Newsweek just came out with it's list of 100 Best Countries to live and Slovenia came in at 24. Congrats to Slovenia. The country is safe with a highly educated population and good life expectancy. No small accomplishment, of course.
That said, one has to interrogate how these lists are compiled and WHO praytell are they for? I don't think this list imagines that these conditions apply to just anyone who dropped out of the sky. It must be for the natives, most of whom are not going anywhere regardless of what this list says. I guess it would give them a boost of pride, which I guess is something. But what of the people that are looking at this list with an eye to moving to one of those countries? Can we get any glimpse into the life we would lead as an expat? Things such as access to services in multiple languages, the weather and environment, health care and social services, cultural events and resources, and importantly attitudes of natives towards newcomers/foreigners are what may be on the mind of a potential expat to that country. But I suppose that could be a hard thing to measure...Nonetheless in this globalised world, it would be nice to see one of those lists that gave more than a passing nod to the non-native's concerns and made this information useful rather than just a source of pride (or shame) for natives of the respective countries.
On a lighter note, the interactive tool is pretty neat on that site...check it out!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Best of
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Hey Camille! Education, health and economy are too limited denominators to give a proper picture of a country.
I mean, at least climate (harshness vs. lightness), crime rates and/or employment should be there, don't you think? I mean, I could never ever live in Japan, or Finland or the States, but I did live happily for 27 years in Argentina (ranks at 40-something in that feature).
So yeah, I agree with you. Nice numbers to look at, but that's about it...
Thanks for sharing, though ;)
Not even the States?! I beg to differ! It's a big country, there's a city for every one, you just must not have found the right one for you! ;)
I agree. Lots of those lists have smaller Swiss towns like Lugano, Bern, etc right on top. And yeah they are nice places, but chances are there aren't any opportunities that would attract expats there because those places have f*ck all of interest to the internationally mobile.
Post a Comment