'I was constantly covered in mosquito bites': American shares the pros and cons of moving to Singapore

It's been several years since Jen, the content creator behind YouTube channel Happy Hapa moved to Singapore for work. 

And after living life like a Singaporean, she's come up with a list of pros and cons about moving here. 

The Asian-American shared the list in a YouTube video on July 6.

"Now that I've lived in Singapore for almost three years, I wanted to make an updated video that shares my perspective on some of the additional benefits and disadvantages of living in Singapore," she said. 

Jen's praises for Singapore are typical of many tourists and expats, such as its efficient transport system and multiculturalism.

But it's not all rainbows and butterflies — according to Jen, Singapore has its own fair share of negative attributes too, among them the hot and humid weather and surprisingly, mosquitos. 

The 'cons'

Singapore's weather is either hot, humid or wet, which Jen noted can be quite frustrating to deal with. 

"If you do like spending a lot of times outdoors, the weather can be a deterrent for moving to Singapore," she pointed out. 

This led to her next point — mosquitoes. 

"Singapore's hot and humid climate means that mosquitoes are going to be very prevalent here," she said, pointing out that some mosquitoes here can carry diseases like dengue. 

It didn't help that mosquitoes here seem especially attracted to her, Jen shared. 

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"For some reason, mosquitoes love me and it drove me crazy when I first moved here because I was constantly covered in mosquito bites," she recounted, advising newcomers to "wear bug spray" and to "cover up".

One other thing that surprised Jen was how there's not much of a beach culture here, despite Singapore being an island. 

"A big misconception that I had about Singapore before I moved here was that because it's an island, I would be spending a lot of time of the beach and swimming in the ocean," she said. 

She explained that one reason Singapore isn't a beach vacation destination like Phuket or Bali is because of "the tankers in the water".

"Singapore is a shipping and transport hub and that means that the waters are constantly filled with tons of boats that are bringing and taking supplies," she said. 

Disliking mall culture, difficulty in maintaining friendships

Jen expressed that she is also not a fan of the high volume of malls in Singapore, especially at Orchard Road. 

"As a minimalist, I dislike mall culture because I think it promotes overconsumption," she said, adding that once one steps foot into a mall, there's an "inherent pressure" to buy things. 

She also brought up the transient nature of expat friendships. 

While she finds it easy to make friends in Singapore, she's also seen many of these friends come and go over the past few years. 

"In particular, many expats are here for work assignments that last a couple of years so they know that they won't be here long term." 

While not denying that there are negative aspects to living in Singapore, Jen admitted that having to come up with these deterring factors was not easy.

"Honestly, I did have a harder time thinking about these cons because overall, Singapore is such a great place to live in and I highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in living in Asia," she stated. 

The positives

Like many other tourists and expats who come to Singapore, Jen was impressed by our urban planning. 

"One of the best parts about living in Singapore is how incredibly convenient everything is," she said. 

She explained that each neighbourhood is designed to be self-sufficient and has grocery stores, clinics, restaurants and shops that are all within walking distance. 

Jen also lauded how green and "visually appealing" our city is, pointing out that "it's not a concrete jungle". 

Another positive point? How efficient things are, be it our transport system or our processes. 

"It's so easy to navigate that even tourists can immediately understand what train they need to take and which direction they need to go," she elaborated on our convenient and affordable transport system.

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Moving to a country can be a taxing process and Jen admitted that it can be daunting to figure out all of the logistics and paperwork. 

But when she came to Singapore, she was impressed by how quickly and efficiently everything was sorted out. 

She shared how when she studied in France, it took her almost a month to set up a bank account. 

"By the first week, I had already gotten my phone plan, opened a bank account and gotten my visa. Everything was very straightforward, easy to understand and the processing times were really fast." 

Another thing she praised was Singapore's multiculturism and she noted that each of the communities here celebrate different festivals and have corresponding public holidays. 

"It's been a highlight of living here, getting to experience so many different cultures," she said.

The final positive point Jen highlighted was our excellent healthcare system, which she said was "easy to navigate". 

She revealed, however, that as a foreigner, she is only eligible for private healthcare, which is more expensive than the public healthcare locals have access to. 

"But still, compared to the US, it is much cheaper and the quality of care that you get is world-class," she praised. 

AsiaOne has reached out to Jen for more details. 

ALSO READ: American expat shares why he chose to relocate to Singapore and 'it's not because of the salary'

melissateo@asiaone.com