American Woman Shares ’10 Reasons Why Singapore Is The Worst Place To Live’
The weather, the government, the rising cost of living — you name it, Singaporeans love complaining about it. But when others critique our country, we are ever-ready to defend the good name of Singapore.
Recently, an American TikToker living in our island city, Alison Emerick, made a video titled, ’10 reasons why Singapore is the worst place to live’.
@alisoninasia I had to balance out my last video
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The video quickly went viral, garnering over 2.3 million views to date.
Her opinions divided Singaporeans — while many agreed with her views, others thought that she was being ungrateful.
In a subsequent video to address the hate she’s been receiving, Alison clarified that she loves living in Singapore and feels thankful to be in this country.
Videos on why Singapore is best & worst place to live
On Saturday (16 Jul), Alison uploaded a TikTok video titled, ’10 reasons why Singapore is the best place to live’.
She listed reasons such as Singapore being clean, safe, diverse, and a place with “amazing” schools.
@alisoninasia Are you moving to Singapore?
The video got over 179,100 views. While some thanked Alison for sharing her thoughts, others shared their gripes about Singapore, such as the recent sweltering weather.
Perhaps to entertain these comments for comic relief, Alison made a second video titled, ’10 reasons why Singapore is the worst place to live’, saying she had to balance out her previous video.
Source: @alisoninasia on TikTok
She listed reasons such as Singapore being hot and humid, expensive, having strict governance, and difficulties in finding people to think out of the box.
Oddly enough, ‘snakes’ also made it to the list. Later, she replied to comments with a video, explaining that she had seen a lot of snakes in Singapore.
Once, when she was in East Coast Park picnicking with her family, a snake fell from a tree right in front of them.
Since she’s ‘terrified’ of snakes, these reptiles deserved a mention.
Video drew strong responses from Singaporeans
While Alison’s video on the best reasons to live in Singapore did rather well, her video on the worst reasons to live here skyrocketed to viral fame — or is it infamy?
At the time of writing, the video has garnered 2.3 million views and almost 7,000 comments, many of which were by Singaporeans.
Many agreed with her point of view.
Source: @alisoninasia on TikTok
Some also praised her, saying this was the bravest and most honest criticism of Singapore they have seen.
Source: @alisoninasia on TikTok
But some felt Alison was being ungrateful towards Singapore.
Source: @alisoninasia on TikTok
Others went as far as to tell her she had “10 reasons to leave” Singapore.
Source: @alisoninasia on TikTok
Clarifies that she loves living in Singapore
On Monday (18 Jul), Alison posted a video, saying she thinks she offended half of Singapore.
Source: @alisoninasia on TikTok
She assured viewers that it was not her intent. She also clarified that she loved living in Singapore and was thankful to be in this country.
She explained that even in America, there are things she loves and hates. In fact, she said her hate list might be longer.
Eventually, Alison made a video on the matter, saying America is a worse place to live than Singapore.
Source: @alisoninasia on TikTok
She elaborated that America has “a lot of problems” and is “a lot worse than Singapore’s”.
In her opinion, this includes gun control, natural disasters, high incarceration rates, and a broken political system.
No need to get defensive
It is heartening to see Singaporeans express their love for our country.
But it is important to remember that no country is perfect — there will always be pros and cons, and there’s no need to get defensive.
So, when people are sharing their views, it’s perhaps best to keep an open mind and have a meaningful and honest conversation with them about things we can continue to improve on.
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Featured image adapted from @alisoninasia on TikTok and TikTok.
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