Best European countries to live in?

Affable

I'd say, Britain, Ireland, France, Holland, Denmark, Sweden.

Bluefoam

Italy, Germany, Portugal, Luxemburg, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Turkey....

JimmyFloyd

Spain is cool too if you can put up with the odd bit of blatant racism

devereaux17

there all great

having said that if i was rich i would like to live in spain or south of france.

O.A.P

Iv lived in Germany, Ireland, England and Holland. Thats how Id rate them to live in, as there listed.

asmobhosca

If I could pick anywhere in the world to be born well off it would be France, they have pretty much everything, amazing beaches and coastline, rivers, lakes, mountains, great summers, and great winters for skiing....beautiful countryside and amazing cities like Paris...
And the women arent bad either....:p

devereaux17

O.A.P wrote: »

Iv lived in Germany, Ireland, England and Holland. Thats how Id rate them to live in, as there listed.

Me too(lived in Germany) its pretty cool. It was a few years ago now when I was 13.

irish_bob

Bluefoam wrote: »

Italy, Germany, Portugal, Luxemburg, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Turkey....

hungary is an absolute dump in every way possible , dirty , absolute contempt for foreigners , a crap work ethic , no regard whatsoever for the customer beit at its more basic level or in serious business and without doubt the rudest and least friendly people you could ever meet , the one upside to the **** hole is they have an excellent public transport system but they have the russians to thank for that

devereaux17

harsh, yeah wasn't a fan of the old Budapest tbh.

Lockstep

I've lived in;
Britain, Ireland, Belgium, France.

been to;
Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Denmark, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Vatican

I think Ireland is the best although I'd take the German economic model and Belgian or British welfare.

Blue_Wolf

I think Poland is great. Beer and food nice and cheap.

Although their income reflects that. You think we have poor customer service in Ireland?? Ha well I think it's probably the best in Europe. I think the Irish are too up their own hole and moan the most

Ireland: Best Customer Service
Poland: Nice Beer, food and architecture/landscapes, SEXIEST Women in Europe
France: Nice food and Bakery
England: Eh all rude and think they are great.

I would love to live in Poland.

irish_bob

Blue_Wolf wrote: »

I think Poland is great. Beer and food nice and cheap.

Although their income reflects that. You think we have poor customer service in Ireland?? Ha well I think it's probably the best in Europe. I think the Irish are too up their own hole and moan the most

Ireland: Best Customer Service
Poland: Nice Beer, food and architecture/landscapes, SEXIEST Women in Europe
France: Nice food and Bakery
England: Eh all rude and think they are great.

I would love to live in Poland.

compared to eastern europe , customer service in ireland is great , on a global scale , its decidedly average and thats being generous

ps , the english are the least rude people on earth

devereaux17

customer service in ireland is grand, i'd hate it to be like the usa.

irish_bob

devereaux17 wrote: »

customer service in ireland is grand, i'd hate it to be like the usa.

where its excellent and originally defined

getz

on a EU referendum it seems that the UK is the most preferred country of residence for all EU migrants.

Aard

I want to move to a Scandinavian country, preferably Denmark. The Scandinavian way of thinking is similar to my own: they're direct, honest, and don't bullshıt. You always know where you stand with them. I've been to Norway and Iceland (loved them), and have friends from Sweden and Denmark. Their whole mindset and social attitutes are what I hope Irish people develope over the next few years.

Ireland isn't that bad. Average customer service, poor drivers, but generally nice people. Good social welfare. I love young Irish people (say, under 40), but the older Irish people are very set in their old-fashioned ways. There's a real guilt culture here (again, mainly from the older people) that I don't buy into, which tends to pıss people off. Other than that though, a nice place to live.

I lived in France for 6 months in '08, and tbh never again. I was in Nice, so it's not representative of the entire country. To make a sweeping generalisation: they're rude, stuck up their own arses, lazy, and difficult to integrate with. (To the guy who said above that he'd love to live in the south of France, it's not all as rosy as it seems.) Paris is different, however; I'd love to live in Paris for a while. And I'm told that the rest of France, ie not the south-east, is lovely too. Although once bitten, twice shy and all that.

mateo

Aard wrote: »

I want to move to a Scandinavian country, preferably Denmark. The Scandinavian way of thinking is similar to my own: they're direct, honest, and don't bullshıt. You always know where you stand with them. I've been to Norway and Iceland (loved them), and have friends from Sweden and Denmark. Their whole mindset and social attitutes are what I hope Irish people develope over the next few years.

Ireland isn't that bad. Average customer service, poor drivers, but generally nice people. Good social welfare. I love young Irish people (say, under 40), but the older Irish people are very set in their old-fashioned ways. There's a real guilt culture here (again, mainly from the older people) that I don't buy into, which tends to pıss people off. Other than that though, a nice place to live.

I lived in France for 6 months in '08, and tbh never again. I was in Nice, so it's not representative of the entire country. To make a sweeping generalisation: they're rude, stuck up their own arses, lazy, and difficult to integrate with. (To the guy who said above that he'd love to live in the south of France, it's not all as rosy as it seems.) Paris is different, however; I'd love to live in Paris for a while. And I'm told that the rest of France, ie not the south-east, is lovely too. Although once bitten, twice shy and all that.

Yeh I'd definitely say a Scandinavian country.

ChocolateSauce

Matter of preference really. I'm planning on living in Britain and then France for several years, maybe starting 2012.

Euro_Kraut

I've lived in both Germany and Austria. Good spots. Austria is a really beautiful country and the people are more relaxed than the Germans. Tad racist though...

devereaux17

getz wrote: »

on a EU referendum it seems that the UK is the most preferred country of residence for all EU migrants.

what does that mean?

Affable

Aard wrote: »

I want to move to a Scandinavian country, preferably Denmark. The Scandinavian way of thinking is similar to my own: they're direct, honest, and don't bullshıt. You always know where you stand with them. I've been to Norway and Iceland (loved them), and have friends from Sweden and Denmark. Their whole mindset and social attitutes are what I hope Irish people develope over the next few years.

I lived in France for 6 months in '08, and tbh never again. I was in Nice, so it's not representative of the entire country. To make a sweeping generalisation: they're rude, stuck up their own arses, lazy, and difficult to integrate with. (To the guy who said above that he'd love to live in the south of France, it's not all as rosy as it seems.) Paris is different, however; I'd love to live in Paris for a while. And I'm told that the rest of France, ie not the south-east, is lovely too. Although once bitten, twice shy and all that.

I'm with you on a lot of that. I think what's really appealing about Scandinavia and Holland also is that they are forward thinking politically, not too judgemental, socially liberal, not too religious. Pretty well organised politically is the impression I get, stable, low crime, high living standards, low corruption etc. Some great cities too, especially Holland IMO. I think they'd be really cool to live in. I don't know much about French people in France, but they seem OK here. It's a beautiful country and Paris is just fantastic.

irish_bob

id choose the netherlands as they all speak english and i couldnt live in a country where they dont speak english , tried learning foreign langueages , cant be done in your twenties

the dutch are a very cool people , liberal socially but supporters of free enterprise and individualism , thier not as into the nanny state as the scandanavians which would drive me mad , i also wouldnt mind living in the south west of england

getz

devereaux17 wrote: »

what does that mean?

it must be because peoply believe they are better looked after in the UK,free housing,health service,education, [and believe it or not] its is the the biggest melting pot of cultures in the EU.

devereaux17

oh yeah i know it is, just wan't so sure what u meant, but france would be as big a melting pot as well tho right?

getz

devereaux17 wrote: »

oh yeah i know it is, just wan't so sure what u meant, but france would be as big a melting pot as well tho right?

not as much as the UK remember with it passed colonial heritage people have been comming to the UK from over the third of the world,france dident have very many overseas colonies,nearly every language you can think of is spoken in every city in the uk,

irish_bob

getz wrote: »

it must be because peoply believe they are better looked after in the UK,free housing,health service,education, [and believe it or not] its is the the biggest melting pot of cultures in the EU.

wellfare in ireland is much more generous than in the uk , education is free over here and if your unemployed , so is healthcare , add to that , the dole is trebble in ireland what it is in the uk

Affable

irish_bob wrote: »

id choose the netherlands as they all speak english and i couldnt live in a country where they dont speak english , tried learning foreign langueages , cant be done in your twenties

the dutch are a very cool people , liberal socially but supporters of free enterprise and individualism , thier not as into the nanny state as the scandanavians which would drive me mad , i also wouldnt mind living in the south west of england

Bristol and Wales are cool.

Húrin

getz wrote: »

on a EU referendum it seems that the UK is the most preferred country of residence for all EU migrants.

They weren't allowed to go to many other places!

devereaux17

Aard wrote: »

I want to move to a Scandinavian country, preferably Denmark. The Scandinavian way of thinking is similar to my own: they're direct, honest, and don't bullshıt. You always know where you stand with them. I've been to Norway and Iceland (loved them), and have friends from Sweden and Denmark. Their whole mindset and social attitutes are what I hope Irish people develope over the next few years.

Ireland isn't that bad. Average customer service, poor drivers, but generally nice people. Good social welfare. I love young Irish people (say, under 40), but the older Irish people are very set in their old-fashioned ways. There's a real guilt culture here (again, mainly from the older people) that I don't buy into, which tends to pıss people off. Other than that though, a nice place to live.

I lived in France for 6 months in '08, and tbh never again. I was in Nice, so it's not representative of the entire country. To make a sweeping generalisation: they're rude, stuck up their own arses, lazy, and difficult to integrate with. (To the guy who said above that he'd love to live in the south of France, it's not all as rosy as it seems.) Paris is different, however; I'd love to live in Paris for a while. And I'm told that the rest of France, ie not the south-east, is lovely too. Although once bitten, twice shy and all that.

Nice post

By the way what u mean by 'guilt culture'?

Affable

Aard wrote: »

I lived in France for 6 months in '08, and tbh never again. I was in Nice, so it's not representative of the entire country. To make a sweeping generalisation: they're rude, stuck up their own arses, lazy, and difficult to integrate with. (To the guy who said above that he'd love to live in the south of France, it's not all as rosy as it seems.) Paris is different, however; I'd love to live in Paris for a while. And I'm told that the rest of France, ie not the south-east, is lovely too. Although once bitten, twice shy and all that.

Tbh I don't think southern Europe in general is great. I know I might not win fans on this board for saying it but sometimes I think the English are too much into fair play. I notice it relative to other Europeans. Dunno how you Irish feel as reckon you are somehwta similar to us.

devereaux17

what do u mean 'fair play'?

Affable

devereaux17 wrote: »

what do u mean 'fair play'?

Maybe the wrong word, just like being obliging, saying sorry, 'taking a bullet and never complaining' type mentality which seems to make us well qualified to be the slightly unassertive 'plucky loser' in (e.g) sport.

Ickle Magoo

irish_bob wrote: »

wellfare in ireland is much more generous than in the uk , education is free over here and if your unemployed , so is healthcare , add to that , the dole is trebble in ireland what it is in the uk

Education isn't free if you don't want a Catholic education, there are no non Catholic public secondary schools in Ireland, so not exactly much choice for the discerning migrant. On top of that all further education fees are subsidised for UK residents, the same Open University course costs £125 in the UK and €400 here. The NHS is free to everyone regardless of their employment status and you are not limited to what doctors you can see or services you can get, there is no cost to attend A&E, Dr's, kids dentists, etc, etc, etc. The dole is higher here but then so is the cost of everything. No contest, imo.

Euro_Kraut

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Education isn't free if you don't want a Catholic education, there are no non Catholic public secondary schools in Ireland,

Hmm..Thats not really true. There are loads of Community Colleges and Vocational Schools which are non-demominational.

In any case many of our migrants are Catholic. Plus internationally Catholic educations have a good reputation - most of our 'prestigious' fee paying secondary schools are Catholic e.g. St Annes, Clongowes, Blackrock, Glenstal.

Altough more migrants might move to the UK, Ireland has a higher rate per capita - mainly due to the good employment opportunities that exsited prior to 2008.

Ickle Magoo

Euro_Kraut wrote: »

Hmm..Thats not really true. There are loads of Community Colleges and Vocational Schools which are non-demominational.

In any case many of our migrants are Catholic. Plus internationally Catholic educations have a good reputation - most of our 'prestigious' fee paying secondary schools are Catholic e.g. St Annes, Clongowes, Blackrock, Glenstal.

Altough more migrants might move to the UK, Ireland has a higher rate per capita - mainly due to the good employment opportunities that exsited prior to 2008.

AFAIK, Community colleges and vocational schools do not provide secondary education, which is what I was referring to.

irish_bob

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

Education isn't free if you don't want a Catholic education, there are no non Catholic public secondary schools in Ireland, so not exactly much choice for the discerning migrant. On top of that all further education fees are subsidised for UK residents, the same Open University course costs £125 in the UK and €400 here. The NHS is free to everyone regardless of their employment status and you are not limited to what doctors you can see or services you can get, there is no cost to attend A&E, Dr's, kids dentists, etc, etc, etc. The dole is higher here but then so is the cost of everything. No contest, imo.

we are discussing the cost of healthcare within the context of being on wellfare , health care is free over here if your on wellfare , go to any A+E , its always full of skangers

the arguement about the cost of living here is routinely trotted out , the dole here is trebble what is in the uk which is seen as having a generous wellfare system yet the cost of living in ireland is nothing like trebble what it is in the uk

Euro_Kraut

Ickle Magoo wrote: »

AFAIK, Community colleges and vocational schools do not provide secondary education, which is what I was referring to.

Of course they do.

LordSutch

England, Ireland, Germany, France ......... in that order.

England; due to the people, the NHS, the public services, the mix of cultures, the non-parcochial mindset, the countryside, the fast pace, the history, the architecture, the good weather, (down south) Ireland; due to the people, the familiarity, the relaxed pace, the fresh air, the craic, the mountains, the guinness. Germany; because of the autobahns, the efficiency, the industry, the people, the food, Steins of bier & snaps. France; only been there once for a holiday, but I liked it :P

Aard

devereaux17 wrote: »

By the way what u mean by 'guilt culture'?

I'm not sure how to best describe it. The way I usually say is this:
Everybody's got their own plates spinning (like the circus act!) - this may be their personal problems, finances, time etc. In most countries, people spin their own plates. In Ireland, however, people spin others' plates and expect others to spin their own. When others don't do it, they get upset. This is the "guilt" I'm talking about.

Camelot wrote: »

France; only been there once for a holiday, but I liked it :P

I thoroughly agree: France is a great place to holiday. Now though, any longer than two weeks is too much for me.

Ponster

Been in Paris for 11 years now and am very happy I stayed afyer the '98 World Cup

Carroller16

Mehran Karimi Nasseri is that you!!!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehran_Karimi_Nasseri

devereaux17

Camelot wrote: »

England, Ireland, Germany, France ......... in that order.

England; due to the people, the NHS, the public services, the mix of cultures, the non-parcochial mindset, the countryside, the fast pace, the history, the architecture, the good weather, (down south) Ireland; due to the people, the familiarity, the relaxed pace, the fresh air, the craic, the mountains, the guinness. Germany; because of the autobahns, the efficiency, the industry, the people, the food, Steins of bier & snaps. France; only been there once for a holiday, but I liked it :P

Germany is better than UK. Better weather, better society and has great mix of cultures as well.

enda1

devereaux17 wrote: »

Germany is better than UK. Better weather, better society and has great mix of cultures as well.

Germany blows.
Everything closes early, Sunday is ghost town day. Atmosphere is not buzzing, no sense of life (except Berlin).

mink_man

italy, france

Affable

enda1 wrote: »

Germany blows.
Everything closes early, Sunday is ghost town day. Atmosphere is not buzzing, no sense of life (except Berlin).

Never mind racism.

greendom

getz wrote: »

france dident have very many overseas colonies,

Not quite sure what you mean here - not as many as the UK certainly but to say not very many is seriously underestimating the reality; France has a colonial past that includes most of Africa, the Middle and Far East, the Carribean, The Pacific. France is a culturally diverse country - just look at their football team if you don't believe me..

devereaux17

also france has the third highest number of jewish people after israel and the USA. FRANCE LIKE THE UK(ENGLAND) IS A MELTING POT.

france has double the amount of italians the uk has, in fact i reckon france is more of the european melting pot than the uk in that its more of a focal point for people from all over europe.

KTRIC

Affable wrote: »

Never mind racism.

And the blatant discrimination which I have personally recently experienced.

Affable

KTRIC wrote: »

And the blatant discrimination which I have personally recently experienced.

Wanna tell me more? (curious)

Aard

devereaux17 wrote: »

france has double the amount of italians the uk has, in fact i reckon france is more of the european melting pot than the uk in that its more of a focal point for people from all over europe.

Having lived in France, I disagree with you. Paris may be a melting pot, but it is in no way representative of the entire country. In many other cities, you're more likely to be met with racism rather than a melting pot. At least in the UK there's a certain amount of integration.

Tchaikovsky

The Scandinavian countries I'd say. They just seem to do things right and make an effort to integrate minorities.
The winters may be cold, but so what?