How well do we rate compared to other countries?
http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings_by_country.jsp
http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings_by_country.jsp
Quality of life index for 2012
- Thread starter spock1
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It kinda blows my mind they do this by country.
The home to income, commute time, pollution in rural Kansas is different than Manhattan, or at least it seemed that way to me.
The home to income, commute time, pollution in rural Kansas is different than Manhattan, or at least it seemed that way to me.
Originally Posted By: bepperb
It kinda blows my mind they do this by country.
The home to income, commute time, pollution in rural Kansas is different than Manhattan, or at least it seemed that way to me.
Good point to remember when interpreting the results
It kinda blows my mind they do this by country.
The home to income, commute time, pollution in rural Kansas is different than Manhattan, or at least it seemed that way to me.
Good point to remember when interpreting the results
I don't think you can categorize the whole country together.
Good to know we have the 2nd lowest housing price to income ratio (after Saudi).
Good to know we have the 2nd lowest housing price to income ratio (after Saudi).
The quality of life index by major cities is included in this link.
http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp
http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp
Originally Posted By: spock1
The quality of life index by major cities is included in this link.
http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp
Edmonton #3..........Do they consider the weather or Black Flies?
The quality of life index by major cities is included in this link.
http://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings.jsp
Edmonton #3..........Do they consider the weather or Black Flies?
Edmonton is a great city with a nice dry climate and little snow.It is also a city where certain areas have a pretty high crime rate-drug trade and "gang bangers".
I have lived there for over thirty year and feel very safe most of the time.
What is superb about Edmonton is the river valley-tons of green spaces.
I think that it deserves being number three.
There is an ongoing frienly rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary and I guess that Edmonton is the winner.
I have lived there for over thirty year and feel very safe most of the time.
What is superb about Edmonton is the river valley-tons of green spaces.
I think that it deserves being number three.
There is an ongoing frienly rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary and I guess that Edmonton is the winner.
Originally Posted By: bepperb
It kinda blows my mind they do this by country.
The home to income, commute time, pollution in rural Kansas is different than Manhattan, or at least it seemed that way to me.
Yes, but how else would you give a general assessment about a country? Big metropolitan areas will always have a different quality of life issues than rural areas.
It kinda blows my mind they do this by country.
The home to income, commute time, pollution in rural Kansas is different than Manhattan, or at least it seemed that way to me.
Yes, but how else would you give a general assessment about a country? Big metropolitan areas will always have a different quality of life issues than rural areas.
I have lived in Switzerland for about a year, Germany most of my life and the US for 15 years on and off over 40 yrs.
In my experience income defines the quality of life one has in all these countries.
Poor and lower middle income definitely live better there than in the US but the higher the income gets the lower the quality of life gets in the Euro countries IMO.
The penalties for financial success in Germany are staggering, in Switzerland not so much but still high.
Redistribution of wealth is the order of the day in these countries.
As far as crime and pollution go there is no comparison. Germany and Switzerland are many times better.
In my experience income defines the quality of life one has in all these countries.
Poor and lower middle income definitely live better there than in the US but the higher the income gets the lower the quality of life gets in the Euro countries IMO.
The penalties for financial success in Germany are staggering, in Switzerland not so much but still high.
Redistribution of wealth is the order of the day in these countries.
As far as crime and pollution go there is no comparison. Germany and Switzerland are many times better.
I have not lived in Germany, but from what I know about other countries in Europe,
I think you 'Hit the nail on the head'
I also agree, you can not generalize when dealing with a Whole country.
I enjoy life where I live, but I possibly would prefer to live in certain areas of the U.S. or Europe than many areas of Canada.
There are MANY factors that determine 'what' makes a good place to live.
I think this index is too simplistic.
I think you 'Hit the nail on the head'
I also agree, you can not generalize when dealing with a Whole country.
I enjoy life where I live, but I possibly would prefer to live in certain areas of the U.S. or Europe than many areas of Canada.
There are MANY factors that determine 'what' makes a good place to live.
I think this index is too simplistic.
House price to income ratio I find interesting..
The USA is regressing and becoming a developing country, my guess is that in a couple of decades it will look quite a lot like Brazil. Not a good thing if you ask me. You'll have the top few percent with just about everything, a speck of a middle class left and a huge underclass at the bottom.
A lot of the experts are leaving.
A lot of the experts are leaving.
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
The USA is regressing and becoming a developing country, my guess is that in a couple of decades it will look quite a lot like Brazil. Not a good thing if you ask me. You'll have the top few percent with just about everything, a speck of a middle class left and a huge underclass at the bottom.
A lot of the experts are leaving.
I've heard people parroting that same line of garbage for the last 50+ years. It simply wasn't true then and isn't true now.
The USA is regressing and becoming a developing country, my guess is that in a couple of decades it will look quite a lot like Brazil. Not a good thing if you ask me. You'll have the top few percent with just about everything, a speck of a middle class left and a huge underclass at the bottom.
A lot of the experts are leaving.
I've heard people parroting that same line of garbage for the last 50+ years. It simply wasn't true then and isn't true now.
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I've heard people parroting that same line of garbage for the last 50+ years. It simply wasn't true then and isn't true now.
Problem for you now is that the reality is staring you straight in the face, all the stats are pointing to what I said....
Denial will not change the truth.
USD devaluing free fall.
Oil producing countries going to drop the US dollar as the standard. Replace soon.
Unemployment rate at a true 20% according to U6.
Inflation rate is skyrocketing. (Actual, including basic life necessities )
Incomes DROPPING on average, not even keeping up with inflation.
Deficit at new highs growing larger and larger.
We no longer manufacture most things.
This crash is going to be Waaaaaay worse than 33, mark my word.
I've heard people parroting that same line of garbage for the last 50+ years. It simply wasn't true then and isn't true now.
Problem for you now is that the reality is staring you straight in the face, all the stats are pointing to what I said....
Denial will not change the truth.
USD devaluing free fall.
Oil producing countries going to drop the US dollar as the standard. Replace soon.
Unemployment rate at a true 20% according to U6.
Inflation rate is skyrocketing. (Actual, including basic life necessities )
Incomes DROPPING on average, not even keeping up with inflation.
Deficit at new highs growing larger and larger.
We no longer manufacture most things.
This crash is going to be Waaaaaay worse than 33, mark my word.
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Originally Posted By: mechanicx
The irony is the seeds for US regression were planted about 40 years ago if not 50 years ago in the 60's IMO.
Well....The U.S. has enjoyed a Post war boom. the Real Boom lasted 20 years or so.
Some people might say they have been living on their good credit for quite some time.
Sad to say.
Many western countries have looked to the U.S. as an economic pillar.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/06/us-economy-decline-recovery-challenges
The irony is the seeds for US regression were planted about 40 years ago if not 50 years ago in the 60's IMO.
Well....The U.S. has enjoyed a Post war boom. the Real Boom lasted 20 years or so.
Some people might say they have been living on their good credit for quite some time.
Sad to say.
Many western countries have looked to the U.S. as an economic pillar.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/06/us-economy-decline-recovery-challenges
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Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I've heard people parroting that same line of garbage for the last 50+ years. It simply wasn't true then and isn't true now.
Problem for you now is that the reality is staring you straight in the face, all the stats are pointing to what I said....
Denial will not change the truth.
USD devaluing free fall.
Oil producing countries going to drop the US dollar as the standard. Replace soon.
Unemployment rate at a true 20% according to U6.
Inflation rate is skyrocketing. (Actual, including basic life necessities )
Incomes DROPPING on average, not even keeping up with inflation.
Deficit at new highs growing larger and larger.
We no longer manufacture most things.
This crash is going to be Waaaaaay worse than 33, mark my word.
A lot of what you say is true, but having lived in Europe & the US, there are 2 very striking things:
1) As per the index, housing in the US is incredibly cheap
2) In the US, a lot of people have a lot of disposable income compared to the rest of the world
In the US, people seem to be able to spend a lot of money. If they were to rein that in, and get to the levels of a lot of other countries, they would save a lot more, and the trade deficit would shrink, and you'd be in a position where US investors were buying Chinese, Japanese and German companies.
Suze Orman said that Americans go out too much. The number of meals that are eaten out, the amount of entertainment consumed outside. We complain for example about the cost of theater tickets, but theater audiences have been at a record high. Someone is going out and spending their money on entertainment!
Similarily, the number of places to get coffee for $5 is incredible. A lot of people are spending their money on coffee. You have whole families where every member has a $50 a month telephone and data plan. 10 years ago, nobody was spending this money so it has come from somewhere, usually from the fact that other necessities have become cheaper in real terms over time.
In my opinion, that is the major problem in the US. Too much consumerism, not enough saving. But it also meant that when you get a terrible recession, people have a lot to cut back on, which they have been doing, and 4 years later, they are feeling more optimistic because their net assets have recovered. Imagine that, the economy is still in trouble, but corporations are making record profits after having cut back on employees. The recession enabled corporations to improve productivity and there was still enough purchasing power to enable them to post record profits.
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I've heard people parroting that same line of garbage for the last 50+ years. It simply wasn't true then and isn't true now.
Problem for you now is that the reality is staring you straight in the face, all the stats are pointing to what I said....
Denial will not change the truth.
USD devaluing free fall.
Oil producing countries going to drop the US dollar as the standard. Replace soon.
Unemployment rate at a true 20% according to U6.
Inflation rate is skyrocketing. (Actual, including basic life necessities )
Incomes DROPPING on average, not even keeping up with inflation.
Deficit at new highs growing larger and larger.
We no longer manufacture most things.
This crash is going to be Waaaaaay worse than 33, mark my word.
A lot of what you say is true, but having lived in Europe & the US, there are 2 very striking things:
1) As per the index, housing in the US is incredibly cheap
2) In the US, a lot of people have a lot of disposable income compared to the rest of the world
In the US, people seem to be able to spend a lot of money. If they were to rein that in, and get to the levels of a lot of other countries, they would save a lot more, and the trade deficit would shrink, and you'd be in a position where US investors were buying Chinese, Japanese and German companies.
Suze Orman said that Americans go out too much. The number of meals that are eaten out, the amount of entertainment consumed outside. We complain for example about the cost of theater tickets, but theater audiences have been at a record high. Someone is going out and spending their money on entertainment!
Similarily, the number of places to get coffee for $5 is incredible. A lot of people are spending their money on coffee. You have whole families where every member has a $50 a month telephone and data plan. 10 years ago, nobody was spending this money so it has come from somewhere, usually from the fact that other necessities have become cheaper in real terms over time.
In my opinion, that is the major problem in the US. Too much consumerism, not enough saving. But it also meant that when you get a terrible recession, people have a lot to cut back on, which they have been doing, and 4 years later, they are feeling more optimistic because their net assets have recovered. Imagine that, the economy is still in trouble, but corporations are making record profits after having cut back on employees. The recession enabled corporations to improve productivity and there was still enough purchasing power to enable them to post record profits.
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