I’ve been having discussions with my dad about this ( he disagrees with me), but I am seriousy considering packing up my bags and heading to Singapore at some point after college. I understand what Jim Rogers and Peter Schiff often talk about with regards to Asia, but is there anything I’m missing here (like other countries etc). I understand there is government intervention to some degree and all that, but is Singapore really the direction to head to if I was considering moving?
Do you speak the language?
You can get around Singapore speaking English; it is one of four major languages spoken there. Look at many street signs there and you wouldn’t be able to tell if you were in the US or Singapore. Singapore is a wealthy, creditor nation with a market that is more free than most others. However, I sure as hell wouldn’t advise moving to a different country without first having visited there and secured employment.
Hmm interesting I did not know that.
Are you…sure you didn’t get Singapore mixed up with Hong Kong?
Google Earth tells no lies! Yes, I’m quite sure..
Okay then.
Well, if you’re trying to decide where to go based on the world going to hell in a handbasket, I would recommend somewhere where you can sit on the beach and sip lemonade. Being in Singapore or Hong Kong probably won’t help much. America still has the most rights to be taken away for the time being.
Singapore has some really strict laws. For example, from wiki:
“Anyone caught with more than or equal to 15 g (0.5 ounces) of heroin, 28 g (1 ounce) of morphine or 480 g (17 ounces) of cannabis faces mandatory capital punishment, as they are deemed to be trafficking in these substances. The stated quantities are the net weight of the substances after they have been isolated by laboratory analysis. Between 1991 and 2004, 400 people were hanged in Singapore, mostly for drug trafficking, the highest per-capita execution rate in the world.”
It also has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Just don’t get them pissed off I guess.
They use whip lashings as a penalty for some things. They also force you to vote in elections.
I’ve been considering Singapore or Hong Kong as a viable alternative to the U.S. after I finish uni in the UK.
Singapore has many economic freedoms, but very little personal freedoms. However, if like me you don’t consume drugs, don’t know how to use a rifle (although I may acquire one if I moved to the U.S.), or care much about elections, then Singapore may be an interesting place to go. At least, it’s worth a visit.
Also, the main language besides English is Mandarin, which has far more potential than Cantonese, which is what they speak in Hong Kong.
Be ready to learn Singlish though, which may either be lots of fun, or very annoying 
Perhaps you could spare a month for Switzerland. Geneva has the lowest taxes and is pretty free, much more than Singapore (personal fredoms) for sure. If you can do not miss the chance to check it out.
Not to mention, it’s hotter than hell. All time record low is 67 degrees. Rains a lot too.
Singapore has good economic freedoms and most people there speak English, but the personal freedoms are far stricter (Don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, remember to vote, don’t have a gun, don’t forget to clean the toilet seat, don’t chew gum, etc or you could be executed or otherwise punished). Also, I think they have some form of universal healthcare there (if that is an issue you care about).
The other alternative is Hong Kong, but the costs of living there are astronomical, it is technically owned by Communist China, and Cantonese is a bit of an annoying language since it is a bit harder to learn then Mandarin and has less practical uses outside of southern China.
Why not move to Ireland? English speaking, Low income taxes, low corporate tax. Home of the longest lasting Anarchist Society in recorded history.
How does Singapore ‘get away with’ being so strict from a social point of view? If its true that they have universal health care and crack down so hard on drug use, shouldn’t they be spending themselves into debt to finance this stuff?
I think it may be worth keeping an eye on New Hampshire as well. No language issues, a growing number of people who understand why liberty is important. Activism on both social and economic fronts. But its still a relatively small movement, and its hard to tell how likely or successful a secessionist movement could be in the future (at the moment it would seem unbelievable).
I’ve been also considering countries like Hong Kong and Switzerland as well. I just wish the US well wasn’t the US at this point.
It frustrates me beyond belief how screwed our generation is in the future here.
I was actually unaware how limited personal liberties were there though, kind of scary.
It is 15% islamic.
no I mean financially. How do they afford to run the police state in such a manner with such a free economy?
If you have a high income Switzerland is definitely worth considering. Incomes above a certain level (which sadly I do not remember at the moment) are not subjected to tax brackets: you (or your attorney) just sit down with the local tax man and together work out how much, when and how to pay taxes on a one to one basis.
Bern has good fiscal and monetary politics (by modern standards) and local governments tend to be much less aggressive than their European and US equivalents. Instead of imposing themselves upon businesses and citizens they tend to “get along”, an inheritance of the old landsgemainde system.
Firearm legislation is unbelievable permissive by European standards (until a few years ago Army reservists were supposed to keep their own assault rifle at home) and you can find firing ranges all over the place. If you want to get high growing weed is legal (it has been used as fodder for centuries) and selling weed is virtually legal despite pressures from the EU and the US: police will just turn the other way. You just have to consume it in private.
Now the bad news: unless you are Michael Schumacher moving to Switzerland can be a pain. Most towns have a ban on selling property to foreigners unless special permits are obtained and businesses have a “Swiss first” policy. Immigration politics are sure to change, especially in large cities like Zurich and Bern.