Reply With QuoteOut of interest did you expect the UK to be higher or lower? (I'm guessing lower?)Originally Posted by vRSG60
No surprise to me although UK in 3rd place is
No surprise to me although UK in 3rd place is
www.standard.co.uk/news/world/germany-tr...e-world-9859732.html
Out of interest did you expect the UK to be higher or lower? (I'm guessing lower?)No surprise to me although UK in 3rd place is
Lower.
Why? Freedom, tolerance, democracy, wealth, culture, heritage, beautiful countryside, free high quality healthcare, tz-uk...
"The UK emerged as having the second lowest hours of sunshine a year, the fourth highest retirement age, and the third lowest spend on health as a percentage of GDP.
Despite above average household income – the fourth highest in Europe – Britons have 5.5 fewer days holiday a year than the European average and endure a below average government spend on education.
UK households also struggle with a high cost of living, with food and diesel prices the highest in Europe, and unleaded petrol, alcohol and cigarettes all costing more than the European average.
As a result, more than one in 10 Britons (12%) said they are "seriously considering" emigrating, with "broken society" the biggest concern for 59% of those questioned, followed by the cost of living (49%), and crime and violence (47%). Just 5% of those questioned are happy in the UK."
Best opening to a TV show I've seen in a long time...
http://youtu.be/16K6m3Ua2nw
That's only the top 10
Where did Scotland, Wales and Ireland come?
What always gets me about these surveys is who do they ask? I have never been asked to participate in any kind of survey.
Mind you my wife doesnt even ask my opinion.
The last time I looked Wales & Scotland were part of The United Kingdom. In 3rd place.
Germany and Japan are two countries that made a lasting impression on me.
Things are clean, efficient, infrastructure good and stuff generally just works. The people are a big part of this.
I also think these countries are, generally-speaking , more 'uniform' , in that you get less of the disparity between nice areas and less nice (and rundown) areas, and less of the growing 'underclass' that we seem to have had here in the last decade or so.
Not really surprised by this survey, the exception being that the UK is so high.
Last edited by scarto; 14th November 2014 at 16:30.
^ ^ We have very good things in this country, yes...and I'm not knocking it (UK).
But as an overall picture, our country has a lot of holes in it outside the aspects you could say we are famed for globally. i.e on the surface it looks good...beneath that, there are growing problems.
You've not seen all that much of Germany then... Unless Hamburg is very different.
Some areas are full of properly dodgy shops, druggies and drunks, with the accompanying threatening atmosphere and dog poo on the pavement - other areas full of the same but somehow more 'hipster' therefore less scary, other areas so bloody affluent that no shop contains anything worth less than €300.
Suspect it's similar in parts of Japan.
I do find Germany as a rule seems to leave more things to trust, like paying to use the trains/metro (inspectors and people who travel without tickets do exist of course, but are rarely spotted). I'm not sure why that is.
United Status 2nd?WTF?
Every nation (the ones not in deep trouble that we know about) is like the proverbial duck - serene on the surface, paddling like mad underneath.
Sweden gets a lot of good press but they don't have it so rosy either.
Maybe Norway is an exception, mind you.
Zees vill not stand!!!!
- - - Updated - - -
Hahahahaha
Yes, we are
One of my friends is from Hamburg but has lived and worked in the UK for the last decade - she also commented on her last visit to Hamburg just how different it all seems now with some areas of extreme wealth, others are total sh*tholes, and a growing resentment of immigrants that arrived en-masse in the last decade (which given Hamburg's history of being a cosmopolitan /diverse, with something of a relaxed attitude compared to the bulk of Germany, is saying something).
Mind her views on the UK can be quite scathing but then she did live in Northampton for a while
Well it seems that I seem to naturally associate myself with liberal lefties, so I'm seeing more of the welcoming signs for migrants that came via Lampedusa, tolerance in general and the country's hand-wringing over racism and nationalism - yes they deserve to move past their history but I for one am pleased that at least one country in Europe is voting away from the Right with a feeling of "careful, you know what happened last time".
The local footy team (St Pauli, not HSV) is also pretty well known for its liberal lefty and alternative fanbase - I suppose it makes sense as St Pauli is the area the Reeperbahn is in...
I had the pleasure on Wednesday evening of attending a lecture by Neil Macgregor, Director of the British Museum, at the Humboldt University (entitled German History for an English-Speaking Public) and he referred to this survey; more detailed analysis suggests that Germany was indisputably top of the list for the British people surveyed. I can't help thinking that the result might have been slightly different if Germany hadn't won the World Cup.
If anybody is unaware I can heartily recommend the series that MacGregor has done for the BBC; Germany, Memories of a Nation. It's based on a current exhibition at the British Museum and consists of 30, 15 minute talks, largely based around objects but exploring German history in much greater depth but coupled with a necessary brevity. Having seen quite a few BBC attempts at analysis of Germany, almost uniformally abysmal, this is the first one that I've seen (or rather heard) that actually nails it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04dwbwz
You can also download all 30 episodes as podcasts.
I'm afraid that I'm largely with Sara on Germany not being quite so clinical as some might claim
Have loved my visits to Germany but . . . I like where I am just fine and wouldn't trade.
ditto
Really.....so over 6.5 million are 'seriously considering' emigrating, would solve the housing crisis and unemployment problems
Isnt the UK a state that comprises of a small collection of different countries?
And Northern Ireland is part of another country I would have thought
I Am surprised! I have admittedly only been to southern Germany / Schwartzwald, and found it beautiful and friendly.
I would be fooling myself to believe the whole of any country could be like that though.
Yes I'm afraid you were in the affluent conservative heartland down there. Go for a trip around old East Germany.
What the bollocks in The US doing in 2nd place. I've lived there and love the place but Christ it's gotta be lower than that. 80% of the place is absolutely buggered!x
You've already been 'challenged' on Germany - so here's a different Japan to the one you saw & have such a high opinion of...
Kamagasaki;
http://wordpress.tokyotimes.org/kama...-biggest-slum/
or possibly Sanya
http://wordpress.tokyotimes.org/toky...the-destitute/
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