Whilst many in the UK are snowbound and homebound and apparently the economic output has ground to almost zero as a result, there will be those sitting at home or freezing as they attempt to commute who will be actively contemplating their fastest route out of Britain.
You see, according to a brand new survey, not only is the quality of life in Britain worse than in nations such as Austria, Uruguay and Lithuania, the quality of life in Britain is actually getting worse.
So, on this sunny but freezing day in Britain, as you sit and contemplate why no one clears roads of snow any more, or invests in critical infrastructure, and as an assault on Brown’s leadership is discussed as being suicidal for the government and the nation’s economy is as frozen as many major roads in the UK, you will be 100% right in your thinking if you decide that actually, things in great Britain are going from bad to worse…
The new Quality of Life Index has been published by the respected International Living magazine that’s been researching up to 194 countries’ quality of life for 30 years…so it’s not like this is some random survey that’s plucked its findings from the ether. And yes, according to the Index, not only is the quality of life in the UK behind that achievable in countries as diverse as Germany, the United States, Spain and Norway, but it is worse this year than it was last year.
Last year Britain languished in 20th place in the survey – but this year it has fallen a further five places and sits on the list as the 25th nation in the league. Topping the charts is France – which is probably unsurprising given that the French have a very positive attitude towards achieving a decent quality of life – and anyone who stands in the way of that be damned! The French have shorter working hours than the British, they have more holiday entitlement, a greater number of public holidays, they have an incredibly diverse landscape across their vast nation that allows the French access to everything from the best Mediterranean beaches to the finest skiing without having to leave their beloved country.
The French savour life, they eat well, drink well, rest well, socialise well and generally seem to regard life with a little more respect than the Brits. In Britain we commute long hours, have job insecurity hanging over us even when we’re not in recession, we’re consumerists driven to owning our own homes and therefore getting into deep debt, we live in a country where the weather is generally poor, the government is unsupportive and all we have time left for at the end of a long working day is slumping in front of the TV. This can lead to poor eating habits, poor socialising tendencies, over eating and drinking and fatigue. So, it’s no wonder Britain has slumped in the Quality of Life rankings really is it?
And it’s a tragedy – because the UK is a beautiful and diverse nation too, it’s a nation peopled with individuals with great character, we are prepared to work hard for what’s important to us, but somehow the rewards are just not there any more in sufficient number to retain loyalty or commitment from the people. Which is why the UK is again witnessing the beginnings of a brain drain, which is why there are more people than ever searching for information about starting a new life abroad, and which is why you’re possibly wondering which countries made up the top 10 in the Quality of Life Index?!
Well, we’re going to be examining the top ten places in the world to live in closer detail in two forthcoming reports about where in the world you can move to live, work or retire if you want a better quality of life. In the first part we’ll examine the nations in reverse order from 10 to 6 inclusive – and they are, in tenth place, Italy then Canada, Belgium, the United States and Luxembourg. In the second report we’ll work from five up to the best place in the world to live, namely France. So we’ll cover New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and finally France.
We’re going to cover the reasons why these nations rank so well in terms of the quality of life they offer. We’ll suggest who the country in question might appeal to and why, how you can gain entry to the country and also offer up the counter position and highlight some of the less appetising points about each country too – so that you have as rounded a view as possible!
