Search the Community

Hello, we are a young couple (23 years old), currently living in Greece and we would like to move to Singapore/Australia/New Zealand. We have no friends or relatives in any of those places. We chose those countries due to their economic freedom, opportunities and high quality of life. Regarding ourselves, my name is Dimitris Papadiotis and the last 2 years I started studying philosophy here, in freedomain radio which changed my life!! In february (2016) I will graduate from my bachelor's degree in mathematics, specialized in statistics, from the University of Ioannina and I am going to be approximately at the top 10%. IQ score of 128. I am willing to work hard, learn new things and develop new skills. I have almost no working experience. and I am Maria Mourkou, I graduated from the department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies from the University of Macedonia in November 2014 (top 12,79%) . I can communicate (write and speak) in greek, english, french (level C2) and also russian and bulgarian (level B1). IQ score of 123. You can check my working experience below: April 2015 - October 2015: Vernicol SA , Department: foreign affairs, public tenders October 2014 - January 2015: CTG Advertising, Independent partner, Door to Door Sales February 2014 - April 2014: Internship in 18-24 Travel Agency, Department: Social Marketing 2011 - 2014: Thessaloniki International Fair, Department: Promotion, Auxiliary Staff (10 days each year) We are searching for employment and social network. It would be very much appreciated if you can help us in any way, shape or form!

Ok, this bothered me for quite some time now. Singapore is considered by many a shining star of the economic freedom and some kind of a libertarian paradise. I did a bit of research on the country including a short fact-finding visit, and I am not impressed. Now all these news coming out about people being arrested for “disturbing harmony”: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32115052 But let’s ignore for a moment the fact that the country has been a family-run dictatorship for the last 50 years and focus on the economic freedoms. How easy it is for a poor immigrant to start a simple business? (Is there such a thing as a poor immigrant in Singapore? I don’t know.) Let’s say you want to open a small stand selling some chewing gum. Nope – fine and prison sentence. Become a cab driver? Well, in addition to the cost of the car you’d need to shell out for 20% of duty, 140%-180% of Additional Registration Fee (on the amount of over $20K in Open Market Value, which is determined by government, btw), $5K-20K in Emission surcharge, and don’t forget the Certificate of Entitlement, which can run as high as $100K. So, if you want to drive a $50K vehicle to serve customers, prepare to pay another $160K in taxes, and then some for licensing. What if you want to follow Ben Franklin’s footsteps and start a newspaper – don’t make me laugh, you’ll never pass the censure committee. If you get too depressed with all this, just don’t reach for the drugs – penalty for mere possession is… DEATH. Of course, if you are a billionaire social network founder or a multi-millionaire commodities investor – life is your oyster, but then, isn’t it everywhere? I think it's time for a Truth about Singapore episode...