Saturday, May 7, 2011

Dating in Singapore..


So it's my second day here, in Singapore, trying out this wonderful country (er, city-state?) and I've got some red flags going off in my head.

No, the red flags aren't about the scorching heat - I actually find this hot weather to be quite manageable due to plenty of air-conditioned spaces. The red flags also aren't about my fear of the locals not speaking any English - most people, thus far, are friendly enough and are willing to switch from whatever language they are speaking to accommodate my English. All of the signage and quite a few TV channels are in English as well.

My fear isn't about the lack of shopping. I've been to one mall thus far and the amount of STUFF that I saw that I need to buy immediately (dresses, shoes, sushi shaped like cute animals...) is unprecedented. Seriously, no wonder that one of the favorite national pass times here is shopping. It could easily become my one and only pass time as well!

My fear is about dating in Singapore... or the seeming lack thereof. So, I consider myself to be pretty, educated, smart and so on and so forth but I just don't know if there are any out-of-towners or "expats" that can share common interests with me.. or will be able to talk about football, or arts, or architecture with me.

Another thing is, from what I've read of various forums thus far, is that a lot of "Western" men prefer local girls because they have a reputation of being highly impressionable by wealth or charm and tend to be easy. They also, or so I've read, don't mind dating guys who are already in relationships. One dirtbag wrote on a forum board, "I usually tell girls that I have a girlfriend, even when I am single. That way I can keep things casual."

I don't want to generalize here, because I have next to no knowledge of the local women, or the locals in general, but this is kind of alarming to me. Am I giving up on dating all together here? Can I do this, at the age of 27... can I dedicate the next several years of my life to all-work and no-play?

Mr J and I are still keeping it casual, but will be staying in touch. I could use this as a motivation to "wait for him", until I end up moving back to the States, some day. But no dating at all? Are the men here really vapid and are the women really floozies?

Of course, I don't mean any disrespect to the local population and I pray that all I've heard so far is just simply not true. But man, those message boards are either brutally honest or super mean.

The more tragic part, though, is that alcohol seems to be freaking expensive here! While discussing my potential benefits package, I should propose an alcohol fund! I mean $13 for a bottle of wine ON SALE?! Where are those $4 Parisian bottles of wine when I need them...

YIKES!

5 comments:

P said...

Yep,alcohol is very expensive. Like I mentioned previously, my boyf is there right now - got there yday - the first thing he emailed me was how expensive booze was. Priorities and all that... :-) Enjoy!x

jane said...

alcohol, typical man! although i have heard that the men their need a bit for confidence! The dating scene can be a little SLOW!!! My best friend has been there for a couple of years and been out about twice.

Number 11 said...

I lived in Tokyo for year and sadly had not one date in that time. And all my fellow male expats had women literally falling over themselves to sleep with them. And they certainly made the most of it. I am not sure what Sing is like, but, hey, it will certainly be fun (?) finding out!

dating singapore said...

According to demographics, 33% of people in Singapore speak english as their first language so I wouldn't be too intimidated by the lack of translation. You can find the essentials through common sense and having a look inside the shops. I hate the price of alcohol though, I suppose it helps cut down on public disorder.

Anonymous said...

If you want a bit of fun to get laid, then go for Taiwanese girls for some good gun out. They are really so easy to get as I spoken of my experiences. A couple years ago I was in a cruise and shared a cabin with a Taiwanese radiologist. On Day One, she simply wasted no time to open her legs for me to enjoy all over around of her holes. What a job to do!! The downside trouble is even now and then still she is writing the lovely words to beg me to have her back. The insight to be learnt is these white-collar girls are actually very boring in bed and you will need to work a bit harder on loosening them up for your own fun.