France is the best place to live says study

[isabellai82]

Britain has dropped to 25th place on a list of the best places in the world to live - behind countries such as the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Uruguay.

While France tops the poll for the fifth year running, the UK's climate, crime rate, cost of living, congested roads and overcrowded cities have pushed it even further down from last year's ranking at 20.

The Quality of Life Index, published by International Living magazine for the 30th year, says the French live life to the full, while Britons are over-worked.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/01/07/article-1240988-07C78566000005DC-153_468x256.jpg

In all, 194 countries are surveyed on nine criteria, including the cost of living, culture and leisure, environment, safety, culture and weather.

Australia is placed second after France, followed by Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand.

Even former communist countries where unemployment is still rife are considered better places to settle down in than Britain, with Lithuania and the Czech Republic coming in at 22nd and 24th place respectively.

http://www.nonbaohiem.asia/content/mu.jpghttp://www.nonbaohiem.asia/content/mu1.JPG (http://nonbaohiem.asia/content/mubaohiem.html)

Cars near high-rise flats in Vilnius, Lithuania: The Baltic state came in three places above Britain in the list

http://www.nonbaohiem.asia/content/non.jpghttp://www.nonbaohiem.asia/content/non1.JPG (http://nonbaohiem.asia/content/nonbaohiem.html)

Ice skaters trek around the frozen Lake Nasijarvi in Tampere, southern Finland: The Scandinavian country came 18th in the list of best places in the world

Variety is also seen as a major factor in France's appeal, with the survey noting: 'Romantic Paris offers the best of everything, but services don't fall away in Alsace's wine villages, in wild and lovely Corsica, in lavender-scented Provence. Or in the Languedoc of the troubadors, bathed in Mediterranean sunlight.'

Britain does not top a single category in the survey, which is compiled using official government statistics, data from the World Health Organisation and the views of the magazine's editors around the globe.

The U.S. fell from third to seventh place because of the economic crisis last year. A magazine spokesman said: 'Sustaining the American Dream has escalated out of the reach of many.'

Germany is widely praised for its efficiency and leisure facilities, with the magazine noting that 'the Harz Mountains now has a specialist hiking trail for nudists. Germany is arguably the world's most naturist-friendly country'.

[pino]

Best place for La Dolce Vita still is Italy : Great weather, great food, great wine, great cars and great women...and forget all the rest :p :

[EuroTroll]

Interesting list. Obviously flawed (Lithuania way before Sweden??), but interesting.

Here's a breakdown of the scores: http://www1.internationalliving.com/qofl2010/

I notice the USA scores only 92 under "freedom". Land of the almost free..? :p :

[Rudy Tamasz]

Highly biased. May serve as a half-decent tourist destination rating but hardly a realistic rating of the quality of life.

[ShiftingGears]

Well, they nearly got #1 right.. :p :

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I could go to live in France, but I'd prefer to stay in the UK thanks with all my family, friends and job thank you.

[EuroTroll]

I could go to live in France...

Sure about that? It's full of Frenchies, you know. :p :

[Eki]

I notice the USA scores only 92 under "freedom". Land of the almost free..? :p :
They fried their freedom under the Bush administration.

[Rudy Tamasz]

They fried their freedom under the Bush administration.

It's been just eight years, on top of two centuries of freedom. And then the current messiah was supposed to fix whatever Bush got wrong, wasn't he?

To me there is nothing wrong with the States. I was in Virginia last October. Climate is excellent, everything is dirt cheap compared to Europe and Sam Adams is good as usual.

[driveace]

Well when I travel down through France in January it is VERY COLD,axactly the same as in the UK,even down in Bordeaux it is still very cold in winter,SO dont rush off to quickly as the weather is no warmer in winter even that far south.
It gains as its such a large country covering such a large area.I could think of far BETTER places to live,and far better people TO BE AMONG!

[fandango]

France works because of simple things like roads, trains and healthcare and cheese and wine. It's the best place to live because it suits the people who are there, whether you like them or not. Australia too, for example, except with more beer and lamb.

On the subject of the UK, I can only guess that it must be that the country isn't organised to suit the people there. To many silly laws and restrictions, too much reactionism (not sure if that's a word) and not enough social mobility, perhaps. British people (or UK citizens or whatever you're supposed to call them) seem extremely disillusioned generally these days. I don't know any of this for sure, it's just speculation, my impression, how it looks to me from outside.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Well, they nearly got #1 right.. :p :

I knew a comment like that was coming from one of you Aussies....

[Mark in Oshawa]

I remember this survey last year and thinking how out to lunch some of their criteria is.

France is a great nation, but to have the UK 25th BEHIND Romania and some other's says to me that this little list is full of some pretty arbitrary stuff.

Canada gets slaughtered for its winter's but the reality is there is no place nicer in the summer...and we will be in the fastest growing economy of the G20 for the second straight year, so we are in ok shape. Maybe 9th works....and I haven't lived anywhere else, but I do think everyone's tastes are different. I will take my 9th to living in France...

[Caroline]

I'd rather read something that hasn't been taken from a Daily Mail article, thank you. That in itself makes me not take it so very seriously. Surveys like this are often skewed. It all depends on what you want to achieve. Quality of life means different things to different people.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I'd rather read something that hasn't been taken from a Daily Mail article, thank you. That in itself makes me not take it so very seriously. Surveys like this are often skewed. It all depends on what you want to achieve. Quality of life means different things to different people.

The Daily Mail has it this time, but this survey was commented on about 6 or so months ago and it was someplace else. The mail just printed it.

You are correct though Caroline, it means a lot to different people.

[anthonyvop]

GB takes a beating because of the cost of living.

France is ok but It would take $$$$$$$ for me to live there.

My question is URUGUAY? Are they High? I have been there. Grey is the official color. The beaches are freezing even in the summer. Not cheap anymore. Taxes are going way up. The People are generally dull. Except for one huge uber-touristy beach city it is depressing. Next to Bolivia easily the worst country in South America.

[anthonyvop]

They fried their freedom under the Bush administration.

And which freedoms would that be?

[ShiftingGears]

I knew a comment like that was coming from one of you Aussies....

Ahh yes, no kudos for me for unpredictability :p :

[F1boat]

I am pretty sure that France is a great place to live. I have been there and it is a magnificent country. But I am surprised that UK is so low in the list. It seems very cool to me, but of course I have never been there and I might be wrong. About the US, I have never been there either, but my relatives were and they claim that it REALLY depends on the state.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I am pretty sure that France is a great place to live. I have been there and it is a magnificent country. But I am surprised that UK is so low in the list. It seems very cool to me, but of course I have never been there and I might be wrong. About the US, I have never been there either, but my relatives were and they claim that it REALLY depends on the state.

It depends on the state? I would have to say there may be something to that in a sense....because the US is in many ways 50 different countries.....

I still think Canada at 9 is fine. Make us number one too much and people may want to come over here.....lol...

I don't mind you all visiting, but immigrating? Then you too might enjoy this great nation....and it might get..oh wait a minute.......it wont get crowded.

Heck..come on over...we got LOTS of room!!!!!!

[CarlMetro]

France is the best place in the world to live? PAH! How can it be? It's full of them damn Frenchies :p

I couldn't give a monkies what the survey said, I like it over here and prefer here to the USA any day.

[Daniel]

France is the best place in the world to live? PAH! How can it be? It's full of them damn Frenchies :p

I couldn't give a monkies what the survey said, I like it over here and prefer here to the USA any day.
It's rare to see a Brit who doesn't take pleasure in beating their own country down :up:

[Bob Riebe]

They fried their freedom under the Bush administration.
Very true and now the Democrats have taken that ball and are running as fast as they can to make it as non-recoverable as possible.

[Bob Riebe]

And which freedoms would that be?
Tony if you have to ask that question you have not been paying attention.
The Second Amendment freedoms Clinton removed were restored only because of Republican control of Congress.
Pres. Bush said he would have signed to have the restrictions renewed but such paper never hit his destk.
Bush was r-i-n-o number one, and his asinine Patriot Act made that very obvious.

[F1boat]

It depends on the state? I would have to say there may be something to that in a sense...

Exactly. And bad news, Mark, if I decide to leave my country and to leave elsewhere Canada seems like a GREAT option - especially because it isn't crowded and you have magnificent nature and cool state.

[fandango]

Just out of interest, how many people on here live in a country which is not their original native land?

[donKey jote]

:wave:

[pino]

:wave:

[Daniel]

:wave:

[BDunnell]

Very true and now the Democrats have taken that ball and are running as fast as they can to make it as non-recoverable as possible.

Irrecoverable is the word you're looking for, actually.

[Bob Riebe]

Irrecoverable is the word you're looking for, actually.
No, but that is fine also.

Irrecoverable infers something is destroyed to the point of be irreparable, and I think the Dems, just are hoping that, while their work can be undone, the misery to do so, is beyond what the populace is willing to deal with.

Sort of like returnable bottles verse non-returnable bottles; most returned the former for the money, but only some return the latter to be recycled because it is a good thjing to do.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Exactly. And bad news, Mark, if I decide to leave my country and to leave elsewhere Canada seems like a GREAT option - especially because it isn't crowded and you have magnificent nature and cool state.

Mr. Boat, you come over...the "cool state" when it is -30 and you are trying to get your car started might make you reconsider...lol. The again, where I live, it very rarely is THAT cold. Southern Ontario can go from the city to the country in less than 2 hours and to total wilderness from Downtown Toronto in 3 and change....

Not many nations have that kind of contrast....

[F1boat]

Mark, sounds really amazing... ah...

[CarlMetro]

Southern Ontario can go from the city to the country in less than 2 hours and to total wilderness from Downtown Toronto in 3 and change....

Not many nations have that kind of contrast....

I live in a small market town which is less than 50 miles from the very centre of London and yet I can be in the countryside in under 5 minutes and total wilderness in less than half an hour.....

[fandango]

I live 15-20 minutes walk from the centre of Barcelona, and 80km (50 miles away) it's the same situation as Carl describes. I'd wager the food and weather are better than most places, though. Also, I'm 10 minutes walk from the beach.

But it's not for everyone. Lots of people who come to live here find that after a year or two they don't like it. So the best place to live is best measured by how it suits the people who are there. Maybe the countries who score unexpectedly low scores are the ones where the people have higher expectations. Britons do have a bit of a reputation for moaning...

[Mark in Oshawa]

I live in a small market town which is less than 50 miles from the very centre of London and yet I can be in the countryside in under 5 minutes and total wilderness in less than half an hour.....

Total wilderness? IN the UK? Carl, it is country and peaceful..but when I am talking total wilderness, I am talking about a 40 km hike to see another sign of life in Algonquin Park. Once you are in the northern parts of Ontario, a wrong direction on a hike means you better live off the land, figure your way back out, or hope they find your body....

The UK is a beautiful place, and there are some very rugged parts in the Lake Country and up in the Highlands...but no where in the UK are you more than a few miles from someone...

[Daniel]

Total wilderness? IN the UK? Carl, it is country and peaceful..but when I am talking total wilderness, I am talking about a 40 km hike to see another sign of life in Algonquin Park. Once you are in the northern parts of Ontario, a wrong direction on a hike means you better live off the land, figure your way back out, or hope they find your body....

The UK is a beautiful place, and there are some very rugged parts in the Lake Country and up in the Highlands...but no where in the UK are you more than a few miles from someone...

With the terrain in the UK you can drive somewhere and be the only person within sight :) I went up to the lake district with Mark and J4mie a few weeks ago and other than a few people in the distance we were seemingly the only people for miles in one place :)

[anthonyvop]

Total wilderness? IN the UK? Carl, it is country and peaceful..but when I am talking total wilderness, I am talking about a 40 km hike to see another sign of life in Algonquin Park. Once you are in the northern parts of Ontario, a wrong direction on a hike means you better live off the land, figure your way back out, or hope they find your body....

The UK is a beautiful place, and there are some very rugged parts in the Lake Country and up in the Highlands...but no where in the UK are you more than a few miles from someone...

In 25 mins I can be in the Everglades or fishing the mangroves in South Biscayne Bay.....That is wilderness.

[fandango]

I can see a "How wild is your wilderness" thing building here. I'll open the bidding:

There are wild boar within a 20 minute drive of where I'm typing.

[fandango]

How quickly can you grow a beard? Oh sh*t, sorry, I thought I was in the Hair thread.

[CarlMetro]

How quickly can you grow a beard? Oh sh*t, sorry, I thought I was in the Hair thread.

:rotflmao:

[Jag_Warrior]

Exactly. And bad news, Mark, if I decide to leave my country and to leave elsewhere Canada seems like a GREAT option - especially because it isn't crowded and you have magnificent nature and cool state.

After spending a week or so in Montreal, if not for a family concern, I thought that would have been a nice place to hang out for three or four years. I woud have accepted a transfer there over Dallas and some other places in the U.S. I've never been there, but a friend of mine really enjoyed the time he spent living in Toronto. I have to say, I've always had a mostly positive view of Canada - even though some of the people in Montreal were a bit on the arrogant side.

But with each birthday, I have less & less desire to live in or near a large city, no matter what country it's in. I would like to travel after I retire though... and Rome is one of my dream (non racing) destinations. If Laura Sabbadin would be my guide, I could die happy.

[odykas]

Somebody tell fousto :p

[markabilly]

France would be great, except for all those french people living there...

[fandango]

After spending a week or so in Montreal, if not for a family concern, I thought that would have been a nice place to hang out for three or four years. I woud have accepted a transfer there over Dallas and some other places in the U.S. I've never been there, but a friend of mine really enjoyed the time he spent living in Toronto. I have to say, I've always had a mostly positive view of Canada - even though some of the people in Montreal were a bit on the arrogant side.

But with each birthday, I have less & less desire to live in or near a large city, no matter what country it's in. I would like to travel after I retire though... and Rome is one of my dream (non racing) destinations. If Laura Sabbadin would be my guide, I could die happy.

I like Rome. I think it's a place where I could live. But if you don't like large cities then it probably wouldn't be the place for you.

[Mark in Oshawa]

After spending a week or so in Montreal, if not for a family concern, I thought that would have been a nice place to hang out for three or four years. I........ I've always had a mostly positive view of Canada - even though some of the people in Montreal were a bit on the arrogant side.



There is a reason one of the cities Canadians like to hate is Montreal...but then again it is good natured. In the case of Toronto, they just hate it!!!

Still, for two decent sized metropolis style cities (Toronto and burbs - GTA is about 5 million people) and Montreal (3 million people in the greater area) they are pretty clean and more or less civilized. Somewhat infested by some goofy politicians and too much traffic...but still, not bad places at all.

Only thing keeping Canada off that top spot is our weather.....because if you hate winter (and most do) then there is about 4 to 5 months that you just don't want to hear about!!

[Langdale Forest]

, a wrong direction on a hike means you better live off the land, figure your way back out, or hope they find your body....



There are places like that in the UK where you can be knee deep in a swamp, or miles into a forest with so many fallen trees to avoid you don't know which direction you are going in.

[Mark in Oshawa]

There are places like that in the UK where you can be knee deep in a swamp, or miles into a forest with so many fallen trees to avoid you don't know which direction you are going in.

That's true, and I wont knock wilderness where you can find it, but I can guarntee you within 3 hours of where I am typing this, I could take you into woods where you would walk for the better part of a day before you even saw a sign of human life. Go 5 hours from here, and a misdirection may mean you hit Hudson's Bay 450 miles to the north and never see a sign of civilization.

The thing is about people from Europe cant get over often when they come to the US and Canada, is the size. You can drive 12 hours and cross from Land's End to John o' Groats.....12 hours will only get you half way out of Ontario from where I am...and to hit the other end of the country to the west, there is 40 more hours of driving. To go to the Atlantic from here, it is 17 hours to Halifax. To go to the Arctic is to see large tracts of emptiness...

I would LOVE to visit Europe, and soak up the culture, the history, the people...but I can also tell you that I likely would be almost clausterphobic because I am used to the space of rural Ontario, and the landscape being empty. Densely populated Europe, or the built up Eastern Seaboard of the US in the New York/Washington Corridor is almost too many people for me...

[Daniel]

That's true, and I wont knock wilderness where you can find it, but I can guarntee you within 3 hours of where I am typing this, I could take you into woods where you would walk for the better part of a day before you even saw a sign of human life. Go 5 hours from here, and a misdirection may mean you hit Hudson's Bay 450 miles to the north and never see a sign of civilization.

The thing is about people from Europe cant get over often when they come to the US and Canada, is the size. You can drive 12 hours and cross from Land's End to John o' Groats.....12 hours will only get you half way out of Ontario from where I am...and to hit the other end of the country to the west, there is 40 more hours of driving. To go to the Atlantic from here, it is 17 hours to Halifax. To go to the Arctic is to see large tracts of emptiness...

I would LOVE to visit Europe, and soak up the culture, the history, the people...but I can also tell you that I likely would be almost clausterphobic because I am used to the space of rural Ontario, and the landscape being empty. Densely populated Europe, or the built up Eastern Seaboard of the US in the New York/Washington Corridor is almost too many people for me...
It's not that bad Mark, sure in London or any other large city you might feel closed in but there is a lot of open space in Britain and certainly a lot of open space in other places.

Here's some open space in Finland :p

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=himos&sll=61.87954,25.230274&sspn=0.056798,0.153637&ie=UTF8&split=1&rq=1&ev=p&radius=2.5&hq=himos&hnear=&ll=61.882534,25.25053&spn=0,0.153637&t=h&z=13&layer=c&cbll=61.888033,25.284428&panoid=RfsShGlWcThXz5Mrvb1eRg&cbp=12,324.31,,0,-0.23

[Mark in Oshawa]

It's not that bad Mark, sure in London or any other large city you might feel closed in but there is a lot of open space in Britain and certainly a lot of open space in other places.

Here's some open space in Finland :p

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=himos&sll=61.87954,25.230274&sspn=0.056798,0.153637&ie=UTF8&split=1&rq=1&ev=p&radius=2.5&hq=himos&hnear=&ll=61.882534,25.25053&spn=0,0.153637&t=h&z=13&layer=c&cbll=61.888033,25.284428&panoid=RfsShGlWcThXz5Mrvb1eRg&cbp=12,324.31,,0,-0.23

True enough Daniel. You though I am sure understand as well as anyone when you lived in Queensland though what I am speaking of. Australia is just like Canada, where people live on the edge of the nation, and the great interior is empty. Just OZ's intereor is desert and brush, and Canada is a million square km of trees and bogs with rivers and lakes breaking up things....

[Bob Riebe]

That's true, and I wont knock wilderness where you can find it, but I can guarntee you within 3 hours of where I am typing this, I could take you into woods where you would walk for the better part of a day before you even saw a sign of human life. Go 5 hours from here, and a misdirection may mean you hit Hudson's Bay 450 miles to the north and never see a sign of civilization.

The thing is about people from Europe cant get over often when they come to the US and Canada, is the size. You can drive 12 hours and cross from Land's End to John o' Groats.....12 hours will only get you half way out of Ontario from where I am...and to hit the other end of the country to the west, there is 40 more hours of driving. To go to the Atlantic from here, it is 17 hours to Halifax. To go to the Arctic is to see large tracts of emptiness...

I would LOVE to visit Europe, and soak up the culture, the history, the people...but I can also tell you that I likely would be almost clausterphobic because I am used to the space of rural Ontario, and the landscape being empty. Densely populated Europe, or the built up Eastern Seaboard of the US in the New York/Washington Corridor is almost too many people for me...
I agree, while some of the Nordic gents might have a very good idea of distance, going from one end of the country to the other, most do not.

There are an extra two million people in Minn. now, but when I was in high school, if you got North of Bemidji and did not no where you are going, you could walk all day and no see civilization. If you got in the floating bogs, took a wrong step, you would never, be found, period.

There are still areas inside the Indian Reservations where, one could simply get lost, but while one may have dozens of miles between settlements or even residences, the "wilderness" of Minn. now is only dangerous to the big city liberals who have not the faintest idea of what it is like outside of a city much less bogs and forest where visibility is in hundreds of feet, not yards.

The best thing is to take a city slicker to an heavily forested area where the dogwood under brush is about knee high. Tell them to go get something through the underbrush and then disappear. They get pissed off and scared because they were not paying attention to their surrounding and suddenly it all looks the same.
The dogwood covers all tracks, including the last one you took. You cannot see the ground underneath because the leaves make make a visually solid green matt, knee high. It gives them just a glimpse of how ignorant they are of things outside of a city.

Bob
PS-- It takes almost apprx. twelve hours to drive from the Southern corner of Minn. to the Northern one (and that is now with hundreds of miles of four lane) and that is within only one state; at the same time Minn. is far from the largest states in size.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I agree, while some of the Nordic gents might have a very good idea of distance, going from one end of the country to the other, most do not.

There are an extra two million people in Minn. now, but when I was in high school, if you got North of Bemidji and did not no where you are going, you could walk all day and no see civilization. If you got in the floating bogs, took a wrong step, you would never, be found, period.

There are still areas inside the Indian Reservations where, one could simply get lost, but while one may have dozens of miles between settlements or even residences, the "wilderness" of Minn. now is only dangerous to the big city liberals who have not the faintest idea of what it is like outside of a city much less bogs and forest where visibility is in hundreds of feet, not yards.

The best thing is to take a city slicker to an heavily forested area where the dogwood under brush is about knee high. Tell them to go get something through the underbrush and then disappear. They get pissed off and scared because they were not paying attention to their surrounding and suddenly it all looks the same.
The dogwood covers all tracks, including the last one you took. You cannot see the ground underneath because the leaves make make a visually solid green matt, knee high. It gives them just a glimpse of how ignorant they are of things outside of a city.

Bob
PS-- It takes almost apprx. twelve hours to drive from the Southern corner of Minn. to the Northern one (and that is now with hundreds of miles of four lane) and that is within only one state; at the same time Minn. is far from the largest states in size.

Your home state is pretty much similar to Ontario....but for a gauge on how big this province is...you can cross into the most eastern part of Ontario from upstate NY just near Lake Placid, and 26 hours of driving later be in Manitoba, which is on the Western Edge of Minnesota.

[J4MIE]

I still think it would be fascinating to go and live in another country for a while, though personally I don't think I could leave here permanently. I do love it here but the costs of living (houses in particular) does seem high but thankfully not like Norway! But also glad to live in Europe where there are so many different countries/languages/cultures within just a few hours of here and it's not that expensive to get away for a few days. Plenty of places on that list I still want to visit though......

[CarlMetro]

I was unaware that this was a 'my country's bigger than your country' thread. Each to their own I guess. I like where I live and wouldn't swap it for too many places. Where you live is like most things in life, it is what you make it and if you don't like it, change it.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I was unaware that this was a 'my country's bigger than your country' thread. Each to their own I guess. I like where I live and wouldn't swap it for too many places. Where you live is like most things in life, it is what you make it and if you don't like it, change it.

Eh..the thread migrated that way. I was using that to illustrate how much empty space we have here..which is one of the things that many here appreciate and love about the country. The feeling you are close to nature is only a few hours away..and that nature is truly wild and untamed...and there is LOTS of it.

France don't have that. Now for some, that is fine....for me...(and I don't even hunt nor fish really)I like the space....