When we read Singapore been rated as no. 1 in economic areas such as the busiest airport in the world, most of us do not give too much thought over it, but when the country is rated as the happiest nation in Asia by the American author, Dan Buettner, based on his comparative data collected (e.g. community tolerance, health care and mobility among the tangibles), many Singaporeans greeted this news with disbelieved.
We are more famously known to be an over-achieving, unforgiving, high-cost place, than a happy place to live in. With rapid urbanisation across the island, it is difficult nowadays to find a place here where you do not hear traffic noise or see high-rise buildings even when you are in the park. So Singaporeans like to go for holidays to get away from this fast-paced and highly-stressed environment.
How ones measured happiness, of course, is highly subjective. When my daughter came back from her 8-day free-an-easy trip to Tokyo three weeks ago, she still missed the place very much. From what she shared with me so far, though I have not been to that place, it is a culturally-vibrant city with good-mannered folks and clean streets (no dustbin provided & nobody eat and walk at the same time!). The Japanese guarded their culture zealously at the expense of economic growth with the shrinkage of labour force (no to influx of mass foreign immigrants).
This taught me a valuable lesson. In life, you really have to decide your priorities. For the Japanese, perhaps happiness is enjoying their well-preserved rich culture for they know that should it give way, no amount of effort and money can rebuild it.
I agree with you that the measure for happiness in subjective. I did not have the chance to read Dan Buettner's article on Singapore being a happy city but i suppose he has his criteria for happiness. Singaporeans greeted his conclusion with disbelief probably because the Singaporean definition of happiness is different from Buettner's. To Singaporeans, happiness means less stress but more pay - basically it all boils down to just materialism. When the government increases tax, we're unhappy but when the government gives out rebates, we're happy. But your definition of happiness could be to live in a place that gives you peace and quiet. Even the - Japanese who guard their culture so zealously are not always happy, but they may be PROUD of their effort. However, in my understanding of the bible, we are encouraged to have JOY, not happiness for happiness is short-lived. JOY in the Lord is an inner form of contentment and peace that only He can give us. So let us seek JOY, not happiness.
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