How is it to live in your country?

[Humanoid]

The Australian lifestyle is fine and I have no real complaints. The only real dampener is the relative isolation, making travel rather expensive and time consuming. To that end, I'd love to settle in Western Europe, which has a similar standard of living but with the bonus of having everything nice and close together.

[Tigranes]

I've lived in several countries, though not a huge amount, including the US.

 

I always wonder what opinion I would have had, if I had spent my whole life living in the same country. Personally, it's been my experience that only when I move somewhere else and spend some time, I can get a better perspective on why things were like that back in the previous one (good and bad). You can get an impression very quickly - e.g. my first impressions of the US were awful public transport infrastructure - but it takes a while to appreciate why it is like that or why it's better/worse than you first thought.

 

But then, someone like me who moves around, our impressions are affected by what period of life you spent there. Going back somewhere I spent my childhood, I realised it's actually not somewhere I can live in anymore, for a variety of reasons like work culture and even the weather.

 

I'm not sure where I'd want to live. I enjoyed the few months I spent in Amsterdam, but strangely didn't feel like I'd want to settle there, for example. I liked my recent couple years in Boston, but crazy prices, American healthcare, etc, etc.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Tigranes

[HoonDing]

[MrMoe]

 

Lol, you're the kind of people who enjoy pizza with 6 different kinds of meat on top of it?

 

 

Theres some really weird pizza in italy, like with a thick bottom and only cheese on top. Worst pizza ever.

 

Neapolitan style is good, but so far I had the best outside of Italy (pizzaria Delfina, in SF). But ice cream is generally very good in italy   Here in Germany the turks now make one of the best pies, at least in my town.

 

 

Germany is nice. 4 seasons, lots of nature and old towns. We dont really offer much when it comes to food stuff (Schnitzel, sausages, and a subway, KFC, MCDonalds, BK and every larger town. Lots of doner & pizza places.

Cost of living is avg., salaries stagnating for a while now. Very good social securiy. Boring politics (our biggest news item atm is Mesut Oezil  )

I think on avg. the German is a little bit unfriendlier compared to the people in other countries, esp. with service personal.

We can drive as fast as we want on the Autobahn, but traffic is still very orderly. 

We have pretty strong privacy laws that protect your personal freedom, so thats good. Drinking is fine with 16, but marihuana is highly illegal.

People that are not from central or northern Germany talk funny.

[Tigranes]

SF's Delfina is indeed very good. But then, I didn't even eat pizza the last time I went to Italy, so what do I know.

 

I give up on tasting anything nice whenever I go to Germany. I'm sure there's good stuff if you look, but as someone passing through the easy options are mostly awful.

[Gfted1]

Y deberias aprender Espanol.

I can say; "please", "thank you" and "two beers". I should be good to go. Really though, everywhere Ive been in Mexico they speak English.

[Maedhros]

I live in Norway. It's a very beautiful country. The nature here is quite astonishing, so it's no wonder that hiking is a popular thing here. Like many other countries, we have "Public right of access", meaning everyone here can go camp in nature wherever they want (as long as you keep a 150 meter distance to houses). I live in a pretty idyllic city called Bergen (the second biggest in Norway), which is surrounded by seven small mountains that you can hike up from the city centre in under an hour. Fell in love with it when I studied here nine years ago, and have lived here since.

 

We're a very rich country, especially considering our tiny population. That is of course in very large part due to the oil. We have saved a lot of the money earned in a Government Pension fund, which has over 1 trilion dollar in assets. So a lot of the politics here revolves around how much of it we should use.

 

Anyway, I feel pretty privilidged to grow up and live here. It's a very safe and stable country. Free education, free healthcare, etc. Also, Norwegian seafood is ridiculously good.

 

If I have to point out something negative it has to be that the roads here are terrible. It takes way too long to travel between the big cities.

[LuccA]

Sometimes we talk about moving to another state. I have no interest in leaving the country. I love the US, despite our ridiculous healthcare. I could see myself being happy in some mountain town in the Southwest, as long as there isn't much snow.

 

Pardon my ignorance, but what's wrong with the american healthcare?

 

 

We're a very rich country, especially considering our tiny population. That is of course in very large part due to the oil. We have saved a lot of the money earned in a Government Pension fund, which has over 1 trilion dollar in assets. So a lot of the politics here revolves around how much of it we should use.

 

Anyway, I feel pretty privilidged to grow up and live here. It's a very safe and stable country. Free education, free healthcare, etc. Also, Norwegian seafood is ridiculously good.

 

Ah, all of Scandinavia feels like paradise. Is it Norway that's adopting early projects of reducing work time from 8 to 6 hours a day? Or Universal Basic Income? I can't remember. Anyway, from what I hear, you guys seem to be thinking ahead on life quality improvement. I also love seafood!

 

However, the only norwigian movie I watched is called "Olso 31. august" and it's depressing as **** so it kinda left this dual impression in my head. 

[Guard Dog]

US health care is high quality and high priced. Very high priced in some places and fields.

[Orogun01]

 

Y deberias aprender Espanol.

I can say; "please", "thank you" and "two beers". I should be good to go. Really though, everywhere Ive been in Mexico they speak English.

 

It should help if you get kidnapped.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Orogun01

[Gorth]

BTW, which country looks most like Skyrim do you think? New Zealand? Iceland? Scotland? The US & Canadian Rockies?

 

Edit: Alaska & the Canadian NWT. Yeah, that's gotta be it. It has every climate.

I don't know which country looks the most like Skyrim, but I think it's safe to say that New Zealand probably gets the closest to Lord of the Rings

 

Yeah, lived and worked there for 3 years. 1 year in Germany (Berlin) and 1 year in the UK (Greater London area). Born and raised in Denmark, living in Australia currently (12 years)

 

The countries are somewhat different, so would probably prefer to answer for only one of them if needed (yeah, lazy me)

[kirottu]

[Chilloutman]

we have beer cheeper than water, try to beat that

[Maedhros]

We have expensive beer, but our tap water is amazing. So when I'm travelling abroad I always enjoy how cheap the alcohol is, while at the same time miss the top quality tap water I use here to get rid of my hangover.

[Gfted1]

It should help if you get kidnapped.

Once they realize that my estate isn't worth anything, they will bring me back and leave me with two beers.

[teknoman2]

Greece. i like the weather most of the year and the complete disregard for driving laws and speed limits but the economy is **** and it will stay that way for a loooooong time to come... unless i decide to care and join politics to fix it myself.

i'd be fine in anywhere that is not too hot or humid except for USA

[teknoman2]

 

 

-Italy(Venice, Florence, Bologna, Rome). It was awesome! That was back in 1997...good times. They just have very bad pizzas for some reason.

Lol, you're the kind of people who enjoy pizza with 6 different kinds of meat on top of it?

Yes, I am exactly 'that kind of people' but I myself enjoy cheese pizza the most.

 

When it comes to topings though, I prefer 10 kinds of meat to a raw eggplant that is laying there in the middle of my pizza like a dead rat.

 

bah, tourist area pizzas in italy are pretty bad. if you want good pizza you have to get off the beaten path and find a store in a residential area. i lived there for 6 years and i was pretty much a ninja turtle the entire time

[Pidesco]

I lived most of my life in Portugal but now I live in Sweden. I mostly moved because job security and wages in Portugal are crap. Also, if I'm going to pay high taxes, I'd rather get something for it. I live in Göteborg, which is a fine city with lots of nature around. It is great for kids to grow up.

 

The big downsides of living here are the weather and the food. Mostly the food, though. If you want to eat cheaply out the options are pizza, kebab and hamburger. You can eat some good, not Swedish food, as long as you are willing to pay a lot of money.

[Keyrock]

i lived there for 6 years and i was pretty much a ninja turtle the entire time

Which one? Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, or Raphael?

[Blarghagh]

Mikey, obviously. He was the biggest pizza lover.

[Gromnir]

posted this once before... or twice.

 

"I'm not a doomist. My attitude is always to be critical of what's around you, but not ever to forget how lucky we are. I've traveled around the world. I left thinking I was a revolutionary. I came back real right-wing patriotic. Since then, I've kind of mellowed in between. It affected me permanently and totally."-- danny elfman

 

am amused danny elfman would capture our feelings 'bout living in the USA.  

 

living in the US is nice as it is one o' the few remaining places an American ain't made to feel as if he should apologize for being American.  slight hyperbolic?  maybe, but only by a little. stuff in the US tends to be bigger, whether is house and yard or portion sizes at restaurants.  Americans smile and laugh easily, which makes most foreigners uncomfortable.  fact foreigners is suspicious o' American friendliness and mirth says more 'bout them than Americans. am thinking we could spend every day o' the rest o' our life visiting US national parks w/o becoming bored. is so much we haven't yet seen o' the US and the diversity o' peoples and places is kinda unique in our experience.  heck, in CA alone we has surfed mavs and skied tahoe same day. 

 

we got a couple acres o' land se o' idaho falls immediate adjacent to a former tenant who still runs a christmas tree farm.  is likely where we will retire.  rugged w/o being genuine wild.  remote without being inhospitable. no doubt there will be rueing and regrets the  first time we need dig out our driveway after a blizzard, but am nevertheless looking forward to our retirement property.

 

as to possible living elsewhere... no.  given our line o' work, we is particular aware o' just how different the US is than anywheres in europe and most places on the planet when it comes to personal freedoms.  sure, with greater freedom comes greater possibility o' suffering, and some o' the suffering ain't necessary.  even so, as a kinda real life horatio alger for 21st century, am appearing a bit hypocritical when complaining 'bout the flaws o' the US system.  

 

never visited south america.  been virtual everywhere else but not south america.  maybe we need visit machu picchu and points south o'mexico 'fore we dismiss rest o' the world for permanent residency. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[teknoman2]

the biggest strength and greatest weakness of democracy is that people get the government they deserve... and americans have voted in office some pretty bad governments in the last 60 years that gave a bad name to the country and the people. i.e in the case of 9/11 most people in the world thought "USA gets payback for sticking their guns in everyone's business", before it was conclusively proven that it wasn't the planes that demolished the WTC

[majestic]

as to possible living elsewhere... no.  given our line o' work, we is particular aware o' just how different the US is than anywheres in europe and most places on the planet when it comes to personal freedoms.

 

That comes up every now and then, and I'm genuinely curious - what sort of personal freedoms? I kind of want to see if that would be anything that I would care about (so that means leaving out the entire gun debate, that would just derail everything).

[Sarex]

That comes up every now and then, and I'm genuinely curious - what sort of personal freedoms? I kind of want to see if that would be anything that I would care about (so that means leaving out the entire gun debate, that would just derail everything).

 

They keep being told how free they are and how they are fighting for their freedom overseas, so at some point they start believing it.

[majestic]

 

That comes up every now and then, and I'm genuinely curious - what sort of personal freedoms? I kind of want to see if that would be anything that I would care about (so that means leaving out the entire gun debate, that would just derail everything).

 

They keep being told how free they are and how they are fighting for their freedom overseas, so at some point they start believing it.

 

To be honest I very much doubt that is true for Gromnir and given his occupation he was probably talking about certain laws. Freedom of speech I can imagine, for instance.