Hamsters in a cage
This morning I was talking to my colleague over coffee. Somehow started talking about life in Singapore. I asked him if he thinks Singapore will eventually be as congested to an unbearable level. He was rather confident that Singapore has enough land to last us for a long time and that quality of life will not be compromised. I took the chance also to do my personal survey and asked him if he ever thought about immigrating to another country. The answer that came out of his mouth were the same as those that I have asked. 1) He does not want to be a second class citizen. 2) Being in finance he thinks its hard for him to find job. 3) Cant make enough money as taxes are too high
I suppose these are the issues that I have started to think long and hard about. I do have my reservations about his view on Singapore being able to withstand the high cost of living. To me the clues of high cost living are already there. I have my doubts about being in a country where not everyone can afford a car. And even if we can, some of us prefer not to drive it. To get to the city, you have to pass by several gateways and pay ERP tolls, and I am sure these rates are going to increase over the years. Our public transport still has much to be improved, from the rapidly degenerating crap taxi service to the overcrowded trains every morning. Even our so called green parks have been planned meticulously and manicured up to every detail. The other day I revisited Bishan Park after about 8 years. Bishan park used to be one of the more naturalistic parks. Now there is a Spa, some fenced areas for dogs, in addition to the original Bicycle shed. There are areas where we are supposed to let our dogs out, there are areas where we are supposed to fish, there are areas where we can fly kites. This is not real nature.
Its been a long time since I have seen a cloud of stars in the sky at night, just about as long since I can find a seat on the MRT train. People do not know what they are missing. Why don’t they see whats happening.
I suppose these are the issues that I have started to think long and hard about. I do have my reservations about his view on Singapore being able to withstand the high cost of living. To me the clues of high cost living are already there. I have my doubts about being in a country where not everyone can afford a car. And even if we can, some of us prefer not to drive it. To get to the city, you have to pass by several gateways and pay ERP tolls, and I am sure these rates are going to increase over the years. Our public transport still has much to be improved, from the rapidly degenerating crap taxi service to the overcrowded trains every morning. Even our so called green parks have been planned meticulously and manicured up to every detail. The other day I revisited Bishan Park after about 8 years. Bishan park used to be one of the more naturalistic parks. Now there is a Spa, some fenced areas for dogs, in addition to the original Bicycle shed. There are areas where we are supposed to let our dogs out, there are areas where we are supposed to fish, there are areas where we can fly kites. This is not real nature.
Its been a long time since I have seen a cloud of stars in the sky at night, just about as long since I can find a seat on the MRT train. People do not know what they are missing. Why don’t they see whats happening.
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