25th in the world!!

joanlawson

Hi

According to a Quality of Life Index, published by the International Living magazine for the 30th year, Britain has dropped to 25th place on the list of best places in the world to live.

The UK's climate, crime rate, cost of living, congested roads, and overcrowded cities have pushed it even further down from last year's ranking at 20.

194 countries are surveyed on 9 criteria, including the cost of living, culture and leisure,environment, safety, and weather.

France tops the poll, followed by Australia, Switzerland and Germany. Even former Communist countries like the Czech Republic and Lithuania are considered better places to live than Britain.

It is France's bon vivant lifestyle which sets it apart. They enjoy the finer things in life; 2 hour lunch breaks, some of the best food snd wine in the world, shorter working hours, more holidays, and a lower crime rate.

Britain does not top a single category, which is compiled using official government statistics, and data from the World Health Organisation. Germany is the most naturist-friendly country, apparently, for any aspiring nudists among you.

So there we are, it's official, the UK is slipping behind the rest of the world in many ways. But I still don't want to live anywhere else, do you ?

Joan

gickygawky

Hi Joan,

I have the option of living in Australia but I think it is brilliant living over here.
I think Oz has it's advantages and it is beautiful but the UK is too, just in a different way.
I have been here ten years and whenever I go home for a holiday after a week or so I start really missing the UK.

Sad as it may seem I rate it number 1!! Each to there own as they say!

Arna x

skezier

Hi Joan,

I just wondered how do they judge quality of life? For me I have a fair old whack of it but I don't have a lot of material stuff and to be honest surely its such an individual thing that its not possible to actually measure it on mass?

Hope you, your hubby and Tommy are all ok in this cold snap? Does he like snow? Luv Cris x

joanlawson

pixyandfaries wrote:

if money was no object then i would be abroad ,we love the look of canada and tuscany

Hi Jan

Canada ranks 9th, and Italy 10th, so both well ahead of us.

I love Italy, and have been many times. My Dad fought in Italy during the war, and he always loved all things Italian, so I was brought up to do the same. Tuscany is very beautiful.

joanlawson

gickygawky wrote:

Hi Joan,

I have the option of living in Australia but I think it is brilliant living over here.
I think Oz has it's advantages and it is beautiful but the UK is too, just in a different way.
I have been here ten years and whenever I go home for a holiday after a week or so I start really missing the UK.

Sad as it may seem I rate it number 1!! Each to there own as they say!

Arna x

Hi Arna

I don't think it is sad that you rate here as number 1. As you say, each country has things to offer which the other does not.

joanlawson

skezier wrote:

Hi Joan,

I just wondered how do they judge quality of life? For me I have a fair old whack of it but I don't have a lot of material stuff and to be honest surely its such an individual thing that its not possible to actually measure it on mass?

Hope you, your hubby and Tommy are all ok in this cold snap? Does he like snow? Luv Cris x

Hi Cris

The quality lof life is judged on external criteria, and no-one could survey individual quality of life.

I think you have your priorities in life right, because ultimately, the material stuff is not important. You can't take it with you when you die, as they say.

Tommy is in semi-hibernation because he doesn't like having cold paws. He goes out, and then shoots back in through the cat flap looking very accusingly at me. He thinks I control the weather :!:

Hope you are OK, and also all your employers.

frogmorton

Very interesting Arna
Poor old us......
I too think it's my number 1
Love
Toni x

mellman01

It’s hardly surprising we are really worked hard and kept of balance by the use of redundancy, and if you make them worry about paying the bills by keeping the skill base low so the wages are also poor then you got em on the back foot, also allow loads of outsiders to come in and compeat for the same jobs but doing it for less then hey presto stomach ulcers!.
The practice is called shock doctrine and was developed by the CIA first used on the Bolivians in the early 50’s, a certain whiz kid business man in congress applied the technique to the US industrial work force and then in the late 70’s a certain US president called Regan and then a certain Margaret Thatcher were also converts to the cause that’s one reason why a sizable majority of indigenous people are so depressed now, other countries that have a stronger social/industrial fabric do better as they aren’t on their own so to speak unlike us today, the culture here is so me me due to it’s use on us.
Right that’s me spleen vented over to you lot. :roll:

joanlawson

mellman01 wrote:

It’s hardly surprising we are really worked hard and kept of balance by the use of redundancy, and if you make them worry about paying the bills by keeping the skill base low so the wages are also poor then you got em on the back foot, also allow loads of outsiders to come in and compeat for the same jobs but doing it for less then hey presto stomach ulcers!.
The practice is called shock doctrine and was developed by the CIA first used on the Bolivians in the early 50’s, a certain whiz kid business man in congress applied the technique to the US industrial work force and then in the late 70’s a certain US president called Regan and then a certain Margaret Thatcher were also converts to the cause that’s one reason why a sizable majority of indigenous people are so depressed now, other countries that have a stronger social/industrial fabric do better as they aren’t on their own so to speak unlike us today, the culture here is so me me due to it’s use on us.
Right that’s me spleen vented over to you lot. :roll:

Mellman for Prime Minister :!: :!: You'd soon fix us :!:

joanlawson

delboy wrote:

Won't be long before we are rated as 'Third World' I've told my daughter to go and live anywhere else but the UK when she has her qualifications.

Given the choice I would happily go and live in Canada with the rest of my family.

It is sad when we have to tell young people to go elsewhere with qualifications obtained here, but understandable.

tkachev

I love Italy, and have been many times. My Dad fought in Italy during the war, and he always loved all things Italian, so I was brought up to do the same. Tuscany is very beautiful.[/quote]

Joan my dad was the same!
Best wishes
Elizabeth X

joanlawson

tkachev wrote:

I love Italy, and have been many times. My Dad fought in Italy during the war, and he always loved all things Italian, so I was brought up to do the same. Tuscany is very beautiful.

Joan my dad was the same!
Best wishes
Elizabeth X[/quote]

Hi Elizabeth

That is nice to know. My Dad saw me when I was born, but didn't see me again until I was nearly 3.

joanlawson

rehab44 wrote:

I could have gone on.. I have my grumpy head on this afternoon :x

Britain is a country on its knees through a mixture of indifference, bad attitudes, laziness and a total absence of public servants who take pride in doing a good job, they can't even organise a bloody coup to get Brown off his fat @rse and out of No. 10

Your anger and frustration at the politicians etc. is shared by so many people.

mellman01

delboy wrote:

Won't be long before we are rated as 'Third World' I've told my daughter to go and live anywhere else but the UK when she has her qualifications.

Given the choice I would happily go and live in Canada with the rest of my family.

I've done the same I have told my nipper to get a qualification that another country wants and leave as soon as she can as this place has had it.

joanlawson

The trouble is that all the bright kids will leave the country, and we'll be left with shortages of well-qualified people in the future.

annie_mial

joanlawson wrote:

The trouble is that all the bright kids will leave the country, and we'll be left with shortages of well-qualified people in the future.

It wouldn't be the first time, Joan - remember the 'Brain Drain'?

Annie

joanlawson

Hi Annie

There is a new brain drain happening now.

Quote ;

There are now 3.247 million British-born people living abroad, of whom more than 1.1 million are highly-skilled university graduates, say the researchers.

More than three quarters of these professionals have settled abroad for more than 10 years, according to the study by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

No other nation is losing so many qualified people, it points out. Britain has now lost more than one in 10 of its most skilled citizens, while overall only Mexico has had more people emigrate.

The figures, based on official records from more than 220 countries, will alarm Gordon Brown as tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money is spent on educating graduates. The cost of training a junior doctor, for example, is £250,000.