Why don’t more Singaporeans emigrate?
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Many Singaporeans are highly educated and skilled, therefore qualify for many countries’ immigration requirements. And cost of living and hustle culture is significantly less strenuous (maybe other than NYC or HK). Not to mention the year round heat can be stifling.
For the price of condos and landed properties here, most can easily afford living right in Beverly Hills or Palo Alto.
So why don’t more Singaporeans emigrate?
Edit: I may not reply to all comments, but I’m definitely reading them so please keep them coming. Thanks!
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Netizens’ comments
- There could be many reasons like
-family ties in Singapore ;
-level of comfort having everything taken care vs. having to figure out everything in a new country
-fear of unknown
-social circle
- Beverly Hills? I’m assuming you are still in Singapore right and this is all theoretical? Try being an Asian in the USA, you will experience next level discrimination.
- Exactly, it is not that simple to move to Beverly Hills or Palo Alto. You would need to get a Green Card. Every other developed country will likely have their own rules as well.
Also, SG has a really low tax rate. Making $100k in SG is very different from making $100k in the US.
And last, is it really cheaper to live in US cities vs. SG? Property prices ain’t exactly cheaper in Beverly Hills than in SG, HDBs are actually really affordable, and house-owning rates are actually really high for a city-state.
IMO, it might be better to earn all that money, pay low taxes, and fly out of Changi to experience what the rest of the world has to offer during holidays. - The grass is almost always greener on the other side. And for every “reason” there is to emigrate, there are usually plenty more reasons to stay.
- Not everyone finds what you mention important. It can be difficult to leave your roots behind. People spend years outside Singapore(like myself) but find that Singapore is still home.