I too was surprised by the claim by Ms Heng Siew Cheng that it is cheaper (and better) to raise a family in Sweden than Singapore ('Why one couple is resettling in Sweden'', July 17).
My Singaporean wife and I bought a four-room resale HDB flat in 2000 and repaid the mortgage using CPF funds and government grant in about five years.
I can't think of anywhere else in the developed world where you could own your own home within five years.
My next-door neighbour is a security guard. I would have thought that, if he and his wife and kids can afford to live in a four-room flat, then any employed Singaporean or permanent resident can afford to buy an HDB flat.
There are many things to complain about in Singapore, but HDB housing policy cannot seriously be one of them. Being able to have a roof over everyone's head is a triumph for post-independence Singapore. Further, I am not convinced that Sweden has all the answers to issues like improving quality of life and increasing the population.
I lived there for one year in the 1990s, and from what I recall, Sweden has plenty of social problems of its own and the Swedes I met had plenty of grouses about their country, not least the affordability of their generous social security system.
I too wish Ms Heng success in her uprooting to Sweden.
However, I should add that I met many 'foreign' wives in Sweden, many of whom had great difficulty getting used to the Swedish way of life, which is really quite different even from the rest of northern Europe.
My advice is - don't give up your passport just yet.
Peter Wadeley
This letter was first published in The Straits Times on July 24, 2008.
