1. Singapore charges you based on the distance you are traveling. NYC wants $2 no matter what. Advantage: Singapore
2. Singaporeans don't move out of the way to let people off the train. They just stand there and you have to go right through them. New Yorkers have a little more courtesy in this regard mostly because they know they risk getting knocked down or insulted. In Singapore, people just quietly collide into each other Advantage: NYC
3. The other day, I saw a teenager get on the subway with an ice cream cone and he proceeded to shield his ice cream from view with one hand. Getting caught eating or drinking on the MRT is a $500 fine. I often have to stand up on the NYC subways because a sticky residue of dried orange soda coats the subway seats. Advantage: Singapore
4. New Yorkers walk. Singaporeans ride no matter what. The result: the MRT is always packed. Advantage: NYC
5. The MRT comes without fail every 2 min. during peak hours and every 5-6 min. during off-peak hours. Let's just say that in New York, there's no subway schedule. Advantage: Singapore
6. Singapore has cell phone reception in the subway. In NYC, if your phone rings on the train, everyone stares at you in jealous shock as if to say, "Why are you getting calls down here? What service do you have?" Advantage: Singapore
7. Stepping onto a NYC subway, you never know what you are going to get - homeless soliciting you for money, a fight, kids selling candy, Mexicans playing guitars, breakdancers doing backflips to Michael Jackson oldies...etc. In Singapore, nothing happens. Maybe NYC is more spontaneous and lively in this regard, but after 4 yrs, it gets old. Advantage: Singapore
8. One of the absurdly famous laws in Singapore is a ban on the sale of chewing gum. And say what you will, at least the sidewalks and subway stations aren't decorated with multi-colored dots of hardened gum. Instead, the floors are polished. Advantage: Singapore
9. After my first few weeks in NYC, I remember staring at the subway map with all of its colored lines and being proud that I "got it" and knew how to navigate the underground maze. A five-year old can master the Singapore MRT map with its three lines (red, purple, green). In this regard, there's something to be said for complexity. Advantage: NYC
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