If you could live in any other country (besides the one you were born in and/or presently live) which would you choose? Why?
If you could live in any other country (besides the one you were born in and/or presently live) which would you choose? Why?
There's a country in Europe called Ireland.
I don't know much about the politics and policies there, but what I do know is that if I drop the street view guy there, most places are green and pretty. That puts it pretty high up on my list.
Wait until you hear them speak. It's music. Can't nearly comprehend it, like you were dropped into St John's , blind drunk, but they certainly love the language with each syllable.
Irish people generally feel a lot of empathy for Palestinians, as fellow victims of English colonialism.
I’ve been there. It’s really nice.
Almost anywhere in Europe would be nice, but Ireland sticks out to me.
They're part of the EU, and they primarily speak English, so the language barrier wouldn't be as bad. (though I'd be happy to study Irish/Gaeilge)
As for politics and/or the economy there, I don't know much, but I am pretty sure they haven't elected a fascist who's quoted Hitler.
Not quoting Hitlerz but the "prime minister" did say about rent for a one bedroom apartment being over €2k that "people need to remember that one man's rent is another man salary".
The president is nice though, although he's just a decorative position, he seems like a very sensible Hobbit.
New Zealand would be a fun place to relocate. While it does suck they're part of the 5 eyes as their government loves snuggling up to the US, the life outlook of the citizens is admirable. The money someone has or doesn't have isn't a consideration regarding how someone is viewed. A millionaire and a home-free individual are seen similarly when first met thanks to this mindset. Both mountain towns and island towns have a laid back approach to each day, which would be a nice change of pace. New Zealand is also both, as it's an island with a couple huge mountains. Snowboarding and surfing are a ton of fun, especially when the travel time is minimal. So ya, New Zealand would be a solid choice in my book!!
On the island in western Canada they have a yearly tradition of going into the mountains and snowboarding around and then travelling an hour or so to the coast and kayaking. Little cold for surfing but they do that too.
New Zealand I've never been and know little about the day to day life of a new zealander, but it looks so beautiful and quiet there.
They generally come up tops in country listings for good gov stuff. They're not perfect but I like them!
Jacinda got booted, though, and they're on a conservative swing for a bit. Standard post-covid bellyaching leveraged by some slick populist full of lies and scams, but they're not going to give away the country - ahem - before they claw their sanity back.
First choice would be a nordic country. They generally rank high up in metrics like health, happiness, etc....
Close second behind those would be New Zealand.
Yep, that's my list too. My nephew went to NZ but I've been to a few nordics and I can confirm life is easier there. More taxes, way better life: economies of scale, my dood.
The best one I've seen is the one with the deceptively harsh name that implies a place no one wants to visit. It's great PR. Go there. It's pricy as hell if you try to live like an American with the fast food and flash, but just live, and you'll find a vibrant lifestyle and real happiness.
Yep, nordics are the happiest places on earth.
Probably Japan. I like the culture and how everyone seems decent, or at least know to mind their own business.
ultra conservative culture tho
I hear they're fighting some gaijin racism in the cities, as they maintain a strong "us" vs "not us" awareness and it can get tricky.
Not a female then.
I like many things about Japan, but not the work-a-holic culture.
If I had it to do over again (born/raised in the US, living in Japan), I might pick Norway or Finland over Japan, but overall I'm fairly happy where I am.
Just curious, why do you prefer those countries over Japan? Anything lacking there?
Japan's economic policy always has been weird, but lately things just keep appearing to get worse with like 30 years worth of shrinkflation happening all at once and wages not raising with inflation at all. The yen has slid against the dollar to pretty terrible rates. While it sucks for me personally wanting to do things like visit family overseas, it also plays a role in imports. Especially post 3-11 when they started turning off nuclear, a lot of fuel for everything, including keeping the lights on, must be imported. The low JPY basically just benefits the export markets.
More progressive, basically. The person who came second for PM wants to continued forced unified surnames (at least when both people getting married are Japanese) and has a bunch of positions on things like LGBTQI that drag progress backward. It also reads like she would revoke broadcasting licenses for news channels whose politics she doesn't like. We already legally have to pay a yearly fee (kinda like a UK license fee, I think) for owning anything capable of receiving a TV signal. This was initially done (at least in part) to fund NHK (Japan's BBC or PBS or whatever) outside of the government. They still have self-censored and at times aired wildly bullshit, racist things (particularly around corona). The position is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanae_Takaichi and, if another PM election which is not unlikely soon, I suspect she might win.
Eh.... Unless you are actually Japanese, you're probably going to be hanging out with other ex-pats, or just very lonely.
Japan is an extremely conservative and insular country. They don't really mind people visiting for the most part, but they don't really think highly of people actually immigrating there.
There are ethnic Koreans who have lived in communities in Japan for hundreds of years who are still considered outsiders and are treated like second class citizens.
Ireland, I speak the language, plus they seem comparatively reasonable.
France. The whole population is bold and sassy.
I'd like to live in Switzerland, beautful nature and they seem to have a very stable political system that is fairly responsive to the citizenry and its welfare. They know they have a good thing and they work to keep it that way, plus might run into Shania Twain so thats cool too!
Also easier to learn French and German since its everywhere around you and I guess the defaults
Estonia. Digital privacy is my thing and Estonia is the world's only e-government. They also have the strongest privacy laws.
Singapore. One of the few (if not the only) developed country in the east/southeast Asia region where you can get by not having to learn a new language. Great public transportation. I’m an urban person so dense megacities are my thing. I’m also Asian so I blend in.
+1 Singapore. Good food, I don't stand out in a crowd, future city.
I’d be with you if they allowed medical cannabis. They will execute you for using medicine essentially.
Yup, their draconian drug laws are definitely a big concern if you partake (regardless if for medicinal or recreational reasons). I personally do not, so it’s not a particular issue for me.
After last night, most certainly I wish I took French in highschool so I could be taking French now in college. Just to move out of the USA and to greener pastures like Switzerland. Haven't heard any bad news about them going fascist yet.
My wife and I were speculating about moving to B.C. Canada today...
I hope you have a lot of money. Housing is brutally expensive on Canada's West Coast.
We'd be happy to have you though.
Yeesh. Can confirm. c$4/sqft/mo in the V3L.
c$1.6m for a moldy (no res permit) fully detached that's been there since WW1. Gonna need gutting and remediating for about c$.3m but it looks good in photos.
But verrry little snow to mess up the frail subway.
Why choose one country? I'm selling everything and buying a boat.
Norway. At least according to Germany I'm a Norwegian citizen. And I have a lot of relatives there. It's a stunningly beautiful country. And I think their politics aren't as braindead as the rest of the world's.
Rural Japan, just me, my dog, a partner and a handful of neighbours and unrivaled nature.
Can confirm, it beats the fuck out of Tokyo 99% of the time. Edit: no dog yet, though, as we want to do some rather long traveling before we get a pet. We do have neighborhood cats and one will come chill near us (though not let us touch him).
New Zealand because it has the most going for it in terms of community.
New Zealand is an amazing place. It's like someone created the most idealic version of England. It feels very English, except the people are friendlier, the food is better, and the landscape is far more amazing and spacious.
Canada (from US.) I like where I live, I just don't like the government.
Come up and get sworn in. We're at risk of a populist conservative wank ruining the things we hold dear and we could use more sanity.
Italy , its such a beautiful country.
Austria. I'd love to live in Vienna. It's so gorgeous and such a great city.
Iceland or Finland. Love both of those places, from the people to the landscape.
I've always wanted to visit Japan, but I dunno if I'd wanna live there.
Maybe one of the Scandinavian countries.
Sweden, I'm learning Swedish and its political and social system seem better than that of the UK, although everywhere is trending right.
Singapore. Spent a lot of time there on a few occasions, and I really like the place. Best barbecue I ever had was at Decker BBQ. And best sushi I ever had was nearby. Clarke Quay area, iirc.
Alternatively, downtown Kuala Lumpur. Awesome street food.
Ireland. Personal interest, plus a better standard of living.
Netherlands is another favorite for similar reasons, plus the reputation for walk-ability.
Contemplating Costa Rica and Uruguay right now
I live in Japan, because Egypt is a halfway through becoming a failed state and is headed to an inevitable collapse.
If we were somewhat interested, what are housing costs looking like up there? Down here in Vancouver, WA a 4 bed 2 bath can easily be $500,000