Earlier quoted context omitted.
How does the coastline help? I've never heard this explanation before.
The coastline is required to make a nice-ish reference to THHGTTG.
Aka more simply as H2G2,
"the" and "to" aren't required in an acronym.
Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
71–80 of 168 posts
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Corruption does come in all shapes and sizes, but what you just described doesn't sound like corruption to me. Selling off properties to foreign owners isn't necessarily bad policy (it can bring in foreign capital, that is then transferred to a local owner or resident)
When it gets to the point where locals can't afford to place to live, what would be the correct word to use?
"Capitalism."
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#73After visiting Norway in the summer, the only thing that would give me pause with regards to living there is the winter. I live at 41°N right now and I think winter has to much darkness. Imagining the opposite of the Norwegian summer I experienced is a bit much for me.
As a Norwegian I absolutely hate the winter. It is my number ONE complaint about this country. I have for decades considered moving to some other country, but I never seem to be able to find a good alternative candidate. So many countries with nice climates are so broken in all sort of other important ways.
I did plan many years ago to settle in America, but I found it hard to accept the values of American society. While still immensely fascinated by America, and envious of the opportunities, climates etc afforded Americans, I have a hard time stomaching the rampant materialism, shallowness, and disregard for the lesser off. The revenge and punishment oriented nature of American society puts me off. It has too many rules, which are too harshly and inhumanely enforced.
Spain was an option too, but with the massive unemployment, low salaries and the fact that I don't speak Spanish, it isn't an obvious choice. But I've decided I am going to try to learn some Spanish. Maybe if I can run my own business I don't have to care about low salaries.
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#74I'm wondering how this squares with the fact that Norway has the 13th highest suicide rate in the world (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/suiciderate.html). I know that suicide is often the product of mental illness rather than general unhappiness, but clearly Norway has a large number of people with some sort of depressive disorder, which I figured would lower them in terms of general unhappiness. In fact, most of the countries in the top 10 of this list have very high suicide rates...
EDIT: I'm an idiot, Norway actually has a rather low suicide rate, please disregard.
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#75Most of the time, people that have more freedom are less happy. I remember stories I heard about people moving from Soviet Russia to the United States back in the early 80s. They were unhappy and stressed out because in the soviet union, they were assigned a job and the government took care of them. Here in the United States, you had to fend for yourself.
Freedom isn't always pleasant and happy, but it's better for the future of humanity. I've been all over the world and don't know anywhere that has as much freedom as the US.
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#76Most of the time, people that have more freedom are less happy. I remember stories I heard about people moving from Soviet Russia to the United States back in the early 80s. They were unhappy and stressed out because in the soviet union, they were assigned a job and the government took care of them. Here in the United States, you had to fend for yourself. Freedom isn't always pleasant and happy, but it's better for t…
Any particular state in mind?
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#77Does this explain why the Scandanavian countries are the number one preferred destination for refugees?
I think Scandinavian countries have often been more welcome and generous to refugees. And they often get more rights with respect to citizenship and assistance in training and working. The big problem with Scandinavia for refugees is that despite generous welfare programs, there are very few low skilled jobs. Southern Europe is easier in the regard although they seem to often be more racist and give less assistance.
The US gives little aid to refugees but has a lot more low skilled jobs, which they can do.
I know this is subjective but I'd claim Nordic countries are among the worlds least racist, so it makes it easier for foreigners. But let me qualify that. I think in Canada and the US you probably find a bigger chunk of the population without any kind of prejudice more ready to higher foreigners. Rather my claim as that extreme racism is very rare in Scandinavia. There might be a prevalence of a mild form of prejudice. But I think e.g. despite the US being in many areas more open minded you can have a lot more extreme bigotry and hatefulness towards minorities.
E.g. stuff like Neonazis and white supremacists is something I can only remember from the 80s in Norway, while it still seems to be a very real thing in America.
Londoners and many Brits are probably more open minded than many Scandinavians, but has Brexit showed there is quite extreme xenophobia alive and well in Britain which doesn't exist in a comparable form in Scandinavia.
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#78I'm wondering how this squares with the fact that Norway has the 13th highest suicide rate in the world ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/suiciderate.html ). I know that suicide is often the product of mental illness rather than general unhappiness, but clearly Norway has a large number of people with some sort of depressive disorder, which I figured would lower them in terms of general unhappiness. In fac…
Perhaps there is another perspective on killing yourself that isnt in the pejorative?
Just a thought
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#79I wonder if the lack of ethnic diversity in the "happier" countries is a contributing factor: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/05/16...
Canada seems to be second from the top in that scale (though I have no idea how you would choose the scale for a chart of "ethnic diversity"), and only 7th from the top of this "happiness survey".
I don't think either dataset is gathered reliably, but if you're looking at a correlation there, there are glaring exceptions.
As somebody who lives in Canada, I think cultural compatibility is important, but ethnic homogeneity is unnecessary. Ethnicities are generally a proxy for cultures, Canada has a great deal of success in separating the two, though the prime minister doesn't seem to get it.
Anyway, not a hard-and-fast opinion, but I think ethnicity is a weak bond, and probably should be.
Re: Happiness report: Norway is the happiest place on earth
#80After visiting Norway in the summer, the only thing that would give me pause with regards to living there is the winter. I live at 41°N right now and I think winter has to much darkness. Imagining the opposite of the Norwegian summer I experienced is a bit much for me.
I'll be honest, it's a little rough. Around late december, the darkest part of the year, I barely see sunlight for a month or two. I'm at work by 8:30, sun rises 10. I leave work at 16:00, sun sets 14:00. It gets better though, so by february the worst bit is over. It's not really that awful - you really get a physical sense of the year progressing, and in a sense the darkness is cozy. Lots of light in the cities, st…
For me as a Swede, January is the hardest month. November and December when it gets real dark aren't too bad, you have Christmas and all that to both literally (what with all the lights) and figuratively light everything up. But then January comes around, Christmas is over, the lights all or mostly come down in the first or second week, and you're a couple of months away from any kind of spring rearing its head, with nothing to keep you afloat in the meantime through all that darkness.
I'm not gonna lie, it's tough. January is my least favorite month in the nordic countries.
As soon as February comes around things start getting better though. There's optimism in the air that while it's still cold and snowy (possibly even colder than January) spring is just around the corner. There's also plenty of winter sports around February and early March, such as the Vasa race[1], which is always fun.
Come April and May, when spring is in full force, the optimism reaches a fever pitch, culminating with midsummer eve in June. This is a huge part of the build up to the nordic summer, which is the most amazing thing you'll experience – in great contrast to the deep darkness of winter, the light simply never ends! If you're way up north, this is literal since the sun never actually sets. It's quite a sight.
Still, I've lived in other parts of the world with different climates and I wouldn't trade the nordic climate for anything. Like you say, the physical sense of the year progressing is something special, and even to the point that I almost get depressed without it. Certainly, if I miss the nordic summer I'm gutted.