Best Country in the World, and why?

[Charles J. White]

Now don't flame me bro...just a joke.

Hey, no worries here, I'm pretty laid back. I just like discussion, and honestly, this thread has gone very well

[kipper]

usa is still the best despite some problems. canada would be better if the french there werent so rude. mexico is a disaster. spain, ireland and bavaria are the only places in europe worth going to. i liked costa rica and belize too. next on my list is argentina.

[Plantpothead]

I don't think the people of Detroit would agree that America is the best.

[Sagittarius Rising]

usa is still the best despite some problems. canada would be better if the french there werent so rude. mexico is a disaster. spain, ireland and bavaria are the only places in europe worth going to. i liked costa rica and belize too. next on my list is argentina.

And he likes pancakes too...lots and lots of pancakes

[kipper]

I don't think the people of Detroit would agree that America is the best.

detroit is like half of the cities in europe. dearborn and flynt are actually worst than detroit.

[SteveAJones]

detroit is like half of the cities in europe.

Like hell! Perhaps Eastern Europe and some of the former Soviet bloc nations.

[Disco Duck]

I've read bad things about Liverpool. The decline of Britain's shipping industry hit that city very hard. Still, it gave the world the Beatles so that's something.

[pottedplant]

America has taken a dive on most human development indicators, unfortunately. Whether it's a good thing (others are catching up) or it's a bad thing I don't know, but it speaks of how much the world has changed in the past few decades.

On the issue of being born and raised in one country my point was, I don't understand the mind frame of certain peoples in Far Eastern countries, there's a huge cultural divide between societies like Japan, China and the West, I don't think I could adapt to living in those societies. It's not that their culture is wrong or bad, it's that personally I have lived in the West all my life and I'm not willing to adapt, I accept the difference between them and us and I don't judge them, even among Western societies there's a fair degree of cultural separation.

So personally I have made a choice of respecting the Eastern mind frame and admiring them for their progress and discipline but I feel I belong to this other corner of the world.

This is such an interesting thread. I so understand about cultural divides. The city I live in and love is extremely parochial. I mean we have our own cuisine, music, law and to some extent, our own language. We are totally a unique culture in the United States. People who move here from other places in the US all say they go through "culture shock" for a long time.

I have been asked to explain New Orleans, and try as I might, I just can't do it; it just cannot be explained. I'll tell you a secret, Orleanians don't much care for outsiders, especially those from the north. We aren't mean to them or anything and sometimes we will accept them after they have been here 20 or 30 years. LOL Not quite that bad, but close. I love my culture and would not want to live anywhere else. Anyone born and raised in The Big Easy understands this.

[Sagittarius Rising]

detroit is like half of the cities in europe. dearborn and flynt are actually worst than detroit.

When was the last time you were in Europe? Most cities there put the best of American cities to shame! You know why? Standard of living for one. You go to any major city in Norther Europe especially (Germany, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway) plus Paris and our cities (American) are poor cousins at best with the exception of New York, Seattle, and San Francisco. Now I am talking standard of living, nothing else. As for architecture, shit, Florence, Vienna, Prague, and Barcelona will put ANY city to shame! Paris, Bruges, and Amsterdam also make honorable mention.

Not slamming my country of birth, just saying the first time I went to Europe in the 80's was akin to Zeppelin arriving in LA for the first time. Except in Europe you do not have to be a star to live such a life. To this day I am still reeling at the sexual abandon of most German ladies...love them Germans!!!

[Pagefan55]

I agree, Canada is a good choice, although some of the Scandinavian countries like Denmark are also good candidates.

There's actually a strong link between Canada and Scandinavia, which explains why they're so much alike, see for example Nordicite canadienne by Louis E. Hamelin.

On the other hand if I lived in Brazil I wouldn't complain, despite the many problems, the poverty and the violence in certain areas, it has vast resources and vast and empty unexplored spaces like Canada or the United States, did you know that Brazil's Embraer is a mighty competitor to Quebéc's Bombardier? Try walking the Avenida Paulista and you'd swear you're actually walking Manhattan.

Try to talk to some people in, say Florianopolis, Curitiba, Joinville or Santa Catarina, they wouldn't live anywhere else and most are convinced they live in the best cities in the world, which is not so far from the truth in my opinion.

Also, at some period in history I'm sure some cities of the old Soviet Union offered excellent quality of life, and some cities of the former Eastern bloc, probably Belgrade pre-1990s.

Great post -- I agree. Budapest is worth mentioning too.

[slave to zep]

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/rich-countries/the-10-best-countries-to-live-in-2014/

and we have 4 of the top 10 cities too .....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertypicturegalleries/9477990/The-worlds-10-best-cities-to-live-in.html?frame=2311083

[Charles J. White]

Canada made Top 3 country, and Canada made 3 of the top 5, I'll take that for places to live, not bad

[kingzoso]

Were you not taught to Capitalize the First word of a sentence and the names of any state(s) of the Union? That is considering that you were born or raised in the USA.

Just asking... I take it that you are not an American citizen. Otherwise, why would a fellow American make such a comment without providing any background information or reasoning for this reply/post.

I guess a no reply/no comment by that idiotic post (#23) by JP78 "is more incriminating than a comment". In My opinion, one of the dumbest things that I have ever seen or read on this topic and the whole forum in general.

[kingzoso]

take out texas and florida and the answer is easily the United States.

This is what I am referring to in My above post. Really, one of the stupidest and most ignorant posts I have ever read. Just that one sentence. What kind of ignorant (or idiot) does not Capitalize the first Letter of an American state? I learned that way back in elementary school. Probably when I was about 6 or 7 years old.

Just ignorant and FUNNY at the same time.

Edited to add: ...and also very sad for a true "American" to post this. If he is even a real American.

[scylla]

I guess a no reply/no comment by that idiotic post (#23) by JP78 "is more incriminating than a comment". In My opinion, one of the dumbest things that I have ever seen or read on this topic and the whole forum in general.

To be fair, you did capitalize "capitalize", "letter" and "first" for no reason. His punctuation isn't any weirder (or more suggestive of someone not raised in an English-speaking country with a decent education system) than yours.

If you think people, American or not, always use perfect grammar and spelling when commenting on internet forums (this one included), you're not spending nearly enough time on the internet. Mind you don't ever read any YouTube comments, your head'll explode.

Also... it's been a year.

[Rock Historian]

The racial tension and gun violence are excessively exaggerated by people with a political agenda. The overwhelming majority of Americas are harmonious and integrated people. Gun violence in America is only a problem in places like Chicago that ban guns. I have lived in or around Kansas City my whole life. The city has an egregious crime problem, one of the worst in the country. However, I've never seen a gun in anyone's hands on the streets, seen a shooting, known anyone who had been shot at, etc. In fact, shootings aren't even on the news very often because they are relatively rare even in high crime areas. American poverty, on the other hand, is vast and encompasses a huge portion of the population. The only problem is that $35,000 a year is considered poverty in America! Starvation is practically non-existent in America and homelessness is not very common. The few people who are homeless tend to have a lot of help. There are so many shelters and missions in poor areas no one ever need sleep on the streets. It seems like all three of the things you pointed out are standard of living issues. America has one of (if not) the highest standards of living in world history.

You are almost incorrect in every single thing you said.

Where on earth do you live, may I ask?

Poverty does NOT make up for a HUGE portion of the nations population.

There are homeless people on the streets...and yes, they sleep there. It's not a huge number...but it is noticeable in the inner cities.

Gun violence is a problem in many cities in America...Detroit, New Orleans, Atlanta to name a few. Not only Chicago

[scylla]

Best country? Well, it’s true that no-one can judge as no-one’s lived in them all (and anyway, who decides what the criteria should be?). But it got me thinking about why I love the UK.

History, obviously. When an American visitor marvels that your house is over two hundred years old!!! it brings it home how lucky you are. (I know someone whose house is medieval, and a bunch in places from the C17^th or 18^th). Amazing historical sites, going back to prehistory, pretty much everywhere, and protected by law and incredibly well-maintained and an amazingly high proportion open to the public.

The NHS. Whatever else may go wrong, it’s always comforting to know you can’t go bankrupt because you got ill.

The climate, in a weird sort of way. Yes, it would be nice if it rained a bit less, but at least it’s quite… moderate. No hurricanes, enormous twisters, avalanches, tornadoes etc. (Or, re: the flora and fauna, wild animals that could eat you, spiders that could kill you etc.). We all bitch about the weather… but I’ll never forget the look on the face of a visiting Canadian a few years back when we had six inches of snow and the TV news was talking about how Britain was “gripped” by a “blizzard”. “Heatwaves” are also not really anything of the sort. Compared to much of the world we have it very easy.

One of the most tolerant and least racist places in the world. Not perfect by any means, but we can be prouder of our record in this area than most. It’s diverse and multicultural and you’re never too far away from a decent curry. Also pretty good on gender equality and gay rights and so on. There’s a lot of religious tolerance, combined with a near-universal acceptance of secularism in public life. It’s odd sometimes for a Brit to remember that there are places where your neighbours or colleagues care what your private beliefs are, or feel entitled to ask. Long live the British tradition of minding your own business and making small talk about the weather.

One of the least corrupt countries in the world. Corruption happens, but it usually gets discovered and dealt with; none of the blasé shoulder-shrugging it provokes in, say, Italy.

Perhaps the freest and best press in the world. The fourth estate haven’t exactly been covering themselves in glory these past couple of years I’ll admit, but the worst paper got shut down and we still have some of the best ones there are. News and factual TV also excellent for the most part and not nearly as dumbed-down as what you see in a lot of countries. God bless the BBC, especially the Natural History Unit and Radio 4.

It still feels quite… civilised. Quite gentle. There’s a safety net for the sick and the unemployed and a pretty enlightened attitude towards the disadvantaged. Laws to make sure that cars and food and public buildings are safe are enforced, and civilians don’t get to wander around with firearms. The violent crime rate’s low. Compared to a lot of places, it feels very safe.

Tradition. Trooping of the Colour, State Opening of Parliament, Remembrance Sunday, all the weird and wonderful rituals of Oxford and Cambridge and public schools and the London City Guilds. Judges in wigs and lawyers on Fleet Street with pink ribbons around their piles of papers. Even bloody Morris Dancers. I love it all.

Old-style pubs. In other countries, they’re dark and slightly threatening places to get drunk and pick up desperate and vulnerable strangers. Here, they’re quaint, peaceful and the soul of rural communities.

The food and drink. Roast potatoes and roast lamb. Wild Scottish salmon and langoustines. All the seafood, basically. Pork pies. Devonshire clotted cream. Real ale and Guiness and twenty-year-old single malt.

Science and invention. The country has led the world in scientific innovation since the time of Newton and still does, with more citations in scientific papers, per head of population, than any other country. We gave the world Lyell and Darwin; computing and the internet started here; DNA was discovered here; we came up with MRI scanners and IVF and penicillin and any number of things that have improved the world beyond measure.

A fabulous history of radicalism, from the Peasants’ Revolt to Levellers and Diggers to Chartists and the Jarrow March. Tom Paine and John Wilkes and Shelley. The country that played host to Marx and gave him pride of place in its most beautiful cemetery. I am proud of all of this. I don’t know where the place gets its reputation for being so “reserved” and “polite”. It’s home to some of the most freethinking, radical, bolshy people on earth, and long has been.

London. The architecture, the arts and culture, the incredible variety, the energy. I’ve never been to New York, but it’s the best city in Europe for sure.

The medieval cities. Winchester, York, Chester, Oxford, Cambridge, Lincoln. There’s nothing like them.

The countryside. It’s on a small scale compared to practically everywhere else, but so beautiful.

The least scary police in the world. Really, it feels like the only place in the world where people actually feel a lot of affection for them. It feels like a country where the police and the government are here to serve the populace, not the other way around.

Four countries for the price of one, all beautiful and fascinating and culturally distinct (and the Crown Dependencies ditto). And you can come and go from the magical Irish Republic as freely as if it were part of the UK.

It’s on a manageable scale; it’s possible to feel that you kind of know most of it at least a bit. I mean, I’m pretty sure I’ve at least passed through every county. And yet at the same time so varied. And wherever you move, your loved ones are never too far away.

The writers, from Shakespeare to (my hero) Orwell.

Speaking English! It’s nice to be a native speaker of the lingua franca of the world; we take it for granted, but I can’t really imagine what it would be like to not. The richest language in the world with the biggest vocabulary; the amazing literature; being able to travel anywhere and find speakers. Our greatest inheritance.

The music. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Bowie, The Kinks, The Clash, Joy Division, The Smiths, The Stone Roses… and Jimmy Page’s poky little outfit.

It’s not perfect (I don’t care where they live, anyone who thinks their country’s perfect must be an idiot), but I think it’s got to be one of the best places, still.

[scylla]

^^

Also, the sea and the wonderful coast, and the fact that you're never more than about 70 miles away from it.

And the islands. I've always had a thing about islands, and we've got hundreds of them. The Shetlands, Orkney, Scillies, Channel Islands, Lundy, the Isle of Man, and (the best) Lindisfarne.

[Disco Duck]

I guess it depends on what is most important.

For beautiful architecture, good food, a strong sense of history and stylish people I would choose Italy.

For a majority black country that provides the best government and standard of living for ALL its citizens I would chose Barbados.

For English speaking country with the best climate, stable democratic government, good infrastructure, and good standard of living I would chose Australia.

For proximity to my family I would stick with the U.S.

[LedZeppfan77]

Thats easy. Antarctica. No people, and lots of penguins

[chillumpuffer]

Best country? Well, it’s true that no-one can judge as no-one’s lived in them all (and anyway, who decides what the criteria should be?). But it got me thinking about why I love the UK.

History, obviously. When an American visitor marvels that your house is over two hundred years old!!! it brings it home how lucky you are. (I know someone whose house is medieval, and a bunch in places from the C17^th or 18^th). Amazing historical sites, going back to prehistory, pretty much everywhere, and protected by law and incredibly well-maintained and an amazingly high proportion open to the public.

The NHS. Whatever else may go wrong, it’s always comforting to know you can’t go bankrupt because you got ill.

The climate, in a weird sort of way. Yes, it would be nice if it rained a bit less, but at least it’s quite… moderate. No hurricanes, enormous twisters, avalanches, tornadoes etc. (Or, re: the flora and fauna, wild animals that could eat you, spiders that could kill you etc.). We all bitch about the weather… but I’ll never forget the look on the face of a visiting Canadian a few years back when we had six inches of snow and the TV news was talking about how Britain was “gripped” by a “blizzard”. “Heatwaves” are also not really anything of the sort. Compared to much of the world we have it very easy.

One of the most tolerant and least racist places in the world. Not perfect by any means, but we can be prouder of our record in this area than most. It’s diverse and multicultural and you’re never too far away from a decent curry. Also pretty good on gender equality and gay rights and so on. There’s a lot of religious tolerance, combined with a near-universal acceptance of secularism in public life. It’s odd sometimes for a Brit to remember that there are places where your neighbours or colleagues care what your private beliefs are, or feel entitled to ask. Long live the British tradition of minding your own business and making small talk about the weather.

One of the least corrupt countries in the world. Corruption happens, but it usually gets discovered and dealt with; none of the blasé shoulder-shrugging it provokes in, say, Italy.

Perhaps the freest and best press in the world. The fourth estate haven’t exactly been covering themselves in glory these past couple of years I’ll admit, but the worst paper got shut down and we still have some of the best ones there are. News and factual TV also excellent for the most part and not nearly as dumbed-down as what you see in a lot of countries. God bless the BBC, especially the Natural History Unit and Radio 4.

It still feels quite… civilised. Quite gentle. There’s a safety net for the sick and the unemployed and a pretty enlightened attitude towards the disadvantaged. Laws to make sure that cars and food and public buildings are safe are enforced, and civilians don’t get to wander around with firearms. The violent crime rate’s low. Compared to a lot of places, it feels very safe.

Tradition. Trooping of the Colour, State Opening of Parliament, Remembrance Sunday, all the weird and wonderful rituals of Oxford and Cambridge and public schools and the London City Guilds. Judges in wigs and lawyers on Fleet Street with pink ribbons around their piles of papers. Even bloody Morris Dancers. I love it all.

Old-style pubs. In other countries, they’re dark and slightly threatening places to get drunk and pick up desperate and vulnerable strangers. Here, they’re quaint, peaceful and the soul of rural communities.

The food and drink. Roast potatoes and roast lamb. Wild Scottish salmon and langoustines. All the seafood, basically. Pork pies. Devonshire clotted cream. Real ale and Guiness and twenty-year-old single malt.

Science and invention. The country has led the world in scientific innovation since the time of Newton and still does, with more citations in scientific papers, per head of population, than any other country. We gave the world Lyell and Darwin; computing and the internet started here; DNA was discovered here; we came up with MRI scanners and IVF and penicillin and any number of things that have improved the world beyond measure.

A fabulous history of radicalism, from the Peasants’ Revolt to Levellers and Diggers to Chartists and the Jarrow March. Tom Paine and John Wilkes and Shelley. The country that played host to Marx and gave him pride of place in its most beautiful cemetery. I am proud of all of this. I don’t know where the place gets its reputation for being so “reserved” and “polite”. It’s home to some of the most freethinking, radical, bolshy people on earth, and long has been.

London. The architecture, the arts and culture, the incredible variety, the energy. I’ve never been to New York, but it’s the best city in Europe for sure.

The medieval cities. Winchester, York, Chester, Oxford, Cambridge, Lincoln. There’s nothing like them.

The countryside. It’s on a small scale compared to practically everywhere else, but so beautiful.

The least scary police in the world. Really, it feels like the only place in the world where people actually feel a lot of affection for them. It feels like a country where the police and the government are here to serve the populace, not the other way around.

Four countries for the price of one, all beautiful and fascinating and culturally distinct (and the Crown Dependencies ditto). And you can come and go from the magical Irish Republic as freely as if it were part of the UK.

It’s on a manageable scale; it’s possible to feel that you kind of know most of it at least a bit. I mean, I’m pretty sure I’ve at least passed through every county. And yet at the same time so varied. And wherever you move, your loved ones are never too far away.

The writers, from Shakespeare to (my hero) Orwell.

Speaking English! It’s nice to be a native speaker of the lingua franca of the world; we take it for granted, but I can’t really imagine what it would be like to not. The richest language in the world with the biggest vocabulary; the amazing literature; being able to travel anywhere and find speakers. Our greatest inheritance.

The music. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Bowie, The Kinks, The Clash, Joy Division, The Smiths, The Stone Roses… and Jimmy Page’s poky little outfit.

It’s not perfect (I don’t care where they live, anyone who thinks their country’s perfect must be an idiot), but I think it’s got to be one of the best places, still.

[Pagefan55]

This is a wonderful tribute to your country, Scylla.

[Nemea]

Great topic. I have lived in two countries for a longer period, Finland and USA. I had a chance to stay in NYC but decided to return and don't regret my decision. Finland is clean and safe. We have plenty of unspoiled nature yet our cities are full with life, interesting design and nightlife. Finnish education has been ranked very high for years. Our schools are free, universities are free. Healthcare is free. A woman can be on a maternity leave for a year, and she gets a wonderful "maternity box" for her child that includes everything the baby needs for the first year. Majority of Finnish women are highly educated, work outside home and are financially independent. There are a few things that came into my mind :-)

[Anjin-san]

It's all free?They all work for free?

[Disco Duck]

Great topic. I have lived in two countries for a longer period, Finland and USA. I had a chance to stay in NYC but decided to return and don't regret my decision. Finland is clean and safe. We have plenty of unspoiled nature yet our cities are full with life, interesting design and nightlife. Finnish education has been ranked very high for years. Our schools are free, universities are free. Healthcare is free. A woman can be on a maternity leave for a year, and she gets a wonderful "maternity box" for her child that includes everything the baby needs for the first year. Majority of Finnish women are highly educated, work outside home and are financially independent. There are a few things that came into my mind :-)

Does every Finnish citizen receive a maternity box after giving birth or do only poor women receive them?