Where in the world to live where people are cared about?

[Feathersandothers]

That’s it really . If you live somewhere where people have access to good healthcare, affordable bills, access to good free education , low crime .. where is it? Nowhere is perfect but some places must be better.
I didn’t live in the UK for most of my adult life, but I am British.
I’ve lived here for the past few years and don’t think I can do it much longer .
But I’m aware that places that I lived that were good before COVID etc are probably feeling the ramifications of global issues as we are here.
So if you live in a place where it feels that the government have your back, where are you?

Australia and affordable housing don’t really go together.

Plenty of us aren’t getting wage rises to keep up with the rising cost of living either.

It’s also expensive and difficult to travel to most of the world from here.

Yes I speak three languages and I’d love to learn others, I’ve worked as a translator.

Loads of interesting suggestions on this thread. Reading through them and researching!

I've moved around a lot, both in the UK and abroad, and I think its always possible to find community and a sense of being "cared for" but you have to be willing to invest time and effort in it.

In a number of foreign countries it also involves an element of fitting in, not just with the language but with the culture, that I think is generally not accepted in the UK where we (rightly imo) prioritise accepting differences rather than cultural homogeneity.

Oh apologies for the confusion.
I don’t feel in any way that there isn’t a sense of community in the UK. I think the UK has that in bucketloads. Ultimately though it’s not more of a community spirit than I’ve found anywhere else. Ime that’s something you work at and can build even in the most remote corners of the world, with challenging language barriers . But community spirit is not a replacement for good public services.
I’m often surprised at how many services are now farmed out to charities here, charities that are struggling after covid and probably won’t survive the energy crisis. Domestic violence charities, charities to help ex offenders forge a new life, charities to feed and clothe children in poverty, charities to provide debt advice, charities to rescue people from sea and mountains disasters…

Really plausible, good places to live would be Netherlands, Portugal, Panama, Uruguay, Western Canada (BC). If you're thinking in economic terms and quality of life, affordability, access to good healthcare, ease of 'fitting in', etc. these coutries offer it.The one thing I cannot abide is the attitude of one podcaster I listen to who lives in Panama... this lifestyle where they have cleaners and two nannies for their two children...this 'wealthy expat' lifestyle. It really pisses me off. I'm all for quality living somewhere more affordable with good infrastructure, access to good healthcare, etc., but not at the expense of the locals.

If I were to go by my heart only, I'd run to Italy or France. I lived in France for several years and absolutely loved it. I usually return every summer but haven't since Covid. Italy is not an easy country to relocate to. I have lived there in my early 20s and loved it. I always will love Italy. But nowadays, I'd have a holiday flat somewhere by the lakes or near Breschia/Bergamo or Varese if I could afford to. I wouldn't make my main residence there.

Sorry for my typos... and also, I should add that Canada is not 'affordable' affordable. It's by no means cheap. But it's not astronomical either.
My aunt retired to Vancouver Island around 1990 and lived to be 99! I have no doubt that her 30 years in that little slice of heaven with her wife of 50+ years encouraged her longevity. She was very, very happy there.

Ah fair enough OP, I agree with you on that point entirely. I think the focus on charity over proper state support is a bit of a British cultural thing which has exploded since David Cameron thought he could get services on the cheap through "Big Community".

Fwiw I think there are equivalents in other countries e.g. when I was in Italy in early 2000s, you got healthcare up to a point but then were expected to have wider family help with recuperating (and buying dressings etc that would be given on the NHS). In Spain young people who can't get work don't get unemployment and are basically expected to be looked by their families indefinitely. Not quite the same, but they are the trade offs which I guess keeps things affordable.

I have lived in u.a.e, Hong Kong, Malaysia and u.k. and travelled to many countries. I love U.K. the best, but it is on a self destructive direction of travel atm, same with u.s. and other parts of the western world. I feel very low about the state of U.K., especially London, but not sure there is anywhere else I’d rather live. I soooo looked forward to coming home to the U.K. (7 years ago) when I was an expat 7, but it has changed. I still remember the high of the London 2012 Olympics.

A PP asked about Japan, I think it very much encourages perso all responsibility from a young age so even at nursery age preschoolers collect and help tidy up their lunch plates, at primary schools and beyond I think the children serve the lunch food up and have to clean up the classrooms before they go home.

@bluetongue well, it depends where you're moving from and to and what field of work you are in, I suppose. My own experience was that When we moved from London to Queensland we rented a whole 3 bedroom townhouse for the price we were paying for a bedroom in a share house back home, as well as earning significantly more money for doing the same jobs 🤷‍♀️

That's a complete lifestyle change though. London and Queensland are just not comparable for many reasons.

I lived in Sydney and expat Brits were constantly complaining about how expensive it is. They were comparing the Eastern Suburbs and Northern beaches with prices in Doncaster, Halifax and Nottingham. Again just not comparable.

Yep Sydney and Melbourne are definitely expensive for housing, but if OP was looking for cheaper housing there are lots of places other than those two cities she could live.

You hear a lot of praise for Scandinavia on threads like this, but people who have actually lived there have a slightly different view.

Excellent public services, yes, but very high taxation and if it's a place where people 'care' about each other that you're after, it might not be ideal. From what I've heard, even locals find it very difficult to make friends and you can live next door to someone for years and barely be on first name terms with them.

Not to mention that they have their own problems with racism and right wing politics, the winters are long, dark and cold, and cost of living is high. You'd obviously also need to learn the local language if you really want to fit in. Does it still sound so wonderful?

The question is are you planning to live there as a rich or poor person? What country looks after the poorest people? versus what country is it nice to be rich in? Not the same.

But living in the cheaper areas of Australia comes with its own cost. I had friends who moved to Toowoomba in Queensland. Very cheap but nothing to do in the evenings other than go to the pub and play pokies. They found it hard to join friendship groups because most people had known each other a long time. It's very cut off and they had to drive long distances to anywhere. Also sweltering hot because it's away from the coast. They came back after 2 years because, despite cheap housing, their quality of life was so much worse.

Japan is also extremely insular and it's extremely hard to 'fit in', even if you've lived there for years, speak the language and have a Japanese spouse.

Also, other than teaching English, it would be very hard to find work unless you are fluent in Japanese, and probably not even then.

Scandinavia sounds great for poorer people but as a Brit you are unlikely to get in unless you can demonstrate that you will be contributing socially or economically.

@startuprepair I would ideally like to live a rich persons life on a poor persons budget 😃😃😃

Stumbled across this thread after doing the monthly banking. Lots of people asking about energy costs in Scandinavia. My electricity bill has doubled from this time last year. So energy costs are rising. I don't think it is as crazy as the UK (yet). family of four, 160m2 house and bill was about £150 for last month.

I have asked myself the question of this post many times. I feel that there isn't much sense of public trust for another in the UK, so people don't seem to care for each other and look out for each other. No sense of the 'brotherhood' and high public trust for one other that you hear of in Denmark or some smaller Mediterranean countries. This with all the government policy that shows little care for how people can live well makes me feel insecure for my family's future. Not cared about, as OP says.

Not sure it's even that great. It used to be that Scandinavian social welfare was way ahead of just about anywhere else, but things have evened up in recent decades.

No sense of the 'brotherhood' and high public trust for one other that you hear of in Denmark or some smaller Mediterranean countries.

The sense of 'brotherhood' in Denmark mostly extends only to other Danes. It also comes with a high dose of social conformity.

I'm not sure which "smaller Mediterranean countries" you mean, but having lived in a larger such country, Italy, I found there to be a great lack of social trust. People's instincts were to be suspicious of one another, especially in the south. There is also great disdain for the government, local authorities and the police. Anyone outside the family is essentially guilty until proven innocent.

@ShelfyMcShelfface Toowoomba isn't the only other option though! You could live on the Gold Coast, for example, and surf all day and party all night.

I've found fitting in and finding friendship groups can be challenging in many different places I've moved to, although meeting people is definitely one benefit of being forced to live in a sharehouse! Possibly more to do with me being a bit standoffish though. Sometimes I'm disappointed it's not more like 'Neighbours' ... other times I think I'd be horrified if my neighbours just popped round! 😆

other times I think I'd be horrified if my neighbours just popped round!

You wouldn't be on mumsnet if you weren't horrified at the idea of neighbours popping round 😂