I don't care! For me France is no.1

[luckyluc]

I just don't care what the UN study is saying, in my book France is no.1, and Paris top that. (I know I am using my pink coloured glasses, but hey it works for me)

According to a new United Nations livability study, Iceland has displaced Norway as the world's most "desirable" country. The report combines life expectancy, educational levels and real per capita income.
The Top 20:
1 Iceland
2 Norway
3 Australia
4 Canada
5 Ireland
6 Sweden
7 Switzerland
8 Japan
9 Netherlands
10 France
11 Finland
12 United States
13 Spain
14 Denmark
15 Austria
16 United Kingdom
17 Belgium
18 Luxembourg
19 New Zealand
20 Italy

[rssilverandlight]

luckyluc -

Thanks for the UN list. I wonder what criteria was used ?

I have been to Paris 6 times; I wonder how many people have been
to Iceland 6 times ?

20 million people to France each year. How many to Iceland ?

To me Paris is as much a state of mind as it is a location

[Shoesy]

Hey.....Israel isn't even on the list. And do people really live in Iceland?

[luckyluc]

Israel is there Chouchou, stable at no. 23

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

[Shoesy]

I meant it's not in the top 20.

[sistereurope]

Well, I've been to Iceland and I can tell you that I'd take France over Iceland ANY day....but then again, I'm with you Luc - I'd take France over just about any place any day!!

It's all relative though...and all depends on where you fall on the income bracket, don't you think?

[luckyluc]

I agree Sistereurope, it is all relative, but I could not imagine myself poor in NYC, but somehow poor in France seems less poor ! But I will take rich in NYC any day ! As my grand papa always said "It is better to be rich and healthy then poor and sick" LOL

[GitteK]

choochoo, in your country the old prime minister is a veggie, the president is a sex maniac and I just heard in the radio today that the new prime minister is corrupt....... If I were you, I would be more than satisfied with being #23........

[Shoesy]

Gitte - You're just feeling smug 'cause your country is #14. No wonder you get to go to Paris so often. ;D

[Happygoin]

Iceland!!? Who gives a fig about ICELAND!!!?? I'll take France any time...although Switzerland is very beautiful. I don't suppose natural beauty was on the list of criteria though. Scandinavia made a good showing on that list.

[holger]

;D
Quality of life, beauty of buildings, etc. are NOT on the list. Life expectancy, real per capita income and educational levels are. These are all objective, measurable variables but do not include how people feel about a country.

When you have a relatively permanent underclass then you won't be rated as highly. Keep in mind that desirable is a debatable qualifier.

[Happygoin]

I wonder, if quality of life WERE on the list, how France would have fared.

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

For a similar laugh, take a look at some of the lists about "best" places to live in the US!

[Truffaut]

Come on, Iceland, Norway and Finland?? Is there anybody who'd actually choose to live there? Even the penguins went south a few million years ago!

[geordy]

Being poor in NYC is definately not fun!(take it from one who started out here as a grad student,then eventually made good money, and was then unemployed, still underemployed!) It is the whole "so close but so far away' concept....it is all there for the taking but for the lack of funds!

Fortunately on non-blues days there are the parks, Xmas decorations now, street life, and other things to help!

As for the best places to live in the USA list...when I first got "kicked to the curb" a few folks said "Will you have to move out of manhattan?"
I said, Hell or High water, I am not moving..or rather the only place I would would be we know where! And somehow, without speaking French and without a job connection that didn't look promising! ;D

[GitteK]

Truffaut dear, can you spell
"s-o-c-i-a-l s-e-c-u-r-i-t-y"
"w-e-l-f-a-r-e"
"c-o-l-l-e-c-t-i-v-e r-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-i-l-i-t-y"
"t-a-k-i-n-g c-a-r-e o-f t-h-e s-i-c-k, t-h-e d-i-s-a-b-l-e-d, t-h-e p-o-o-r a-n-d t-h-e o-l-d"

But yes, I agree ! Scandinavians pay dearly for our peace of mind-societies. We have this progressive income taxation, so I pay 60% tax of the last DKK I make. Not fun if you have a bonus or are paid for overtime...

Each time this year when it's cold, windy and wet, I also wonder what on earth I am doing here ?

The shortest day in DK (wintersolstice) is on the 21st/22nd Dec. At that date the sun "rises" at 08:38 and goes down at 15:38.

On the 17th Dec. I am going to Oslo for a meeting: sun up 09:15 down 15:11. And a regular Carlsberg in a Norwegian café costs around 12 USD........

[suzanne]

Someone told me that people in Scandinavia go to Sun therapy. I imagined a tanning salon setup?? We live in Ca and sometimes I have a longing for a change in the weather. It would be fun to wear a sweater or one of those coats I drag to Paris with me. This must be my mid-west roots talking. We tried to go back and it just did not work out. Paris in the winter time is as cold as I can take these days.

Speaking of Ice-land. a few years ago some of the youger male staff members here went there for a Stag party. I envisioned them getting drunk and pukking into those thermal pools you see on the travel channel. Is Ice-land party central or what?

[willow]

Poland made it to 37...I can't say I am surprised. Some of the reasons it's there are the reasons my family left. It's still a beautiful country, but not a place I'd live. For me, it's France or bust!

[jsmla]

Why are most of the highly rated places always so cold? I've always wondered about this. Even here in the US so many of the "best" places have been in states like Iowa or Minnesota. Here in Louisiana we're always at the bottom of the good lists and the top of the bad ones but I'm afraid I'm just not woman enough for an Icelandic winter. It was 67 degrees here today. I wore sweats and wool socks and was still a little chilly.

We'll be spending a day in Iceland on our way to Paris so I guess I'll be able to make a side-by-side comparison.

Jennifer

[Shoesy]

Jennifer - Here too we've been having very mild weather, which is strange for this time of year. Last week it started to get cold, and then after a few days of rain (and depression on my part), it became sunny and warm again. I'm not sure what the weather prediction is for next week, but it's Hanukah, and that's supposed to be a winter holiday. As for Iceland, I wouldn't live there if you paid me.

Incidentally, I guess I should be grateful that Israel is #23 on the list and not lower down. Besides - 23 isn't such a bad number after all. Michael Jordan wore it on his shirt, and Beckham chose it for his Real Madrid shirt. ;D