Singapore Expats

What's the social scene like in Singapore for native English speakers? Is there a pretty decent contingency of Aussie/Kiwi/Brits to run around with??

I've been in singapore for just under 3 weeks now and have met up with a mix of Brits & Aussies & South Africans - and others from all over (Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, France) that speak very good English. Social scene has included pub / club nights out, BBQs, coffee / lunch. I've met up with them through friends-of-friends and my work - seems to be a good way to go so far!
Stella

Hi,

I've been here a couple of weeks, and I've not found many native speakers. I think there are quite alot, but on the forums when I've asked for people to hang out with I've got spammed my locals.
However, I'm from Wales (despite my name), so if you are want to hang out, my contact details are below.
You don't say where you're from by the way.

Hai Ying.

Hi! So Im from California... And moving down in about a month or so... I just gave up my apartment, but I'm looking for a job first.... As soon as I find one, I'm on the next plane... Let's definitely meet up though!

p-dex wrote:What's the social scene like in Singapore for native English speakers? Is there a pretty decent contingency of Aussie/Kiwi/Brits to run around with??

Many Singaporeans are native English speakers.
English is one of the 4 official languages of Singapore.

Singlish influence in their speech varies and can take some getting used to, but for someone from California, even talking to a Brit from Newcastle or someone from Scotland or Ireland can be like a chicken conversing with a duck.

[edited to correct misspelling]

Come check out FNDC - great mix of expats and locals. Everyone speaks English here and you won't find it hard at all to socialise.

p-dex wrote:
What's the social scene like in Singapore for native English speakers? Is there a pretty decent contingency of Aussie/Kiwi/Brits to run around with??


When in Rome eat, drink, be merry and fart as the Romans do )

This is Asia, so why not mingle beyond your comfort zone of people? )

Yeah p-dex.. dun worry about native English speaking.. people here in Singapore do have good English ofcourse unless u converse with some using dictionary words which not very Colloquial..
Mix around with anyone here u wud have a good time..
All the best for job hunt..

im a singaporean.

when i went up to virginia beach for a short term course, the instructor was commenting to me about my english, saying i speak english pretty well.

this came as a surpise to me though, because it dawned on me that some ppl have the impression that singaporeans do not speak english. LOL

I've been here over a month now, and I still find it hard to understand then natives. Esp when they get together, I haven't a clue what they're talking about then.
Saying that, I understand more than I did when I came. I think it depends on the brand of Singlish they're speaking.

rasserie wrote:im a singaporean.

when i went up to virginia beach for a short term course, the instructor was commenting to me about my english, saying i speak english pretty well.

this came as a surpise to me though, because it dawned on me that some ppl have the impression that singaporeans do not speak english. LOL

Those colonials can be quite provincial.

i've been here for a while, so it took time to figure out, but the"colonials" switch to chinese dialects pretty quickly in the conversation among themselves, and use lots of abriviations, so u get use to it sonner or later, but they do speak english pretty well, minus the "lah" of course