Newsweek Ranks Best/Worst Countries

[Azure]

I disagree that higher taxes lead to a higher quality of life.

If social services are managed properly, without having money being constantly thrown at them, taxes don't have to be insanely high to pay for them.

The problem is too many governments/countries think simply throwing more money at a defunct plan will fix it.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Addick

Could it be that the heavy taxation allows everyone, or a greater share of the population, to have a higher QOL?

No, it's because the countries are small with a long history of strong communitarian values.

All my Danish relatives vote for the socialists, but they defend their choice by saying it's a conservative decision to defend Denmark's communities and institutions in the face of a globalizing Europe.

Also, don't forget that taxpayers have a greater say in where tax money goes and how it is implemented. In Canada, with the federal transfer payments, all we are doing is subsidizing other regions for the political benefit of Quebec and Ontario.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by fotze

They just like their hygge to much.

How can you judge a culture based around the consumption of excessive amounts of comfort food!?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

Sydney and Melbourne are insane for housing, but Brisbane was similar pricing to Calgary when I moved here (Brissy is about twice the population of YYC, for reference). $450k or so got you a pretty nice home in the 'burbs, then more spendy near the CBD. Er, downtown.

Yeah, but then you have to live in Bris-Vegas, and frankly I'd rather move to Edmonton (well that's a little extreme, Hamilton maybe). I'm sure there are good areas, but I was stuck there for a few weeks with work and couldn't stand the place. The CBD was dead except for one strip (Valley?)and the suburban area we were in was a hole. Driving around it seemed to be pretty par for the course for the City. Maybe I just found all the crappy parts.

Oh, the casino also sucks.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by troutman

If AUS is so great, why is every Aussie between the age of 20 and 30 working in the Rockies?

Or in London?

Fact of the matter is, I think Aussies and Kiwis in that age group truly must do more overseas travel than any other nationalities.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by icarus

Or in London?

Fact of the matter is, I think Aussies and Kiwis in that age group truly must do more overseas travel than any other nationalities.

just to other english speaking countries though. gosh, the australians in banff are like a plague of biblical proportions.

[Mad Mel]

^peter12... nope. To Aussies, travel is part of their culture, it's just something they do. A much larger proportion of Aussies by the age of 30 have spent time in Asia, Africa and freakin' Russia than you'll ever see in North America.

valo, Brissy is a great city, but you are correct... it's not easy to find the good parts. Like Calgary, there's squat in the CBD after work shuts down. The Valley is ok, but it's more where the kids go... the parallel I'd draw is 17th Ave. Admittedly, a lot of what makes it great is outside the city itself... Sunshine Coast, the hinterlands, Gold Coast, Byron Bay, better motorcycling roads than anywhere in Canada (ok, that one's for me, not everyone cares), all within 2 hours. Different strokes for different folks, I'm not a big metro/urbane kind of dude, but with respect to your comment about rather living in Edmonton / Hamilton... Brisbane is the best city to live in that I have lived in. I haven't lived in either of the ones you mentioned, so I couldn't compare them. I did live in Calgary for 8 years though.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

^peter12... nope. To Aussies, travel is part of their culture, it's just something they do.

I think it is a good idea in general for young people to see the world. I met many aussies travelling - do you think many youths there feel isolated from the rest of the world, and that is one reason they travel/work abroad for so long?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by troutman

If AUS is so great, why is every Aussie between the age of 20 and 30 working in the Rockies?

Simple. Skiing and snowboarding in Australia sucks.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by fotze

It could be that, but it could also be the 'accent gets me p@ssy' factor.

That's why I went to Australia. To them, we have the accent.

[bcb]

Nice to See Canada tied for 2nd in the education category. Not surprisingly, the US was 26th. I'm not sure if this is referring to secondary or post secondary or both (couldn't find the methodology of the survey).

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

You could give the west coast a whirl. Relatively mild winters albeit constant drizzle or overcast for 5 months. It more than makes up for it though the rest of the year. Absolutely gorgeous.

Just curious, what temp is tooooo damn cold for a southerner like yourself?

I spent the last 8 years in Iowa so I'm not totally thin blooded but I really don't like it below freezing. I do however like it warm

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by troutman

I think it is a good idea in general for young people to see the world. I met many aussies travelling - do you think many youths there feel isolated from the rest of the world, and that is one reason they travel/work abroad for so long?

You nailed it. It's a country of 20M with little in the way of neighbours that are culturally similar enough to easily get to know them well. There's this little cluster of islands with 4M people off to the east, but's about it. For how much we Canadians have a love/hate relationship with our friends to the south, I never truly appreciated how much they influence our lives until I moved somewhere where there isn't that kind of presence all the time. There's nothing like that here, the presence is Australia, that's it.

Other than NZ, neighbouring countries are very, very different... in the time you would take to fly to Vegas, I'd be in Papua New Guinea. Young people do go to the surrounding countries, whether they be in SE Asia or Oceania. But that's a tourist experience, as opposed to living your life elsewhere to absorb things in depth like people do when they live a year or two in Canada (which by the way is not where most go to; that's the UK).

Hell, even a middle-aged guy like me has vacationed in NZ, Tonga, Vietnam and Singapore in the last 2 years. It's what you do.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Simple. Skiing and snowboarding in Australia sucks.

You're being generous, it's not even that good. And since it's a pretty small part of the country that can drive to the snow in Oz, if you're getting on a plane, might as well just fly to NZ where it's much better.

[icarus]

As my girlfriend and many of my friends are Aussies (or Kiwis) who are travelling or have travelled overseas, there is two main reasons for it. One is cultural, in the fact that so many people have done it that it has become a rite of passage; you'd be regarded as odd if you haven't travelled abroad by your mid-twenties. The second reason is that you have to literally travel overseas if you want to leave the country and flights are expensive, so you might as well make the most of any such trip and travel as much as you can during that time. For Canadians, we can easily make a little road trip down to the US whenever we want. If you're feeling energetic you could theoretically even drive down to Mexico. The initial outlay for Aussies to leave the country is a fair bit so they make sure they make it count when they go.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

valo, Brissy is a great city, but you are correct... it's not easy to find the good parts. Like Calgary, there's squat in the CBD after work shuts down. The Valley is ok, but it's more where the kids go... the parallel I'd draw is 17th Ave. Admittedly, a lot of what makes it great is outside the city itself... Sunshine Coast, the hinterlands, Gold Coast, Byron Bay, better motorcycling roads than anywhere in Canada (ok, that one's for me, not everyone cares), all within 2 hours. Different strokes for different folks, I'm not a big metro/urbane kind of dude, but with respect to your comment about rather living in Edmonton / Hamilton... Brisbane is the best city to live in that I have lived in. I haven't lived in either of the ones you mentioned, so I couldn't compare them. I did live in Calgary for 8 years though.

I was being a little outlandish with the Edmonton and Hamilton comparison, I mean those places are horrible godforesaken towns.

I definitely agree that the biggest positive to Brisbane is the surrounding area, some of my favorite places in Oz are in that area (I spent a week sleeping in the back of my station wagon at a great campground in Pottsville, most relaxing week of my life). Brisbane is probably a much better place to live and use as a jumping off point for the area than it is a place to visit, as you said the city itself is pretty dead. I lived in Sydney for a year, right off Darling Harbor, and loved the energy of the city but it wasn't all that easy to get out of town which was a bit of a downside.