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How can there be any one best place to live for the billions of people that live on planet Earth? For some the best place to live might be what's considered to be a 3rd world country if they are in the top 10% income earners in their country. That same person might have to come to the states and not be able to obtain the same standard of living here as they did "back home". In a case like that the U.S.A would NOT be the best country for them.
You are not very well traveled are you? Or all you do is visit tourist areas, which are sometimes not much more then Potemkin villages.
I've been to third world countries where the people live in dire poverty, where entire neighborhoods would be condemned and torn down if they existed in the US. Where people are so desperate they are doing anything they can just to scrape by. In these countries, when you venture out in public, you have to keep one hand on your wallet and the other on your cell phone, or you'll never see either again.
In other countries the people living in squalid poverty is much lower, they have a sort of lower middle, income equality. This is about the equivalent to a family of two in the US earning twice the poverty rate. The vast majority of these people are crowded into tiny, very modest apartments, and even their homes are bare bones, shoe boxes that look like they were designed to conform to the 1950s.
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Originally Posted by Jasper03
What I really want to know is: Why are so many people in the U.S.A deeply invested in the myth that this place and the people who live here are the best on the planet? If that is the case than the inevitable conclusion is that we 330 or so million people living here in the states on this piece of land we call the U.S.A are SUPERIOR to everyone else and everything else you can find outside of our borders.
Our country is so large, and our topography and climates are so varied. If you like tropical, desert, mountain, forested, if you love snow, hate snow, love lakes and rivers or love the ocean, our country has the state for you.
In other countries all they have is just one climate, one topography, it's only mountainousness, or tropical, or snow covered, or desert, there is no other choice.
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Originally Posted by Jasper03
Gee, remind me why a lot of people around the globe see the people of this country as being xenophobic, nationalistic, and dare I state racist too? Since all these "patriots" certainly don't think of the minorities here as being "true Americans" in the Sarah Palin sense of the term? Where did that reputation come from?
Many other countries are very bigoted and racist, try really visiting Japan, they are very, very racist and xenophobic. There are bars and restaurants you cannot visit because "you are American." They look upon non Japanese like lesser races, and even in their own race they divide people by class. You won't see this part of Japan unless you live there and extended time and interact with the people on a day to day basis.
Go to France outside of the tourist areas, and try to find a club with music and dancing, they are all private clubs. You need to get a membership to join, so the people can keep out the undesirables.
Heaven on Earth to me is the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps. The USA is will likely always be home, but if we were to buy a chalet somewhere, the BO would be our destination.
I'm sure we have the exact thing here in the US, you just have not found it yet. One thing to remember about Europe, it's old, and established, and especially in mountainous regions. Whatever living spaces there are, is pretty much all there is, there is no land area left to build on, and the only way you can find a home is for the owners to die. So unless you have want to buy a modest two bedroom apartment for $400,000, your dream will always be nothing more than a dream.
In some countries you cannot buy a home, or any land either, unless you are a citizen.
To the well traveled, do you feel America is the best place to live or does it depend on what stage you are in life? Maybe different places are better when you hit retirement age or maybe you feel America is just the best in every department. Why are why not? Please don't answer if you only go for mission trips, or if you only go to super touristy destination.
Thanks
I've traveled all over the world and the answer is yes, it's the best. You have to consider all aspects including weather, natural beauty, freedom, standard of living, variety of cities, variety of geography and the ability to make a comfortable living for yourself.
I have done my share of traveling and I have family LIVING in what's considered to be a 3rd world country but they are not poor. If they moved to the U.S they would have to start at the bottom of the food chain. So for them, no the U.S.A would NOT be the best place to live on Earth. That was my point.
In addtion to all of that. Since other countries have their own issues with xenophobia, nationalism, and racism just like the U.S.A how can it be that the U.S.A is better or worse in that regard?
Finally as far as climate goes it really depends on the country. The country where my family hails from has biodiversity ranging from tropical rainforest, to savannah, to coastal cities as do MANY other countries on Earth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OICU812
You are not very well traveled are you? Or all you do is visit tourist areas, which are sometimes not much more then Potemkin villages.
I've been to third world countries where the people live in dire poverty, where entire neighborhoods would be condemned and torn down if they existed in the US. Where people are so desperate they are doing anything they can just to scrape by. In these countries, when you venture out in public, you have to keep one hand on your wallet and the other on your cell phone, or you'll never see either again.
In other countries the people living in squalid poverty is much lower, they have a sort of lower middle, income equality. This is about the equivalent to a family of two in the US earning twice the poverty rate. The vast majority of these people are crowded into tiny, very modest apartments, and even their homes are bare bones, shoe boxes that look like they were designed to conform to the 1950s.
Our country is so large, and our topography and climates are so varied. If you like tropical, desert, mountain, forested, if you love snow, hate snow, love lakes and rivers or love the ocean, our country has the state for you.
In other countries all they have is just one climate, one topography, it's only mountainousness, or tropical, or snow covered, or desert, there is no other choice.
Many other countries are very bigoted and racist, try really visiting Japan, they are very, very racist and xenophobic. There are bars and restaurants you cannot visit because "you are American." They look upon non Japanese like lesser races, and even in their own race they divide people by class. You won't see this part of Japan unless you live there and extended time and interact with the people on a day to day basis.
Quote:
Go to France outside of the tourist areas, and try to find a club with music and dancing, they are all private clubs. You need to get a membership to join, so the people can keep out the undesirables.
Many other countries are very bigoted and racist, try really visiting Japan, they are very, very racist and xenophobic. There are bars and restaurants you cannot visit because "you are American." They look upon non Japanese like lesser races, and even in their own race they divide people by class. You won't see this part of Japan unless you live there and extended time and interact with the people on a day to day basis.
Go to France outside of the tourist areas, and try to find a club with music and dancing, they are all private clubs. You need to get a membership to join, so the people can keep out the undesirables.
What makes the U.S.A any different? They too have many places where a person would not be welcomed because of their socio-economic status or race right here in the U.S.A. Some places get over by calling themselves private institutions or they play games and leave you waiting so long you give up and leave or give such poor service that you understand that you are not welcomed.
I've traveled all over the world and the answer is yes, it's the best. You have to consider all aspects including weather, natural beauty, freedom, standard of living, variety of cities, variety of geography and the ability to make a comfortable living for yourself.
It's #1 by a wide margin.
Exactly. If you love big cities, small cities, rural farmland, or out in the fringes where you need to build your own road, dig your own well, and provide your own electricity, the US has a nearly unlimited choices in almost every state.
I'm sure we have the exact thing here in the US, you just have not found it yet. One thing to remember about Europe, it's old, and established, and especially in mountainous regions. Whatever living spaces there are, is pretty much all there is, there is no land area left to build on, and the only way you can find a home is for the owners to die. So unless you have want to buy a modest two bedroom apartment for $400,000, your dream will always be nothing more than a dream.
In some countries you cannot buy a home, or any land either, unless you are a citizen.
Understood....except I disagree on the underlying premise that the BO is anything close to resembling "old Europe." The BO is a pristine piece of utopia largely untouched by society. I've traveled the US...and the world..... there is no place like the Bernese Oberland of the Swiss Alps here in the USA. Not even close.
You may find a great place to live that you are happy in elsewhere, but they may not want you there.
Like the guy from Minnesota who thought he was such good friends with the locals down in Mexico. He built himself a 6000 sq ft house on the ocean down there, 45 mins away from the closest town. Hired the locals to build it, treated everyone fairly and paid them well. Wrote home to his folks telling how many friends he was making.
Then the wonderful locals murdered him, stole everything out of his house and the Mexican Gov won't do anything to help find the killers.
I have done my share of traveling and I have family LIVING in what's considered to be a 3rd world country but they are not poor. If they moved to the U.S they would have to start at the bottom of the food chain. So for them, no the U.S.A would NOT be the best place to live on Earth. That was my point.
In addtion to all of that. Since other countries have their own issues with xenophobia, nationalism, and racism just like the U.S.A how can it be that the U.S.A is better or worse in that regard?
Finally as far as climate goes it really depends on the country. The country where my family hails from has a flora and fauna ranging from tropical rainforest, to savannah, to coastal cities as do MANY other countries on Earth.
How is that the fault of the United States if people from another country think they could not afford to move here? The common method of immigrating to the US id to find a sponsor, someone willing to give you a job and help set you up with a place to live.
It would be rough for anyone in the US to just pack up and move to France, in the hopes they can find a job and place to live in.
The best is relative to what you like and need. I am well traveled, I learned to ski in the Italian Alps,Toured Paris, London, Rome and ran a lap around the original olympic stadium on Mt. Olympus.
My Favorite place to visit bar none is Thailand. The people and the culture are amazing, the Temples are something I never grow tired of.
I plan to retire to Thailand. The cost of living depending upon your life style is 40 to 60 % of what ours is. The food is beyond delicious and if you can't eat for $10 a day there is a problem. You can buy a nice condo if city life is your thing for anywhere from $60,000 on up. Apartments rent from $110 to 400 a month for a reasonable modest accommodation. Me, I'll live in the country about 500 yards from a beach. My wife and I already own the property and will build a house in about 2 years.
Why do I want to leave the USA?
1. I am so sick of the Dems and the GOP.
2. I don't trust the Fed to keep their hands out of my retirement savings. (That's why I have invested 2/3 of my retirement off shore)
3. I am sick of the snow and as much as I like the South to live the way I want to is too expensive.
4. I love the beach, I love warm weather and sailing. I can do this in Thailand for about 30g a year no problem. I'll live on twice that and live pretty much like a king. I'll have plenty left when I die to share with my kids, without scrimping along. I have no desire to be a walmart greeter in my old age.
Trust in the news if you like, but I have friends and family in Thailand and actually know the facts. There are many nice places to retire outside of the USA where even your social security will be more than enough to live out your last years in comfort.
I have traveled; Not as much as I like to yet but seen and experienced life in other nations.
It is all a matter of peronal taste. I need to live in a city/urban environment; from this standpoint pretty much any european city would do well. But I also have issues with climate. I need bright sun, not dank and dreary or cold and snowy. My brother lived in Brussells - great city; phenominal brew, poor climate. I would probably prefer Barcelona or Florence from the climate standpoint.
Standard of living is not an issue for me. I do not care about 4000 sq ft mcmansions or driving Escalades.
I guess you just have to weigh the trade offs of each place and see what fits you best.
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