Best Place to Live Worldwide

[Mike]

http://crowlee.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=housing1&action=display&thread=234&page=1

Best Place to Live Worldwide
« Thread Started on Jan 31, 2007, 9:20am »   

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(I have copied this over from the old forum)
Original post by Montchalin:

I wish there had been a thread about "The Best Place To Live." Gary had a post about living in The High Desert being a good possibility. I wish that had been explored more.

Another thought is to re-examine our own location. How does it stack up?

Just the numbers: www.nationmaster.com has listed the nations of the world by statistics from the CIA World Factbook.

http://www.nationmaster.com/red/graph/en....R&b_printable=1
The U.S. is #33 in the world for per capita oil reserves, just behind Syria, Malaysia, and Brazil. This endowment is being pumped at a rate of about 4 times the world average (per my memory). This spells p r o b l e m for future American generations.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_pri_per_cap-crime-prisoners-per-capita
The U.S. leads the world in incarceration at 715/100k inhabitants. No nation is even close to our rate. Russia tries, with 584/100k inhabitants. I don't know what the problem is, but I can sure spot a symptom of something.

There also seems to be a problem with our rights: habeas corpus. I've never needed it, but kinda' like having it.

IS THERE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?
In an FSN broadcast Jimmie rogers said that he liked Spain and Shanghai. Marc Faber lives in Thailand. JP lives in San Diego. and Richard Russell lives in La Jolla (near San Diego), and the Aden Sisters live in Costa Rica.

http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/ has summaries of most nations real estate market. Panama seems to be supplanting Costa Rica as a haven from the U.S., and Uruguay probably has the best potential in the New World. In Africa, it is probably Uganda. Asia was a surprise: Japan!

Another angle is taxes. In the U.S. it might be Nevada or Texas or Utah or Wyoming. How about worldwide?

   

[Dame]

The best place to live would need to be viewed as a function of who each of us is.
 
I am not sure any of us would want to live where we do not share the language, culture, education, religeon etc of at least some of the people who live in the community.

Then there is the issue of skills,  I have developed a location specific set of skills that I am not particularly aware of to thrive in the locallity where I live.  ie.  I know how to live comfortably with extreame cold, and am familiar with staying healthy where much of the food is out of storage for the winter.

I doubt I would do as well in a very different climate, because I do not know the hazards and how to cope with them.  I would become quite dependent on the surrounding community for information and assistance with standard practice.

[Lore]

I wonder why Jim Puplava stays where he is (San Diego), knowing what he knows about the future.

I talked to him about places to live after the Kimber Resources AGM three years ago, and he said he was giving the matter serious thought. Candidates included various northern states and Canada. He didn't seem interested in leaving North America. Wonder if that's changed. The fact is that he has extended family and roots in the area. It's hard to leave that, harder to get everybody else to follow if you go.

It would be interesting to see what all the people listed above have to say about moving vs. staying.

[Lore]

Trace Mayer (author / newsletter writer) weighs in with much the same message as Dame. He has good ideas re: "suburban survivalism."

Survivalism In The Suburbs (26-May)

Shortly before Memorial Day I received an interesting, if not unanswerable, question from a reader:  ”Would you recommend a place to live in the Montana to Colorado area that will have minimal economical damage?”

The principle of human action holds that every individual derives utility according to their own preferences resulting in a subjective perception for determining value and price.  I hate cold weather.  Being trained in the law I am often accused of being cold-blooded but the reality is that I am just a desert rat.

While preparation expert Joel Skousen, author of Strategic Relocation, may consider Montana or Nebraska attractive locales I have about the same desire to live in Montana or Nebraska as I have for eating sauteed rats in South Korea.  Nevertheless, I know people who love living in Montana and others who find sauteed rat a delicacy.  Everyone has their own individual preferences based on their human action.

[opsec]

Survivalism In The Suburbs (26-May)

Having a three month supply of food and a a 72 hour kit will provide protection against the vast majority of probable scenarios.

Preparing for the vast majority of probable scenarios is not sufficient since the scenario we are facing is beyond what most people would consider probable.

[Dame]

A three month supply of food and a 72 hr survival kit would be a great start for those who have busy with normal like (most people) to have missed the bigger picture.  A three month supply of food and a 72 hr kit has been standard practice for generations in my family, so how much to keep has always been part of my 'normal life'.

For those whose standard life long 'normal' has been 'if you do not need it in the next 3 mo. through it out'; starting is a radical change.  All the extra stuf to organize is a major housekeeping and bookkeeping and even financial commitment.

Even a 72 hr kit can make a huge difference in wellbeing in many situations. 

[Mike]

Caribbean    population    Density    ppp Per Capita inc    Industry
Anglo Islands of the Caribbean!
df: Caribbean Jurisdictions that may have a tradition of Common Law

low                                   23.27/km2     Bahamas                    $27k/capita    Tourism/offshoreFinance
Volcanic                         44/km2           Montserrat                   $3.4k/capita    
Volcanic                         105/km2           Dominica                  $10k/capita    
Coral                                    132/km2     Anguilla                      $8.8k/capita    
Volcanic                            164/km2    Saint Kitss and Nevis    $14k/capita    
low-lieing volcanic                194/k2    Antigua Barbuda           $18.5k    50%tourist dependent
Mountains                            252/km2    Jamaica                  $7.7k/capita    
Complex                          154.4/km2    Trinidad Tobago    $20.7k/capita    
Volcanic                            298/km2    Saint Lucia                   $10.8/capita    
Volcanic                            319/km2    Grenada                   $10.8k/capita    
limestone/Coral             647/km2    Barbados                      $19k/capita    
            
Comment: A fairly recent econtalk was about Jamaica versus Barbados.  What is the difference?  Other than size and population density?  Both speak English gained independence at about the same time....., etc.  The difference was government policy.  Jamaica took the populist approach.  Barbados proceeded with boring mediocre growth; but it compounded.  Barbados' ppp per capita income is roughly twice that of Jamaica.

Lesson 1: The US is on a populist course.... and should get Jamaican results.
 
Generally the islands with higher incomes have higher incomes because of tourism.  I expect that to change. 
Complex    15.6/km2    Paraguay    $4.7k/capita

[Mike]

Anglo Islands of the Caribbean!
df: Caribbean Jurisdictions that may have a tradition of Common Law

Caribbean    population    Density    ppp Per Capita inc    Industry
Stable                                    3.5/km2         Guyana                            $4k/capita
Stable                                  15/km2           Belize                              $7,9k/capita
Stable                                  15.6/km2        Paraguay                         $4.8/capita
low                                   23.27/km2     Bahamas                    $27k/capita    Tourism/offshoreFinance
Volcanic                         44/km2           Montserrat                   $3.4k/capita    
Volcanic                         105/km2           Dominica                  $10k/capita    
Coral                                    132/km2     Anguilla                      $8.8k/capita    
Volcanic                            164/km2    Saint Kitss and Nevis    $14k/capita    
low-lieing volcanic                194/k2    Antigua Barbuda           $18.5k    50%tourist dependent
Mountains                            252/km2    Jamaica                  $7.7k/capita    
Complex                          154.4/km2    Trinidad Tobago    $20.7k/capita    
Volcanic                            298/km2    Saint Lucia                   $10.8/capita    
Volcanic                            319/km2    Grenada                   $10.8k/capita    
limestone/Coral             647/km2    Barbados                      $19k/capita    

            
Comment: A fairly recent econtalk was about Jamaica versus Barbados.  What is the difference?  Other than size and population density?  Both speak English gained independence at about the same time....., etc.  The difference was government policy.  Jamaica took the populist approach.  Barbados proceeded with boring mediocre growth; but it compounded.  Barbados' ppp per capita income is roughly twice that of Jamaica.

Lesson 1: The US is on a populist course.... and should get Jamaican results.
 
Generally the islands with higher incomes have higher incomes because of tourism.  I expect that to change. 

Comment:
Why are Paraguay, Montserrat, and Guyana so impoverished?

Montserrat has an active volcano that has devastated the island, and is still sending up dust.

So why are Paraguay and Guyana so impoverished?

[opsec]

Paraguay is landlocked  makeing it difficult for it to participate in international trade. That and it is half desert.

[Mike]

Austria, Switzerland, Uganda, Botswana, and Bolivia are also land locked.  Paraguay has it better than any of these countries because of Paraguay's ocean access via the Paraguay River.

Then, there is Guayana.  It is on the ocean.  But I have no idea if Georgetown is capable of serving modern container ships.

Government policy can destroy the wealth of a nation.

Another idea is that a certain population density is necessary for take-off, e.g. Hong Kong & Singapore.  Paraguay and Guyana 'just don't have the population.'

Along the thoughts of population required for 'take-off,' has to be the consideration for 'population density that will cause a crash.'  Will Peak Oil cause Hong Kong and Singapore to crash?  Or can those kinds of places survive as high tech centers on the downhill side of Hubbert's Peak?

[Atash Hagmahani]

Singapore is doomed. It is too energy-intensive. If electricity is expensive, then it becomes costly to air-condition skyscrapers and high-rises. Without air-conditioning, those buildings are not inhabitable. (when the power goes off in Seattle, high-rises here are stiffling. A building that big generates too much heat from warm bodies and equipment). Singapore sits ONE degree off the equator.

Singapore also is not on any major shipping lanes, except maybe close to the shipping lane for oil (to Japan, which is doomed for other reasons). The only reason it exists at all, is due to historical and demographic accidents (imported Chinese labor that broke off from "Malaysia").

[liberty404]

Uganda, Bolivia, Botswana, and Paraguay all have less individual liberty that most first world countries.  Also, it is not safe to be an immigrant that looks different than the locals unless that country has a long tradition of accepting immigrants.  Especially in the midst of a major depression.

[Atash Hagmahani]

Most first-world countries are losing their civil liberties (I mean that in the original sense of the word, and not in the present-day corruption thereof--I am talking about "negative rights" not "positive rights") at an alarming pace.

If a commitment to respecting individual liberty is lacking, then your next best bet is benign neglect. Governments that are weak, and wide-open spaces, are a good bet.

All these countries have relatively low population densities. Uganda has a history within living memory of genocide, which makes me nervous. Botswana has a surprisingly high rating for lack of corruption. It is also a surprisingly prosperous country. Its worst problem is probably the 24% HIV rate. The country is also overwhelmingly desert (the Kalahari) or marshland!

Bolivia worries me for fairly overt racial tension.

[offdalip]

FWIW, what about Guatemala ?


http://buttonwood.economist.com/content/gdc

[Ryder]

Interesting map on per capita debt. Maybe something relating to per capita income would be interesting.
   I have lived in two different countries for varing lenghts of time and it is not like I could blend in at all. Small town montana can be really strange if you are from somewhere else.
  If you are someplace and get asked "have you lived here all your life?" my favorite answer is "not yet".