Britain, apparently. How ironic for this information to come to light on my expat-iversary. Oops.
Popular Topics
America Australia bloggers books Britain childhood China culture current dear so-and-so disaster domestic engineering entertainment EU Expat blogs expat life family fashion food friendship holidays language love midwest Minneapolis minnesota Minor celebs money movies music photography politics president pub culture religion shopping sport state fair technology time tourism transportation travel US government video weather whimsy work worldArchives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
-
Top Posts
A wonderful pair of surveys! Despite my usual reservations about attitude surveys, I warmly commend this article, and hope that it will be publicized far beyond the normal readership of the The Economist. It seems to me that the following benefits to Britain will accrue by this:
1) Fewer would-be expats of the whingeing and whining kind will want to live in these overcrowded islands;
2) Those that remain will be those who embrace this country and its ways, who openheartedly enjoy living here;
3) Increasingly, in future surveys, the views of those described in (2) will be reflected; and thus:
4) VoilĂ ! Britain will then rise through the ranks of ‘best places to be an expat’!
… Ah, but hang on … … Further thought:
5) As Britain rises in the ratings, more expats of the whingeing and whining variety will be attracted here, and being what they are, will be disappointed;
6) So they will be critical when called upon to complete survey questionnaires.
7) So Britain will decline through the ranks of ‘best places to be an expat’!
Oh well.
Perhaps we should just be grateful for expats like these:
http://bridgestolondon.blogspot.com/
http://beedrunken.blogspot.com/
http://www.lordcelery.blogspot.com/
http://www.windthefrog.blogspot.com/
http://soupsake.blogspot.com/
http://www.lindenwald.com/
http://blog.sarahlaurence.com/
http://justaplanerideaway.blogspot.com/
and there are many others I could list.
I dunno, I’m pretty skeptical about such generalizations. I mean, if you are an expat in Beijing or Shanghai, for example, everything about your life could be radically different from if you were in most other Chinese cities. And, of course, how happy someone is living abroad might ultimately have nothing to do with access to a gym or a boating club or the ability to rent a nice place for less money. The experience of being an expat is so radically different from country to country and city to city and job to job and person to person that it is hard to make a universal measure of the quality of life.