A British national living in Singapore named Richard made a YouTube video that highlights various differences in Singapore and Taiwan recently.

According to his website, the hiking enthusiast in his forties has lived in Asia for about half his life and often posts about his travels, and even videos on Singaporean food and places to visit.

Richard has lived in Singapore for about five years and prior to that, he lived in Taiwan for over 17 years.

He said that he made this video because he's been asked to compare the two places during conversations with people in Singapore such as taxi drivers.

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Richard compared the two places based on the cost of living, safety, liveability for foreigners and leisure experiences.

It was a tie between Taiwan and Singapore and the latter was favoured for its safety, liveability for foreigners and amenities available.

Here's a gist of the 15-minute video:

Cost of living higher in Singapore for foreigners

Housing, education and car ownership are more expensive in Singapore for a foreigner.

Comparing a similar-sized apartment in Singapore and Taiwan, Richard highlighted that the monthly rent of an apartment he lived in Taiwan cost NT$30,000 (S$1400.79), while the monthly rent in Singapore cost NT$65,000 (S$3035.03).

The cost of owning a car is about double in Singapore but the availability of pedestrian pavements and convenient public transport makes up for it.

Richard also said that his daughter attended a local school in Taiwan, which was “basically free”. However, the basic fee for a foreigner attending a secondary school in Singapore is S$1,400 per month.

Prefers food in Taiwan

While Singapore is famed for its diversity of food and hawker culture, Richard feels food in Taiwan "still holds primary place in his heart and big belly".

He explained that he cannot get fresh vegetables as easily in Singapore and somehow the serving of vegetables in Singapore is too little compared to what he can get in Taiwan.

For example, a plate of chicken rice or roasted meat meal only has "two measly pieces of cucumber". In contrast to a similar dish sold in Taiwan, one can choose two out of a wide range of vegetables to accompany the meal.

In his video, he also highlighted that hawker centres he visited "all seemed to have exactly the same stuff", and lists the usual suspects, such as a chicken rice stall, one Indian-Muslim stall, one Yong Tau Foo stall, one fish soup, one Malay stall, and one Western stall.

He then highlighted that having lived here for a few years, there are places that he has come to like and that Singapore has a greater variety of international restaurants.

Singapore is safe, can swim without a cap and barbeque easily

Singapore is also much safer to live in as compared to Taiwan.

He elaborated that he would allow his kids to walk to their friend's house in Singapore, which is something we would never do in Taiwan, especially if it involves crossing a road.

English is widely used in Singapore which makes it easier for foreigners too.

That said, Richard advised his viewers to "[not] expect your host country to change for you or cater to your every foreign whim".

For Richard, after living in Taiwan for so many years, he can read, write and listen to its native language well.

What's interesting from this review is that Richard appreciates the fact that it is not compulsory for people in Singapore to wear a swimming cap to take a dip and there are many barbeque facilities so one can enjoy barbeque throughout the year.

As Singapore is highly urbanised and has limited land space, Richard who is a nature lover finds that Taiwan wins hands down with a variety of nature sites.

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Top image via Asia Hikelopedia/YouTube