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The most livable cities

economist.com

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Re: The most livable cities

#211

Post by JSavageOne »

AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #179
dzogchen wrote: post #148

This list is a complete joke, evidenced by the fact that they use a definition of livibility that puts cities that are barely walkable in the top 10.

Whether or not a city is "walkable," is not necessarily an improvement upon livability. In areas of Chicago and Baltimore, for example, the streets are "walkable," however the frequent violent & property crimes that take place in these areas make a casual stroll down the block an unsafe proposition. I grew up in Harlem during the time it was emerging out of the 1980s crack epidemic. As a child, the streets were easy…

The problem in your example is crime, not walkability.

Re: The most livable cities

#212

Post by Gordonjcp »

martindbp wrote: post #118
Gordonjcp wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have you considered that they're not very large differences and you're just blinded by the fact that you're attuned to them? Well, let's compare. You could drive for days across America, and hear truly microscopic changes in accent and dialect from one side to the other. Here in Scotland, I could drive for an hour and hear a totally different accent, two hours would get me to a totally different dialect, and with a…

But if you drive north from California for 15 hours you'd end up in Canada, a completely different country with slightly different road markings, Tim Hortons instead of Starbucks, and they even say "about" slightly differently! Take that you Scots!

> But if you drive north from California for 15 hours you'd end up in Canada

... and you'd still be further south than anywhere in the UK :-D

Re: The most livable cities

#214

Post by tverbeure »

gautamcgoel wrote: post #184
enw wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s relative. I’ve been in countries where the care is both top-notch, and you can get specialist attention and full-body checkups in a matter of days.

Which places?

Not the person you're replying to, but: Belgium. I haven't lived there for more than 20 years, but until 2000, one of their big issues were medical overconsumption. As in: there were too many doctors and specialists, and it was considered too easy to get medical attention.

But for those who needed it, it was fantastic. And the quality of care that I experienced there was on par or better with what I get in the US.

I don't think much has changed. I just went back, had a very minor medical issue, and within 2 hours after making my first call, I had see a primary care physician, who wasn't 100% sure, so she called in the specialist next door as well.

Re: The most livable cities

#215

Post by jonstewart »

My connecting flight to my vacation destination in Italy was canceled this morning, so I got to spend the afternoon in Vienna with my wife and kids. Strudel and einspanner at Cafe Mozart, brats from a wurst stand, the CAT train, Stephensplatz, it was all a good reminder why Vienna is such a great city.

Re: The most livable cities

#216

Post by msbarnett »

kmonsen wrote: post #177
enw wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And health care in Canada is a joke. Unless you have terminal cancer or close to death, good luck getting any specialist’s attention. You’ll wait for a year on a waitlist for someone to care. Doesn’t matter if you have money either, no way around it.

Why does Canada not have private healthcare? I kind of like systems like uk or Norway where there is a free system providing the floor and a private system if you want better treatment. Both the Canadian and the U.S. system is a bit weird to me.

Broadly speaking, this is opposed in Canada by some due to the perception that the existence of a private parallel system will be weaponized to undermine the public system, as many feel has happened to the NHS in the UK.

Re: The most livable cities

#217

Post by novok »

mushbino wrote: post #203
enw wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And health care in Canada is a joke. Unless you have terminal cancer or close to death, good luck getting any specialist’s attention. You’ll wait for a year on a waitlist for someone to care. Doesn’t matter if you have money either, no way around it.

I've spent $50k out of pocket so far this year on medical expenses that weren't covered by insurance. That doesn't even include other copay expenses. Had to cash out some 401ks early. Also, 44,000 Americans die every year due to lack of access to healthcare. I would gladly wait for over a year in a heartbeat for a cheaper and more fair system.

He is comparing Canada's healthcare to other developed countries healthcare systems, not the infamously dysfunctional US one.

Re: The most livable cities

#218

Post by novok »

kmonsen wrote: post #177
enw wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And health care in Canada is a joke. Unless you have terminal cancer or close to death, good luck getting any specialist’s attention. You’ll wait for a year on a waitlist for someone to care. Doesn’t matter if you have money either, no way around it.

Why does Canada not have private healthcare? I kind of like systems like uk or Norway where there is a free system providing the floor and a private system if you want better treatment. Both the Canadian and the U.S. system is a bit weird to me.

It does exist, it's just you completely have to pay out of pocket, and if you opt out of it as a doctor, you cannot take any public healthcare system patients either, which means your limited to a few rich people 'executive health' checkups and such. It's a complete either / or system. 'benefits' that cover the few items not covered by the public system also typically do not cover such non-public doctor visits either. Usage is so rare that most Canadians are unaware of such things.

Canada has a family doctor crisis because they barely pay them, flat out. Often a pure family doctor doesn't even hit $200k, so any med student today is going to go some specialty route. It needs to equalize with walk-in clinic rates or it will continue to not have good supply.

Re: The most livable cities

#219

Post by someone_else12 »

monocasa wrote: post #183
someone_else12 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

German is also ethnicity, as I mentioned above, there are Germans e.g. in Kazakhstan and other countries, who are not German citizens.

How can it be an ethnicity when Germany itself was founded out of the leftovers of the Holy Roman Empire in the early 19th century? You might have an argument for some of the constitute elements like Prussia(ns), but even that's a stretch.

German ethnicities existed before and outside Germany, it is not the same as in the US, where Americans didn't exist before it was founded. In Europe peoples' ethnicities are not tied to the state the same way as it is in the US.

For example, Volga Germans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_Germans) were Russian subjects who lived outside of Germany; Baltic Germans as well.

More examples - Hungarians in Romania, Turks in Bulgaria, and so on.

Re: The most livable cities

#220

Post by deepspace »

enw wrote: post #156
lbrito wrote: post #152

Affordability doesn't seem to count in this list. On average housing expenses (rent or mortgage) are around 60% of income in Vancouver metro. I won't even get into weather: the first few days of blue skies just started this week after a year of bleak gray-on-blue. Depressing is an understatement.

And health care in Canada is a joke. Unless you have terminal cancer or close to death, good luck getting any specialist’s attention. You’ll wait for a year on a waitlist for someone to care. Doesn’t matter if you have money either, no way around it.

That is just not true in my experience. I have had to see specialists three or four times in the past 20 years, and the longest I have waited for an appointment is 6 weeks.
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