Poor work-life balance, stressful lifestyles, and over-government scrutiny are among the main reasons some Singaporeans have emigrated or left their homes, a Reddit thread recently revealed.
The Reddit thread was first launched on Tuesday (10th). Since then, it has received a number of responses from Singaporeans living abroad as well as those considering leaving the republic.
According to a 2018 survey by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), almost one in five Singaporeans between the ages of 19 and 30 expressed a desire to emigrate, with Australia being the most desirable country.
Based on the Reddit thread, many of the commentators cited poor work-life balance and a stressful lifestyle in Singapore as the main reasons they left their home country, noting that living abroad was a real eye-opener for them to ” better quality “was of life”.
The person who created the thread noted that because of the shitty work-life balance and stressful lifestyle in Singapore, their boyfriend plans to move to Australia or New Zealand in a couple of years. They added that their boyfriend experienced “more freedom” when he visited New Zealand two years ago.
Bad work-life balance and stressful lifestyle in Singapore
In fact, the emigrants said they had a much better work-life balance abroad than in Singapore. Meanwhile, a handful of others pointed out that the high cost of living in Singapore caused them to leave the country.
“I work 35 hours a week in the UK. I would work in Singapore for at least 60 hours a week. If I finish at 5pm UK time, some of my SG friends are still working at midnight / 1am SG time, ”said one internet user.
Another person wrote: “Everything is way too expensive in SG. The price of a 5 bedroom BTO apartment can get you a pretty decent home. Our cars practically cost 2.5 to 3 times as much. “
“Cost of Living – $ 300,000 for a resale [3-room] HDB … unless you are a beginner and you are lucky enough to get a BTO. In Texas, I could get something decent for 150,000, ”commented a Reddit user. 
One commentator said he was “more scared” of living in Singapore, despite having financial stability there.
“First, I’m more scared in Singapore. Financially I actually earn enough, only the constant stress in the city etc. makes you feel like you are not enough, not earning enough, not achieving enough etc. ”, they wrote.
“Overall, I feel less happy / less happy as a person in Singapore, I’m not sure why, maybe I am.”
Another Reddit user, who turns 18 this year, said he was considering moving overseas due to the competitiveness and “need to hunt for material wealth” in Singapore.
“I wish people were more interested in getting to know someone than looking at their socioeconomic status, race, or background. I also feel “locked in” at home and always have to be on my guard against making “too much noise,” which can be exhausting, ”they wrote.
The Singapore government has “far too much power” over its citizens
Meanwhile, a handful of Reddit users cited Singapore’s government control as the key factor in considering emigration, and found that the government had “far too much power” over citizens.
One internet user wrote, “There are a lot of these things created with good intentions like POFMA and the recent thing about safe distancing officers who can go into homes without warrants.
“The problem is, all of this assumes that we have a government that has our best in mind, which won’t always be true. If it doesn’t affect us today, it could affect the next generations in the future. There is no guarantee that it will ever be used for bad causes, but we never know what will happen. “
Also, a couple of Reddit users pointed out that they decided to leave because Singapore doesn’t legalize same-sex marriage.
