11 ms·

Ask HN: If you were 20 again, what country would you choose?

• lacker 12y ago
  The USA. It worked great the first time I went through my 20's. Why switch?
  • userulluipeste 12y ago
    One of the USA's problems is the education system (and I'm not talking about its quality here). If you thing in the long term, counting in your future kids' education, you may wish to reconsider USA altogether. Another problem is the healthcare system and the chances of one to actually afford it when the time comes - HN had a few good articles about the subject. And there may be other somewhat lesser problems too.
    • joeclark77 12y ago
      In the USA you're still allowed to homeschool, at least. In many other countries, such as Germany, that makes you a criminal.
      • forgotpasswd3x 12y ago
        Ok, I'll take the bait. Why shouldn't it? Germany has very good schools. By denying your child the ability to attend, you are committing an offense to the child. Why should this be allowed?
        • scourge 12y ago
          I totally agree that Germany has a pretty good system. Their forest schools are a step in the right direction. But they did invent the Prussian model of modern schools (which are a curse). The point is, it should NEVER be illegal to refuse to send your children to a militarized system which has stunted and de-humanized every single person in the modern system. In the UK, they ever tried to make Summerhill school a bunch of criminals. Also see Steiner schools, unschooling etc etc. The evidence would indicate that doing the BEST thing for your children would make you a criminal in most first world states. If you wonder why the electorate has become more malleable, "stupid" and gullible in the last 100 years, maybe you should look into why this is. It's not because we are "devolving" or because people are stupider now. They are forced, trained and educated to be thus.
          • userulluipeste 12y ago
            Its an interesting take on German Education. However, people admire Germany and Germans for results and for how they function as a society. Doesn't this in itself excuse the bad consequences?
            • scourge 12y ago
              It depends: is one comparing to the average society or full human potential?
            • joeclark77 12y ago
              Imagine if you had said that in 1938 or so. Most of the American left was saying just that sort of thing then, too.
        • 12y ago
    • kasey_junk 12y ago
      I think the education & health care system in the US are huge points of concern both from a larger policy perspective and from a social justice stand point. That said, I personally have never had an issue with either and doubt if I were starting over as a 20 year old all over again would worry about it much. I'm much more worried about things like social & political stability, cost of living, and if I'm being perfectly honest, weather & food.
• Someone1234 12y ago
  Likely within the "Europe" (particularly the UK) but maybe Canada. As a small time employer they take a lot of the employees issues out of your hands and place it in the hands of the state (which is GOOD because now I won't need a HR person, insurance specialist, and so on). For example, health insurance: not the employer's problem, long term/short term disability: not the employer's problem, holiday ("vacation") time/sick leave/maternity/paternity: already defined by law (which is GOOD, since now no drama) and often times the employee is compensated from the state (e.g. maternity leave). In the US it is incredibly uncompetitive between small and large businesses. Small businesses just cannot offer the same perks and pay (they literally pay more for the perks too), and that means you cannot hire the best. While small time employers in europe may not be able to match pay like for like, they can almost always match "benefits." Plus the work life balance remains real so people with families can continue to remain competitive. The only real way to even do a startup now in the US is via huge investment from a VC (just to pick up the employee pay packet). True "basement startups" are all but dead, which definitely isn't the case in much of Europe (particularly in several minority communities which are flourishing). That all being said, if I wanted to open a "programmer sweatshop" I'd definitely do it in the US or China. Just pay new grads slightly above the minimum wage, offer no benefits, and rake in all the profits yourself -- the US allows that easily both due to the law (or lack of) and because much of the US populace feel that people exploited "deserve" it (e.g. Walmart workers) for being "lazy." You'd be a "local business hero" as opposed to Europe where you'd be hated pretty universally.
  • userulluipeste 12y ago
    The UK's problem is the banking system. They try to be "your partners" (to put it mildly) whether you wish it or not.
  • joeclark77 12y ago
    That's like boarding the Titanic when it's already sinking. Europe won't even exist in 50 years. The demographics are brutal and inevitable: young Europeans are not marrying, or marrying late, not having children, or having only one or two children, and having them late. They're rapidly being replaced by immigrants who have no interest in assimilating to the culture or adopting the language, but are having lots of children. You will still be able to find France or Germany on a map 50 years from now, but their cultures will be long gone.
• userulluipeste 12y ago
  The Europe, maybe somewhere in the south if you care about the weather. Turkey may be a good geographical choice if you won't mind living in a (predominantly) Muslim country. If however, you choose "to breathe tech", then Germany is the most suited place, although having attached the package of a little bit more expensive life compared other eastern/south-eastern and even southern alternatives. The top 9 cities (plus a few capitals as Sydney or Paris) from the referenced Wikipedia article are good, but expensive places to live in.
• hpenedones 12y ago
  Switzerland definitely ranks very high in all your factors. It's one of the safest countries for investors, has a growing startup scene, has two of the top engineering schools in Europe/World (ETHZ, Zurich and EPFL, Lausanne), has the highest rate of Nobel prizes per capita, very solid educational and healthcare systems, amazing quality of life (Zurich, Geneva, etc, often rank as the top cities in the world), and last but not least: you have amazing lakes and mountains everywhere!
  • xtester 12y ago
    Agree, Switzerland seems definitely one of the top countries in the world which keeps itself intentionally under the radar. As Taleb put it, in addition to all the obvious benefits, Switzerland seems to be an antifragile country. In any case, as far as I know Switzerland makes it pretty hard for people to immigrate there. Do you happen to live there? What would you say would be the most effective way to immigrate there?
    • hpenedones 12y ago
      It's easy for members of the European Union as there are/were bi-lateral agreements. For other nationalities I think it's harder, as there are some quotas. You basically need to find a job first, but it's doable.
  • zura 12y ago
    If only it was cheap and it had a sun... :)
• anonbanker 12y ago
  Beijing or Calgary.
  • jensv 12y ago
    Care to elaborate?
    • anonbanker 12y ago
      Beijing is now the global center of finance and industry. I bet on Tokyo, and learned Japanese. By the time I was old enough to make an impact, the market had shifted to Beijing/Shenzhen. Calgary is an interesting place to live, with gorgeous women of many different ethnicities. There's currently a gold rush going on there, and relocating as to get in on that sweet environmental destruction would have been a good idea.
      • mattfrommars 12y ago
        So I should move to Beijing if I want to have a startup related to finance? What benefits do financial capitals even offer other then finding companies if you are looking for life/health/car/etc insurance.
      • Gustomaximus 12y ago
        Shanghai is more of a business & financial center than Beijing. Beijing is more government focused. Also Hong Kong is a bigger financial/trade center than both these cities.
• epynonymous 12y ago
  my vote would be japan, i lived there for a year when i was 28, i thought tokyo was an international city so i could get away with english and slowly learn the language, but not quite. if i was 20 again, i'd have the patience to learn the language. not sure about the startup scene, but the infrastructure was amazing (fiber to the home in 2007, dedicated 100 Mbps), and let's not forget ruby and tokyo cabinet founders. scenery awesome, the attention to detail and hardworking nature of the people are amazing.
• atmosx 12y ago
  The best city in the world, as life quality goes, is Vienna. That said, Vienna requires you to have good education and money to enjoy the city, more than (almost) any other city. I don't know nothing about the Austrian healthcare system though. Copenhagen is a good choice for sure. Norway and Sweden are extremely well suited when it comes to education and healthcare but the weather might get you depressed in the long run. I would also have a look at Tallin (Estonia) given it's drive for technology, might be a future technology hub (Something like Tel-Aviv with less cultural restrictions). First choice is Vienna though.