Monday 9 September 2013

A slower pace of life

Singaporeans are under stress.

The cost of living is rising. Wages of the lowest income have not risen as fast. Home prices are rocketing into unattainable heights, COE premiums are rising out of reach of all but the very wealthy. And the statistics show greater income inequality, with the rich getting richer and the poor, well, not getting richer.  


Children are stressed to do well in school to secure places in higher education in order to get a decent paying jobs. 

Their parents are struggling to secure a flat and then pay off their mortgage, while trying to put together some savings for a family car. 

And their parents are finding that their retirement fund is shrinking due to inflation and this is also a source of stress for them, and if their children takes it upon themselves to help their retired parents out, it is a further drain on their limited resources and another source of stress.

It would seem to the average Singaporean, that economic growth only advantages the rich and the elites while stressing out the middle-class and those below them.

If so, the argument goes, perhaps we can do with less growth, a slower pace of life and economic development and focus more on making Singapore less stressful.

How to get that slower pace of life TODAY!

The number of places in the world with strong economic growth, and a relatively good standard of living is very few. Singapore is, arguably, one of them.

The number of places in the world with low to no growth are plentiful. And most of them have th
e slower pace of life Singaporeans are clamouring for. And you don't even have to go far. Batam and Bintan are just an hour away by ferry. Malaysia too. A little further north into Thailand and even Vietnam to some extent are rural societies with Very Slow Pace of Life.

More adventurous? Try Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and hey the Happiest place in the world - Bhutan!

The point is, waiting for PAP to be overthrown and Singapore to slow down is going to take awhile... maybe even a VERY LONG TIME. 


You can have your slower pace of life TODAY!

In beautiful Batam, Bintan, Bali, Batu Pahat, Burma (now called Myanmar), and even Bhutan! (Don't ask me why all these slower paced places start with "B". Maybe you can try moving to Bedok first and see if it is slower paced or not. Maybe no need to move so far away.)


The beauty of the plan is that you can have that slower pace of life, TODAY. 

Not 3-4 years from now when your kids are out of school or about out of school or are busy preparing for some exam or something. 

Not 5 - 6 years down the road when you have just gotten your HDB flat at an inflated price and with the illusion that you OWN the flat for the next 99 years. 

Not 10 years down the road when you are still struggling with the mortgage and wondering if you should refinance your mortgage so you won't be working to pay off your flat until you are 65. 

NOW. Today. A slower pace of life awaits you in Idyllic Batam/Bintan/Bali/Penang/Vietnam/Cambodia/Myanmar.

Why are you still here moaning and groaning. Vote with your feet!


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