Places of cooperation (appointed, employment, to buy)

[totati]

What city, town or region of the world can you think of where there is a sense of cooperation and mutual help, an ethic of integrity and honesty and where people don’t resent each other? This may sound utopian, but can you think of somewhere that gets close to that?

In case you’d like to get more context, here I provide more details, but you can skip this part if you want:

Over the course of my life I’ve noticed how a place can really transform you. The constellation of things, landscapes, people, and situations that surround you become part of you in some way. I’m convinced that a place can heal you, enhance your potential and allow you to give the best of you to this world. But where you live can also discourage you and hinder your potential. There are different types of people with different situations, and I think that when someone goes through some crisis moving to a place that fits them well can be very beneficial.

I’ve been through a crisis myself, and I’ve been looking for “my place in this world”. I am a millennial, and I’ve been very disappointed with life after college. In a recent thread under the work and employment subforum, there are interesting comments about the difficulties for millenials in the labor market. My problem is not with the economic outlook, but with the prevalent mentality around profit and consumption. I have friends who love their corporate jobs and they look happy and motivated. I’m glad for them, but I feel out of place. Everything spins around securing a lifestyle that involves owning a property, having disposable income for consumption, and supporting children so they can get a job to be able to do the same thing themselves when time comes. I know that much of life involves providing the means to live, but I find the current situation very alienating. Work often boils down to producing and selling things, many of which many people don’t really need. And the reward from working is often presented in the form of the ability to buy those very same things many of us don’t really need in the first place. This doesn’t motivate me at all.

In addition, I live in a country with a very unequal society, where the few who manage to attain the consumerist lifestyle many are looking for, do it at the expense of many other people that are structurally disadvantaged. This has created an atmosphere of resentment and violence in which many people from all segments of society take advantage of others whenever they can. The levels of corruption where I live are also very high, and the level of trust is very low, which creates a climate of tremendous bureaucracy. In this context, getting a high pay for doing work that merely perpetuates this system is no source of motivation or purpose for me at all.

I have tried to change things, but the climate for doing it is very, very hostile and I am already somewhat vulnerable at this point of my life. I am actually depressed, and I need a change. That’s why I’m considering moving somewhere else, at least temporarily, to heal and recharge. I am open to any place in the world, and I am willing to do whatever it takes, learn a new language, learn new skills, and I am very hard working. I don’t mind the weather or the location, what I’m looking for is a climate of true cooperation, somewhere I can put my efforts not to simply buy myself a lifestyle, but to actually contribute to the community, and somewhere where that will be valued, where people are not looking at how to take advantage of each other.

I am fascinated by the wealth of knowledge in this forum about cities and regions of the world, as well as by the quality of many of the ideas that are being generously shared by its members, so I would really appreciate to get some ideas from you. Are there any places, cities, regions or countries that you can think of? Any other recommendations?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this. I hope others who are in a similar position find it useful!