I saw Oprah show yesterday and she was amazed how people in many countries like Denmark live. It is a fact that they live better than people in the U.S.A, I have lived in Europe and immigrated to U.S.A from Cuba many years ago. Unlike the U.S.A, people in Denmark are the happiest people on the planet, they spend more time with their family and enjoy live more, they pay among the highest taxes on the planet, but unlike the U.S.A, free healthcare, free school and they pay you to study, maternity leave 1 year paid, great training facilities, 4 years of unemployment insurance paying 90 % of salary. I always laugh when I hear people in the U.S.A saying that this is the greatest country on the planet, most people are working so hard that they have no time to take care of family, no wonder prisons are full and some family members turned out to be bad kids, the american way of live is about gathering stuff (big tv, ipods,etc), now we know that these things don,t make people happy, family gathering and friends, relationships, these things are more important. The bottom line, most people in rich Europeans countries live a better live, I know that some of you will tell me to move to Europe, is not that easy. I think it is a shame that these Europeans countries have a better quality of live than here according to the United Nation survey. bye now...Max i agree with most of you....most of you gave a smart answer.
Other - Cultures & Groups - 14 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Yes, tons of Western European countries are ranked higher than America in average standard of living by the UN. It's ironic too, because the U.S. is/was (before George Dumya Bush's "war on terror") one of the richest countries in the world, yet it also has one of the lowest average living standards for a developed country Scandinavian (Norway, Denmark, etc) countries have the highest living standards in the world, they get FREE healthcare & education (the government pays for them to attend University too). Canada, which is right above the U.S. on a map, is also ranked pretty high--it is ranked 4th best place in the world to live, versus the U.S.'s/America's 13th best place in the world to live EDIT: I think those countries thirve for the exact opposite of the reason the U.S. falters. America beleives that everyone is for themself, each of the countries ranked higher than it beleives in the idea of everyone for everyone else. The government pays for healthcare & education by taxing it's citizens, Americans hate taxes. They feel like they should keep all their money, and that anyone who is poor is poor because they are dumb or lazy EDIT: America is a country that has both some of the richest people and some of the poorest people (for a developed country) in the world. In each of the higher ranked countries, few people are poor--even those who are poor enjoy a high standard of living.
2 :
YES Their quality of living is so much better, I go to the Netherlands frequently, because I have lots of family there. I think it has something to do with religious beliefs. The majority of Northern/Western European countries don't believe in God. Belief in God (EU Statistics) The Netherlands in 32% Sweden its 22% France 34% England 38% Norway 32% Denmark 31% http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism#Europe I've noticed that the 7/10 most developed countries in the world are atheist/agnostic majority countries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_development_index
3 :
of course! Europeans countries are more clean than the U.S
4 :
Gas prices in Europe can run your wallet dry no thanks.
5 :
Yea... right.... been there, seen that... want nothing to do with it... none of them know what true freedom and personal liberty is... and now with the EU they are even more enslaved than ever... and soon to be muslimized to boot.... NO THANK YOU!!!!!
6 :
This will become more evident as time passes too. America's standard of living is decreasing in an obvious way. America doesn't have wealth, we only have debt. Debt is not wealth and you can not borrow your way to wealth. We are a declining nation.
7 :
Also, America is full of Americans! oh nooo!
8 :
Sure, because its the truth. The US is rather far down on the list of Highest Quality of Living countries.
9 :
I suspect it has a lot to do with tourism. Not exclusively, but greatly. Take away their tourism, and I wonder how things would change.
10 :
America is the place where everyone starts from nothing,and that can be a headache for individuals. I'm not surprised that some countries in Europe have a better way of living. America is still one of the youngest develop countries. which have the most immigrates,that brings more baggage,and responsibility to the country.
11 :
Well yes we do have free health care called the Nhs
12 :
America is great place to live so long as you don't have a problem with working. I like to keep what I earn. I don't need the government taking the money I worked for and just doling it out to people who don't feel as they should have to work. And example of this train of though: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100107/ap_on_fe_st/eu_odd_switzerland_huge_speeding_fine A rich swiss guy gets a $290,000 fine for an effing speeding ticket. Now the interesting thing here is had he been a man of more ordinary means, the ticket would've been much, much less. How is that fair exactly? The guy probably worked his arse off to get that wealthy, and he is penalized for it. Seems counter productive to me.
13 :
Regardless of how "rich" European countries are, the fact that there are less foreigners is the reason for the higher standard of living for Europeans.
14 :
I agree this country is extremely unhappy and miserable. I disagree that they pay higher taxes because once you factor in everything Americans have to pay for on their own {health care costs, college, baby sitters etc} we're really not saving any more on taxes than they are. You're getting the message, Max. Unlike these tea party protesters who just follow the leader as they vote for people who just want to make their life harder and more miserable. Smart and gutsy question! You're one of those people who don't believe everything they hear.
Read more discussions :
