All these reminds me the uncertainties of life in Dubai when we were living there. And did we miss the convenience and predictability of Singapore? Were we spoilt? No, we adapted. If we could make things better, we did but most of the times when in Rome you just have to do as Romans do.
Every circumstance has its mix of pluses and minuses. You just have to learn to take advantage of one and learn to cope with the other. We are only kinda of spoilt when we are back in Singapore. Why? Because we are citizens. Why not? I have noticed that Hong Kongers are different before and after hand over in 1997 too.
One of the most difficult adjustments was driving "illegally" in Dubai and going for driving lessons and test after decades of driving everywhere. It was absurd. Not long after I passed my driving test, they resolved the diplomatic impasse between Singapore and the UAE. Our driver's license could be converted into theirs again. No fun driving forty kms so often to driving school in a SUV and switched into a Nissan Sunny for a couple of hours of lessons. Most stressful was not knowing if you would pass because the testers were capricious and most people fail.And I didn't miss Singapore even having to live with this and more. I was most unhappy with the Singapore Consulate though. They had lousy Consul General..He was recently promoted to ambassador at our Laos mission.
Update: A very good blog I used to follow while living in Dubai. We shared many of the experience esp., the banks and government described there. This chap was more willing to talk. I was Singapore trained to self-censor.
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