MartinH

1. Australia - Lots of Brits
2. Canada - Lots of Brits
3. Germany - Not many Brits

Germany for me

Mitzyboy

Thats rather ironic isn't it!

Ray51

Not so sure about "ironic" ;
the anglo-saxon allmighty arrogance and pretence/s , frequently coupled with too much ignorance :
really can ( and does ) wear one down , at times ?
And then , in the end game : what's there to show , for all that showing-off , pray ?

Mitzyboy

Well its said in Spain quite a lot. People all say "I'm moving to the country where there are less Brits", and because they move there, there are more Brits

Ray51

There's nothing new , nor wrong , about finding other Brits liberally sprinkled in so many places : Oz , S. Africa , NZ , Spain , Emirates , Croatia , France , wherever ;
it's just that , for some unexplained reason , a minority of them like to ( and do ) act as if they owned the place , ignoring and disrespectful of local customs and culture , which then puts a few others' backs up , IMHO .
But it is also nice to have easy , ready & steady access to those things British which one likes and values e.g. daily-fresh U.K. press , books , concerts , certain foods etc ...and , from years of experience : in such respects , Brussels is probably better than any town in Germany .

woodworm

just found this thread and thought i'd give you my impression as well
I have lived in Germany for 38 years (I was born there) , I spent nearly a year in Australia and have lived in Canada for 6 years (I am married to a Canadian)

and for me the winner is.... Australia (mainly because of the climate)

I like all 3 countries and each of them has a few advantages and disadvantages, but if I had a choice right at this moment I would go to Australia.

Ray51

Oddly enough , a ( Czech ) limo-driver told me approx. the same thing , last time we were in Tto : Canada NOT really all that bad , Germany : him & the wife couldn't fathom anymore , mebbe Oz was still the best ? ( but who can keep on moving , forth & back , like that )

MartinH

Yes - but having dreamed for years of living in Oz, the major disappointment was walking into a shopping mall and seeing it full of fat brits in Arsenal or Chelsea replica shirts - its just somehow a bit vulgar. Seeing Germans wearing Eintract Frankfurt replica shirts is however absolutely fine!

nohinsara

Hmm I see your point but it's more to do with my experience of being half and half.. half Brit half Canadian. I just find Euro lifestyle in general makes me happier and meshes better with my personality. I hated living in Canada that close to the US and it's anthropocentric way of seeing things, I hated the lack of culture (IMO), shortsightedness, and complete absence of holiday destinations without leaving the physical continent. I also hated the spiders! Far more spiders in Canada than here in Germany I find - though I haven't been to Bavaria yet.

But I would leave Germany in a fraction of a second if it meant going back to Blighty! Please God.. one of these years!

Novocastrian

Hi, I posted up-thread explaining that I now live in Canada most of the year and in Europe (France) for the summers. I also have lived for several years in Germany (Mainz).

I agree that it's easier to feel culturally comfortable in Europe but am rather puzzled by your comments about spiders. Where in Canada did you live?

I'm equally puzzled by your view of anthropocentric uniqueness in North America. Are you a crazy animal rights activist? If so, how about spiders?

Ray51

Please , excuse my disinterest in north-American spiders ;
the last spiders I was keen on were in Ziggy ( Stardust and Spiders from Mars ) but that was v. v. long ago !
What interests me would be the comparisons between Canadian and German health systems ;
and it goes like this :
- some Brits on this illustrious forae whinge that in Germany one needs to pay towards the ( granted : clean , up-to-date , efficent etc. ) services ;
- the same postert seem to prefer our british NHS , where it is neither clean , nor safe , nor efficient - but one need not put any dosh upfront ?
- and the Canadians , I met a few in my time & to date , also are not all that happy with their system , I'd conclude - except that they don't even ( apparently ) have the option to pay extra , for a quicker/better/private/urgent/special....treatment/s
( so : those can afford it , go and get robbed about health : over the border , southerly ) ;
how do you comment ?

Novocastrian

I share your lack of emphasis on spiders in general, but would point out that "this illustrious forae" is slightly ungrammatical.

With respect to comparative health care systems, Canada has a "free at point of delivery" system paid for out of taxes; Britain tried the same but settled for a compromise polluted by a two-tier system involving private insurance; Germany is a bit like Britain but more efficient and the two tiers are confused by your status, i.e. many employees have additional entitlement to "private" access, paid for partly by employee and partly by employer, e.g. Beamter and other categories.

In terms of efficiency, among those three Germany is best, but loses in comparison to France.

All in my humble opinion, of course.

nohinsara

Puzzled by spiders, are you? Well I hope I can help. I hate them, horribly phobic, but I shall do my best to answer your question. I grew up on the west coast of Canada, Near Vancouver B.C. and oh mother of God are there some big nasty black spiders, wolf spiders, black widows, etc. there. I blame the fact that there are many many trees. So far here in Germany (granted only Berlin and Hannover), I have noticed very few of them, which agrees with me quite nicely.

As for health care, that is a wasp's nest of an issue. Everyone has a different opinion and experience of each and so it's always dangerous to say what one's two cents are. But... I will risk a few stings and say that I agree with Novocastrian, that France is best, and Germany second. My experience of health care in Canada was never good, and that includes the whole child birthing process, which really opens a person's eyes to how bad it can be there. I hate that there is little to no disclosure, no choice, no options. And it certainly isn't free, so there is no upside to it.
My experience in Germany has been by far better than anything I received in Canada. Still have to give birth and compare that, but a few months left yet.

On to anthropocentric views of North Americans... Do I really need to explain that? Perhaps I can give a tiny bit of credit and say that Canadians are a smidge better than the Americans for not living in a bubble of self obsession, but it isn't by much. I find Europe far more open to everything in general, but specifically more open to and aware of other cultures, world events, etc. Europeans are better educated on these things too. It's only my opinion. I know generalizations are dangerous. *shrugs*
Nope, not a crazy animal rights activist I'm afraid... Especially when it comes to spiders.

Novocastrian

Oh, I see. You're misusing the word anthropocentric. You mean parochial or narrow-minded.

As to spiders, we don't have nasty ones in southern Ontario or indeed in most of the rest of the country.

nohinsara

Nope I meant anthropocentric too (as in in addition to my points).

1 Regarding humans as the central element of the universe.
2 Interpreting reality exclusively in terms of human values and experience.

But parochial and narrow minded also fit. Add them to the list.