I keep looking at Google Earth, sighing. Such nice places in Europe. Clean streets, subways, trains, bikes, no suvs, no strip malls. Free healthcare, better welfare, bigger wages, pretty trees, buildings, nightlife, bars, fun. America is turning into a dump--look at Detroit. If Palin wins I want to move to Europe, maybe Sweden..lol

Teacher, let me move in..lol Who else would move?

2freaky4church1 said:

I'd move back in a heartbeat... but for whatever unknown reason I'm still trapped here in Cali...

Europe is good.

2freaky4church1 said:

Europe is great but you have to remember that there is no such thing as FREE health care, well, not in the UK anyways. Very high taxes cover the health care.
Petrol (gas), houses, food and clothing are more expensive here as well.
As they say here, it is all swings and roundabouts.

It is nice to be able to hop on a plane and within an hour or two I am in a different country.

RenHoek said:

It´s funny....thousands of Germans dream of living in California,and you are there and would rather live here.

Seriously, the number of Germans leaving Germany for good is something like 150.000 people every years. Most of them go to Australia, Canada, Spain or the USA. I often think of how nice life must be in the Bay Area or in Southern California but it seems that Köln is the place to be, at least in your opinion.

What exactly is it that you miss about Germany, and what is it that is missing in the Bay Area? You have the bay, the ocean, the sunshine, a house.....what could be better than that? And there´s an abundance in ethnic food there that I could only dream about here in Germany.

Don´t get me wrong, I like it here....just wondering.

The streets are NOT clean here. I have to go back to the States for that. There are plenty of ugly malls here, and the nightlife where I am is pretty much non-existent.

well, it's tricky if you're renting. Can't just show up on the doorstep, tattered ID documents in hand, two cases of luggage, bedraggled, dehydrated.

Still capable of speaking English, not trying to fancy the fuck out of the Polish mother.

Attempting to drive the tractor and then fucking up the entire field due to the lighter suspension...

Cx

I bet you have never seen the states in your life.

Detroit:



Gary Indiana:



NY:

KoolEaze said:

It is a pretty unusual predicament...

I miss being able to walk just about anywhere, quickly.
I miss being able to drive a few hours and I'm in another country.
I miss the streetcar & train system (KVB & DB) as well as the Autobahn.
I MISS TURKISH FOOD!! (Sorry but it's just not here, lot's of Greek but it's not the same...)
I miss THE CLUBS!! The club scene in Koeln was fantastic and if there wasn't something good there, then there was in a city near by!
I MISS UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE!
I miss Aqualand
I miss the low crime rate.
I miss the educational system.

if I did move back I would miss sailing the Bay the most of all... sailing is hard to come by in Koeln even if there is a Koelner Yacht Club and the English Channel is just 3-4hrs away...

minneapolisgenius said:

really ?
in The Hague ?

2freaky4church1 said:

well if it weren't for WINTER I would

2freaky4church1 said:[quote]I keep looking at Google Earth, sighing. Such nice places in Europe. Clean streets, subways, trains, bikes, no suvs, no strip malls. Free healthcare, better welfare, bigger wages, pretty trees, buildings, nightlife, bars, fun. America is turning into a dump--look at Detroit. If Palin wins I want to move to Europe, maybe Sweden..lol

Teacher, let me move in..lol Who else would move?[/quote]


I would, I'd love to live in italy ( main place) and then greece, spain and france.

I think the USA could learn many things from Europe (like education & health care), but I think it's a mistake to think that your standard of living would automatically go up if you moved there. The photos you chose of the US are among the worst you could find. There are equally beautiful places to live in the US. But to live in nice place in London would be incredibly expensive, maybe even more than New York City.

There were also extended riots happening in France last year because of inequities.

The grass is often greener. I thought San Francisco looked perfect, and the touristy spots are, but there are a lot of places in SF that are hard & nasty. I assume the same is true of Europe.

NDRU said:

of course, yes to all of that

Australia is the place to move to

although we also have skeletons in our closet, just ask the Indian government

ZombieKitten said:

Yes, well we have many of the same pros & cons I think. Australians are awesome partly because they are the only foreigners impressed by a 200 year old culture!

I remember hearing that Denmark had the happiest citizens and that was due to lowered expectations. They are content to not be superstars. Combine that with a fairly high standard of living and you have happy people. I might guess the same was true of Australia & Canada.

NDRU said:

NDRU said:

don't believe those "happiest" lists, they are based on socio economic standards, which rule out most countries.
Australia is not a homogenous society - just like US As soon as you have a multicultural place, you find there are hardships and desperation (ie. people who will do ANYTHING to get here and live here, and endure all sorts of unfairness in the process, work for peanuts etc) and unrest among those who find their home has changed in the influx, and not for the better.

However, we have a mild climate and I think that counts for a lot.

mcmeekle said:

it's pretty funny sounding, but I believe high expectations is how Americans are unhappy with what they have. Even most of us who are "poor" have running water, food, TV, cars, phones, etc.

But we all think we deserve to be superstars

ZombieKitten said:

true that without food, danish people would probably not be happy, lowered expectations or no

But I know my expectations do factor into my appreciation of movies! When I hear how great Lost In Translation is, there is no way I'm going to like it!

NDRU said:

you mean you are told you are living in the best country in the world? The American Dream?

ZombieKitten said:

we are taught to believe anything is possible. And it is possible, it's just very unlikely.

NDRU said:

and the Danes have nice Viennese pastries

NDRU said:

I think I know what you mean. It just, as you say, sounds funny.

Similarly, I have low standards and would describe myself as pretty happy.

mcmeekle said:

all you want is for someone to mention you!

mcmeekle said:

they tell us we live in the lucky country, and for the most part I can believe it

it feels lucky to live here!

NDRU said:

I don't ask for much.

And I don't get much.....

ZombieKitten said:

I don't always appreciate my life, but when I hear that like 2 billion people don't have clean water I feel pretty lucky.

I'm glad you feel lucky!

ZombieKitten said:

Do you experience luck on a regular basis? Like winning prizes and stuff. I always fill in my girl's names on raffle tickets, and they quite often win. But it's usually pish like Musk Talcum Powder, which, and I quote, the Medium one said "that smells like Granny."

mcmeekle said:

Yes!!!

I have won (so far): a snowboard, $25 worth of bread and a first aid kit

ZombieKitten said:

As the lucky country, does Australia guarantee at least 3 prize winnings for each of it's citizens?