65 People Reveal The Best And The Worst Things About Living In Their Home Countries
ITALY
Pros: nice weather, nice food, beatiful cities
Cons: politics are a joke, racism and blind nationalism, unemployment, too many people with a backwards mentality.
ICELAND
Pros: high wages, thermal energy to heat up houses, cheap electricity, public security (low crime rates), no mosquitoes
Cons: Everything is extremely expensive, the weather, selfish idiotic government, ridiculous loaning system.
GREECE
Cons: prosperity, lack ofdevelopment, stagnant mentality, day-to-day racism
Pros: Just look out the window and at the view and you forget everything else, great food, chilled and warm people.
We wanted to hear directly from people around the world about what they truly love and what they really don’t about their home countries. Today, we stopped by India, a vibrant country in South Asia with a jaw-dropping population of over 1.4 billion. That’s right, 1,463,865,525 and counting! It’s a land of noise, color, chaos, and charm. And to give us a local’s view, we spoke with Neeraj Bucha, who lives in the bustling capital, Delhi.
India makes up about 17.78% of the world’s total population, let that sink in. With 492 people per square kilometer, space here is a shared luxury. Delhi, as Neeraj tells us, is one of the most high-energy places on the planet. “You can feel the buzz the minute you land,” he said. He’s not kidding. From traffic to temples, this city rarely slows down.
Canadian.
The pros – too many to mention. But let’s list the obvious: no one has fought a war on our soil in over 200 years, we have both wealth and a reasonable degree of income equality and sharing, we have more space than we could possibly fill, we have 20% of the worlds fresh water (although granted much is underground, we still have 7% of the world’s surface fresh water), we produce far more food and energy than we consume. So – peace, food and water, space, money, and energy, all in abundance. A recipe for bliss.
The cons – the weather sucks much of the year, we live in the cultural shadow of the US, and we spend most of our time griping that although it’s good, it could be better.
I got a list of what I like and what I don’t about living in Bhutan.
First, the ones I like:
Getting to live with my parents as long as I want it.
Not having to worry about tuition fees or to pay for healthcare.
Lecturers providing extensions for assignment.
Very less traffic congestion when travelling.
Everyday I get to breathe in smoke free oxygen.
Sheer mountains and the forests that never seems to end.
People pay $250 a day to see my motherland, I’m ever blessed for having got to live without paying a dime.
Now, those bad ones:
People getting lifeless kind of lazy. Myself included.
Not everyone seems to love what they are doing.
Taking things for granted.
Dumping wastes in the forests when authorities are not around.
Increasing number of divorces.
Thugs vandalizing stupas.
Less voter turnouts.
The ones I mentioned are not something personal but rather they come as our non-first world problems.
Cheers.
I’m an Iranian.
Pros: A HUGE TERRITORY CONSIST OF DIFFERENT WEATHERS AND LANDS-desert and hot weather especially in summer during which in some places you can cook a very delicious scrambled egg only by using a pan and the heat of the sun! mountains and cold weather in winter during which you can go for skiing and… shores and mild weather in 3 quarters of the year.
A HUGE COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL SITES FOR THE HISTORY LOVERS- among them ancient monuments, museums,and so on.
VERY ECONOMICAL- cheaper than all European countries and most of Asian countries.
VERY FRIENDLY BEHAVIOR FROM THE PART OF ITS PEOPLE- you can never find a friendly manner like this in any part of the world other than Iran( Don’t pay attention to what media try to transfer to you).
Cons: As a Islamic country the women should cover their hairs and their bodies when they arrive to Iran but I should mention that some of our women are so fashion even in this way that may change your idea about the style of your dressing, when leaving the country! 🙂
Most of the times there are some propaganda against Iran. Don’t pay attention to them and try to find out the reality of Iranian people by yourself.
But ask Neeraj what makes Delhi special, and he doesn’t hesitate: the food. “You have to fall in love with it,” he grins. “You get global cuisines here, sure, but the street food? That’s the real deal.” He went on to rave about everything from spicy chole bhature to syrupy jalebis.
Compared to other cities he’s been to, Neeraj says Delhi just works. “It’s convenient,” he explains. “Things are available all the time, midnight deliveries, online shopping, anything.” As a grocery store owner in East Delhi, he knows the flow of the city well. “You just have to adjust to its rhythm,” he adds.
Bula! I live in Fiji, and like many Pacific Island countries the major con is the isolation. We are a great distance from all of our neighbours, and certain food items are straight up impossible to get (or are very expensive). You won’t believe what we are willing to pay for some blueberries.
But that aside, I’ve never found the small size to be a huge problem. I grew up in the United States, and at the end of the day people can only manage social circles of a certain size. Being in a small island community hasn’t made my social circle any larger or smaller. You do end up knowing a lot of people nearly everywhere you go, but that same phenomena occurs in small city in the United States all the time. In general, the culture and interests we share as a people makes everywhere you go feel very welcoming.
And most people don’t know this, but Fiji is made up of over 300 islands, so the amount of exploring in completely empty, near perfect islands you can do is endless 🙂
Bermuda! Population 65k. Obvious advantages of sun, pink beaches and spectacular scenery as well as expats from all over the world. Disadvantages are cost of living, hurricanes, difficulty getting off the rock and the tininess of the island(s). Coming from a similar sized island with 1/6th of the population off the West Coast of Canada helped a lot with the adjustment. Loving the milder winter temperatures.
SPAIN
Pros: Weather, food, nightlife, maaaaany things to do
Cons: Awful wages compared to other countries, politics has been a s******w since forever, streets aren’t as clean as I would like.
For Neeraj, Delhi also offers great opportunities for those willing to hustle. “There’s work if you’re ready to work,” he says. From tech startups to local businesses, the city buzzes with ambition. Add in the cultural mix, and it’s never boring. “So many festivals, languages, beliefs, yet somehow, people manage to live in harmony.”
NETHERLANDS
Pros: high standard of living, politics not as big of a mess as other countries, bike lanes everywhere
Cons: small country, expensive to live, sad food culture.
POLAND
Pros: We keep improving economically, average temperature (some people will say it’s too cold but i’m okay with it), we have both mountains and sea, Poles really care about their cultural identity, low costs of living
Cons: low salaries comparing to the west, taxes, geography (in case of war we always get attacked first)
Generally I’m okay with living here.
He also appreciates the city’s infrastructure, especially the transport system. “The metro is honestly a blessing,” Neeraj points out. “It’s fast, affordable, and well-connected.” Whether it’s commuting to work or meeting friends across town, you can get there without needing a car. That alone is a major win in a city this dense.
SWITZERLAND
Pro: Great education, stable politics, pretty safe. High wages.
Con: everything expensive as f**k. No matter what other country I go to everything is cheaper there (which is nice for vacation though).
I’ll answer this for Australia because even though I don’t live there now, it’s where I’ve been most of my life and I know it best.
Pros: good universities, universal healthcare, multicultural immigration means lots of good food, amazing coffee culture, some of the world’s nicest old theatres and cinemas. People tend to be chill.
Cons: unstable and chaotic politics, very high cost of living, employment drought (especially compared to the UK), summers are painfully hot, culture of misogyny can be very pervasive, overcrowded public transport, weird accents.
“And don’t even get me started on the shopping,” he laughs. “From high-end malls to chaotic street markets, this place is a shopper’s dream.” According to Neeraj, you can find anything and everything in Delhi. Clothes, gadgets, spices, books, you name it, Delhi has it. And probably at ten different price points.
Türkiye
Advantages
Large and clean cities. There are 81 cities in the country and 21 cities have a coastline. There are many rivers, rivers, lakes, waterfalls. Its nature and climate are beautiful. People are friendly, helpful, hardworking. Health services are very advanced. The airport and bus stations are nice (except some cities). There are all kinds of products in the markets. Transportation is easy (except Istanbul). There are many historical buildings. We have stray animals. Some of our universities are achieving worldwide success. Defense Industry developed. The military uses high technology. The drug rate is low throughout the country (although it has increased in recent years compared to the past, drug use is not common in Turkey). We treat foreigners well. Cities are clean. We do not encounter wild animals in cities. People’s homes are very clean. The meals are very good. We respect and love our ancestors of the past. As long as you don’t do something very stupid in Turkey, you won’t be subjected to racism.
Disadvantages
The economy has been in bad shape for the last 3 years. Inflation has increased. The number of refugees is huge. There is a lot of talk of politics. In some cities, garbage is thrown into the sea. In winter, Anatolia and the eastern regions are very cold. Agriculture is not given importance. Villages in Anatolia and the East are neglected. Our people are very stubborn. There is too much fanaticism. Our football clubs are getting worse day by day. It is unfair to the football national team. According to the manager’s money, players are selected for the squad. Even if you are a university graduate, it is not easy to find a job. School classes are very difficult. University and high school entrance exams are very difficult. We have a president who likes to fight with everybody. State-owned television channels are making very conservative news. On TV shows, profanity, alcohol, smoking, drugs are prohibited (which may be fine but sometimes overdone).
I live in the Netherlands. (18 years old)
Pros: great healthcare, history and art. Decent infrastructure, lots of water and beautiful landscapes, even though we are a densely populated country. Our schoolsystem used to be great, but is now not improving enough compared to other leading scientific countries. Science is extremely important in the Netherlands and I believe we can play a decent international power on the scientific fields. We are very international, almost the entire population can have a conversation in English.
Cons: because of the financial deficit, our government is forced to save money by destroying both healthcare and the schoolsystem, causing the people to distrust the government and causing a stagnating development of the country. Our people also tend to have a terrible accent while having an conversation in English, except for our foreign minister.
UK (England)
Pro: Free at point of use health care, libraries, local transport (I’m a pensioner!); reasonably tolerant society; countryside generally accesible from most cities/towns.
Cons: Current government working hard at dismantling public services; highly visible, vocal extremist groups trying to foment intolerance; rise of binge drinking culture; UKIP and Daily Mail isolationism.
But of course, not everything sparkles. “Pollution is a serious issue here,” Neeraj admits. Delhi’s air quality often tops the global charts, for all the wrong reasons. With AQI levels sometimes crossing 400, it’s not just a problem, it’s a health hazard. “It’s something we live with, but not something we’re proud of,” he adds.
Here in South Africa you definitely hear good and bad things and is not perfect so yes you will here good and bad things
Cons
Crime is a massive problem.
You share your opinion and constantly have racism
There are people being biased towards the place they live . It annoys me
Pros
South Africa is very diverse. We have lush green fields in KwaZulu Natal. Arid Landscape in the Northern Cape. Hustling and bustling in Gauteng to very calm Western Cape. Eastern Cape is known for being very poor but they have millionaires living in Port Elizabeth. Each part of South Africa makes you feel in a different world.
No fear of earthquakes hurricanes or snow storms. However it does snow in the mountains
Great beaches. Especially in Natal or the Garden Route
Thriving wildlife.
I am a Serbian.
Pros:
The food is great.
People are friendly and extremely open.
Serbia is a beautiful country with amazing landscapes and a very long history that really makes it wonderful and interesting to explore.
Our climate is good and it would suit anyone for all I know.
Cons (oh boy):
Low wages
Corruption
Poverty
High social inequality
Healthcare system is a disaster
Nepotism
High unemployment
Safety is another concern that has grown more personal for him. “When I was younger, I didn’t think about it much,” Neeraj shares. “But now, as a father to a daughter, I worry more.” While he appreciates the increased police presence and better vigilance, the concerns remain. “It’s getting better, but there’s a long way to go.”
Pakistani living in Lahore here.
Pros:
Pakistan has beautiful scenic areas. Gilgit, Skardu, Murree, Swat, Naran, Kaghan, and some more whose names I do not know are considered very beautiful. I have been to Gilgit, Skardu, Murree, Naran, and Kaghan, and these area certainly did not disappoint.
If you have around $200,000 in the bank, you can enjoy above average life style that would include visits to hotels and a biggish (not exactly big) house, and a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla Car.
India and Pakistan have excellent cuisine to offer to the rest of the world.
Our sweet dishes, Gulab jamun, Rasgullay, Barfi, Gajar ka halwa, etc. when done properly trump most of the rest of the world’s sweets. Our sweet dishes are truly good.
Cons:
Not exactly a very high standard of living. Ignore those people who would like to tell you that Pakistan is still moored in 18th century. Situation has certainly improved in the last 30 odd years, but our standard of living hasn’t yet improved to an acceptable level.
The quality of tap water is quite poor even in the big cities.
We don’t do Michelin star cuisine. We have some good restaurants, but the quality of prepared food leaves you wishing for more. Most middle class people consider eating a Pizza Hut pizza a luxury and an occasion where they managed to enjoy “good quality” food.
Most of our universities are set up on extremely limited space.
Most of our government schools are in poor condition, and the government spends much more money on keeping the incompetent MPAs and MNAs happy than spending on the upkeep of our schools.
Barring one road, the motorway, most of our roads are not in tip top condition.
Successive governments have shown absolutely no interest in tackling vehicle emissions and pollution. We receive abundant sunshine all year long, but no government has shown any interest in promoting the use of solar energy.
During summers, we have frequent electrical failures called load shedding.
Some 8 months ago, I started watching woodworking videos on YouTube, and now all of the Pakistani furniture looks third class in comparison.
No world class event ever takes place in Pakistan. I used to be and still am a tennis fan, and the closest that we can get to a world class tennis exhibition is by flying to Dubai to watch Dubai Classic. Now you don’t just have to spend on the hefty match ticket price, but you also have to spend on the air trip and visa as well.
General items on display in Pakistani stores tend to be of not good enough quality. (if you believe that “not good enough” should be hyphenated, please do let me know.)
We spend way too much on keeping our extremely incompetent MNAs and MPAs happy and way too little on improving and providing civic amenities for the masses.
If you happen to be a connected individual, then no matter how incompetent you maybe in your field of choice, Pakistan will prove an absolute heaven for you. Imran Khan, the sitting prime minister of Pakistan, belongs to a cricket playing family, whose famous sons include Jahangir Khan, Majid Khan and Javed Burki who were all considered excellent players from the very start of their careers, remained a part of the team for seven long years, yes, you read that right, for seven long years, despite what are otherwise considered diabolical performances in the game of cricket remained a part of the team. Then, while playing a match for his chosen county, he became aware of the ball tampering technique by using a battle top to tamper the ball, and consequently, for once, delivering excellent performance. From then on wards, he started relying on this technique to such a degree that during the course of the matches, his pants used to get red as a result of continuous rubbing of the ball against his pants. Imran Khan is the prime example of the extreme corruption and nepotism in Pakistan.
As a citizen of two countries (Australia and New Zealand), as well as holding permanent residency in Singapore, questions of national identity can be a bit difficult, but I’ll do my best.
The Pros of NZ
New Zealand is a pretty big place, especially when you take into account the small population. This can be both a blessing and a course, though when you grow up getting used to seeing people crammed into every nook and cranny(Singapore has roughly the same population, however it is hundreds of times smaller) it can be refreshing to not glimpse a single soul as far as the eye can see.
As someone who has grown up in Asia (including the famously ethnically homogeneous Japan), I am often stunned to see the cultural diversity in New Zealand, especially in my hometown of Auckland. Although there definitely needs to be an improvement with race relations in NZ, growing liberal attitudes to immigration are helping to solve any tensions that can arise.
And the Cons
One problem facing young adults and teens in New Zealand is the lack of prestigious higher/tertiary education facilities. However, this also means NZ misses out on a potential market for new talent that could otherwise be attracted to the countries business friendly policies. Although NZ is praised for it’s primary and secondary education system, and it does have some solid universities, many of them lack the star power to actually attract foreigners, like many top institutions in the US, Britain and Australia. If NZ could successfully market itself out as a higher education Mecca, we could attract young entrepreneurs from around the globe.
Disclaimer: These suggested pros and cons are just a drop in the ocean. I didn’t go into political, economic or social issues, as I only decided to go into things that affect me directly, or that tend to stand out as obvious positives/negatives.
I am from Hungary.
PRO:
– If I begin a poem or my favorite novel to tell, someone can always continue and finish a sentence in the company.
– All the things which, I think, most of you will tell about her/his country: beautiful landscape, wonderful people, most beautiful women
– excellent wine and food
– relatively to the small population (10 million) large number of olympic medals (5 to 12 gold medals)
– more than a dozen of Nobel prize winners born in Hungary whom I can be proud of
– many movie makers from Hungary,
– inventions by Hungarians to be proud of, like the common ball-pen (by Biro), common match to make fire (Irinyi), etc., up to Denes Gabor (Hydrogene bomb, unfortunately), or first computer (Janos Neumann), or the now celebrated Rubik’s cube (Erno Rubik)
– We are the “only country surrounded by itself” since WWI.
– I can speak a language which nobody understands, except Hungarians. Hungarian has no relative of languages. Close to this or that, but not really related, not Slavic at all, not indo-german. Said to be one of the most difficult languages of the world.
– I love Budapest, the Danube, and that despite small country, you can find Hungarians everywhere in the world. (Did you know that a king of Madagascar was a Hungarian geographer, or that the national anthemn of Bolivia was written by Hungarian?)
CON:
– the language is so difficult that most foreigners give up learning it.
– we are accused often for our war roles in WWI and WWII,
– we are often accused for nationalism, I deny it. When we emphasize Hungarian characters, we just try to rationalize that we are alone…
“The Martians are among us. They speak a language which nobody else understands, they are everywhere, and they call themselves Hungarians”.
🙂
Still, despite the flaws, Neeraj believes Delhi has a unique soul. “To truly get it, you have to be here,” he says. “There’s a vibe: chaotic but comforting, loud but full of heart.” It’s not a place that makes sense on paper, but once you’ve lived in it, you carry it forever. “Delhi grows on you,” he smiles.
The US has its good and bad points. Overall, the good outweighs the bad.
Good: It isn’t difficult to find a job here. You can make a decent living, regardless of your field.
Not so Good: The job might not be your ideal job, or it might not pay as well as you could get elsewhere. You might have to move to the other side of the country for better pay.
Good: We have diversity here. With mutiple cultures and nationalites come multiple languages, food, music, and plethora of other things. Take advamtage!
Not so Good: Everybody doesn’t always get along.
Good: We the right to free speech. The government can’t control us in that regard. People generally let you talk, even if they don’t listen.
Not so Good: The US is as politically divided as it has ever been. Don’t go to a family reunion and start a conversation about the wall, Trump, Congress, Fox News, CNN, or the minimum wage. That conversation probably won’t end well.
Good: We have a diverse landscape: beaches, mountains, valleys, rivers, deserts, lakes, canyons, islands, etc. We have it all.
Not so Good: The US is big. A drive across it takes a few days. A flight from New York to Los Angeles is 4+ hours nonstop.
Good: Our schools are nearly all good or excellent. You can get a quality education here as long as you try.
Not so Good: Many of our schools have violence in them. School shootings has been a trend. Bullying happens.
Again, overall the good outweighs the bad. We have problems that I’m sure other countries have too. We also have good aspects that other countries have.
As long as we can figure out how we can all get along in this big melting pot, we’ll all be doing fine.
Am from East Africa, Uganda.
Pros
1. The climate is so good. It can rain in the morning and then 30 minutes later the sun is out.
2. Soils are so fertile you can grow anything in your backyard without need for fertilizers. All you see is green everywhere
3. Great fish from our local lakes
4. People are very social and polite. Someone can stop what they are doing in order to give directions to a person who is lost or trying to find their way to a new place.
5. Plenty of food
Cons
1. Corruption is a bit on the high side among government officials
2. Political system full of sycophants
3. Poor education system, a lot of class time and less practicals
4. Police and army units belong to the BIG MAN
5. Tribalism on the high side
6. Health facilities not good at all
I have two countries I have lived in, so this is kind of both then. Also I’m putting more than one pro and con because I can.
Thailand:
Pro: A diverse culture (at least what’s not ripped off from India). Lots of trees. Lots of actually healthy food (looking at you McDonald’s). Everyone smiles.
Con: The CGI in Thailand sucks. It burns here. Mosquitoes are disgusting creatures.
America:
Pro: It’s cold. There’s this sense of nostalgia in America. Snow. It’s more technologically advanced than Thailand.
Con: Politics. Enough said.
India’s capital city is clearly a place of contrasts, love and frustration often walk hand in hand. But it’s also proof that no place is perfect, and every city has a story. So here’s a question for you: Which country do you live in? Do any of Neeraj’s experiences remind you of home?
Do you want to add something about your country? What do you love, and what drives you a little crazy? We’d love to hear it. Drop a comment and share your side of the world: chaos, charm, and all.
I hail from Guernsey, Channel Islands, population ~60,000 (about the same as Greenland or Stourbridge in Worcestershire). It’s a British Crown Dependency.
It is, of course, pretty small. You can drive from one side of the island to the other in about 25 minutes at our national speed limit of 35 mph. You can walk it in about 4 hours. I still haven’t learnt to drive yet even though I could have done 5 years ago.
We have one town, which we know as Town. It’s still a bustling metropolis if you come from one of our dependencies, Alderney (pop. 2,000) or Sark (pop. 500).
Given what’s been going on in the world, I’m grateful for our politics being pretty boring. We don’t have any political parties, and our issues aren’t stuff like starting a trade war, it’s how to fund a new high school and bitching about the ferry operator.
I’ve been living in Singapore (a big country :P) for the last few months and nobody here has heard of it. I have to show it to them on the map, or lie and say I’m from the UK. And inevitably when I do show it to them I have to explain that no we’re not part of the UK, yes I’m a British citizen, it says European Union on my passport, but we’re not part of the EU, but I stand to lose my rights to live in it, thanks Britain, and we don’t have an army but the British are supposed to defend us and we’ve only been invaded once in 1940 but they didn’t then bla bla bla
Naturally it’s a very close-knit community. And if you know a Guernseyman in Singapore it’s probably me. Hai.
Also, tax haven.
I’m from Estonia (though currently living in London) which isn’t as tiny as Andorra or Liechtenstein but still relatively small.
Although there are other factors as well, one thing I’ve noticed is the effect of everyone knowing everyone (as is the case in a small country) vs the anonymity of a big city like London. This manifests itself in a weird way:
I’m a big gym goer and in London I see it all the time that people just walk off leaving weights lying around and not cleaning up after themselves. Maybe partially because here they’re one in a very big crowd, nobody will know who didn’t unload that barbell.
In Estonia however the gyms are much more orderly: people always take their weights off and put things back and I think it’s to do with it being more easily visible if you’re acting like a douche.
Anonymity breeds douchebaggery, familiarity counteracts it.
Costa Rica: 5 million people. GOOD: Public transport is cheap and ubiquitous. Medicines are largely OTC and pharmacists can recommend medications for typical problems. Socialized medicine with a single-payer model not unlike Medicare. No military and no military culture, and even “war toys” are prohibited. No heating nor cooling costs bc weather is mild year around. Civil disobedience is a tradition, and protests are taught in the schools, protesting is practiced regularly. The whole country has a very high walkability scale. You can easily use public transport for longer distances, and easily walk to your basic needs from almost any home (market, bank, bakery, post office, bus stops). BAD: Most things are imported, and are expensive due to taxes. Corruption is rampant. Petty theft and property theft (like through title theft) is rampant.
IRELAND
Pros: decent standard of living, people generally pretty sound
Cons: governments both North and South are pretty incompetent.
SERBIA
Pro: You will never be bored, warm people, good food.
Con: Low wages.
GERMANY
Pros: cheap, local and high-quality beer available everywhere, high wages when you have a master degree that’s in demand
con: s****y wages when you don’t have a master degree that’s in demand, absolutely catastrophic customer service.
CZECHIA
Pros: safe, liberal and developed country, possibility to get good value for less money in general
Cons: sort of backwater with small-town mentality; short-sighted politics that can lead to deeper systemic problems in the future.
ROMANIA
Pro: it’s pretty cheap and we have gorgeous mountains and mountain villages, plus really nice and old vineyards. The food is usually rather wholesome and also cheap. Many medieval cities worth visiting in all regions, with their respective “flavour”.
Cons: politics, some looming remains of communism, some old-fashioned mentalities and superstitions, a general opposition to most things new (especially among middle age people, but not only).
HUNGARY
Pros: good culture, good food, gorgeous girls
cons: wages, healthcare, education, thus a declining population, corruption, political based disagreements nearly always violent and disrespectful for the other side.
FRANCE
Pro: high variety of awesome fine food, good wine is cheap, big variety of beautiful places to see, contrary to the stereotype people are mostly alright, good public healthcare and safety net.
Con: you have to plan your movements around strikes, we have around 9% unemployment.
GERMANY
Pros: High standard of living, universal healthcare, strongest economy in Europe, good income.
Cons: Taxation, rise of nationalism.
SWEDEN
High standard of living, high wages compared to other countries, clean and environmentally minded and progressive.
Downsides are the climate, how expensive it is, people are cold and distant.
FRANCE
Pros: pretty, a lot of culture and history, big for Europe with varied landscapes, high standards for schools, pretty good living standards, delicious food, good food and social culture, pretty language
Cons: politics are getting worse every year, lots of unresolved social issues, too centralized around Paris, expensive for Europe.
BELGIUM
Pros : small, nothing is really far. Every kind of food you’d want. Social security.
Cons : politics is totally out of control, nothing is done anymore. Prices are increasing, life quality is slowly decreasing. Change is almost impossible. Salaries are not evolving (frozen for a long time) but cost of living are. There’s a massive exode of graduated people that prefer getting a lower salary for a better quality of life somewhere else.
POLAND
Pros: It’s a bit cheaper than the west I guess? Internet, both mobile and fiber are also greatly available and cheap.
Cons: Low salaries, housing crisis getting worse day by day, air pollution is horrible, services aren’t as great and available as in the western countries, constant envy of the western standard of life (maybe that’s just me, idk), conservatism, religion intervening in almost every aspect of life, no legal abortion, homophobia.
IRELAND
Pros: high living standard, food is reasonably decent, small so we can get to the other side of the country pretty quickly
Cons: weather sucks, relatively expensive, criminally low corporate tax and a lot of people can be pretty nasty.
NORWAY
Pro: actual seasons. In February (today) you can enjoy the snow and at the same time look forward to the warm sunrays of spring. In spring you can enjoy the green freshness all the while looking forward to the summer heat and the first trip to the lake or beach. In summer you can enjoy the lazy sun and also look forward to fall when everything settles down. In the fall you can enjoy the crispness and the colours while you wait anticipating the first snowfall.
Having something to look forward to is underrated. It just helps people look ahead in their lives, really. Everyone has activities they love for each of the four seasons. It is a reminder that everything will pass, and everything will be born again.
Con: small-minded self absorbedness. Being the top rated country in almost every category makes people arrogant and egosentric. Every d**n day top news stories are «some foreign celebrity thinks Norway is beautiful» or «one Norwegian talent is popular in USA» or something like that. It’s embarrasing.
I’m from Ukraine.
The Pro: tasty food.
The Con: having Russia as a neighbor.
I am portuguese.
Pro: good and cheap for tourists to enjoy vacations. The weather, beautiful nature and cultural sites, good products like wine, cheese and food. BUT again most of us dont have the right to, so Portugal is only good for tourists. Or not bad at all for a few who could find a niche or a safe job (they are a minority), potential to grow in a sustainable way (but will not happen).
Cons: Nearly everything else, huge corruption, evil political mafia, rising unemployement, rising depression and other mental illnesses (i am myself a sufferer after years of struggle) savage destruction of jobs, bad salaries, increasing gap between rich and poor. Living in fear under the threath of poverty. People are too different and fragmented ideologically to become a real critical mass and have positive weight on national decisions (low citizenship participation, low social enroll). Emigration is now a issue. Even it is not a bad thing by itself, but people who doesnt want to emigrate are forced to exile against their will. Broken dreams, broken futures, no hope in the years to come.
I’m from the Netherlands.
Some Pros:
– Wealth, although not growing so fast anymore
– Beautiful tall women, although the average height is not growing so fast anymore
– Freedom, including the freedom to do stupid things like smoking pot.
Some Cons:
– Most of the country is below sea level. On the plus side, this forced us to work together in more or less democratic fashion since the middle ages: all landowners needed to keep their portion of the dykes and waterways in order.
– We have a monarchy. The King is a nice chap and all, but still, I would have loved a chance to apply for his job. Unfortunately who gets that job is decided by who your parents are, not by your abilities. Did I mention that the King is a nice chap?
– Densely populated, or rather we have a dense population: they all insist on going to work by car, at the same time of day, to the same locations.
Bulgaria:
Pros: We have laws and constitution. Nobody serves them. You can do whatever you want if you manage to build some moneymaking organization.
Beautiful nature with mountains, lakes, seas, valleys, caves, large beaches – everything you want from a nice vacation for weekend-vacation from work
Cons: We have laws and constitution. Nobody serves them. You can do whatever you want if you manage to build some moneymaking organization.
Corrupt government and police force.
I live in Moldova. The cons definitely outweight the pros some of them being:
-FIRST AND FOREMOST: The absolute worst thing is that many top sellers from sites like amazon and ebay don’t ship to your country. This leads to the next point.
-Due to the limited population and geographical resourses most manufacturers do not open in Moldova thus you have to pay around 40% more to buy foreign stuff.
-Increased level of corruption due to lack of interest from other countries.
-Due to the small size of the country, Moldova is only bordered by 2 countries and doesn’t have access to a sea or any mountains.
Pros: Can’t really think any but if I have to say it may be that there are no terrorist attacks.
EDIT: Yes I said the cons outweigh the cons. I actually said that. fml
EDIT 2: Also yet another con is that many online game mostly mmos that allow players from Europe do not allow players from Moldova.
Coming from Luxembourg. Public Transportation inside the whole country is extremly cheap. Also its really easy to meet up with people, the travel times are short and in the Central Capital you Can find anything.
I’ve lived in two different small countries for years (Singapore and Brunei). Brunei is about the size of Delaware, Singapore is half of Los Angeles. Singapore is 10 times as densely populated as Brunei.
Pros:
If you stick to the roads it’s difficult to get lost, even without satnav.
Quick to get around, to us “far” is anything over 30 minutes’ drive.
Mobile reception virtually everywhere.
Possibly cheap imports. There’s little reason to set high tariffs for stuff that’ll be imported anyway. (yes, big exceptions such as Singapore cars, etc.)
Geography and history is easier since there isn’t dozens of states or counties to learn about.
Cons:
You will have to vacation out of the country. Could be a pro I guess if you have a passport as good as Singapore’s, but other smaller countries might not have such luck.
Limited life choices domestically. It’s not feasible to be a rancher in Singapore, neither is it to be a rocket scientist in Brunei. If your aspirations aren’t found locally, you’ll have to move.
Depends:
You’ll see familiar faces very frequently. Some people like it, some don’t.
Healthcare. Singapore has really good access to healthcare (costs aside), but for less dense Brunei, people do get airlifted overseas for critically urgent procedures.
Public transport. In Brunei due to low density it hardly exists, while Singapore has one of the better ones in the world.
That’s it for now unless I come up with some more.
Born & raised partially in Nigeria- I would say fresh food & community. You always have a village.
U.K.:
Pro: Very multicultural and people are very tolerant generally
Cons: Homelessness and high crime rate in cities
Germany:
Pro: The houses are really well built
Cons: People are “direct” but actually they’re just being a******s and playing it off as a cultural quirk.
GERMANY
Pros: generally high standard of living, good healthcare, very nice historical sites and museums
cons: politics are a mess, choice between high housing cost and horrible infrastructure.
LUXEMBURG
Pros: High wages, very easy to visit France, Germany or Belgium, some nice castles, many languages spoken by the entire population, politics are not nearly as divise as in other countries, economy is doing well and the future looks pretty bright
Cons: Constant and I mean CONSTANT construction sites everywhere, nightlife is pretty lame, a lot of trafic, the country (esp the north) is not well connected even though it’s pretty small.
Scotland:
Pros: culture and beautiful buildings, liberal and relatively left wing, free university education and good universities, cozy pubs, stunning scenery
Cons: Brexit, still has too many areas of high inequality/violence/d**g use (when it really shouldn’t), difficult to travel elsewhere (few direct flights to rest of the world).
GERMANY
Pro:
-Quality of live overall is pretty good
-No speed limit on the Autobahn
-we have great Schnitzel
Con:
-Getting a Flat in bigger cities is really expensive
-Mobile Internet connection is really bad or not available at all
There are probably more Pro’s and Con’s but thats all I can think of at the moment.
UK
Pros: Decent standard of living, good healthcare and a great music scene
Cons: Grim weather and widespread problems with d***s/alcohol abuse.
BULGARIA
Cons: low standard of living, bad government,the peoples are toxic af
Pros: I cant remember any pros in living in Bulgaria nowadays.We had beautiful nature but we are destroying it fast, We had great education but we dont have it anymore .But at least we have 1300 years of history at least so we can remember about the lost Bulgaria.
FRANCE
Pros: food, healthcare, places to see.
Cons: worst education system in Europe imo (stress is through the roof, too many hours, self-teaching is better), we complain over ANYTHING, strikes everywhere all the time. Tbh, I don’t really like this place.
GERMANY
Pros: Great social security, Döner, high quality standards on pretty much everything
Cons: Expensive public transport, bloated bureaucracy, a lot of dying small cities (Urban pull is growing ever stronger).
Slovakia:
Pros: Beautiful nature and historical sites as castles and small towns; warm people; cheap; current president Zuzana Caputova; bryndzove halusky
Cons: Rise of f*****t parties and xenophobic and anti-liberal mentality; strong sentiment towards communistic era from boomers; very old fashioned mentality; low wages; screwed politics and mafia connected to government (assassinating the journalist etc); screwed jurisdiction; people have VERY positive relationship with alcohol; very bad school system
Czech Republic
Pros: very great and open people; in bigger cities quite diverse and multicultural; good night life; beautiful nature; good location in the center of Europe; wages – costs ratio is very good; general ban of smoking in pubs and restaurants
Cons: Milos Zeman and Andrej Babis; not having Euro; some smaller towns have similar mentality to Slovaks (xenophobic and communism sentiment); communists architecture screwing landscapes and historical town centers.
CYPRUS
I really like making such lists because they give you some perspective.
Pros:
*The weather. If you like long hot summers and mild winters then Cyprus is your place. But I know that this is subjective but at least something that is necessary such as sunshine in order to absorb vitamin D is essential.
* Mediterranean food.
* It’s an island ,so access to beaches.
Cons:
*Conservative society.
*Limited access to Continental Europe because it’s an island.
*Very small. Only 1,1 milion people.
FINLAND
Pros: Warm summers and semi cold winters in the south, relaxing countryside, good public transport in cities.
Cons: Everything is so expensive, mandatory Swedish courses and the incompetant governments.
