A young author and online marketer declared in a blog post that has gone viral that he had no plans to return to Singapore where life was 'sterile' and 'the bare minimum of living'.
Danny Dover, a self described life list completer and author of the book ' Search Engine Optimization Secrets', explained in his blog post 'Why I'll never return to Singapore' on 5 November this year that he did not want 'to waste my limited time and resources in places that don't make me better'.
The 26-year-old said that in his time living in Singapore he had everything he needed to be comfortable but that nothing inspired him.
Also, even though there was no language problem, he felt there was a communication barrier with the people.
'In my experience, people were polite but conversations rarely moved past surface-level niceties. Of the conversations that I took part in and overheard, the vast majority of them were about work. I routinely watched people work 15 hours days and stress over strict deadlines,' he said.
Dover acknowledged that Singapore has accomplished amazing feats in competitive industries and created an everyday existence of unrivaled cleanliness, safety and stability. 'In Singapore even petty theft is uncommon, he said.
However, he questioned the cost of the country's success. 'When a country is founded on the idea of surviving regardless of the cost, what happens when it thrives? In the case of Singapore, its spirit stagnates,' he said.
As of Friday noon, his post had gotten 8,500 Facebook Likes and 208 comments.
In an email reply to questions from Yahoo Singapore, Dover said he left Singapore at the end of October after living in the country for two months.
'Although that is a relatively short time I feel fortunate in that I had a lot of free time and was able to maximize my time exploring and chatting with people,' he said.
He moved to the city-state to work on his life list and Singapore seemed like a convenient hub to other locations in Southeast Asia, he explained.
On the response he got to his post, Dover said he was 'really happy' with the discussion that spread around the article. 'It feels nice to have been part of that,' he said.
Reaction to Dover's blog post was mixed. While some agreed with Dover's opinions, others did not.
A reader named Chak Lau who agreed said, 'I completely agree that all in all, Singapore is not a country built to secure its citizens' happiness, but merely the 'growth' of the country.'
One reader named John though pointed out that every country has its pros and cons. 'For me, Singapore is a very ideal place to work and stay. If you want inspiring scenes, happier environments, you can travel somewhere occasionally.'
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