If you had a choice: HK or Singapore ?

[PDLM]

There are two schedules of fees - see here: http://www.ha.org.hk/hesd/nsapi/?MIv...nt&c_id=102116
One is for "eligible Persons" - defined as "holders of Hong Kong Identity Card issued under the Registration of Persons Ordinance or children under 11 years of age with Hong Kong resident status." - and one for everyone else.

(And, by the way, the *** indicates ONLY the holders eligibility for a HK re-entry permit, it says nothing about the permanence of their ID card.)

[ozipo]

the grass is always greener on the other side
I move here for less than 3 weeks and I was
from singapore. There are pros and cons and
various similarity between both places.
But they will never be the same, as such
why not consider being base in both places
for a short period of 2 years each?
( must we choose only one religion?
I always been a believer in Christianity and
Buddhism and Taoism...haven't got the time
to get to know other religions but all are good except
for the human factors that mess it up...guess this is another
topic altogether...)

[funnie]

Singapore life is pretty boring in comparison to HongKong.

[tanbs]

Singapore life is pretty boring in comparison to HongKong.

Funny, I thought it is the other way round for me. In HK, I essentially work, go home to call my wife and mum in SG, sleep and plan my trip back. In SG, I go out everyday to catch up with friends and family, but feel I don't have enough time. Whether a place is boring or not depends on what u want.

[cocktailbun]

i vote for sg! life can be boring anywhere and everywhere. it totallt depends on what u do! you can have the most happening club right in front of your door steps, but if you just laze on ur sofa all day, life WILL be boring,

btw, singapore's night life has improved quite significantly these few years

[canucktony]

Singapore is better. People like to destory the history in Hong Kong. They don't really care how to protect the historic buildings. Singapore is better.

[freeier]

Singapore is better. People like to destory the history in Hong Kong. They don't really care how to protect the historic buildings. Singapore is better.

to be objective, that is unfortunately, NOT TRUE.
HK just happened to have people exploiting that event.
in singapore buildings with alot of historical values are destroyed as well (of cos, many are preserved), and they were just done without alot of fanfare.

[bruce999]

Singapore is cleaner overall. everything is a bit more structured.
More people in singapore speak english then in HK. (relatively speaking)

Singapore is hotter all year round then Hong Kong.
I do not know about the comparison on night life.

If business in china is a relevant factor, then obviously HK.

[Mr.Bing]

i go to singapore for business and visit friends there a lot...

singapore cons:
1)boring
2) it's an island but if you live in the city you hardly ever see the ocean
3)too small!
4) the ocean views are destroyed by the myriad tankers (especially on Sentosa),
5) sales tax
6) and depending upon what environmental disaster Indonesia is experiencing at the moment (they tend to have a lot of them) this can affect Singapore's environment. last time i was there indonesia was having their huge forest fires so all the haze was blowing into sinagpore. the whole city smelled like burning and the haze significantly dampened visbility
7) the whole "nanny state"/"singapore is a 'fine city'", sterile, micromanaging of private lives. although the government is less nosy with foreigners
8) too cookie cutter and more rigid thinking, less creativity (though it seems like this is an issue in most East Asian majority places)

singapore pros over hk:
1) food is way better- cheap but delicious food courts all over- and great SE ASian/Malay influence so people can actually stand spicy foods there, none of this bland stuff here! also more diversity of food
2) the average person's English is better than HK- i think just on average a higher level of education
3) the average person's spoken Mandarin is even better than the average HK person
4) More ethnic diversity and integration and appreciation (there's more overt racism in HK but if you're white you will have no problem anywhere). though i've personally experienced and a lot of people who've lived in both places have also told me that on average Singaporeans are more outwardly friendly to all people, not just white people. Though I do believe HK has better laws for the treatment of domestic helpers. There seems to be more domestic worker abuse in Singapore (this is a con, not a pro).
5) cheaper rents
6) much less restrictive regulations on foreigners, such as starting a business, residency, etc.

[Mr.Bing]

I hesitate to go here, but since you asked...

One thing that is hugely different between Singapore and Hong Kong is the self-confidence of the people, and particularly the women. I don't think I've ever met a Singaporean who wasn't hugely self-confident. This combined with the fact that, in my humble (straight male) opinion, Singapore has the highest ratio of good-looking women anywhere in the world (thank all those mixed up races), and most of them don't half know it, means that I can see that the workplace could be quite an intimidating environment for a western woman who was less than totally comfortable in herself. Hong Kong women are, (generalising hugely) one of the most shy and sexually repressed group of people in the world (I am astounded by the number of 30-40+ virgins I come across here); HK regularly comes at or near the bottom of the Durex survey on sexual activity.

On drugs, yes, they are, apparently, very easy to come by in Hong Kong - I know quite a number of people with a coke habit, and plenty who do the odd joint. But Singapore is by no means immune - they have had a number of high profile drugs busts in the last few years.

I'm a straight Chinese American female so don't get me wrong, but I agree with you regarding the sexual confidence difference between Singapore and HK. I also agree that on average people in general, especially the women, are better looking in Singapore.
When I first got here a few months ago i was surprised at the difference, given that both singapore and hong kong are big entertainment/celebrity bases.
as for the "lack of sexual activity" you speak of, do you think it has something to do with all the bad teeth in HK...the "American that is used to everyone getting braces to fix their teeth" in me seriously wonders...the Chinese in me is telling me to let it go...hahaha