What makes Singapore so different?

Using the analytical skills that I usually have, I noticed that the emotions that I had when I am in Singapore is slightly more negative than when compared to Jakarta, I began to wonder what it was that I felt made Singapore so much different than Jakarta. What makes Singapore so different? I was thinking about it on the way home and began to realise that I emotionally favored Jakarta due to the fact that it could provide things for me that Singapore could not. Ironic? Let's see:

• Service
• Jakarta provides many services that I could not otherwise afford in Singapore. Such things include drivers. Being in Singapore, I would have to take the public transport which is both very slow and relatively expensive for a boy of my age, especially when I was grown up in very price sensitive environment. 
• The maids in Jakarta (Jakarta has a strict policy of trying to get higher income households to hire their own people compared to immigrants from other countries. This is unlike Singapore which encourages immigration so as to gain access to foreign maids such as those from Indonesia or The Philippines.) tend to be more relaxed than those in Singapore. Them being born an raised in Jakarta, a very relaxed environment, having their positivity or their relaxing atmosphere often allows me to feel more at ease in my house after a stressing day at school.
• Jakarta's famous massages can be bought at a price much lower than that in any other country I know. Half an hour worth of massages here in Singapore will buy me two hours (if not longer) worth of massages at least. Upon returning to Jakarta, I realised that I would never be able to get a massage for a long time. 
• Atmosphere
• Despite the physical atmosphere in Jakarta, which would kill you if you stay outside for too long, the psychological atmosphere for me remains very relaxed. The movement of everyday people are slow, with a sense of just going along with the wind. For someone like me, it does make you feel at ease and, if you are in a hurry, makes you feel slightly more important, which is an empowering feeling.
• My school in Jakarta was a non selective one, where many students remained unmotivated. For students who did study hard, it was an empowering feeling to score so much higher than their peers. This was especially so for me, although some may call me slightly over competitive. Those who did do well were also noticed by teachers who would notice you more and would thus more likely put you up for more awards. Students who noticed that you were a high achiever also looked up to you. In other words, having bad students in the school made you look better in comparison, and of course made you look better to the wider community. This is not so in Singapore, where I am in a selective school and where, no matter how hard you try, you always tend to be in the background. 

The list does go on, but I do have to stop soon for I have to revise for an upcoming test and I must stay on par with the rest of the students. Still weighing the pros and cons of Singapore and Jakarta, and recalling the hard times in Jakarta, there is only one powerful reason why I keep thinking of Jakarta and that would be because of the fact that:

• I do not like change
• Moving to a new house, starting a new life and making new friends is one of the most intimidating things that you will ever come across, and often you would wish to go back to the old life you once had. This is perhaps the sensation I am feeling, so I am sure in time things will get better. Stay. Endure. Adapt

Cheers,

Matthew Tan