When Singapore was No. 1!

I started to travel for work in 1984.  Taxi drivers used to ask where I was from and when I replied Singapore, the comment from usually is it is a capable country, everything is No. 1.  Singapore Airlines no 1.  Changi Airport no 1, Port No 1...


I get a sense of pride being a Singaporean.  Today, the same question was asked and when I answered Singapore to the foreigners, no one ever mentioned it.  "Ah! I can hear it from your accent." or "You sound like Taiwanese."


There is not sense of belonging.  There are more foreigners than locally born citzens.  Many times, I feel like I am living in foreign land.  The economy is bigger due to the population growth.  At the same time, the sense of belonging has become smaller.  All I could think off is where can I retire comfortably instead of staying in now the No 1 most expensive city in the world.