Poll - Greatest Country

[donjuan]

In your opinion, what is the greatest country to live in, and why?

I live in Canada, but I would really like to live in Fiji.  I hear everyone plays all day long in the water and enjoy the beaches year round, scuba diving and exploring the coral reefs.  I can see it being as close to heaven I will ever get.  Transcendental peace is the word to describe Fiji.

But, I never have been to Fiji...

Where would you like to live?  

[Tash]

personally i love australia and don't want to live anywhere else! of course i would love to travel over to europe again, and i like new york. ok if i could live anywhere else it'd be this little town in germany called Oberammergau i think it's such a cute place! all the houses are painted with pictures on them and i can fully see myself living there, painting and playing the piano all day...ahhh my dream life!

[liszmaninopin]

I would have to say it's impossible to give an answer to the question, "What's the greatest country in the world?"

However, the question is which country would I rather live in, I would probably pick Canada, the US, or some other country with lots of wilderness, snow, and mountains.  Specifically, i think I would live in Alaska if I could pick anywhere.

[faulty_damper]

The greatest country is that other country over there.  Not the one I'm living in.

Grass there: greener.
Grass here: brown.
Reconsidering grass there:  It's green.  Not greener.

[donjuan]

The greatest country is that other country over there.  Not the one I'm living in.

Grass there: greener.
Grass here: brown.
Reconsidering grass there:  It's green.  Not greener.

Mexico or Canada?  (In other words, do you want to drink tap or bottled water..)

[squinchy]

Mexico or Canada?  (In other words, do you want to drink tap or bottled water..)

I think there is wisdom in the 'grass is greener on the other side' thing..

..I'd like tap water-I've always found Canada really alluring and fantasy-like. It seems so much nicer and less greasy than the USA, and it seems to make much more sense. Of course, I know very little hard knowlege about Canada, but I still think of it as a really nice place, which it probably is.

Greatest country? Not sure.

[donjuan]

It IS nice!  It is also much more free than your 'land of the free, home of the brave'...

[liszmaninopin]

especially when you consider our new, non citizen-approved "patriot" acts (read: sell out on the bill of rights); as well as the semi-elected plutocracy that controls our government and media.

[squinchy]

especially when you consider our new, non citizen-approved "patriot" acts (read: sell out on the bill of rights); as well as the semi-elected plutocracy that controls our government and media.

Indeed! I just finished Moore's Dude, Where's My Country??. It made me think a bit, but also a bit more "cynical." (Cynical is in quotes because I still don't really understand what it really, actually means.)

[faulty_damper]

Support bacteria. They're the only type of culture some people have.

That's a funny quote.  I burst out laughing (LOL) when I read it.

Canada's culture seems to be fairly lighthearted and accepting.  They seem to be very happy people.  Americans are unsmiling assholes.  America's culture seems to always be hateful and disrespectful towards others.

Canada has socialed healthcare.  Not enough money goes into that system and some people die on the waiting list for certain treatments because it's ranked by those with severity of their illness, not the first-come-first-serve priority.  But, everyone gets to see a doctor regardless.
America has no such system and even though most people want such a system, they voted against such a system just a few years back.  Most people are uninsured.  I am one of them and had to go through the extreme stress of a medical bill of nearly $20,000 for 3 hours in the ER.  Crazy, huh?  But the reason it was so high was partyly because of the uninsured to insured ratio; most people just can't pay for the services they use.

But, America has socialized automobile insurance!  They are willing to pay a few hundred dollars a year should anything happen to their cars that requires thousands of dollars to repair but not a few hundred dollars a year for medical insurance that could cost tens of thousands of dollars.  Ironic, huh?  You'd think people care more about their health instead of their cars but their actions say more than their words.

[donjuan]

 Americans are unsmiling assholes.  

haha!! you tried to say "a**h*les"!!

[f0bul0us]

Lol , Nil's my favorite post-editor.  



...Yea!

[2000fordfocus]

If I am financially secure in the future, the one place I would move to is Vancouver, Canada!  The city has it all, beautiful surroundings and close to the Rockies! and if you love skiing, Windsor is the place!

[Spatula]

It seems so much nicer and less greasy than the USA,
Greatest country? Not sure.

Canada has the greatest amount of obese people per capita (yes, even greater than the US), thanks to all the fast food.  

[rlefebvr]

Canada has the greatest amount of obese people per capita (yes, even greater than the US), thanks to all the fast food.  

U would have to proove that one to me. I don't believe it.

[benji]

If at all possible, I would love to move to Austria (not Australia). German is great, everything about it is beautiful, cheap(er) Bösendorfers .

The US is a great place to live, but not the best.

[Shagdac]

Have a look at this site:    
S

www.silverladder.com/literature/humor/canadians/ihate  

[Shagdac]

I'm sorry....I didn't know how to make it so you could just click on it and it would take you to the site....you'll have to copy and paste.

S

[squinchy]

I can't see it. It gives me a 404 File not found error.

One could argue that Canadians are more obese because of Americans, since fast food (or McDonalds, at least) is American.

*shrugs*

[Spatula]

Yo, it's a broken link.

BTW Cdn children are getting fatter, more PS2, TV, Electronic entertainment and less emphasis on recreational sports...look at the wonderful education throughout the country, definitely they've cut back on physical education, and feeding those kids those damn krispy kremes.  

I wonder if piano playing is exercise...maybe your fingers can lose weight?  

[Tash]

Yo, it's a broken link.

BTW Cdn children are getting fatter, more PS2, TV, Electronic entertainment and less emphasis on recreational sports...look at the wonderful education throughout the country, definitely they've cut back on physical education, and feeding those kids those damn krispy kremes.  

I wonder if piano playing is exercise...maybe your fingers can lose weight?  

ah children all around the world are getting fatter, or at least they are as well here in australia, and yes DAMN the krispy kremes those things make me feel like vomiting, they're so condensed with fat and sugar.

and yes i believe piano playing is a form of exercise, at least for upper body (that's what i tell everybody anyway to prove that i am not a complete and utter bum (though i do walk to the station and home again regularly)). I mean you get really strong armsa and you've got them continuously moving for several hours a day- how many people can say they do that?! i've seen some pianists with the most amazing lower arm muscles- a result of excercising at the piano!!lol

[Spatula]

Considering how much a pianists presperates during a performance of a massive concerto, yeah they look pretty psyched out and about to go into some seizure, but anyways most of them are INTENSE! (by them I mean both the pieces and the performers)

[klavierkonzerte]

defintly australia.

i went there 5 years ago
i'ts heaven and peaple are like angles  
it's way more buitfull than any europian country i have  visited

i wish i could go there again.

[pianistsk8er]

I woud pick Canada over any other country, the land is so beautiful, the politics aren't bad, the people are really nice, the cities are well-kept, etc.  I've lived here my whole life and couldn't really imagine living elsewhere.  

[rph108]

Anywhere in Europe. Particularly Italy or France. Australia sounds nice, although I havent been there. Hong Kong sounds pretty cool, even though its under the control of evil communists.

[Tash]

defintly australia.

i went there 5 years ago
i'ts heaven and peaple are like angles  
it's way more buitfull than any europian country i have  visited

i wish i could go there again.

awwwwww on behalf of all australians thankyou for that!   i think it's the bomb too hehe

[Motrax]

I too want to go to Australia. I've never been there, and it at least seems like a wonderful place.

To say that one country's citizens are rude to foreigners where another country welcomes them is just silly. People will be people, regardless of where they live. Maybe it's just the area of America where I live, but we have a very large foreign population here and I've never noticed anybody having a problem with that.

I've been to Canada about 8 or 10 times (used to go skiing there every winter), and I could say that Canadians in general aren't overly polite to foreigners. Not that they are overtly rude, and some are very kind indeed, but they didn't strike me as more welcoming than any other culture.

The notion that Americans as a whole dislike foreigners is somewhat inaccurate, I would be inclined to believe. Perhaps visitors simply misunderstand things that seem normal here, but would be construed as rude in other places. And then again, it depends on where you go. Perhaps the less touristy areas are less welcoming, but isn't it like that pretty much anywhere? I've a friend who went to Ireland for a week, and some guy in a pub was close to physically attacking her for being a foreigner (not an American, mind you, just a foreigner).

Perhaps you'd like to say exactly in what way Americans are more rude to foreigners than anybody else, from your own experiences? I'm sure I could relate just as many instances where I felt quite out of place in other countries do to my citizenship.

[trunks]

Great Britain, peaceful land and cool climate. It never gets as hot as requiring air-conditioning when you go to bed. Great country to live in, although I have to say that they never knew what gorgeous food is all about.

Japan is another fine place to live in. Their diet is among the healthiest in the world. Oh yes, the hot springs and spas and the fair-looking people there . . . oh how I wish I could learn Japanese quick!

My homeland Hong Kong is compact. You hardly need more than 2 hours to travel from any place to any other place, provided that there is no traffic jam. A paradise for shopping and for exotic cuisine from all nations - if too hot, crowded, noisy and hectic.

[Rob47]

I've really never been anywhere but I've seen pictures of lots of places...and Budapest just looks so full of culture...not that a million other places don't, but maybe its the Liszt appeal but I would love to retire to a place similar to that.  Maybe Iraq it has that desert climate and a whole lot to offer to people like me who have never benn in such environments and there's the whole culture of the Middle East i'm completely unaware of.  Only after the war though. Obviously. Or Alaska whoever said that, I think that would be the most relaxing place to live.  Maybe southern Alaska though  

[Peachy_Keen]

Canada's culture seems to be fairly lighthearted and accepting.  They seem to be very happy people.  Americans are unsmiling assholes.  America's culture seems to always be hateful and disrespectful towards others.

Canada has socialed healthcare.  Not enough money goes into that system and some people die on the waiting list for certain treatments because it's ranked by those with severity of their illness, not the first-come-first-serve priority.  But, everyone gets to see a doctor regardless.

America has no such system and even though most people want such a system, they voted against such a system just a few years back.  Most people are uninsured.  I am one of them and had to go through the extreme stress of a medical bill of nearly $20,000 for 3 hours in the ER.  Crazy, huh?  But the reason it was so high was partyly because of the uninsured to insured ratio; most people just can't pay for the services they use.

But, America has socialized automobile insurance!  They are willing to pay a few hundred dollars a year should anything happen to their cars that requires thousands of dollars to repair but not a few hundred dollars a year for medical insurance that could cost tens of thousands of dollars.  Ironic, huh?  You'd think people care more about their health instead of their cars but their actions say more than their words.

Socialized healthcare is a good thing? You're paying for it all the same, except now it's coming out of your taxes. There is no free healthcare. If you don't want to pay for insurance when given the option, don't complain when you have to pay the bill. You have the choice, you take the risk.

Where did you hear that most people don't have insurance? According to the Census Bureau, only 15.2% of adults in the US don't have health insurance as of 2002. What makes you think the US wants to socialize its healthcare? You'd think that if they wanted it they'd have voted for it.

The US does not have socialized automobile insurance. Car insurance in the US is a private industry. It's important to have because of damage you might do to someone else's car as well as your own.

Oh, and Americans aren't hateful, disrespectful, unsmiling assholes. I'm willing to guess you've either lived in the wrong place or just decided to start voicing your opinions about insurance to them  .

[Hmoll]

But, America has socialized automobile insurance!  They are willing to pay a few hundred dollars a year should anything happen to their cars that requires thousands of dollars to repair but not a few hundred dollars a year for medical insurance that could cost tens of thousands of dollars.  Ironic, huh?  You'd think people care more about their health instead of their cars but their actions say more than their words.

Where in the US is health insurance a "few hundred dollars a year"? Get yourself a reality check. Try a few hundred dollars a month, and if you are insuring a family, try $1000+ per month.

Auto insurance is not "socialized" in the US. That would mean auto insurance is underwritten by the government, and paid for by taxes. Auto insurance is regulated by individual state insurance commissioners - not the federal government - and the requirements vary from state. I large part of the premiums you pay for auto insurance is not collision damage, it's liability for  medical coverage of people who are  injured in accidents. Each state has their own requirements for how much insurance - including liability coverage - you have to carry in you policy. Auto insurance is also very competitive, and we can shop around for rates. Does that sound like socialized to you??

[Regulus Medtner]

Greece. Definitely Greece.

[donjuan]

Canada has the greatest amount of obese people per capita (yes, even greater than the US), thanks to all the fast food.  

yah what ever Spatula!! The US has Old Country Buffet, once I saw some fatties sitting outside after they closed for the night.  I was wondering if they were late for Dinner, or if in their minds, they were just early for Breakfast.

[Spatula]

I think there is wisdom in the 'grass is greener on the other side' thing..

..I'd like tap water-I've always found Canada really alluring and fantasy-like. It seems so much nicer and less greasy than the USA, and it seems to make much more sense. Of course, I know very little hard knowlege about Canada, but I still think of it as a really nice place, which it probably is.

Greatest country? Not sure.

Unfortunately, Krispy Kreams have taken Can and US and pulled our society into a pool of fat and grease.  (My rant)

[schmetterling]

I live in Australia, and generally I like it. We have compulsory third party automobile insurance, we have medicare, our social securiy system provides for the unemployed as long as they continue to actively search for employment, and we have nice weather in Sydney and beauitulf beaches  

I went to Canada once a few years ago. It was hot
! We do better in the summer olympics.

Maybe there's just too much emphasis on sports though  

Living in any country would be nice (as opposed to not living at all...), but I guess it depends on your social and economic status, or even gender.

[donjuan]

I live in Australia, and ........ I went to Canada. It was hot
!

hmmm ok you live in AUSTRAILIA, you had a visit to CANADA, and you thought it was HOT...
You are sure you visited the right place eh?

Austrailia sounds nice, but with the ozone falling apart, it is really easy to get skin cancer in those places.

donjuan

[Tash]

hmmm ok you live in AUSTRAILIA, you had a visit to CANADA, and you thought it was HOT...
You are sure you visited the right place eh?

Austrailia sounds nice, but with the ozone falling apart, it is really easy to get skin cancer in those places.

donjuan

yeah if you like spend your entire days sitting in the sun.

schmetterling you come from sydney (don't worry i'm not going to come and stalk you i don't have time for that )? which part? oh how exciting there are more aussies entering this forum!