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Many on here have lived in countries apart from their own. This thread is for your opinions of the pros/cons of the countries you have lived in. Try picking three pros and three cons, and try to abstain from writing deliberately inflammatory remarks about another culture or country.
Mine: Ukraine (L'viv)
Pros: 1. Hospitable people; 2. Affordable (at least when I lived there); 3. Gorgeous women
Cons: 1. Poor infrastructure (sidewalks, roads, maintenance, public transport); 2. So-so weather; 3. Lack of English books (at least when I was there)
Mexico (Monterrey)
Pros: 1. Warm people; 2. Great food; 3. Easy to travel around
Cons: 1. Very hot weather; 2. Not so cheap; 3. I had some bad experience with crime (apartment robbed twice)
Argentina (Buenos Aires)
Pros: Just about everything -- 1. Food; 2. People; 3. Fun culture
Cons: Seriously, this is tough for me. Traffic was pretty bad sometimes; also, I ran out of cash so I had to move away (that's not really a 'con', though, apart from the fact I had to leave before I wanted to)
India (Bangalore)
Pros: 1. Affordable; 2. Food; 3. Good location as a travel base
Cons: 1. People everywhere (I need to get away sometimes); 2. It was very hard to meet local women; 3. Germs--I got sick quite a lot
Russia (Vladivostok)
Pros: 1. It's never boring; 2. Warm people; 3. Good business opportunities
Cons: 1. Rather expensive; 2. Traffic; 3. Bureaucracy
US
Pros: geographic variety, efficiency, egalitarianism (relatively speaking)*, no nonsense can-do attitude, diversity
Cons: best places are costly, broken families, dispensable attitude, list of rigid "shoulds," TOO PC, diversity (people don't get along)
Italy
Pros: hilarious people, emotive people, natural beauty, food, culture, history, family/friends mean something, more relaxed pace and some "dolce vita" still left
Cons: economy, caste system*, infrastructure is old, pomposity/"la bella figura" obsession, bureaucratic chasing of tail
* who you know is a reality in both countries, but worse in Italy
US: Pros: diversity, NYC and D.C., organized!
Cons: ultra religious culture, fake friendliness, creationists (which there are a lot), education system,
Italy:
Pros: a million pros to living in this rich amazing country!
cons: economy, beaucracy system stinks!, sexist
Anyway when you leave a country, you leave a problem for a new set of problems! :-)
Italy:
Pros: a million pros to living in this rich amazing country!
cons: economy, beaucracy system stinks!, sexist
Still? I go a lot and I don't see this. There are a lot of women in politics and industry/commerce. I think that women have gained a lot of ground and this has shaken up some Italian men, that they have started looking to other lands for wives.
I do agree about the pros. If you "get" the culture, it's a feeling that can't be described.
USA:
Pro: Wonderful for internal travel if you have a car, which is easy to afford. Possible to live very cheaply, very cheap food. Lots of used stuff, free or nearly free. Dumpster dive everywhere.
Con: Narrow-minded people proud of their ignorance, extremely suspicious of outsiders.
Canada:
Pro: Down to earth, civilized, no-BS people. Universal health care of high quality. Globally pacifist.
Con: Cold. Big and spread out. Expensive.
Jordan:
Pro: Honest, take people at their word. Tolerant of outsiders. Women's rights. English widely spoken. Near-zero crime. No drugs or alcohol problems
Con: Crowded. Horrendous traffic.
Chile:
Pro: Safe. Wonderful fruits. Well educated.
Con: Too many people in credit debt. Difficult to travel due to long distances. Cold, especially near ocean. Infuriating Spanish dialect.
Chile:
Pro: Safe. Wonderful fruits. Well educated.
Con: Too many people in credit debt. Difficult to travel due to long distances. Cold, especially near ocean. Infuriating Spanish dialect.
Paraguay:
Pro: Very little poverty. National pride. Laid-back.
Con: Little to see, hard to wander.
Chile is nice and I felt safe there. So Paraguay is nice, huh? I've always wondered. I've been to Uruguay.
Pros; Friendly people, social security net, healthcare, lots of things to do, lots of natural space and beautiful countryside, good vacation time. And shorter working hours with great employee rights.
Cons; cost of living at it times, weather (temperate climate), boredom in winter with the short days.
USA
Pros; dining out was cheap, big vehicles, weather, hunting
Cons; have to drive everywhere, crime, virtually no social security, healthcare is private and it is not cheap, the food, the houses have no 'traditional charm' compared to Scotland, longer working hours with very little vacation time
Spain
Pros; Mediterranean climate, the beaches, food, cost of living, beautiful places
Cons; The amount of unnecessary red tape and corruption here is unreal. Longer working hours, the government, the chauvinism with many of the men here especially in AndalucÃa.
France (Paris)
+ Beautiful architecture, cuisine and people everyday
+ tolerant, diverse, liberal
+ extremely well located in the heart of W.Europe (can be so many different places in just a few hrs)
- bad cloudy and wet climate
- rediculously expensive
- (sometimes) a bit snooty
London (UK)
+ varied and truly multicultural, young, opportunities
+ so green for a big metropolis
+ pubs
- too vast
- again, far too expensive, particularly for housing
- depressing, grey climate
Italy (various places)
+ climate and beautiful scenery
+ food
+ wonderful Italian lifestyle
- economy
- bureaucracy, nepotism and lack of egalitarianism
- lack of respect for youth (it's a country run for the over-60s)
PRO-
1. It's pretty easy to make friends there. People are interested and curious in getting to know you.
2. It's a very relaxed/laid back kind of culture...people don't complain much, are overly opinionated, or care about how much money you make.
3. The landscape and beauty are incredible, very peaceful and stress free environment.
Con-
1. The red tape and arse backwards way of doing things (like returning items to the store, getting set up with bank accts, getting car insurance, anything relating to customer service, problems with overcharges, getting internet set up, etc. Major hassle!
2. The weather.
3. The lack in choice of ethnic food and the often limited sophistication of many people I've met. Simplistic tastes and cultural knowledge. Very homogeneous society overall (but improving).
USA
Pro-
1. Choice...huge choice in everything
2. I have great weather where I'm living
3. Always something to do, places to go, places to eat, concerts readily available, markets etc.
Con
1. Too much choice! Sometimes it complicates life and I find myself always fretting if I made the right purchase, spent my money wisely, did I get the best deal etc.
2. Work to live culture. The almighty dollar creates a culture of always trying to get ahead, never feeling satisfied with what you do have, or a culture of always having an underlying fret about not being secure or worried about losing what you already have.
3. People are often too busy, too stressed, overly opinionated, highly critical, and competitive and often self centered.
Last edited by clongirl; 10-19-2012 at 12:23 PM..
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, organized!
