Out of the rich countries, many. For example, Spain. Better average quality of life (counting stuff you can actually buy at the prices it actually is with the money you actually have, services, life expectancy, family stability, etc) according to international, independent studies, lots of awesome places to see, more culture and less McDonalds, and so on... It recently got a retarded government though, but it's not affecting much for now.
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-01 4:26
No, not everybody hates the US. Given the choice to live in USA and many other countries, I'd probably pick the US.
However, the collective arrogance of the US pisses a lot of us off. The fact that the US is a world superpower means it often meddles in the affairs of the rest of us, which we don't appreciate. Getting some of America's more idiotic and cut-throat economic (and otherwise) policies rammed down our craw does nothing to endear us either.
I can still remember the sick feeling I had when I spoke with an economics student out of the Netherlands, and he adored the US system, warts and all.
"Ever live there?"
"No."
"You're a fucking moron."
Personally, I'd rather live in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and much of western Europe (and some parts of eastern too). YMMV.
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-01 4:32
BTW, I'll second >>2. Spain has some really fucked-up things going on in it (ever try a bank transfer?), but it is amazingly laid-back as well. The young women are hot too, and many know how to dress well.
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-02 4:19
If I were to choose any country knowing any language, I'd probably pick Spain. That's not to say I hate the USA or anything, I just like it better and think I could have a better life there (because of the atmosphere, many things to see, Western European-grade stuff (which is IMO somewhat different to McDonald's-grade stuff in America), etc. The USA would not come far behind Spain, UK, Italy, and Germany.
Name:
Edward2005-06-02 13:34
I've lived in the US, France, and the UK.
I'd rank them
UK
France
and US last, but I can think of a lot of places I'd probably rather live than the US.
Name:
O2005-06-02 17:14
>>but which country is better than the USA?
What do you mean saying "better"?
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-02 23:46
JAPAN IS SUPERIOR
Name:
O2005-06-03 1:14
It's a pity you've not read Lukyanenko. In one of his stories Russia gave all its territories to Japan. That was realy funny. =3
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-03 8:27
Oh but in Mother Russia, Japan gave all its territories to Russia. In fact there are a couple island Russia invaded and haven't given back to Japan yet.
Name:
O2005-06-03 14:32
In fact Russia and Japan have not end the WWII yet. =3 No peace act has been signed. The countries have signed an armistice. And that's all. So you can call all the fishermans and villangers of the islands an ocupation forces =3.
But! AFAIK the "northen theritories" are counted by Japan as its own. And so I think is it real to get to Japan from Russia without any passport for travelling abroad? Russian mainland -> Kurilly -> northen part of Japan... Eh?
>>16
Obviously, in fact, most developed countries > USA for living
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-10 0:22
amerikans lol
Name:
i live in a shithole :(2005-06-10 11:52
i agree USA is no.1
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-11 14:29
>>17 Yeah, Because they hand out medical care for free. Why can't some people realize, that if you're ignorant and eat nothing but hamburgers and salibury steak for thirty years, that maybe you getting heart disease and not being able to pay for it is your own fault? I mean, it's not like they deserve to die or anything, but it shouldn't be my responsability. And all the money we're going to dump into such a person's care may only unlock another three painful years of life... Yay for universal healthcare!
Dude, have you seen american schools? They're like huge babysitting facilities where they shovel cocoa puffs and fruity pepples down your throat and make you watch barney movies for hours. I'm serious, some schools are so bad that corrupt politicians have to rewrite standardized tests to be childishly easy so they can claim that everything is alright and keep their jobs.
Our illiteracy rate, once around 1% is slowly making a comeback! Any school where the students knowing their shit (and some really hard shit, I might add) is job priority number 1 is not all that bad!
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-12 0:08
>>20
It's this me, me, me attitude that is the cause of a lot of fat people.
Greed and gluttony go hand in hand.
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-12 0:15
I've lived in the USA for almost 14 years, it's way better than the third-world country I came from, but it's not a pleasent place to live. That is especially true for big cities. My biggest problem is that if you're not ready to be aggressive and do whatever you can to earn the maximum amount of money, you will get the shit end of US life. My second biggest problem is the lack of culture.
Like France, Japan is a visiting country, not a living country (especially if you're not Japanese). So yes, the regular siestas and raves in Spain or Italy, or even a decent situation in the U.K., are all much more appealing.