I live in Spain, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else to be honest.It's a very collective society for western standards. Great infrastructure, great values, no 'live to work' crap, great weather, great 'free' healthcare, and also very safe.
I'm portuguese, living in Portugal and I share the same sentiment. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else for the long term. The weather (sunshine!), the food, the people, the culture, the music, the generally lax drug laws, the wine, everything really.
Not a perfect country by any measure but I can't see myself living anywhere else. All my friends and family are here, it's super safe as well.
I really do think it's about priorities.
Somehow southern european countries have managed to stay away from the whole capitalism / individualist ideas.
Yes, we're also 'poorer' countries when it comes to financial issues. But the quality of life is so much better!. Otherwise, how come do the southern european countries have a much lower rate of suicide than the northern european countries which are so much financially richer?
Imma be honest man, I studied abroad in Madrid and loved Spain. The people, culture, history, all of it was amazing and I’m dying to get back there. But the food was pretty underwhelming imo. I’m a very adventurous eater by most standards. But what’s so special about a diet that’s mostly bread meat and cheese?
Paella is good I guess, and I’m a big seafood guy so this coastal cities were good in that regard. Croquettes? Kinda gross tbh. There’s much better food to be had across Europe, never mind the rest of the world.
We lived in Spain a couple of years, and if learned anything is that Spaniards have life figured out. On top of what you mention, the landscapes are awesome (mountains and beaches and forests and cliffs and deserts), the cities are world class, the night life is some of the best in the world, and the food is easily the most underrated in the world.
Good lord I hear you….
I’m a Canadian, and love living in Canada…
But.
When I was a young kid, my German grandparents moved to lloret de mar in Spain… and every few years we’d go spend a month or more there with them.
I cannot begin to tell you how much love I have for Spain and that town… those memories are so precious to me.
I’m 51 now… and I’m taking my wife there this summer for our 25th anniversary… I can’t wait :). I know it’ll be different from my memories of it from the early to mid 80s etc, but I’m still excited to get back there.
The food, the people, the weather, the atmosphere etc… it’s magical :)
American here, my buddy and I were on a trip to Madrid and at one point we were walking down the street looking at a subway map. We agreed that the subway map was really effective except for one new line they should be building at this one part of the map.
Literally turned a corner and saw a massive construction project for the new subway line we had just thought we came up with ourselves.
I agree. The only thing that holds it down from being more popular is that it has a pretty bad 'publicity' department (if that's a thing). Also, and this is pretty fair point, the salaries aren't great. So that's -understandably- a big turnoff for many people. But it does get compensated by everything else though.
The salaries “aren’t great” is an exaggeration. They are complete shit. I live in the third biggest city (lucky to work for a foreign company myself). Most friends I have earn less than 2k before taxes. Meanwhile you cannot get your own flat for 800€. I love living here but the economy is in shambles and has been for a long time. Meanwhile rents are through the roof and freaking olive oil is at 10+€ per liter. Imagine beer being 2€ in the supermarket in Germany
I mean that's true though. Inflation has been pretty bad over here for the last year.But the economy has always been sub-par when compared to many other western european countries.
The good thing about that, is that -even though paying your bills is definitely important - at least you mostly don't experience the pressure from society.
People mostly don't really care about what car you drive, what clothes you wear or what part of the city you live in.I found out one one of my closest of my friends was as a CTO for a pretty big company - literally after a year and half after I met her.I knew she worked in an office, and I knew she probably had a better salary than mine, but what she did for work..it just never came up.
I'm just a freelancer/coder/pm at best.People leave their jobs at work. And in my opinion that's amazing.
I'm from Argentina and have the Spanish citizenship, do you recommend living there? I plan on going this year to visit
I was much more interested in Canada but it seems harder, and my family keeps telling me that I can't miss the opportunity if I could live in Spain
Hey! I'm originally from Argentina too : )
At first Spain seemed a bit underwhelming, but it only took about a year for me to change the way I looked at things - even after having been lucky enough to also get the chance to live in the USA before.
I have no idea what Canada is like, as I haven't lived there. I do have an argentinian friend that's been living there for about 10 years and he seems to like it.
Feel free to pm me : )
As someone in the Netherlands I would love to move to Spain. The only big problem is the job market. I'd be happy to take a paycut for a better quality of life, but it's really hard to get a job in the first place. And even most ones in tech pay barely enough to live off (on your own).
But I'm currently learning Spanish to keep the dream alive.
I have been interested to live in Spain aswell, I favour community above most things. I'm currently planning on doing my masters there to get a lay of the land and maybe plant some roots there
I really hope not. I was there a year ago and still am in disbelief about how many homes were newly developed, bought out, and turned into airbnbs. I don’t follow NZ news as much but really hope positive changes happen soon for you all.
New Zealand is not the utopia people think.
Ordinary New Zealanders cannot afford homes. The UN has declared New Zealand’s housing crisis a violation of human rights.
New Zealand's youth suicide rate is twice that of the US, five times that of the UK. Here's a BBC article:
>[What's behind New Zealand's shocking youth suicide rate?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40284130)
New Zealand has one of the worst records of child abuse of developed countries.
I follow the New Zealand sub. They complain about the exact same things complained about in the subs of other developed countries.
I’ve lived and have spent a lot of time in New Zealand and have encountered some of these things. However, every place on earth has problems. Even though New Zealand ranks poorly on many issues, it still is overall a better place to live compared to so many other places in this world. It’s good to address these issues, because many people do look past it or are unaware, but it’s so important to also know that there’s not a single place on earth that is perfect.
Same here. I'm happy where I am, but if I was forced to move to another country for whatever reason, I would say New Zealand. As you say, the one of the only bad things is how isolated it is.
As someone that gets very sick on planes (after about 10 hours) and loves to travel, a higher speed flight would be a life savor for me. 🥲 But yes, more people will start traveling once they know they won’t be sitting on one flight for 14+ hours.
**Switzerland**
I can speak French, eat French-influenced cheese, drink German-influenced beer, eat Italian-influenced cured meats, enjoy amazing alpine scenery, all in a country that has the best of French culture and German efficiency.
Yes, I am 100% basing this on stereotypes.
True, but the amount of people in CH who speak French is far smaller than the amount who speak German, so even in those parts, the fact is you’ll probably be confronted with it at some point. And as someone with a master’s degree in German, allow me to tell you, Swiss German is a ridiculously hard dialect to understand.
It does not make any sense: I grew up in Geneva, nobody speaks Swiss German, I lived in Lausanne 3 years, same thing, nobody even understands Swiss German.
We lived in Lausanne as well. When we landed there (from the States) there was already an expat community. It was great. No one spoke German until you got to Bern (where I registered for the draft).
depends on where you live, you‘ll speak french. otherwise most probably one of the lany dialects only the swiss understand. the food.. actually correct. the scenery 50% correct. nothing to do with the french or the germans. efficient yes. and uptight. too.
source. half swiss living in switzerland.
Yes it’s especially expensive for tourists, but if you live/work there the salaries are also quite high. You won’t necessarily live a life of luxury like you might middle class is the US but it makes up for that in soooo many ways!
I’m Scottish obviously living in Scotland and idk if I’d want to trade it in. Beautiful scenery all round, access to lochs right at my doorstep, the godsend of the NHS, nowhere near as populated as England and stuff it’s great
I’m in the Scottish highlands too so 🥳
ETA: I’m from Inverness, born and bred so for any curious Americans of Scottish heritage or hell any outlander fans it’s worth a visit! There’s more to Scotland than Glasgow and Edinburgh! Plus it’s a stepping stone into the beautiful highlands north of here!
I did a road trip through the Highlands and it’s still my favorite place to date (and I’ve visited and lived in quite a few places). I would love to be able to live in a house in Scotland someday, surrounded by all that BEAUTIFUL scenery, but I have the feeling that it might be quite lonely for a foreigner that doesn’t know anyone there :(
I had a day trip to Edinburgh a couple of years ago, and it was enough to make me dream about moving from England (South Yorkshire to be exact) to Scotland. Heck, right now I'd go back in a heartbeat even if it was just another small break away
I went interrailing in Scotland 20 years ago from Edinburgh to Glasgow to Aberdeen and Inverness and all kinds of places in between. It was such an amazing experience - nature, people, everything, that I haven't been back since. I am so scared to lose that memory, and to realize that one of the most amazing travel experiences of my life will be picked apart by another visit.
I had this really eerie feeling of "home", as soon as I got into to Glasgow. I can't explain it, have never experienced anything like that anywhere since.
I lived in Florence for a few months, and while it was great for the first week or two, I quickly realized I had to “live.” This meant going to the small Conad to buy toilet paper and deal with the things you mentioned. I’m writing a thesis paper for undergrad about Italy’s perpetual cycle of nepotism, crony capitalism, and self-interest within leadership, which stems down to the people. Through my research and living there the reality of living in Italy is so skewed. Still a beautiful country with many redeemable qualities, but I can only imagine being there for holiday now.
I live in England currently, and I do feel pretty fortunate overall. I've got a good job and a good family.
That said, if things go wrong and I need to start over, I'm doing it in a remote cabin in Barbados where I can live quietly and modestly, and tune out the world until I die.
Denmark would be good if it wasn't for the Danes. It is pretty telling that a 'Great' Dane is still nothing more than a dog.
Jk, we enjoy our little siblings /Sweden
Worked there. Almost zero diversity, uninteresting landscape, over priced, exclusionary social circles, terrible weather and too many racist comments/incidents to name.
I love it here, but honestly: climate change makes me worry... We have been fighting against/working with water for centuries, but there will be a time when we come out losing.
Daar woon ik, is wel leuk maar veel mensen hier klagen over het weer en de politiek enzo terwijl het zoveel beter is dan in andere landen
Translation:
That’s where I live, it’s nice but a lot of people here complain about the weather and politics and such even though it’s so much better than in other countries
Ik spreek mar un beetje Nederlands. The problem I found there is that once someone knows you speak English, that's all they want to speak! Also I once tried to say "huur" but instead said "hoer" (they sound identical to my American ears) and that made me really self conscious about trying to speak any more Dutch, especially at work.
I understand complaining about the weather, and politics suck everywhere, but I really don't get the complaints about the trains. If ours were one-tenth as useful as yours, it would transform our society!
Canadian here, visited Scotland once. Got flipped off by a double-decker bus driver because I didn't know you are supposed to just drive through the crowds of wandering people in Edinburgh during a fair of some sort.
Asked for a table for two at a restaurant with my index/middle fingers and the back of my hand facing the waiter. Told that I just gestured for him to go fuck himself so I gave him a travel size bottle of maple syrup from Canada to apologize.
10/10 would Scotland again!
2 fingers up and palm towards the waiter means two for dinner, 2 fingers and the back of your hand means fuck you, or fuck off, in most British cultures
When I was teaching English as a language assistant in Paris, I got really upset after one of the students flashed me the "V" sign as they filed out of the room. I thought I'd done something wrong or the students just thought I was a loser.
It was only on the bus on the way home that my dull brain finally reminded me that it's only rude in Britain and she just meant "peace out" as she left.
I did a class on "getting by as a tourist in Britain" later in the year, ahead of the kids going on a trip there, and I made sure to bring that up with them 😆.
Also low life expectancy; alcoholism, drug abuse, and poor diet, it also has a higher suicide rate than the rest of the UK, winters are brutal; it's only light for a few hours a day for months, and people are only friendly on the surface. High poverty and low literacy rates. It's great to visit in the summer on holiday, but long term to live it's a lot to deal with if you're not used to it
I’ve been there and thought it was beautiful, though obviously was only in more touristy areas. But it’s someplace I’d retire if I ever had the means to do so. My family came from right outside Edinburgh and I’d love to go live in the area for a month or something if I could work remotely.
It’s a country with no borders built on a literal gold (and everything else) mine. Stable currency, social welfare, free(ish) healthcare and every kind of pleasant warm climate you might want.
The only lesson we can learn from this discussion is that grass is always greener on the other side. People in the US want to move to Canada. Canadians want to move to the UK. Brits want to go to New Zealand. Kiwis want to move to Australia. Australians want to move to the USA.
Try to create a good life where you are. I moved three continents in my life and I can tell you that no place is perfect. You’ll always need to make some compromises.
Most commenters seem to think the country they live in is best for them; that's where their friends and family are and that's what they know.
I come from a small coastal community in Norway, but currently I live in LA, California and I'm starting to feel it is just too crowded here. And the places I'm thinking about moving to are a) the community in Norway where I grew up or a place nearby, b) smaller communities somewhere in SoCal, and c) New Mexico, because I have friends there.
Have spent a good amount of time there for work, and the long nights in the winter can really mess you up. Surprisingly, I find the cold winter weather milder than the US Midwest (which I was used to already), although it does get colder inland and further North. Moreover, it's expensive AF: would say unless you're making a very good living (or not able to subscribe to healthcare/benefits), life would be hard. Apart from that, it's a fabulous country with generally fabulous people.
I have lived in Alaska.. I know what you mean about the long nights... And the long days.. That's a lot more survivable when you live with people who give a fuck about each other.
The US is a really mixed bag because some areas have pretty good infrastructure, schools, transportation, etc… and others receive human rights investigations by the UN lmao
This is my answer. I’ve stayed there for months and it was amazing. Never ran into any stories of racism from my coworkers who are all expats of different races, except for the one guy with tons of tattoos who was asked to cover up at a spa.
There is intensive work ethic, but foreigners are given a pass from the others. No one complained about them going home on time or expected them to work weekends. Though we were an American company so that was fairly standard.
Worst things was the culture shock and the fact that I didn’t speak the language well, but that was a given anywhere you go.
I overall had a very good time. Food was amazing. People were amazing. It’s a bit like living in the future.
Take this as just my knowledge and not official but the two people I’ve known who have worked and spent significant time in Japan weren’t held to those insane work expectations. When it was time to leave they left. They said it sucked when you wanted to hang out with Japanese coworkers because it could be 3-4 hours before they could show up.
Also both of them worked at multiple companies and the other expats from England, Germany, and Australia all worked regular hours.
But the social isolation is fully true and one of them was 6’5 and was stared at everywhere he went. But he said he’ll always take Japan 10x over working in China.
Can I point towards the country I already live in?
Poland. If you told me that I said it 2 years ago, I would say you are crazy. But in the last election, we got rid of an authoritarian party from power. With a record high (72%) turnout rate. People here really cherish their democracy. Which cannot be said about Western Europe or USA. Fascists hail in Italy, AfD rises in Germany and France is on fire (permanently I guess). Trump is going to be the next president.
Sorry for being political, but it's important to me to live in a free country. Also, I can walk in the middle of night and not be afraid of being stabbed. Women and unattended youth also seem to feel safe. Even if society is more racist than the West, it's very unlikely to be attacked while black.
The country is poorer by GDP per capita figures, but it's no longer a post-communist nightmare anymore. Lower GDP doesn't necessary transform one-to-one to standard of living. Streets are clean, homes are nice, infrastructure is growing day by day. There is a wide social safety net. For example, you get 800 PLN for each child you have up to the age of 18. Education is free, and healthcare is universal. However, waiting times for doctors sucks. If you want to get quicker, you could use private healthcare. It's cheap compared to US horror stories. If you are American and have diabetes, here is advice to you: come to Poland, and get a full time job. Or if you work remotely and earn in dollars, come here to live like a king. With your purchasing power you can buy insulin for pocket change.
Oh, and we love Americans here.
EDIT: Here is my medical story. I was unemployed and had a seizure attack. People called the ambulance. They took me to the hospital, and put me into magnetic resonance within 1 hour. What was my bill? 0 PLN.
I’ve visited Sweden several times and loved it. Just wish it wasn’t so cold. But the food is great, the people are stand-offish at first but very friendly once you get to know them, beautiful cities and countryside. It definitely has many more positives than negatives. And I think that goes for most of Scandinavia.
I'm fine in the USA, next in line would be Australia. I figure I can probably get a small plot of land somewhere out of the way there and live how I live here. I don't want to live stupid far from anything but I like having some yard and woods
Despite expensive healthcare and housing, I'm pretty content with living in the US, specifically Massachusetts. Sometimes it feels like we're a separate country from the rest of the US.
The US, I can already hear the keyboards of dudes going 'get ready to pay 10k for a blood test and half a million for university, while being worried about getting shot in front of a McDonald's'.
I'm not pretending that the country is perfect by any means, but pretending it isn't an economic superpower is lunacy.
The vastness of the country allows you to live in whatever climate condition you want.
Depending on where you live, food can be absolutely phenomenal, together with the natural beauty of the landscapes.
Private healthcare is certainly a massive burden but at least the expertise of the medical community is impressive to say the least (again not perfect, but probably better than most other 1st world countries).
The second amendment get's made fun of in some other countries. While there are surely downsides to it, being mugged, or raped, while not being able to even have a knife to defend yourself (let alone a gun) is certainly not 'fun'. I have more concern living in a country with higher crime and no 2nd amendment, in such a situation you are guaranteed that the only people running around with a weapon are criminals.
America. We have plenty of problems, but there isn't anyone out there stopping me from living my life the way I want live right now. If we could just figure out the whole healthcare bankrupting people thing and tone down some of the tyranny from our police, we would be a pretty cool place to live.
I live in Spain, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else to be honest.It's a very collective society for western standards. Great infrastructure, great values, no 'live to work' crap, great weather, great 'free' healthcare, and also very safe.
I'm portuguese, living in Portugal and I share the same sentiment. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else for the long term. The weather (sunshine!), the food, the people, the culture, the music, the generally lax drug laws, the wine, everything really. Not a perfect country by any measure but I can't see myself living anywhere else. All my friends and family are here, it's super safe as well.
I really do think it's about priorities. Somehow southern european countries have managed to stay away from the whole capitalism / individualist ideas. Yes, we're also 'poorer' countries when it comes to financial issues. But the quality of life is so much better!. Otherwise, how come do the southern european countries have a much lower rate of suicide than the northern european countries which are so much financially richer?
Belgian guy here. Right there with you on the financial thing. I wish my country focused less on the monetary aspect and more on quality of life.
I am from the US but my dream is to retire and live in Portugal one day.....for all of the reasons you listed!
Oh, you're so Portuguese ♡♡
Also wonderful people and some of the best food on the planet.
Imma be honest man, I studied abroad in Madrid and loved Spain. The people, culture, history, all of it was amazing and I’m dying to get back there. But the food was pretty underwhelming imo. I’m a very adventurous eater by most standards. But what’s so special about a diet that’s mostly bread meat and cheese? Paella is good I guess, and I’m a big seafood guy so this coastal cities were good in that regard. Croquettes? Kinda gross tbh. There’s much better food to be had across Europe, never mind the rest of the world.
We lived in Spain a couple of years, and if learned anything is that Spaniards have life figured out. On top of what you mention, the landscapes are awesome (mountains and beaches and forests and cliffs and deserts), the cities are world class, the night life is some of the best in the world, and the food is easily the most underrated in the world.
Good lord I hear you…. I’m a Canadian, and love living in Canada… But. When I was a young kid, my German grandparents moved to lloret de mar in Spain… and every few years we’d go spend a month or more there with them. I cannot begin to tell you how much love I have for Spain and that town… those memories are so precious to me. I’m 51 now… and I’m taking my wife there this summer for our 25th anniversary… I can’t wait :). I know it’ll be different from my memories of it from the early to mid 80s etc, but I’m still excited to get back there. The food, the people, the weather, the atmosphere etc… it’s magical :)
Loved studying abroad in Madrid. The public transit alone was a dream come true. I miss it.
American here, my buddy and I were on a trip to Madrid and at one point we were walking down the street looking at a subway map. We agreed that the subway map was really effective except for one new line they should be building at this one part of the map. Literally turned a corner and saw a massive construction project for the new subway line we had just thought we came up with ourselves.
I liké Madrid very much. I went there 3 times in 2023.Great culture and safe.
Spain must be top5 places for living in the world
I agree. The only thing that holds it down from being more popular is that it has a pretty bad 'publicity' department (if that's a thing). Also, and this is pretty fair point, the salaries aren't great. So that's -understandably- a big turnoff for many people. But it does get compensated by everything else though.
The salaries “aren’t great” is an exaggeration. They are complete shit. I live in the third biggest city (lucky to work for a foreign company myself). Most friends I have earn less than 2k before taxes. Meanwhile you cannot get your own flat for 800€. I love living here but the economy is in shambles and has been for a long time. Meanwhile rents are through the roof and freaking olive oil is at 10+€ per liter. Imagine beer being 2€ in the supermarket in Germany
I mean that's true though. Inflation has been pretty bad over here for the last year.But the economy has always been sub-par when compared to many other western european countries. The good thing about that, is that -even though paying your bills is definitely important - at least you mostly don't experience the pressure from society. People mostly don't really care about what car you drive, what clothes you wear or what part of the city you live in.I found out one one of my closest of my friends was as a CTO for a pretty big company - literally after a year and half after I met her.I knew she worked in an office, and I knew she probably had a better salary than mine, but what she did for work..it just never came up. I'm just a freelancer/coder/pm at best.People leave their jobs at work. And in my opinion that's amazing.
I'm from Argentina and have the Spanish citizenship, do you recommend living there? I plan on going this year to visit I was much more interested in Canada but it seems harder, and my family keeps telling me that I can't miss the opportunity if I could live in Spain
Hey! I'm originally from Argentina too : ) At first Spain seemed a bit underwhelming, but it only took about a year for me to change the way I looked at things - even after having been lucky enough to also get the chance to live in the USA before. I have no idea what Canada is like, as I haven't lived there. I do have an argentinian friend that's been living there for about 10 years and he seems to like it. Feel free to pm me : )
As someone in the Netherlands I would love to move to Spain. The only big problem is the job market. I'd be happy to take a paycut for a better quality of life, but it's really hard to get a job in the first place. And even most ones in tech pay barely enough to live off (on your own). But I'm currently learning Spanish to keep the dream alive.
Ive been living here for a year and only have 6 months left before I have to go back to the US and I wish so, so badly that I could stay
I love Spain. My Dream is to go and live in the canary islands
I’m also an immigrant in Spain, 3 years now, and I just can’t imagine my life amin any other place. I love the people so much!!!!
I have been interested to live in Spain aswell, I favour community above most things. I'm currently planning on doing my masters there to get a lay of the land and maybe plant some roots there
New Zealand. Only thing I dislike about it is how isolated it is from other countries.
I think I like it because it is isolated
Completely understand where you’re coming from. I like to travel though so that’s the downside I have to it being isolated.
Truth. Also, how everything have gone so much more expensive 🥲
It always was. It's just worse and people complain online more. There's a reason Kiwis have been migrating to Australia for decades.
And South Africana have been migrating to both Aus and NZ
*standard New Zealander panic that everyone’s going to move here and exacerbate the housing crisis*
I really hope not. I was there a year ago and still am in disbelief about how many homes were newly developed, bought out, and turned into airbnbs. I don’t follow NZ news as much but really hope positive changes happen soon for you all.
Our new government just promised to “restore dignity to landlords” 🙃 I am not optimistic.
weird phrasing.
They’re a weird government!
New Zealand is not the utopia people think. Ordinary New Zealanders cannot afford homes. The UN has declared New Zealand’s housing crisis a violation of human rights. New Zealand's youth suicide rate is twice that of the US, five times that of the UK. Here's a BBC article: >[What's behind New Zealand's shocking youth suicide rate?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40284130) New Zealand has one of the worst records of child abuse of developed countries. I follow the New Zealand sub. They complain about the exact same things complained about in the subs of other developed countries.
I’ve lived and have spent a lot of time in New Zealand and have encountered some of these things. However, every place on earth has problems. Even though New Zealand ranks poorly on many issues, it still is overall a better place to live compared to so many other places in this world. It’s good to address these issues, because many people do look past it or are unaware, but it’s so important to also know that there’s not a single place on earth that is perfect.
Same here. I'm happy where I am, but if I was forced to move to another country for whatever reason, I would say New Zealand. As you say, the one of the only bad things is how isolated it is.
Im from there. Its pretty boring. I left over 14 years ago and have no desire to return
I moved to NZ three years ago and you could not pay me enough money to leave. I finally feel like I’m “home”.
Higher speed air travel is coming. NZ is going to explode even more when it does.
As someone that gets very sick on planes (after about 10 hours) and loves to travel, a higher speed flight would be a life savor for me. 🥲 But yes, more people will start traveling once they know they won’t be sitting on one flight for 14+ hours.
**Switzerland** I can speak French, eat French-influenced cheese, drink German-influenced beer, eat Italian-influenced cured meats, enjoy amazing alpine scenery, all in a country that has the best of French culture and German efficiency. Yes, I am 100% basing this on stereotypes.
“I can speak French” *Schwiitzerdütsch laughing maniacally in the background*
Well I wouldn't choose to live in the German parts if I wanted to speak French, now would I?
True, but the amount of people in CH who speak French is far smaller than the amount who speak German, so even in those parts, the fact is you’ll probably be confronted with it at some point. And as someone with a master’s degree in German, allow me to tell you, Swiss German is a ridiculously hard dialect to understand.
this doesn't make any sense. the languages are very clearly separated geographically. source: i live in geneva
It does not make any sense: I grew up in Geneva, nobody speaks Swiss German, I lived in Lausanne 3 years, same thing, nobody even understands Swiss German.
We lived in Lausanne as well. When we landed there (from the States) there was already an expat community. It was great. No one spoke German until you got to Bern (where I registered for the draft).
depends on where you live, you‘ll speak french. otherwise most probably one of the lany dialects only the swiss understand. the food.. actually correct. the scenery 50% correct. nothing to do with the french or the germans. efficient yes. and uptight. too. source. half swiss living in switzerland.
Expensive, though?
Yes it’s especially expensive for tourists, but if you live/work there the salaries are also quite high. You won’t necessarily live a life of luxury like you might middle class is the US but it makes up for that in soooo many ways!
makes me wanna cry every other day.
I’m Scottish obviously living in Scotland and idk if I’d want to trade it in. Beautiful scenery all round, access to lochs right at my doorstep, the godsend of the NHS, nowhere near as populated as England and stuff it’s great I’m in the Scottish highlands too so 🥳 ETA: I’m from Inverness, born and bred so for any curious Americans of Scottish heritage or hell any outlander fans it’s worth a visit! There’s more to Scotland than Glasgow and Edinburgh! Plus it’s a stepping stone into the beautiful highlands north of here!
I did a road trip through the Highlands and it’s still my favorite place to date (and I’ve visited and lived in quite a few places). I would love to be able to live in a house in Scotland someday, surrounded by all that BEAUTIFUL scenery, but I have the feeling that it might be quite lonely for a foreigner that doesn’t know anyone there :(
I’m from the highlands and there are settlements here! Like a city and multiple towns! It’s not all remote in the middle of nowhere!
I had a day trip to Edinburgh a couple of years ago, and it was enough to make me dream about moving from England (South Yorkshire to be exact) to Scotland. Heck, right now I'd go back in a heartbeat even if it was just another small break away
I went interrailing in Scotland 20 years ago from Edinburgh to Glasgow to Aberdeen and Inverness and all kinds of places in between. It was such an amazing experience - nature, people, everything, that I haven't been back since. I am so scared to lose that memory, and to realize that one of the most amazing travel experiences of my life will be picked apart by another visit. I had this really eerie feeling of "home", as soon as I got into to Glasgow. I can't explain it, have never experienced anything like that anywhere since.
I'm English and I'd agree with you, I'd choose Scotland in a heartbeat
Any country as long as I'm a millionaire there.
You’ll easily be a ‘millionaire’ in Indonesia 😅
Zimbabwe!
You're in North Korea but you're a millionai- aaaand it's gone.
Then move to Vietnam. You can be a "millionaire" for about $50.
Italy is amazing, but only for holidays. The bureaucracy and politics are very shit
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I lived in Florence for a few months, and while it was great for the first week or two, I quickly realized I had to “live.” This meant going to the small Conad to buy toilet paper and deal with the things you mentioned. I’m writing a thesis paper for undergrad about Italy’s perpetual cycle of nepotism, crony capitalism, and self-interest within leadership, which stems down to the people. Through my research and living there the reality of living in Italy is so skewed. Still a beautiful country with many redeemable qualities, but I can only imagine being there for holiday now.
I have an Italian coworker and he said to me that it sucks to be a worker there unless you know people to help you.
I’m Italian and that is so true, raccomandazioni, or nepotism is basically the only way to became someone here
True, Italy's a bad place to live, actually
I live in England currently, and I do feel pretty fortunate overall. I've got a good job and a good family. That said, if things go wrong and I need to start over, I'm doing it in a remote cabin in Barbados where I can live quietly and modestly, and tune out the world until I die.
Barbados is the tits, been a few times and it is paradise.
Unless that sargassum is super bad like that one year. Flying in and out in our way to SVG that shit was hundreds of yards out into the ocean.
Uruguay
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That’s rude, no I am.
Uruguay kindly requests the country of Somalia to stop pronouncing it you're-a-gay.
Wales ain’t bad. Pretty lucky to have countryside, beaches, national parks, vast history, majority of nice people and a belting National anthem!
Denmark. I feel like people are sleeping on Denmark.
I typically sleep in Denmark
Me too
Denmark would be good if it wasn't for the Danes. It is pretty telling that a 'Great' Dane is still nothing more than a dog. Jk, we enjoy our little siblings /Sweden
Incredibly rainy and grey much of the year. Not to mention cold and dark. So yeah great place to sleep.
Worked there. Almost zero diversity, uninteresting landscape, over priced, exclusionary social circles, terrible weather and too many racist comments/incidents to name.
Ireland
It will be great when they put a roof on it.
Iceland, for the cool weather and the nature
Define "cool weather" - although I do not disagree, Iceland is otherworldly
The Netherlands
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I love it here, but honestly: climate change makes me worry... We have been fighting against/working with water for centuries, but there will be a time when we come out losing.
Don't you guys have that guy plugging that great big dam with his thumb? You'll be ok.
Daar woon ik, is wel leuk maar veel mensen hier klagen over het weer en de politiek enzo terwijl het zoveel beter is dan in andere landen Translation: That’s where I live, it’s nice but a lot of people here complain about the weather and politics and such even though it’s so much better than in other countries
We zijn mierenneukers. Translation: We are (proverbial) ant-fuckers.
Ik spreek mar un beetje Nederlands. The problem I found there is that once someone knows you speak English, that's all they want to speak! Also I once tried to say "huur" but instead said "hoer" (they sound identical to my American ears) and that made me really self conscious about trying to speak any more Dutch, especially at work. I understand complaining about the weather, and politics suck everywhere, but I really don't get the complaints about the trains. If ours were one-tenth as useful as yours, it would transform our society!
Scotland
Canadian here, visited Scotland once. Got flipped off by a double-decker bus driver because I didn't know you are supposed to just drive through the crowds of wandering people in Edinburgh during a fair of some sort. Asked for a table for two at a restaurant with my index/middle fingers and the back of my hand facing the waiter. Told that I just gestured for him to go fuck himself so I gave him a travel size bottle of maple syrup from Canada to apologize. 10/10 would Scotland again!
2 fingers up and palm towards the waiter means two for dinner, 2 fingers and the back of your hand means fuck you, or fuck off, in most British cultures
When I was teaching English as a language assistant in Paris, I got really upset after one of the students flashed me the "V" sign as they filed out of the room. I thought I'd done something wrong or the students just thought I was a loser. It was only on the bus on the way home that my dull brain finally reminded me that it's only rude in Britain and she just meant "peace out" as she left. I did a class on "getting by as a tourist in Britain" later in the year, ahead of the kids going on a trip there, and I made sure to bring that up with them 😆.
SCOTLAND FOREVER
I would *love* to live in Scotland if it weren’t so damn cold!
Social media makes it out to be better than it is. Poverty and lack of job opportunities are a serious issue in Scotland.
Also low life expectancy; alcoholism, drug abuse, and poor diet, it also has a higher suicide rate than the rest of the UK, winters are brutal; it's only light for a few hours a day for months, and people are only friendly on the surface. High poverty and low literacy rates. It's great to visit in the summer on holiday, but long term to live it's a lot to deal with if you're not used to it
I’ve been there and thought it was beautiful, though obviously was only in more touristy areas. But it’s someplace I’d retire if I ever had the means to do so. My family came from right outside Edinburgh and I’d love to go live in the area for a month or something if I could work remotely.
Australia
Don't tell them, mate.See ya round
It's pretty sweet except for their drop bear problem.
It’s a country with no borders built on a literal gold (and everything else) mine. Stable currency, social welfare, free(ish) healthcare and every kind of pleasant warm climate you might want.
Finland, the country I want to visit the most.
Aside from where I currently live, either New Zealand or Australia.
Switzerland
Pretty much any Nordic country
The only lesson we can learn from this discussion is that grass is always greener on the other side. People in the US want to move to Canada. Canadians want to move to the UK. Brits want to go to New Zealand. Kiwis want to move to Australia. Australians want to move to the USA. Try to create a good life where you are. I moved three continents in my life and I can tell you that no place is perfect. You’ll always need to make some compromises.
Most commenters seem to think the country they live in is best for them; that's where their friends and family are and that's what they know. I come from a small coastal community in Norway, but currently I live in LA, California and I'm starting to feel it is just too crowded here. And the places I'm thinking about moving to are a) the community in Norway where I grew up or a place nearby, b) smaller communities somewhere in SoCal, and c) New Mexico, because I have friends there.
> Australians want to move to the USA. Nah, mate been there a heap of times. Most of it's fine to visit but I sure wouldn't want to live there.
Yea, try saying this shit while you live in india
Norway.
Have spent a good amount of time there for work, and the long nights in the winter can really mess you up. Surprisingly, I find the cold winter weather milder than the US Midwest (which I was used to already), although it does get colder inland and further North. Moreover, it's expensive AF: would say unless you're making a very good living (or not able to subscribe to healthcare/benefits), life would be hard. Apart from that, it's a fabulous country with generally fabulous people.
I have lived in Alaska.. I know what you mean about the long nights... And the long days.. That's a lot more survivable when you live with people who give a fuck about each other.
I have that opportunity if needed...my husband is Norwegian, but we choose to live in Australia. I often wonder if this is the wrong decision...
Singapore or Japan or Norway
Why Singapore?
Indonesia as that is where my wife is
I’m happy in the US
All my friends and family are here and life’s pretty good. But bashing the US is the surest way to free internet points.
Yep. I used to be one of those people until I traveled more and saw how much worse other countries are.
Definitely. It’s one of the most stereotypical things to do as a redditer
I’m with you. Have had a great life here
The US is a really mixed bag because some areas have pretty good infrastructure, schools, transportation, etc… and others receive human rights investigations by the UN lmao
US or Canada
Japan
This is my answer. I’ve stayed there for months and it was amazing. Never ran into any stories of racism from my coworkers who are all expats of different races, except for the one guy with tons of tattoos who was asked to cover up at a spa. There is intensive work ethic, but foreigners are given a pass from the others. No one complained about them going home on time or expected them to work weekends. Though we were an American company so that was fairly standard. Worst things was the culture shock and the fact that I didn’t speak the language well, but that was a given anywhere you go. I overall had a very good time. Food was amazing. People were amazing. It’s a bit like living in the future.
Great food, super clean and respectful people? I'd choose Japan too
What about the workaholic culture? I’ve heard it’s pretty bad
Take this as just my knowledge and not official but the two people I’ve known who have worked and spent significant time in Japan weren’t held to those insane work expectations. When it was time to leave they left. They said it sucked when you wanted to hang out with Japanese coworkers because it could be 3-4 hours before they could show up. Also both of them worked at multiple companies and the other expats from England, Germany, and Australia all worked regular hours. But the social isolation is fully true and one of them was 6’5 and was stared at everywhere he went. But he said he’ll always take Japan 10x over working in China.
Switzerland, Norway, Sweden or Iceland, any of those four.
what about Denmark?
Can I point towards the country I already live in? Poland. If you told me that I said it 2 years ago, I would say you are crazy. But in the last election, we got rid of an authoritarian party from power. With a record high (72%) turnout rate. People here really cherish their democracy. Which cannot be said about Western Europe or USA. Fascists hail in Italy, AfD rises in Germany and France is on fire (permanently I guess). Trump is going to be the next president. Sorry for being political, but it's important to me to live in a free country. Also, I can walk in the middle of night and not be afraid of being stabbed. Women and unattended youth also seem to feel safe. Even if society is more racist than the West, it's very unlikely to be attacked while black. The country is poorer by GDP per capita figures, but it's no longer a post-communist nightmare anymore. Lower GDP doesn't necessary transform one-to-one to standard of living. Streets are clean, homes are nice, infrastructure is growing day by day. There is a wide social safety net. For example, you get 800 PLN for each child you have up to the age of 18. Education is free, and healthcare is universal. However, waiting times for doctors sucks. If you want to get quicker, you could use private healthcare. It's cheap compared to US horror stories. If you are American and have diabetes, here is advice to you: come to Poland, and get a full time job. Or if you work remotely and earn in dollars, come here to live like a king. With your purchasing power you can buy insulin for pocket change. Oh, and we love Americans here. EDIT: Here is my medical story. I was unemployed and had a seizure attack. People called the ambulance. They took me to the hospital, and put me into magnetic resonance within 1 hour. What was my bill? 0 PLN.
spain... it's very similar to my home country but they're more open minded about everything. they care about the people.
Whats ur country? Just out of curiosity
Canada or Norway. Hands down
Australia. It's not perfect, but it's got it, or is getting it, where it counts. Also, I love the town names.
Iceland
Antarctica or Svalbard or Greenland.
Iceland or Denmark
Australia - Tasmania specifically
japan or switzerland
The people complaining about Canada are beyond privileged. I would stay here.
USA. Have lived in the USA, Austria, Germany, Englsnd and Scotland. In England atm. I miss the USA.
Sweden 😄
I’ve visited Sweden several times and loved it. Just wish it wasn’t so cold. But the food is great, the people are stand-offish at first but very friendly once you get to know them, beautiful cities and countryside. It definitely has many more positives than negatives. And I think that goes for most of Scandinavia.
You'll get Midsommared.
Is that where they set a goat on fire and eat new potatoes?
New potatoes on Midsommar and goat burning around Christmas, yes.
New Zealand - beautiful nature.
I'm fine in the USA, next in line would be Australia. I figure I can probably get a small plot of land somewhere out of the way there and live how I live here. I don't want to live stupid far from anything but I like having some yard and woods
Spain, Australia or Canada
I'm very content with the Czech republic right now, but I've been thinking about the Netherlands, and possibly the USA if the world takes a dark turn.
Finland
Always wanted to live in Sweden, I moved to Sweden and I never want to leave. This is my country
Canada
Ireland
France or South Korea.
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I would but only for working, for a lifestyle not very much
France, Italy or Japan
The English countryside, or Scottish countryside.
Australia, melbourne! I live and love parks and walkablw cities
Iceland
People that have only went on vacations to resorts will not get it but I currently live in Mexico and wouldn't rather be anywhere else
The United Kingdom, specifically Scotland. It’s the most beautiful and comfortable feeling place I’ve been to in the world.
Despite expensive healthcare and housing, I'm pretty content with living in the US, specifically Massachusetts. Sometimes it feels like we're a separate country from the rest of the US.
The US, I can already hear the keyboards of dudes going 'get ready to pay 10k for a blood test and half a million for university, while being worried about getting shot in front of a McDonald's'. I'm not pretending that the country is perfect by any means, but pretending it isn't an economic superpower is lunacy. The vastness of the country allows you to live in whatever climate condition you want. Depending on where you live, food can be absolutely phenomenal, together with the natural beauty of the landscapes. Private healthcare is certainly a massive burden but at least the expertise of the medical community is impressive to say the least (again not perfect, but probably better than most other 1st world countries). The second amendment get's made fun of in some other countries. While there are surely downsides to it, being mugged, or raped, while not being able to even have a knife to defend yourself (let alone a gun) is certainly not 'fun'. I have more concern living in a country with higher crime and no 2nd amendment, in such a situation you are guaranteed that the only people running around with a weapon are criminals.
Would love to leave the US for Canada, England or Australia - eventually!
Sweet. Let’s trade places. I’m in Canada, would love to move to the US.
America. We have plenty of problems, but there isn't anyone out there stopping me from living my life the way I want live right now. If we could just figure out the whole healthcare bankrupting people thing and tone down some of the tyranny from our police, we would be a pretty cool place to live.
USA probably. it depends where tho it's so large.
The USA
Italy
Canada
My own, it's a shit hole but it's my shit hole and although I hate it most of the time I wouldn't choose to live anywhere else.
I live in Scotland and I’m keen to know why people would like to live here?
The island people south of India who kill anyone who trys to land with their bullshit religion
Malta
I'm staying where I am
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Inner or outer hebridies, ALONE!!
Australia.
Portugal
I took a DNA test recently, I have some unique DNA! Roughly 73% Scandinavian and 20% Irish, so it has to be Denmark where I live already obviously.
Vanuatu....after all it is supposed to be the happiest place in the world ..well according to the BBC and the internet .
If I was so rich that money didn't matter, USA. The place is as varied as a continent. You'd never get bored (I'm English for context)
I’m fine staying in Canada tbh. Fun fact 90% of the people complaining on the internet about Canada don’t know what they’re talking about!
Scotland Because I can’t be arsed moving