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The five best places to live in the world, and why
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World Traveler



Joined: 29 May 2009

PostPosted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 6:30 pm    Post subject: The five best places to live in the world, and why Reply with quote

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jan/20/five-best-places-to-live-in-world

Do you agree with this list? (I was a bit surprised by it.) What do you know about Istanbul? Many people in the ESL world tell me that place is great. Why is that? Have you been to Turkey? People speak highly of that country. It is because the people are friendly? The atmosphere is good? Nice weather? How about the other cities on the list? Have you visited (or lived in) any of them? (I haven't been to any of those places.)
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edwardcatflap



Joined: 22 Mar 2009

PostPosted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It doesn't look like a poll to me or anything. I don't think anyone was actually asked what the top five places in the world to live are. It's just another excuse to go on about property prices. Typical Guardian. I love that section on upsizing and downsizing when they show 'downsizing' properties for 350 grand. Mad
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2i2dk1ny2i3



Joined: 26 Jun 2011

PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Portland, OR? i heard they have a Huge Meth epidemic going on and fails to mention they gots some really bad Sports Teams

rather have Regular Beer than Microbreweries galore w/horrible Teams
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augustine



Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Location: México

PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 7:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

2i2dk1ny2i3 wrote:
Portland, OR? i heard they have a Huge Meth epidemic going on and fails to mention they gots some really bad Sports Teams

rather have Regular Beer than Microbreweries galore w/horrible Teams


Portland is a beautiful city. As far as meth goes, it seems other states are tweaking out quite a bit more.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWmccfqHwRk/TzB4QqLuddI/AAAAAAAACXQ/hbgdUU7kU-I/s1600/Meth+Map.jpg

Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee are hitting those shard nard light bulbs hard as hell...
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sallymonster



Joined: 06 Feb 2010
Location: Seattle area

PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would love nothing more than to move back to Portland. It's a beautiful city with a reasonable cost of living, plenty of things to do and food to eat, and a relaxed, friendly vibe.

Unfortunately, what the article doesn't mention is how difficult it is to get a decent job there. It's much harder to enjoy Portland when you're unemployed or underemployed, poor and broke. Also, the weather sucks most of the year.
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KimchiNinja



Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam

PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm so-so on Portland. If I were going to go Pacific NW again I'd do Vancouver, USA-free living.
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cj1976



Joined: 26 Oct 2005

PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Portland sounds like Brighton, England. A pretentious, mostly white middle-class, hipster mecca full of 'artists' and 'cool' people. Santa Cruz looked nice though.
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KimchiNinja



Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam

PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cj1976 wrote:
Portland sounds like Brighton, England. A pretentious, mostly white middle-class, hipster mecca full of 'artists' and 'cool' people.


That sounds about right. My buddy who lives there directs movies and smokes pot, and hangs out in coolster coffee shops networking with other coolsters. Some people love it I guess. I'm not chilled-out enough to handle the hippiness, it just seems like a crappy burnt-out Seattle to me. And Seattle is crappy enough.

I say Singapore. ^^
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cj1976



Joined: 26 Oct 2005

PostPosted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KimchiNinja wrote:
cj1976 wrote:
Portland sounds like Brighton, England. A pretentious, mostly white middle-class, hipster mecca full of 'artists' and 'cool' people.


That sounds about right. My buddy who lives there directs movies and smokes pot, and hangs out in coolster coffee shops networking with other coolsters. Some people love it I guess. I'm not chilled-out enough to handle the hippiness, it just seems like a crappy burnt-out Seattle to me. And Seattle is crappy enough.

I say Singapore. ^^


I go to Singapore sometimes to see my family over there. I don't know if I could live there. Very expensive too, with high taxes on everything. Healthcare is free up to a certain point, but most people pay steep insurance. As the saying goes in Singapore, 'You can die, but you can't get sick'.
It is a very conservative culture and the people are quite serious.
Similar to here, people work long hours and bosses are almost slave-drivers. Unlike here, Singaporeans don't seem to know how to unwind. Also, it is very small and crowded. Singaporeans sometimes call it 'living in the fishbowl'.
On the plus side though, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are very close and the food in Singapore is so much better than Korean food.
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KimchiNinja



Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam

PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regarding Sing taxes the positive is there are no capital gains taxes, and income taxes are quite low. I calculated my tax rate and it's like 1/3 of what I pay as a US citizen!

Yeah small, and everything is expensive. I researched and can't really buy anything worth buying condo-wise without $1M USD, and it won't be that big, but will have a rooftop pool.

Upside is stable hot weather all year is better than these crazy four-seasons in KR, and vacation spots all over. My boss works there and wears t-shirt and flip flops all year. Mostly however I like that there are lots of international people doing business there, seems like a good hub in Asia.

KR has been fun but not sure I can stay here long term. Too cut off from the world.
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2i2dk1ny2i3



Joined: 26 Jun 2011

PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yours says 2010 mine is 2009 so maybe both older data, less reliable data:

http://mapscroll.blogspot.com/2009/04/meth-map-of-us.html

oh btw, having Meth labs and Meth users, two different things

augustine wrote:
2i2dk1ny2i3 wrote:
Portland, OR? i heard they have a Huge Meth epidemic going on and fails to mention they gots some really bad Sports Teams

rather have Regular Beer than Microbreweries galore w/horrible Teams


Portland is a beautiful city. As far as meth goes, it seems other states are tweaking out quite a bit more.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWmccfqHwRk/TzB4QqLuddI/AAAAAAAACXQ/hbgdUU7kU-I/s1600/Meth+Map.jpg

Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee are hitting those shard nard light bulbs hard as hell...
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Fox



Joined: 04 Mar 2009

PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KimchiNinja wrote:
Too cut off from the world.


That's what's so great about it. Hermit Kingdom!
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KimchiNinja



Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam

PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fox wrote:
KimchiNinja wrote:
Too cut off from the world.


That's what's so great about it. Hermit Kingdom!


Indeed, I get a lot of stuff done here; work, gym time, other interests. Nobody bugs me or cares what I do here. Isolation does have its advantages!
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braindrops



Joined: 13 Sep 2011

PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 1:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How come seoul isnt on the list? Whoever wrote the list must hate koreans. Either that or he was paid off by the japanese to not award points in the voting to seoul and kim yuna. Lousy japanese orangutans.
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bucheon bum



Joined: 16 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 2013 5:49 am    Post subject: Re: The five best places to live in the world, and why Reply with quote

World Traveler wrote:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jan/20/five-best-places-to-live-in-world

Do you agree with this list? (I was a bit surprised by it.) What do you know about Istanbul? Many people in the ESL world tell me that place is great. Why is that? Have you been to Turkey? People speak highly of that country. It is because the people are friendly? The atmosphere is good? Nice weather? How about the other cities on the list? Have you visited (or lived in) any of them? (I haven't been to any of those places.)


Istanbul is a great city, but I'm a fan of any city that's on the water and has hills (such as Hong Kong, San Francisco, Seattle).

Yep, people are friendly there. Weather is pretty moderate. Istanbul itself feels pretty European (outdoor cafes, plenty of bars, good restaurants, etc). Other parts of Turkey? More inland you go, the more conservative it gets.

The article overhypes Portland's hipster and liberal past. It has only developed a rep for being hipsterish and liberal in the past 10 years. My mom's side of the family is from there, so I visited it frequently growing up. It only became "hip" and popular among younger people in the late 90s I'd say. Nice city though. I certainly wouldn't mind living there.
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