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| Commenting on complaints and criticisms that Singapore is "boring", Ms Larissa Santhana Nair (pictured) suggested that we simply need to put in more time and effort to discover everything our little island has to offer. (Photo: CNA/Nuria…see more |
Larissa Santhana Nair
31 Jan 2025
If you Google “boring countries”, you’ll likely see Singapore mentioned in the top results – and probably more than once. We’ve all heard such complaints and criticisms. (Perhaps we’ve even uttered them ourselves.)
In defence, many people would point out our culture in food, shopping and Singlish. Singaporeans do things: Get together with friends. Go to Johor Bahru in neighbouring Malaysia for supper or shopping. Visit clubs and bars (if one is old enough). Queue for … stuff. Rinse and repeat.
WHAT IS THE SINGAPORE IDENTITY?
Singapore’s history is long and complex, but we’ve merely spent 60 years as a nation.
Given the trolley of unique factors including our small size and multi-ethnic population, we’ve had to take the express route to stability, modernity and prosperity by relying heavily on pragmatism – the classic “Singapore Dream” of the 5Cs speaks for itself.
However, cash, cars, credit cards, condominiums and country clubs are just things. They can’t really help us define a clear sense of collective identity.
While attending the Singapore Writers Festival in November last year, I heard a discussion by one panel stating that there are no boring people, just that the right questions have not been asked to find out about their lives.
In the same way, maybe there are no boring countries. Maybe Singaporeans just haven’t really begun to think about what we could do in Singapore.
Take one of our all-time favourite pastimes: Travel.
In 2022, the United Kingdom's payments information website Merchant Machine found that the average Singaporean traveller shells out US$2,966 (about S$4,000) on an overseas trip – the third-highest in the world.
In June 2024, Google reported that Singapore ranks first worldwide in online searches for travel topics. And TripAdvisor website stated that half of Singaporeans book an activity to do on a trip.
Evidently, we’re willing to put in the work (and money) when it comes to seeking out and investing in new, meaningful experiences in our travels outside our Little Red Dot.
Why don’t we commit the same amount of effort to the place we call home?
Trying new hobbies or activities is an opportunity to connect with new people outside the echo chambers of one's usual circles of friends and associates. (Photo: iStock)
We can start by breaking from regular routine.
Instead of sticking to the same few familiar leisure activities in our rotation, consider exploring more niche or under-the-radar activities. Some are hosted by experiential groups or communities, for instance, Void Deck Games organises live role-playing games.
You can even look into events and activities listed at your neighbourhood community centres.
Trying new hobbies or activities also allows us to connect with new people outside the echo chambers of our usual circles. This doesn’t just make life in Singapore more interesting, it also tackles the rising problem of social isolation and loneliness.
Self-conscious about facing the unknown alone? Rope your besties in for that pottery workshop or dance class. It can even be an opportunity to bond in new ways with your family.
Novelty is a lot less daunting when it’s an adventure we share with loved ones.
For the record, I’m speaking to myself as well.
Last January, one of my goals for the year had been to attend a resin-making workshop. I wanted to gain a new, simple craft skill I could use to make gifts for friends and family.
Here I am in February 2025, having taken no steps towards that goal. Like many others around me, the thought of trying to squeeze a “non-essential” thing into my schedule on top of all my work commitments and social engagements just seemed much too tiresome.
When speaking with seniors, I often hear that they wished they had pursued passions or invested in hobbies in their youth.
Rather than knock off their advice as cliched, perhaps it's time to consider and confront our own inertia. There will never be a better time than now to start.
Falling in love with Singapore isn’t impossible – but first, you have to put yourself out there.
Larissa Santhana Nair, 24, works in communications with a focus on marketing, public relations and brand management.
If you Google “boring countries”, you’ll likely see Singapore mentioned in the top results – and probably more than once. We’ve all heard such complaints and criticisms. (Perhaps we’ve even uttered them ourselves.)
In defence, many people would point out our culture in food, shopping and Singlish. Singaporeans do things: Get together with friends. Go to Johor Bahru in neighbouring Malaysia for supper or shopping. Visit clubs and bars (if one is old enough). Queue for … stuff. Rinse and repeat.
Clearly, “eat drink man woman” is not just the title of a classic Taiwanese film but also how many people feel they can spend their limited leisure time here in Singapore.
Yet, as the saying goes: “It's the people that make the place.”
What if it’s not about “having nothing to do”? What if the real problem is that we don’t know who we are or what we want?
Yet, as the saying goes: “It's the people that make the place.”
What if it’s not about “having nothing to do”? What if the real problem is that we don’t know who we are or what we want?
WHAT IS THE SINGAPORE IDENTITY?
Singapore’s history is long and complex, but we’ve merely spent 60 years as a nation.
Given the trolley of unique factors including our small size and multi-ethnic population, we’ve had to take the express route to stability, modernity and prosperity by relying heavily on pragmatism – the classic “Singapore Dream” of the 5Cs speaks for itself.
However, cash, cars, credit cards, condominiums and country clubs are just things. They can’t really help us define a clear sense of collective identity.
While attending the Singapore Writers Festival in November last year, I heard a discussion by one panel stating that there are no boring people, just that the right questions have not been asked to find out about their lives.
In the same way, maybe there are no boring countries. Maybe Singaporeans just haven’t really begun to think about what we could do in Singapore.
Take one of our all-time favourite pastimes: Travel.
In 2022, the United Kingdom's payments information website Merchant Machine found that the average Singaporean traveller shells out US$2,966 (about S$4,000) on an overseas trip – the third-highest in the world.
In June 2024, Google reported that Singapore ranks first worldwide in online searches for travel topics. And TripAdvisor website stated that half of Singaporeans book an activity to do on a trip.
Evidently, we’re willing to put in the work (and money) when it comes to seeking out and investing in new, meaningful experiences in our travels outside our Little Red Dot.
Why don’t we commit the same amount of effort to the place we call home?
NO TIME, NO ENERGY
At the same time, it’s not entirely our fault.
Singaporeans are famously overworked, clocking an average of 41.6 hours a week at work in 2024 compared to the global average of 36 hours.
Our limited land space also gives rise to a proximity issue: Most of our 9-to-5 work venues are physically situated close to sites of recreation. (See: Every photo ever snapped of the iconic Singapore skyline, with the skyscrapers of the Central Business District closely contrasted against Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay.)
Wherever we are, we are never more than 45 minutes away from work. In that way, we are wired to associate our little island with toil and other pressures such as rising costs of living.
All our cognitive shortcuts to “rest and relaxation” inevitably lead us to either our beds, or a plane, car or boat bound for anywhere but here.
At the same time, it’s not entirely our fault.
Singaporeans are famously overworked, clocking an average of 41.6 hours a week at work in 2024 compared to the global average of 36 hours.
Our limited land space also gives rise to a proximity issue: Most of our 9-to-5 work venues are physically situated close to sites of recreation. (See: Every photo ever snapped of the iconic Singapore skyline, with the skyscrapers of the Central Business District closely contrasted against Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay.)
Wherever we are, we are never more than 45 minutes away from work. In that way, we are wired to associate our little island with toil and other pressures such as rising costs of living.
All our cognitive shortcuts to “rest and relaxation” inevitably lead us to either our beds, or a plane, car or boat bound for anywhere but here.
 |
| (Reuters/Caroline Chia/File Photo) |
Our smaller size means that trends catch on fast, but the downside is that the popular and conventional voice is so loud that it often drowns out niches and subcultures.
A select few activities often dominate the spotlight – pickleball, anybody? – which can make many people feel obliged to participate in order to find contentment and joy in Singapore or, at the very least, fit in here.
Caught up in the tiring and never-ending rat race, many of us feel that we simply don’t have the time nor energy to engage in interests or passions outside of work.
The pressure to spend our limited free time participating in existing trends may also make some of us wary of trying new things on our own, for fear of judgment or scrutiny, or simply missing out on what others are doing.
Those who are less well-off may feel this pressure more acutely. Research showed that people in lower-income groups often suffered higher burdens on their mental energy towards more immediate problems including paying bills or cutting costs.
How then can we ever discover all that Singapore has to offer us, regardless of whether such gems are hidden or not?
BREAKING OUT OF COMFORT ZONES REQUIRES EFFORT
You might be thinking: “If Singapore was truly interesting, I wouldn’t have to work so hard to feel it.”
But finding any city interesting is a lot like falling in love. The getting-to-know-each-other stage has to be meaningful and purposeful on both sides.
This requires time and energy. Our perception of Singapore will not change unless we choose to interact with it differently.
Today, many Singaporeans are increasingly expressing a sense of disconnection from the 5Cs dream of our past and are redefining it for themselves. Some new Cs that Singaporeans deem as important today: Career, choice, convenience, contentment, character and consciousness.
Last June, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong talked about looking to “build a society that allows space for U-turns, side steps, slowdowns, pauses, experimentations and outliers”.
Perhaps developing a societal mindset more open to trying new things on our own shores could be a healthy step towards finding Singapore’s unrealised potential.
A select few activities often dominate the spotlight – pickleball, anybody? – which can make many people feel obliged to participate in order to find contentment and joy in Singapore or, at the very least, fit in here.
Caught up in the tiring and never-ending rat race, many of us feel that we simply don’t have the time nor energy to engage in interests or passions outside of work.
The pressure to spend our limited free time participating in existing trends may also make some of us wary of trying new things on our own, for fear of judgment or scrutiny, or simply missing out on what others are doing.
Those who are less well-off may feel this pressure more acutely. Research showed that people in lower-income groups often suffered higher burdens on their mental energy towards more immediate problems including paying bills or cutting costs.
How then can we ever discover all that Singapore has to offer us, regardless of whether such gems are hidden or not?
BREAKING OUT OF COMFORT ZONES REQUIRES EFFORT
You might be thinking: “If Singapore was truly interesting, I wouldn’t have to work so hard to feel it.”
But finding any city interesting is a lot like falling in love. The getting-to-know-each-other stage has to be meaningful and purposeful on both sides.
This requires time and energy. Our perception of Singapore will not change unless we choose to interact with it differently.
Today, many Singaporeans are increasingly expressing a sense of disconnection from the 5Cs dream of our past and are redefining it for themselves. Some new Cs that Singaporeans deem as important today: Career, choice, convenience, contentment, character and consciousness.
Last June, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong talked about looking to “build a society that allows space for U-turns, side steps, slowdowns, pauses, experimentations and outliers”.
Perhaps developing a societal mindset more open to trying new things on our own shores could be a healthy step towards finding Singapore’s unrealised potential.
Trying new hobbies or activities is an opportunity to connect with new people outside the echo chambers of one's usual circles of friends and associates. (Photo: iStock)
We can start by breaking from regular routine.
Instead of sticking to the same few familiar leisure activities in our rotation, consider exploring more niche or under-the-radar activities. Some are hosted by experiential groups or communities, for instance, Void Deck Games organises live role-playing games.
You can even look into events and activities listed at your neighbourhood community centres.
Trying new hobbies or activities also allows us to connect with new people outside the echo chambers of our usual circles. This doesn’t just make life in Singapore more interesting, it also tackles the rising problem of social isolation and loneliness.
Self-conscious about facing the unknown alone? Rope your besties in for that pottery workshop or dance class. It can even be an opportunity to bond in new ways with your family.
Novelty is a lot less daunting when it’s an adventure we share with loved ones.
For the record, I’m speaking to myself as well.
Last January, one of my goals for the year had been to attend a resin-making workshop. I wanted to gain a new, simple craft skill I could use to make gifts for friends and family.
Here I am in February 2025, having taken no steps towards that goal. Like many others around me, the thought of trying to squeeze a “non-essential” thing into my schedule on top of all my work commitments and social engagements just seemed much too tiresome.
When speaking with seniors, I often hear that they wished they had pursued passions or invested in hobbies in their youth.
Rather than knock off their advice as cliched, perhaps it's time to consider and confront our own inertia. There will never be a better time than now to start.
Falling in love with Singapore isn’t impossible – but first, you have to put yourself out there.
Larissa Santhana Nair, 24, works in communications with a focus on marketing, public relations and brand management.
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