Best Countries to Live 2015

[LongBlade]

A new list has been released.

Discuss.

10. Denmark: With 5 weeks paid vacation per year
9. New Zealand: Breathe happy
8. Netherlands: One of the highest literacy rates in the world.
7. Sweden: Tons of citizen engagement
6. Canada: Excellent housing standards
5. USA: Housing, income, and wealth
4. Australia: Strong sense of community
3. Switzerland: One of the world's lowest unemployment rates
2. Iceland: Cleanest tap water on earth
1. Norway: People are living their best life here...for an average of 82 years.

source: http://www.aol.com/article/2015/11/03/oecd-names-countries-with-best-quality-of-life/21258167

[BanzaiCat]

I had a technical writing opportunity that was in Norway, a few years ago. Man, that would have been pretty awesome had it panned out. :(

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Canadian housing standards?  Who knew?  I know about the only people who can afford a place in Vancouver are Chinese nationals looking for a way to launder money.  You can't say that though or the SJWs posing as media scream racist.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-foreign-ownership-study-1.3301061 

I've been looking at overseas places again but I'd rather not go back into teaching.  There are some water treatment jobs but if they pay well, they tend to be in 3rd world hellholes like Afghanistan, Sudan, or Haiti.  Most 1st world countries are closed shops.  2rd world countries that aren't hellholes tend to hire multinational engineering firms to set up their plants and then have poorly trained operators from India or the Philippines brought in to run them on the cheap.

Had an interview for a medium sized city on Vancouver Island last week.  Maybe that will pan out.

[MetalDog]

Good luck, SDR!

[LongBlade]

Good luck, SDR!

+1

[Staggerwing]

Hope the job is a good fit SDR.

[Sir Slash]

How about if we all send references for you SDR? Would that help or hurt you think? It'll all work out man. I got shot-down so many times in my Nursing career that I just let it roll off after a while. And then later thought, "Damn I'm glad I didn't get hired there" after I talked to people who worked "there". You'll get the one your due in time.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Thanks.  It's not a huge concern for me if I don't get it.  The job now is mostly good.  If we could get rid of the supervisor, things would be better.  He really is a most unpleasant little man.  (right now, he's refusing to sign off on some paperwork I need to present to the provincial certification board as a prerequisite for getting the new job.) 

I actually don't mind living in Vancouver and I make a good salary.  It's just that Vancouver housing is so bloody expensive!  I'm looking at 800 sq ft. condos in my neighbourhood 35 km from down town and they're going for $300,000 for 20 year old buildings and then tack on a $300/mo strata fee.  I've put in bids on a few places over the last couple years only to back out after the building inspector's gone in, had a sniff around, and found issues that would likely cost me big up-front or cause the strata to jump.

Houses are $800k minimum for a run down 1950s era bungalow.  I keep waiting for the bubble to pop and the "experts" keep saying it has to but the prices just keep going up and up and up.  My sister lives in a 2100 sq ft house built in 1913 and the assessors valued it a $3.3 mil for property tax!  It's insane!

[Staggerwing]

What about temporarily moving out to a cheaper suburban rental and commuting in for work? How is the public transportation going in and out of the city?

[BanzaiCat]

Houses are $800k minimum for a run down 1950s era bungalow. 

We have parts of town that are like that, but they're few and far between. It's really one of the very few good things about living here - we have a decently-sized home (3100 sf) that's appraised at around 200K. We bought it for 180K originally. Not a huge jump in value, but still.

Houston Heights is the place to go to get 1900-1910-era flea-trap homes for a million dollars. Freakin' insane.

[Centurion40]

A new list has been released.

Discuss.

10. Denmark: With 5 weeks paid vacation per year
9. New Zealand: Breathe happy
8. Netherlands: One of the highest literacy rates in the world.
7. Sweden: Tons of citizen engagement
6. Canada: Excellent housing standards
5. USA: Housing, income, and wealth
4. Australia: Strong sense of community
3. Switzerland: One of the world's lowest unemployment rates
2. Iceland: Cleanest tap water on earth
1. Norway: People are living their best life here...for an average of 82 years.

source: http://www.aol.com/article/2015/11/03/oecd-names-countries-with-best-quality-of-life/21258167

Hey Russia, China & Iran... suck it!

[Centurion40]

Good luck, SDR!

+1

+2