My Personal Top Truths/Myths about Singapore

For starters, I'd like to clarify some right/wrong preconceptions I had before actually setting foot in Singapore. Maybe I'm the only one who had those, I picked them up from friends, family and the internet. However, I believe we all have our preconceptions about places we have yet to visit and some of the below might come in handy when you're thinking of moving to the other side of the world. A lot of the below is local hearsay and anecdotal evidence, if anyone has made different experiences, please comment.

My Personal Top Truths/Myths about Singapore

Truth: Singapore is a fine city.
As you've probably read in other places, there are heavy fines for most things illegal in this country. This starts as "low" as a few hundred bucks for eating/drinking in the local buses/trains/stations to the death penalty for drug trafficking. Just recently, a local art student was arrested for vandalism because she did some street art on lamp posts and roads and she is facing a 2K fine up to 3 years in prison + caning. Singapore laws are strict and you better not mess with the local authorities. 

Myth: The strict laws in Singapore impact your quality of life.
Notwithstanding draconian fines/sentences for what might appear small offenses, your quality of life most likely will not be affected by this (well if you are indeed a drug lord and your wife urges you to move to Singapore, you might disagree). If you don't want to meddle with local customs/politics and if your rep sheet is blank so far, there is nothing you have to fear. In contrary, some things I read before coming here are simply not true. For example, tons of people cross the roads in all parts of town, without using a pedestrian crossing or traffic light. This holds true for small side streets as much as for 6 lanes streets with heavy traffic and I've never heard or read of anyone being fined for this.

The upside of this system of heavy fines and draconian sentences is that Singapore is one of the safest city's in the world. You never have to worry about which part of town you're in at night, whether it is safe or not not as a woman to walk home alone or whether as guy you might run into trouble visiting the local clubs and watering holes. Of course, as the local slogan goes, "low crime doesn't mean no crime", but if you display some common sense you'll be perfectly fine here. Another positive (at least most times) is that the city is squeaky clean in it's most touristy parts. There is no bubble gum on the sidewalk, no trash in the streets and no graffiti, which does improve quality of life imho. And if you want to see a less sterile and more vibrant side of Singapore, all you need to do is go to neighborhoods like Geylang or Katong.