What's the best country in the world?

[Chunkymonkey_71]

Adenauer said:

Germany, without a shadow of a doubt, that's why I moved here 20 years ago and still love it.

Holland?

England??

You're all mad.

I dunno... I went to visit some guy over there and he was a bit of a pie!

(pure love you, man!)

[MrGman]

Are any countries not inhabited by humans? If so, that one.

[MrGman]

Are any countries not inhabited by humans? If so, that one.

[anonymous-user]

Adenauer said:

Trexthedinosaur said:

Adenauer said:

I moved here 20 years ago, to live, not with the forces or on any sort of secondment, but to get away from bumping into 14 year old mothers pushing their prams along the pavement whilst gobbing on the street and discussing Chantel's new fake nails, and spotty teenage oiks saying 'wot you lookin' at'.

And I'm very glad that I did.

You should have tried outside of London first then (joke), it is no better here in my opinion.

I lived in Bournemouth, Lyme Regis, Corsham, Frome, and Bath. I wouldn't live in London if you paid me to.

There is your problem, you lived in the South!

I agree Germany has some nice aspects, especially the Friday / Saturday night, non-binge drinking culture (but that is pan European), but the Uk countryside is just right for me.

[stevesingo]

peterperkins said:

stevesingo said:

Can I offer Estonia?

Low population density

No H&S BS

No Pc BS

Great sense of social responsibility, no litter, chewing gum dog st and most involved in some way in defense.

Great public transport

Great social care i.e they don't just give money away, but look after those who need it.

Hot women in surplus to men

Good driving roads (if a little flat in places).

Can you elaborate? How do you know? Links? Cost of living?

Been working here for 5 months during which time I've seen enough of the country to state that aside from the language being hard as nails to learn (Think of a catapult loaded with vowels, consonants and umwelts fired at the page) and not being able to get long term work, I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't like to live here.

There are issues; alcoholism in the socially disadvantaged (but drugs are not a big problem) and the ethnic Russian residents vs Estonian frictions, but on the whole a great place.

[Dinlowgoon]

New Zealand for quality of life,if you're into outdoor pursuits and pristine beaches without another soul about. Superb for motorcycling as well. Unfortunately the cost of living there has escalated out of reach for many so you either need to be a cashed up retiree or in a lucrative career - in my experience having a job there will detract from the aforementioned (work ethics).
Bits of Oz,particularly like Sunshine coast QLD,Byron Bay,Darwin,Broome. Fremantle could be fun as well.
If you visit or live in these places you realise how much of the outdoor life we give up here (replaced by materialistic nonsense) due to sh*te weather and when the opportunity does finally arrive there are way too many other people wanting to do the same thing. Chronic overpopulation is a big problem here IMO but apparently we need more unskilled immigrants ?!!

[talksthetorque]

well we made it to 109 posts before it reared it's head.

[Dinlowgoon]

talksthetorque said:

well we made it to 109 posts before it reared it's head.

Oh dear,please don't tell me I've offended someone.

[talksthetorque]

Dinlowgoon said:

Oh dear,please don't tell me I've offended someone.

Offended, no, bored, possibly.

Uk is on my list still. And will be for a long time.
Overpopulation isn't an issue in our 60 house village to be honest.
We are increasing our housing stock by 10% in the coming year and a half. We're coping fine, but we might need a larger postbox soon.

[4159265]

Tetepare (island)

[J4CKO]

I dont get the "best country" thing, I associate it with Americans that have never left America but proclaim it to be the best in the world, despite Trump telling them he is going to make it great again, so it isnt great currently, try explaining that to Americans, in a bar when drunk, some arent good at irony and pointing out that Great Britain has great in the name and doesnt need making great again doesnt help with the imminently going to get beaten up and shot.

I am perhaps more qualified to comment that Cletus who has never left Butthole Pennsylvania but realistically I cant, I would need to live a lifetime in each and dilligently score it on the weather, culture, food, scenery, welfare system, people etc etc and then compare notes to decide, I would also have to live in all its major cities, over the same time period as well as living in coastal areas, rural areas and anywhere else of interest, only then could I make a decision as to which is best, and even then it is subjective based on my preferences. A lot also depends on where your roots are and whether you will pine for them.

I do quite like the US though, it is a class act, San Francisco is pretty agreeable, New York is magnificent and Boston has a nice feel, definitely somewhere near the sea though, I would say San Francisco, or somewhere near, never been any further from home and felt as much at home.

Yes, I over think things....

[poing]

Trexthedinosaur said:

Adenauer said:

Trexthedinosaur said:

Adenauer said:

I moved here 20 years ago, to live, not with the forces or on any sort of secondment, but to get away from bumping into 14 year old mothers pushing their prams along the pavement whilst gobbing on the street and discussing Chantel's new fake nails, and spotty teenage oiks saying 'wot you lookin' at'.

And I'm very glad that I did.

You should have tried outside of London first then (joke), it is no better here in my opinion.

I lived in Bournemouth, Lyme Regis, Corsham, Frome, and Bath. I wouldn't live in London if you paid me to.

There is your problem, you lived in the South!

I agree Germany has some nice aspects, especially the Friday / Saturday night, non-binge drinking culture (but that is pan European), but the Uk countryside is just right for me.

I prefer some of the German country side, and I currently live in the North of Scotland. Another thing I liked about Germany was how simple it was to jump in the car and bugger off to another country for a long weekend or a short week. I know I can do that from the UK via a quick flight but it requires more planning than I'm typically capable of.

It's not perfect, nowhere is, but for every stupid law/regulation they have a sensible one to counteract it. Although Germany would be my overall choice, I'd pop back to Scotland for Christmas and especially for New Year.

[Yipper]

The best country on Earth has to be very rich (for personal growth), good weather (for health), safe (for family security), scenic (for visual stimulation), freedom (to relax), and consistently exciting (for fun).

Nowhere on the planet ticks all those boxes, but a few get close...

California.
New York City.
Munich.

Central London would win if it had the weather.

For an overall country, the USA. Nothing gets close for opportunity.

[srebbe64]

Yipper said:

The best country on Earth has to be very rich (for personal growth), good weather (for health), safe (for family security), scenic (for visual stimulation), freedom (to relax), and consistently exciting (for fun).

Nowhere on the planet ticks all those boxes, but a few get close...

California.
New York City.
Munich.

Central London would win if it had the weather.

For an overall country, the USA. Nothing gets close for opportunity.

Just so you know, none of those are countries.

[RobDickinson]

Admittedly its a tough question...

[Ayahuasca]

Jos Notstoppen said:

Nimby said:

Costa Rica for wildlife and coffee.

Costa Rica gets my vote as well

Have you ever been in downtown San Jose away from the tourist areas? A hole of poo is what it is.

[cheddar]

Dinlowgoon said:

New Zealand for quality of life,if you're into outdoor pursuits and pristine beaches without another soul about. Superb for motorcycling as well. Unfortunately the cost of living there has escalated out of reach for many

It is a very easy life in NZ and it doesn't have to be expensive, only Auckland and Queenstown have gone truly mad, even with post brexit exchange rates you can still buy a brand new detached house in the hills 30 minutes from a major city for £200k.

[PomBstard]

Ayahuasca said:

Jos Notstoppen said:

Nimby said:

Costa Rica for wildlife and coffee.

Costa Rica gets my vote as well

Have you ever been in downtown San Jose away from the tourist areas? A hole of poo is what it is.

Was my thought also when I saw CR on the list. A good friend lives in Tamarindo and has a house in San Jose - outside the main tourist areas its no great shakes. Coffee is good though. Pacific coast, esp around Manuel Antonio reminds me a lot of FNQueensland.

Everytime I think about what would make a great country for me, I tend to describe France - countryside, weather, space, variability, food, drink, history, culture, connections to rest of the continent, pretty much all of it. But, I can't be arsed to learn a new language, and I quite like living in Australia.

If we couldn't afford to live in Sydney, then maybe be tempted to move to France, or if visas could be arranged San Fransisco - not been to the US outside of California though.

Japan would be worth a shot for something a bit different - found the place really intriguing and would love to go back.

UAE - been twice, and that's at least once too much.

Of the UK, I still miss the countryside esp the West and Southwest, and the beer. But not much else.

[anonymous-user]

scherzkeks said:

alorotom said:

Thailand for me ... perfect balance of weather, cost, value and people

I would say Thailand, too, but I think the weather can be too extreme, transport infrastructure is not great, and the government is unstable. Maybe in another 10-15 years.

Been here the past 3 years in BKK. Weather is great. It's not anywhere as extreme as you think it would be when you visit/travel the country.

The government issue doesn't affect day to day life that much although the junta have made some strange decisions since being in power. Some good, some bizzare. Corruption rules throughout from top level all the way down to the local govs. Visas are a bit of a pain in the ar$e. Much easier if past 50 for retirement visa.

Infrastructure in BKK is expanding rapidly. By 2022 Thailand will be the major transport rail hub for south east asia as well as expanding it's metropolitan trains lines by more than 100%. Fast ferries now in operation from pattaya > hua hin etc.

I've lived in quite a few countries now including Oz and Canada and by far prefer the thai lifestyle and culture. The food ain't too bad either.

[Se7enheaven]

MrGman said:

Are any countries not inhabited by humans? If so, that one.

That gets my vote too