pauldxb

I like Dubai but I was considering where else i would move to... most of my friends have suggested Australia but it has never appealed to me

Spugsy

Oz is amazing mate, we'll be there for NYE and hopefully living there in a few years.

Mrs Spugsy got a call from some headhunters about a job in the Maldives, I was hoping to lie on a hammock all day with my laptop freelancing and going fishing and diving and drinking rum, but nowt happened in the end.

Gutted.

pauldxb

Really... its just so far from anywhere (could be a good thing i guess)

co durham boy

There's hundreds of places on the planet which i would live and none of them would ever include a country or city in The Gulf .

I'll take Hong Kong , Bangkok , Singapore , New York , London , Sydney , Copenhagen , Kuala Lumpa , Madrid and Tokyo .

Dubai wouldn't even get in my top 10 , the city punches well above it's weight compared to the big boys

pauldxb

you are probably right but for me the low crime issue is a major plus for Dubai. That and its only 7hrs from London

littlejimmy

South of France, Portugal, Greece. Somewhere sunny but relatively civilised.

co durham boy

There's plenty crime in Dubai mate , you're just not affected as you're higher up the food chain .

Just like Jemima and Tabatha in Holland Park don't see the crack dealing dens in Stoke Newington ...

scrubbedexpat141

Agree - full of Australians.

I fancy Hong Kong, or, believe it or not - the States.

scrubbedexpat141

My old man retired to one of the Greek islands - his opinion is that it was a bad move (albeit 10 years ago)....the country is a mess.

That being said, outside of Athens the place is lush.

pauldxb

i am half Greek so of course biased but i love the islands, naturally beautiful !

pauldxb

I actually looked at the states too

moneypenny20

It's not a long way from places not far away. Just a long way away from far away places.

scrubbedexpat141

That makes more sense.

I love the place, just don't think it'd be a wise one to be buying into at the moment....that aside, Western Crete (where the old man lives) is amazing.

Bahtatboy

[During a late lunchtime...]

Nirvana—that special place with:

England's pubs, heritage, clouds, greenery, and sense of fair play and humour
Monaco's per capita GDP
Japan's restaurants, punctuality and code of honour
Scandinavia's fjords
Ireland's Guinness
Germany's economic drive
Italy's style
Egypt's casinos
Paraguay's hyroelectricity
Monaco's climate and image

So where come's closest?

If I weighted (scoring 1-10) the above in terms of what's most important, it would be:

England's pubs, heritage, clouds, greenery, and sense of fair play and humour: 10
Monaco's climate and image: 8
Japan's restaurants, punctuality and code of honour: 8
Italy's style: 7
Germany's economic drive: 6
Paraguay's hyroelectricity: 6
Qatar's per capita GDP: 4
Scandinavia's scenery: 4
Ireland's Guinness: 2
Egypt's casinos: 1

And then scored the top 10 countries in each category…

My quasi-scientific results?

1st Japan
2nd UK
3rd Canada
4th Italy

Abu Dhabi didn't register, but then I don’t live here

mentalist

Isn't Japan and especially Tokyo somewhat over-populated and prone to natural disasters? It really depends on whether you still have to work in the country concerned or if you can simply retire gracefully. Oz is definitely out of the equation for me, primarily because it has 90% (or thereabouts) of the world's most poisonous spiders and snakes living there. The islands of Madeira and Cephalonia would be high up on my list.