Having been here in Vancouver for 3 whole months already, there are certainly some things I have come to appreciate Singapore more for… at the same time, I’ve also found so many more things to hate Singapore for.
I appreciate Singapore for the cheap food – but the fact is that it’s cheap as a result of an economy without minimum wage – where low-skilled workers are paid peanuts for their labour.
Let’s face it – things are generally cheap in Singapore only because of cheap wages that our fellow countrymen are receiving for their hard work.
I like that Singapore has plenty of good shopping malls – though I don’t spend a lot of money shopping, I do enjoy an evening after school or work just walking through a mall, window shopping, enjoying the wide array of products, services and food available. Here in Vancouver, we don’t get many of those malls… the few that we have here are probably 80% populated with chain-operated stores, making every mall similar.
I also prefer the way some things are done in Singapore – for example, the somewhat open telecommunications industry results in low-cost high-quality services for consumers. And the transparency in charges – unlike in many industries here in Canada where pricing is less transparent (i.e. having to pay $0.50 a month for access to emergency phone numbers like 911 even if you don’t use it, and they quietly charge you for it).
In terms of taxes, well, Singapore arguably has lower taxes – low income tax and GST of 7%. However, we cannot compare apple-apple, because Canada and Singapore are run differently. Although Singapore has low income taxes and (comparatively) reasonable GST, we pay incredible amounts of money for housing (the most painful investment), transport (150% vehicle tax, ERP – everyday rob people, road tax, etc), water and electricity, etc… all the basic stuff. I believe after adding these up, living in Singapore is not as cheap as it seems to be on the surface.
On the other hand, here in Vancouver the uninformed will baulk at the high income taxes and PST + GST of 12% total. Well, there is a reason why immigrants are still flocking in despite the seemingly high taxes here, and also the lower earning power in Vancouver compared to other parts of Canada or the US.
Edit: Food items are tax-exempt here in Canada
For starters, public healthcare insurance takes care of practically all healthcare costs. This scheme, Medicare, is funded through taxes… and is so much better than Medisave in Singapore, where basically the government just forces one to save up his own money to pay for any healthcare costs in future. Sure, we have Medishield in Singapore, but it doesn’t cover non-hospitalization or non-critical medical needs (i.e. fever, flu, etc).
Education, another big ticket item… is also truly highly-subsidized here. While international students pay over $20k a year at UBC, Canadians pay just $4+k a year… and there are government schemes to help parents save up for their children’s education from an early stage (something like helping to top up or start off children’s education savings accounts).
Look at Singapore, telling us that our university education is highly subsidized (from an initial $10+k to $6+k a year). That’s not a very high subsidy in my opinion (and I think it’s more like they jack up the price tag to create the effect of a seemingly hefty subsidy)… and yes, we all know that foreign students pay just a few hundred dollars more a year just because they sign a 3 year contract to work in Singapore after graduation (and compete with Singaporeans for jobs).
Edit: Someone pointed out to me that tuition fee is actually about $24k in Singapore without subsidy and that we pay only 25% effectively. Well, the question is does it really cost that much to educate us, or is that just the ‘list price’?
Add that to the fact that vehicle ownership here costs considerably less than in Singapore, buying a condo here while not cheap, is comparable to Singapore, plus with better air quality, scenery, environment, etc – you get the idea.
The bottom line is – if I am given a chance today to take up Canadian residence and forgo my Singapore citizenship – I would do that with no hesitation. (Alright, there is the significant other’s opinion to consider as well – um… yea but I think hope she feels Vancouver is a nice place too).
I feel there are some things about Canada that doesn’t make it the most ideal place for me – but then, there may not even exist a place in this world that fully meets my ideals. Vancouver was not voted the most livable city in the world for nothing… it certainly feels good to be here, and everyday when I walk past the blocks of private apartments near my residence I daydream about the day when I’ll be able to live in one of those small little cosy apartments with my family and a dog. Of course, my hope is to be able to buy a house in a nice neighbourhood with space to do some gardening… but that’s kinda far off for now.
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I understand exactly how you feel. I’ve worked in Vancouver for close to two years. And the quality of life is way better than that of Singapore. Fair enough, crime rate is also higher due to the huge influx of low-skilled immigrants and their families. But the pace of life, the way they balance family and work, is something I would gladly take in exchange for my pink IC. Maybe someday I will get to live this dream again.
If you like the Rockies, try camping in Alaska. It’s beautiful and a wonderful experience.
Hi mrbiao,
Just a general question regarding the public healthcare in Canada. What kind of quality do you get in return for it being free? Reason I’m asking is because I’m currently living in Australia, and while the public healthcare system is free, it is increasingly coming under severe strain as the population, ratio of elderly increase. Waiting times have flown through the roof, quality of care is sliding, healthcare professionals are leaving for the private sector etc etc. Its come to the point where the govt urges those who can buy private health insurance to do so, and use the private health sector.
Also regarding GST, although it is 10% here, GST is not applicable to basic food items like bread, rice, noodles etc. My wife and I have been monitoring our grocery bills and frequently GST comes up to no more than 3% of our total. Is it the same in Canada?
I agree with your basic premise, there are areas where the “grass is greener” (figuratively speaking) overseas, but there are other aspects where SG does win out. Still trying to decide where we’ll end up eventually
Look at Singapore, telling us that our university education is highly subsidized (from an initial $10+k to $6+k a year). That’s not a very high subsidy in my opinion (and I think it’s more like they jack up the price tag to create the effect of a seemingly hefty subsidy)…
Actually, no. You pay only 25 percent of the cost of your tuition. So, your tuition would cost something like $24K without subsidies.
Also, the actual tuition fee is computed by dividing the total amount of money the government gives to the university for a particular course divided by the number of students in that course. The amount of money given to the universities can be found in the MOE budget. If you accuse the universities of jacking up the price tag, you’re effectively accusing MOE of lying about the amount of money it pays NUS/NTU/SMU.
Overseas Singaporean – I haven’t had the opportunity to try out for myself the quality of healthcare here yet, but by all accounts I believe that the public healthcare system in Canada is one of the better ones around.
Oh yes, forgot to mention the most important thing about GST & PST here is that they are not charged on basic items like food. So yeah, the tax is 12% here but not on food items – while in Singapore its 7% on everything.
Fox – not really accusing them of jacking up prices or lying… just that I sometimes wonder if it really costs that much to educate us. Like, of course we don’t expect them to charge us at cost, but the question is what is the cost, and how much premium is the ‘list price’ over the cost?
Sorry, I didn’t bother to check how much the actual tuition fees were – so its $24k. Well, what can I say – this is just as high as what a non-subsidised student will pay here in Canada (in Canadian funds of course) – and I don’t believe given Singapore’s lower cost of labour (and everything else too) its actually worth that much.
Labour cost may be lower but everything else (transport, water, electricity, etc) is expensive in Singapore as you have pointed out. Also, equipment for instruction and rsearch are more expensive in Singapore than elsewhere because they have to be imported. Faculty in Singapore are also highly paid.
I believe it was mentioned before that the number 1 cost for Singaporean universities is faculty’s salaries.
Not sure if you understand how things are run in these places but I don’t feel that students are getting a good deal on their tuition fees given the quality of teaching staff and class size. I know we have some very good faculty around, but many of them are unfortunately not very committed teachers, compared to my experience here in UBC.
In Singapore, a typical class consists of 100+ to as many as 200+ students. Here classes are taught in small groups of less than 10 to 50 most of the time.
As I understand it, NUS’s strategy is to attract ‘world-class’ (thats kind of the in word for them now) faculty with their promise of plenty of research funding and ‘low teaching hours’ (no kidding – that’s what is written on my school’s HR page). So since this is the way NUS is recruiting, the faculty they attract are just mostly research-oriented and come for the promise of good research funding and low teaching commitment.
Faculty can be highly paid in Singapore but look at how many students are sharing each instructor? And I don’t care if they are paid high really, because as a student I am more concerned about the quality and commitment the lecturer has towards teaching rather than his credentials.
[...] the universe and everything – this lush garden within: Cultural learnings of Canada for make benefit glorious nation of Singapore (Day 87 in Vancouver) – thegreatsze: Vanity – Ong Jiin Joo: Would you care to hire an Orchestra? – Endoh Pure Ranting [...]
mrbiao,
In Singapore, a typical class consists of 100+ to as many as 200+ students. Here classes are taught in small groups of less than 10 to 50 most of the time.
That’s not true. Most Level 2000, 3000 and 4000 classes in most faculties in NUS don’t have more than 100+ students in the classes. Btw, I was from NUS.
I know we have some very good faculty around, but many of them are unfortunately not very committed teachers, compared to my experience here in UBC.
I don’t know. Faculty in most Ivy League schools in the US aren’t very committed teachers either. Actually, most research-focused public universities in the US are like that too. Maybe they should cut their faculty salaries too?
And I don’t care if they are paid high really, because as a student I am more concerned about the quality and commitment the lecturer has towards teaching rather than his credentials.
Do you think that if you pay less, you’ll get better teachers? Let’s put it this way. Suppose NUS chooses to hire only teaching-oriented lecturers only, how much less would a basic undergraduate degree cost?
Also, you are confused about the concepts of cost and worth. The research-oriented faculty may not be worth a lot to you but they sure cost a pretty penny!
Fox,
First, it is a proven matter of fact that NUS’s class size is larger than most other good universities’. Class size is a criteria for top universities rankings and the reason why NUS is in its place is because of 1. research capabilities (reason for its relatively high ranking) and 2. large class size (reason for its inability to go higher). You can go check it out.
And yes, I do know that research-focused universities are focused more on research and less on teaching … however class size is a critical matter here – in a smaller class at least students will be able to get more attention and discussions with the instructors. And I don’t think I need to say anything more about that – having been an undergrad yourself you surely understand what I’m driving at.
And nope I am not confused about the concept of cost and worth…
I’ve never said that they aren’t worth that much – I just said that to me, I care more about whether they can teach well more than how much they are worth for their research capabilities.
And no, I’ve never thought that if I pay less, I’ll get better teachers. There’s no logic in that. I am even willing to pay more if they can have better quality teaching staff.
While its good for universities to focus on research, they should try to balance both research and teaching activities.
While I agree with you on some points, unfortunately you are just making all the wrong assumptions about what I am thinking… and thus making remarks that are not exactly fair to me.
Isn’t the 50 cent 911 phone charge actually a kind of a tax? Since it is the same for all telephone companies, I guess I’m not surprised if they don’t include it in their price since it’s not something they have to compete over.
Daniel, not sure about that… I checked and yes some cities in the US charge that 50 cents tax for 911 services
Not sure if thats so for Vancouver… but you could be right.
[...] – future.town: Chapter 18: Rihana and her Umbrella [thanks richard] – this lush garden within: Cultural learnings of Canada for make benefit glorious nation of Singapore (Day 87 in Vancouver) – thegreatsze: Vanity – Ong Jiin Joo: Would you care to hire an Orchestra? – Endoh Pure Ranting [...]
I came from NTU where ALL my lectures are held with 500 other students in the same lecture “theater”.