1930s, but has never materialized due to high cost and environmental repercussions.

Your own link.

There's a reason it hasn't been built yet despite reams of Chinese money interested in funding the project. But I don't expect much nuance out of you.

Don't believe me. Ask the Malaysians what they think of it - and they love to shit on us.

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyju2x2 wrote

Ok, yep, Singapore is best greatest all time number 1. They'll never build the canal and relegate it.

RemindMe! 2 years

−1

thebigsplat t1_iyjua8e wrote

In TWO YEARS? You're hilarious mate. I'm crying.

You think they'll build a canal longer than the Panama Canal through some of the most politically unstable territory in Thailand with an active Muslim insurgency in two years without a spade in the ground right now? I'm in stitches.

Can I put some money on this? 2K in 2 years?

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyjuedl wrote

Of course not. I think China will have a new deal with the Thai gov in 2 years.

−1

thebigsplat t1_iyjukw1 wrote

2K in 2 years I'll bet on that.

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyjv3oe wrote

It doesn't matter if I'm wrong by a decade or 5. Singapore is a backwater that China will bypass eventually.

edit: but I'll bet there is a new deal in place in 2 years.

−1

thebigsplat t1_iyjvgw8 wrote

> Singapore is a backwater that China will bypass eventually.

None of which was ever relevant to the conversation at hand and your inability to understand economic conditions in Singapore. Seek help and feel some grass.

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyjwlwc wrote

Yes, it is. Singapore has no natural resources, no long term benefit for trade once the Kra Canal is completed, no great tourism appeal. It's a happenstance of history that the Brits utilized Singapore as their main trading port with SEA and China and that Malaysia kicked them out allowing them to establish a corporate tax haven.

Also, only ~10% of Singapore GDP is derived from shipping.

Intl tax law is changing rapidly and the wild west situation that currently exist enabling places like Singapore and Dubai to flourish won't last long and then they'll be back to being backwaters. Every company with a headquarters building in Singapore is there as a tax dodge.

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Elandtrical OP t1_iykhf6z wrote

Singapore's lack of resources is a great strength. It means it had to invest in the only thing it had- its people. Highly educated workforce based on international commerce, no one wanting to go back to work in the glorious coal mines. For the foreseeable future Singapore is locked in. Hong Kong is no longer so Singapore serves as the sole finance center of the whole of Asia until another country creates one.

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thebigsplat t1_iyjw2fw wrote

Mate are you that kid who went to prison after punching that taxi driver in Singapore? I've had a beer with you and heard you out in person.

Honestly, the government of Singapore has done worse to me, so get over your bitterness. I don't pretend to understand this country intimately and I've lived here six years, not sure why you feel so sure about mine.

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyjx2eq wrote

I've never punched any taxi drivers in Singapore. We had a beer?

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Elandtrical OP t1_iyid0n9 wrote

We lived in a semi-detached with front and back garden in a nice area. I could cross the road and access 50km of jungle trails and still have a very good supermarket 5 minutes walk away. Our house was very kampong but loved it for that.

I used to volunteer for a charity fixing up old people's HDB flats that fell through the cracks. These people grew up illiterate in kampongs when Singapore started, worked hard manual labor their whole lives and usually couldn't afford to marry or kids didn't want to look after them. Their savings didn't account for big COL increases. Some of what I saw heartbreaking sad

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oreosfly t1_iyieqtz wrote

Singapore is a fuckton cleaner than this dumpster will ever be, but a large part of that can be attributed to getting your ass beat if you dare litter or eat smelly food in public

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nowyourdoingit t1_iyiow1y wrote

The larger part is the army of low paid workers who clean from 3am to 6am every day and who go mostly unnoticed. Walk around Clark Quay or a random HDB in Bedok at 2 in the morning and there is as much litter or trash as anywhere in Queens until the cleaners come.

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Elandtrical OP t1_iyibrr4 wrote

No expat package for us because reasons. Those guys are laughing all way to the bank. Housing, tuition, health plan plus a car allowance. At least there is no hardship allowance for Singapore any more.

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IGOMHN2 t1_iyi9pku wrote

How much is a house in NYC vs Singapore? A house on UES is only 5M. I'm guessing a house in Singapore is like 20M.

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Elandtrical OP t1_iyib65e wrote

House prices in Singapore are insane but the rental is very low in comparison. Our last place, a semi detached house with front and back garden in a good area would cost SG$16M but rent was SG$4900/month. A lot of hot money flowing from all parts of Asia just sitting there. There are places like Sentosa Island where almost every second house has been built and no one has ever moved in. Fixture wires still hanging down, no curtains etc.

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caroline_elly t1_iyr8mu0 wrote

Probably 3M to 5M for a townhouse or semi-attached.

Taxes are MUCH lower though. A 5M home pays insane taxes in NYC, like 5k a month. You pay roughly that much in a year in Singapore.

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nightkingscat t1_iyi11rl wrote

kinda skeptical of this -- in my experience prices in singapore are far cheaper compared to NYC, at least for anything a visitor would find relevant (food/commerce/lodging/etc). is it all in taxes?

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thebigsplat t1_iyi9ag5 wrote

Taxes in Singapore are way lower - maybe they're factoring in CPF, but that's your money too at the end of the day.

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Elandtrical OP t1_iyidkvn wrote

I didn't want to comment on getting better public infrastructure, cheaper goods other than groceries, much lower rents, cleaner pavements, and more nature & other quality of life factors. Also less clothing needed because one season tropics LOL

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sassbayc t1_iyld94k wrote

owning a non government subsidized condo/house and and owning a car are both more expensive than comparable options in NYC area

fairly certain this is from perspective of full time resident paying market rates

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caroline_elly t1_iyr8ybw wrote

But government subsidized housing is often better than the average NYC building so apples to oranges.

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sassbayc t1_iyr9xdy wrote

lol i purposefully excluded mention of gov subsidized housing because that only applies to citizens not expats living and working there

obv if you’re a singaporean citizen then qualifying for subsidized housing would probably make a huge difference compared to buying or renting market rate housing elsewhere

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ChrisFromLongIsland t1_iyhk5h2 wrote

NYC is so popular and expensive no one lives their anymore. They all moved to Florida from what I hear.

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Elandtrical OP t1_iyhl5g8 wrote

No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded

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ChrisFromLongIsland t1_iyhuwu7 wrote

Yes I was ripping off Yogi. I don't think the exact quote made sense though. Just remember I did not say everything I said.

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Jerund t1_iyhva6f wrote

That’s what I heard too. Heard it’s a dead city now. Especially during Covid when they said when those people leave, they aren’t coming back. For some reason rents keep going up even though it’s a dead city

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ParadoxScientist t1_iyi0ozv wrote

Many people left in 2020 but a good number came back in 2021/2022. There are still tons of people here-- NYC isn't going anywhere. And sadly the tourist spots are still overcrowded. Some areas in Manhattan are getting sidewalk expansions because sidewalks are running out of space for people.

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kjuneja t1_iyi2bc5 wrote

Bodies piling up on the streets are what's actually causing the rat problem

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carolyn_mae t1_iyi9fda wrote

the daily mail's headline for this news was "crime ridden NYC ties for most expensive place to live" ... what a joke

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Elandtrical OP t1_iyieflk wrote

People who can't comprehend per capita vs total.

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Dichotopotamus t1_iyji9z1 wrote

Def not a dead city in terms of nightlife and tourism, but for office workers it surely is, and that changes things a lot.

Instead of going out in with my coworkers or friends who work in Manhattan, I'm meeting up with people in the outer boroughs where we live and maybe once in a while go into the city.

Manhattan is now fully a tourist spot only. Not counting people who live in Manhattan as the majority of them aren't native New Yorkers so it's a different vibe.

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ParadoxScientist t1_iyi0mwa wrote

Many people left in 2020 but a good number came back in 2021/2022. There are still tons of people here-- NYC isn't going anywhere. And sadly the tourist spots are still overcrowded. Some areas in Manhattan are getting sidewalk expansions because sidewalks are running out of space for people.

0

concerned_newyorker t1_iykcait wrote

Singapore meanwhile has among highest standards of living in the world and new york has some of the worst quality of life for a big global city. Singapore also has low tax, low crime, low homelessness and singapore also managed COVID pretty well.

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IllegibleLedger t1_iykwt9w wrote

Worse quality of life than Delhi, Shanghai, São Paulo, Mexico City, Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing, Dhaka? Huh?

5

kiwi3p t1_iyiee0d wrote

While I'm not surprised that we've topped the list, the reason we continue to stay is both what the city offers culturally and the salaries here.

He did a stint in Portugal during the pandemic and were SHOCKED at how expensive rent was and how low the salaries were. Granted, compared to the rest of western Europe, they pay much lower, but still it was a no brainer that coming back here would mean a better quality of life.

Other cities on the list like Paris and Copenhagen offer half the salary (or less) of what we could get here in Brooklyn with similar rents. I'm sure the full Economist article could probably prove me wrong, but it still felt more affordable here relative to rent prices than anywhere we were scoping out in Europe.

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SoulfulYam t1_iyjumvz wrote

What people also neglect too is the fact that the vast majority of cities in the U.S. fucking suck. NYC is literally one of the very few cities in the country where you actually get the amenities that come with urban living.

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kiwi3p t1_iz0jqpo wrote

Absolutely. Visiting family in Seattle it definitely makes more sense to live outside the city rather than within.

1

wanderercouple t1_iyklxyy wrote

Yeah but in Copenhagen college, retirement, health care is taken care of. You can take super long maternity/paternity leave. Lots of other social benefits. I would take that security in life over higher salary.

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kiwi3p t1_iz0jwxk wrote

Don't get me wrong. I love all of these things, but rent seems extremely out of reach in Copenhagen. Would love to move there as that security is hard to quantify. Don't like being tied to my job for health care.

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WVOQuineMegaFan t1_iyjm81p wrote

Got to go to the Prauge/Budapest/Vienna zone

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kiwi3p t1_iz0eizv wrote

Is there a good rent/salary kinda ratio there? We did that whole region for our honeymoon. Loved Budapest and knew it was cheap, but would be afraid of living under Orban. Don't know much about the prices of the other two cities, just that while the people of Vienna seemed snooty, they all live in kick ass social housing.

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elizabeth-cooper t1_iyhoihp wrote

This is the long and short of it:

>Cities in countries where their currency slumped featured among those dropping down the listing of most costly cities.

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Dontlookimnaked t1_iyjspwr wrote

As an international freelancer people are often shocked at how much I make per day being based in NY. Even from other international cities like London and Tokyo I’d say I make at least 2x per day what they do on average.

Expensive city but best one of the best paying in the world.

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dropthatpopthat t1_iyjv4r2 wrote

Eh, I guess. I’m moving out of state over the ever-increasing cost of living and taking my NYC salary with me. High salary isn’t the draw it used to be with remote work more present now.

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Dontlookimnaked t1_iyjxv7c wrote

True, I have to physically be there for my trade (commercial cinematography)

My wife works corporate life and she made a 15% bump in salary which basically covers state and city taxes (from Austin tx)

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Grass8989 t1_iyiyhdb wrote

I wonder what the state of Singapore’s subway system is in comparison to ours.

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GOT_IT_FOR_THE_LO_LO t1_iyj06ud wrote

It's significantly better. You can easily transfer lines and be confident your next train will show up when it's supposed to (though i experienced a delay or two). There are definitely lots of neighborhoods/areas that require cars, but even some of those had a bus connecting you.

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Grass8989 t1_iyj8gaj wrote

What about the cleanliness, harassment, etc that occurs here. How prevalent is that in Singapore?

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GOT_IT_FOR_THE_LO_LO t1_iyjc3vq wrote

Singapore is an authoritarian state that has made literring an arrestable offense and banned chewing gum. Cleanliness/harassment is not an issue on their public transit like it is here.

I don't recall ever seeing a single homeless on the train in my two visits (outside of little india which is an exception to the rest of the city)

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Grass8989 t1_iyjdz67 wrote

Good to know! Sounds wonderful tbh.

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GOT_IT_FOR_THE_LO_LO t1_iyjkywa wrote

All of the transit systems in Asia (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur) that i've used make ours seem pitiful and just reinforces how the USA is falling behind in terms of infrastructure. Some are better than others, but across the board they're superior to anything i've used here.

European cities are better as well but tend to be a bit more mixed in my experience.

It's amazing how much of an improvement it is when you use a train and don't worry about whether it's going to show up in a few minutes.

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ihatecommentingagain t1_iymj3zu wrote

It was really, really nice to live in when I was there for work. Biggest issue I had was the constant tropical weather.

After living there and coming back here, most of the complaints about stuff like chewing gum comes off as memes and cope - it's hard for New Yorkers to swallow that some cities in the world do some things better than us even though we pay so damn much.

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BiblioPhil t1_iymm9yf wrote

I'm a gay guy looking into a destination wedding in Singapore...any suggestions for venue? Don't worry, we know all that stuff about chewing gum and weed is memey cope or whatever.

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ihatecommentingagain t1_iymsqiu wrote

Holding a gay wedding isn't illegal in Singapore. You can't register it in the Registry of Marriages, but no one will arrest you for a destination wedding.

You might know that if you didn't get all your information about Singapore from aforementioned memes and cope.

Singapore's stance on homosexuality is pretty conservative and I don't support that, but in general you've only exposed that you know very little of the nuances of living in Singapore in this gotcha attempt and have proven my point.

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BiblioPhil t1_iymyuhk wrote

>Holding a gay wedding isn't illegal in Singapore. You can't register it in the Registry of Marriages, but no one will arrest you for a destination wedding

Pretty sure this is reason enough to completely condemn Singapore dude. Refusing to recognize gay marriage in 2022 means you're ass-backwards on civil rights. It's non-negotiable.

So if your point is "Singapore is an okay place for human rights" then no, I don't think I've proven your point.

Jesus fuck these apologetics. "Aha! You claim you couldn't get married in Singapore, but you can... as long as you don't expect your marriage to be legally recognized in Singapore. Checkmate human rights!"

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ihatecommentingagain t1_iyn2hj2 wrote

>Pretty sure this is reason enough to completely condemn Singapore dude.

I have never claimed that Singapore is a perfect place. I have suggested that my personal experience with Singapore was nice and that they "do some things better than us".

>So if your point is "Singapore is an okay place for human rights" then no, I don't think I've proven your point.

You've proven my point about New Yorkers who are so insecure about being compared to other cities that they jump at the bit to post gotchas based on incorrect impressions of a country they've probably never been to based on some comment they read on Reddit or Facebook.

It shouldn't elicit such an insecure defensive reaction for someone to suggest that there are some aspects of other cities that we could learn from.

The only apologism here is from your trying to downplay that our city could do better with its budget and how your farcical initial gotcha showed that you're exactly the kind of New Yorker I'm talking about.

Edit: Used wrong "illicit".

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BiblioPhil t1_iyna37j wrote

> have suggested that my personal experience with Singapore was nice

Because you're not a lgbt person looking for equal rights under the law.

>impressions of a country they've probably never been to based on some comment they read on Reddit or Facebook.

Or based on the facts we just established during this conversation.

>The only apologism here is from your trying to downplay that our city

Uh, no, pretty sure I'm talking about human rights in Singapore. But yeah, they're better here, now that you mention it.

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ihatecommentingagain t1_iynd5nh wrote

>Because you're not a lgbt person looking for equal rights under the law.

I think you'd be surprised by my sexual orientation, but that's really too much personal information to be giving out on Reddit and it's not any of your business. Suffice it to say, there's a reason why I'm familiar with laws regarding homosexuality in Singapore and also why I came back here (also: I'm annoyed that every time people get into an argument on Reddit, it turns into weird social presumptions about the other person. It's erasure).

>Or based on the facts we just established during this conversation.

No, your original gotcha was just rhetorical garbage trying to pretend like people don't have gay weddings in Singapore. They do.

>Uh, no, pretty sure I'm talking about human rights in Singapore. But yeah, they're better here, now that you mention it.

And that's not relevant because I have never suggested that New York City adopt Singapore's stance on gay marriage.

Again, all you've done here is further reinforce your own insecurity about New York City as if we can't learn anything from other cities. You're acting just like Republicans when people point out that other countries with more gun control don't have the same level of shootings - it's the exact same kind of insecure whataboutism that prevents us from actually improving from the status quo.

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BiblioPhil t1_iyrd1rv wrote

Again, you keep acting like I'm defending NYC when I'm simply saying that clean streets are not a worthy tradeoff for a loss of civil rights for lgbt people. That fact alone makes it less desirable than any American city.

Just admit that you don't prioritize equal rights for LGBT people instead of hemming and hawing about how Singapore isn't so bad. It is if you're a second class citizen there.

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ihatecommentingagain t1_iyschbx wrote

>Again, you keep acting like I'm defending NYC when I'm simply saying that clean streets are not a worthy tradeoff for a loss of civil rights for lgbt people.

And I've also never said anything of the sort. I have never suggested that it was necessary or correct for us to trade our stance on LGBT rights in this city for anything.

All you've done since the start of our exchange is try your best to stuff words in my mouth so you can argue against strawmen and act disingenuously sanctimoniously.

>Just admit that you don't prioritize equal rights for LGBT people instead of hemming and hawing about how Singapore isn't so bad.

LGBT rights are important to me, which is, again, why I live here and not in Singapore (among other reasons). I continue to maintain that there are things that we can learn from them regarding spending - and that's it's not necessary for us to compromise our stance on LGBT rights to do so.

And, just to revisit this line:

>you keep acting like I'm defending NYC

This whole offensive has been nothing but a huge "whatabout" attempted distraction to try to cram things I never said into my mouth and present garbage rhetorical devices to distract from the concept that NYC has areas in which taxpayers do not get their money's worth.

We can absolutely learn some things from Singapore. We don't need to be and shouldn't be exactly like them in every way, but we can absolutely learn things from them in terms of spending and quality of life.

Edit: It's been fun, but considering the direction of our conversations so far, I'm getting pretty tired of arguing with someone whose only interest is in being disingenuous. Have fun with whatever strawman you were planning to come up with next.

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thing01 t1_iykin1u wrote

Sometimes I wish littering were an arrest-able offense in NYC

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reignnyday t1_iykb4yt wrote

Insanely clean. Crime is very low and there are even sliding partitions at the subway so you won’t get pushed in. Honestly if it wasn’t so humid for 100% of the year, I’d moved there already

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cscareerkweshuns t1_iyieu4a wrote

Where's San Francisco? it's gotta be up there too

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ShinjukuAce t1_iyiuf4u wrote

San Francisco and especially Silicon Valley are more expensive than New York. To live near major tech companies and not have a long commute, people will pay $2-3 million for small, older homes.

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thepotatochronicles t1_iyixzik wrote

Taxes are actually lower if you're making upper tier FAANG salaries (i.e. the kind that can pay $2-3M for small, older, homes), though. Of course, both CA and NYC taxes are literally double+ of Singapore's taxes.

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Donny_Crane t1_iyjv29o wrote

How does that make it more expensive than New York? Small, old homes with a short commute here are also crazy expensive.

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ethandjay t1_iyktyu1 wrote

housing stock is apples to oranges

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Donny_Crane t1_iymjczt wrote

So is the city itself. SF is basically the Manhattan of the are (but it's not as expensive as Manhattan). Also anecdotally you get significantly more square footage for your money in the Bay Area than in NYC.

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kwyjibo555 t1_iyjbm51 wrote

I don't know about that. Using your analogy, living near Manhattan in a Brooklyn single family home (usually built in the late 1800s or early 1900s), people will pay more than $2-3mil on average.

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agentargo t1_iyjriz4 wrote

And it needs $500k+ in reno to be livable and it's still a 30-45m commute to work.

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jenn4u2luv t1_iz0iyvt wrote

In Feb 2020, I moved from Singapore to New York. As someone who came from a small island in the Philippines, it’s crazy how much different the wealth gap is between these two countries and my hometown.

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