A new survey from International Living says that France has the highest quality of life, followed by Australia and Switzerland. The United States, meanwhile, is in seventh place, behind nations such as Germany, New Zealand, and Luxembourg:
To produce this annual Index we consider nine categories: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate. This involves a lot of number crunching from “official” sources, including government websites, the World Health Organization, and The Economist, to name but a few. We also take into account what our editors from all over the world have to say about our findings.
1. FRANCE
2. AUSTRALIA
3. SWITZERLAND
4. GERMANY
5. NEW ZEALAND
6. LUXEMBOURG
7. UNITED STATES
8. BELGIUM
9. CANADA
10. ITALY
While I enjoy hammering French socialists, this does not mean I disagree with the list. International Living’s Index basically measures good places to live for people who already have money. France is a very nice country to visit, and would be a very nice place for a rich person to live depending on one’s preferences for food, weather, and culture. Personally, I’d go for someplace warm and sunny, such as the Cayman Islands (which only ranks 54th out of 194 options). There are plenty of interesting details in the comprehensive table, including Liechtenstein being the only place to get a perfect score in the economy category. Somalia was the worst overall country. The biggest surprise, at least to me, is that Singapore was ranked 70th. Seems rather low since a number of rich people are choosing to become Singapore residents.
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Just saw this post, and I think you guys need to think beyond just economics.
Singapore: Why would I want to live in a country that arrests people for chewing gum, affixes lights on top of cars to regulate speed and hangs a teenage Australian for a drug offense?
France: High taxes yes, but if you an outdoors type, living in country without lawyers regulating everything is wonderful. Not to mention, wine is sold in grocery stores everywhere and no-one is telling me I can’t eat unpasterized cheese.
Germany: I can drive 150 mph. Need I say more?
I currently live in New Zealand, and our kayak club is able to do all sorts of things–like hire gear, organize grade 4 trips, do instruction–that liability would make impossible in the US. And while I will not argue that state-run health care is a great thing, not having your coverage tied to your job increases labor mobility and encourages small businesses, of which there are many in this little island.
Oh, and did I mention my car insurance costs $300 per year for two drivers for liability and full collision coverage based on what I payed for the car and not a “blue book” value?
And New Zealand seems to be one of the few places that has not (yet) turned into a surveillance state.
I hate taxes as well, but there is a lot more to my quality of life than just low taxes.
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There comes a certain point of wealth where you don’t necessarily care about how much of your wealth the state takes from you: no matter how much they reasonably could take it’s not going to result in a noticeable change in your life.
Thus the greater support for high-tax parties in high-wealth areas and from folks like Warren Buffett etc.
I truly expect for humanity’s sake that this ranking is bullshit.
Disclaimer: I am french.