As I was signing in to hotmail today, I came across this article on the United Nation's "Best Places to Live" list. After reading through their rankings, I decided to create my own list.
Unlike the U.N. list - which ranks countries according to life expectancy, real per capita income, and education levels - my list ranks countries based purely on personal perceptions.
Note: Other than the United States and Canada, I haven't been to any of the countries on the list. Also, I have chosen to consider the United Kingdom as four separate countries (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) instead of one big one.
01. Canada - Sparsely populated; temperate, sub-arctic, and arctic climates; a great culture; universal healthcare; a strong economy...the only negatives are the highest per capita immigration rate in the world and very strict gun laws. Still, Canada's positives definitely outweight its negatives.
02. United States of America - The U.S.A. is my home and it would be my number one if it weren't for a massive military-industrial complex, skyrocketing immigration, increasingly restrictive laws, and a nosediving economy.
03. Switzerland - I love the fact that Switzerland is neutral, not part of the E.U., and one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
04. Norway - Fourth for the same reasons that Switzerland is third.
05. Ireland - I'm very high on Ireland. If only they had a little colder climate and weren't part of the E.U.
06. Northern Ireland
07. Scotland
08. England
09. Finland
10. Wales
11. Austria
12. Germany
13. Iceland
14. Czech Republic
15. Croatia
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3 comments:
I think it's interesting that you rate "cold climate" as a positive feature. Why? I'm not sure I'd rate it as a positive, then again, I couldn't stand living in a place with cockroaches or malaria, and those are generally warm places.
At the moment, I think I'd rate 'cold climate' pretty low. That probably would change once the cold snap disappears. Canada is a good place to live - I suppose I'd argue that we don't have much gun-related violence and so there is something to be said for more restrictive gun laws.
Hahahahaha...why am I not surprised that two Canadians question my 'cold climate' comments...:-)
Gardenista - as to your 'why', I don't know what to say other than I've always-
GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!! Jochen Hecht puts the Sabres up 1-0!
-loved winter. Having lived at 26ºN, 28ºN, 33ºN, 42ºN, and 44.5ºN latitudes; I would choose the two higher latitudes ten times out of ten...
Kate - Good luck with your cold snap. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
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