Best Country to Live In, England or Australia?

Human Development Index Massive Flaw Exposed!

The thing is, you can argue all day long about the minutiae. Which country has the cheaper houses? In which country are your job prospects better? Which country pays the best salaries? Which country has the best weather? (…err, let me think?)

Alright, obviously Australia has the better weather…

Sunny weather…..unless you really are into grey drizzle. But if you were to ask which country has the greatest history…..

Big Ben…..or the quaintest country lanes and the nicest village pubs….

a country pub…….well then the pendulum swings the other way, doesn’t it?

But then ask which country has the best beaches, the most open spaces, which country is less crowded, then back that pendulum comes again.

It’s all in the question.

But, what really clever people do is devise a system. A system that categorically decides what is best. I noticed this the other night when watching football. At the end of the game, instead of listening to a couple of “experts” pontificating over who played best, working out which team was superior, analysing all the action and finally coming up with was it a fair result or not, I was presented with a performance index.

“With 15 successful passes, three tackles, two assists and a goal, Raphael Van der Vaart scored a performance index of 8.96, making him the man of the match.”

How clever is that?

Not as clever as this.

It’s easy to compare 11 players against 11 players over 90 min. But how about comparing more than 160 countries over an entire year! That’s really clever and it’s what the boys over at HDR have done.

For 40 years these people have been studying countries, making notes and coming up with scores. They turn all this stuff into a Human Development Index. This year, Australia scored 0.989 which is probably more impressive than Raphael Van der Vaart’s 8.96….. although it doesn’t look as much.

I’m not going to analyse the results too much because at the very top, they’re not that much different from last year. Although it is a concern to see that the UK has dropped down from last years position in 21st and is now down to 26th. That puts them behind both Italy and Greece, neither of whom are having a great time at the moment.

On the other hand, making a huge leap up the table from last year’s 13th is the United States. This year they are fourth! An impressive improvement, I wonder how they did that? Maybe by simply getting rid of George Bush?

And Australia?

They are, as they were last year, in second. That doesn’t surprise me, seeing them so high in the list again. I love living here in Australia, it “feels good” compared to how England used to feel. I feel happy living here, comfortable, relaxed, those aren’t the feelings I had towards the latter end of my time in England.

So no, I’m not surprised that Australia are way ahead of England in this index.

But what does surprise me is, as smart as those HDI people obviously are, they are just not smart enough. Despite me pointing out last year the obvious flaw in their argument, they’ve made exactly the same mistake again this year.

Come on boys! You’ve got to build something in it for the chill factor! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you need to see which country comes first. And why I think the HDR guys have got it wrong.

And you can do that by reading my post from last year called And the Best Country in the World to Live in is…….and you will also see a link to the full list of results for 2010 AND 2009.

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{ 14 comments… add one }
  • Peter Alan Kiff November 12, 2018, 11:10 pm |

    Gudday! I am a Pom who lived and worked in several countries. I also travelled extensively.
    I am 73 years old and I have lived in OZ for past 43 years. I have an Australian wife, Australian Son and three Australian Grandchildren, I have had an interesting and varied working life here and I am now retired. I can tell you that OZ is definitely the best of places to live! (and retire). If anyone asks “Have I ever returned to the UK for a visit?” – my answer is “The only way you will get me back to the UK is ‘Handcuffed to a policeman’!”. I was living and working in New Zealand when a holidaying Australian State Registered Nurse told me that “she was the best thing that would ever happen to me”! Fortunately – I listened to her! And the rest is history! Engaged in 6 days – married in 10 weeks! I did mention that she was a Nursing Sister? (with the keys to the drug cupboard). Anyway – I eventually took out Australian Citizenship – and my only overseas trip in the last 43 years was on my AUSTRALIAN passport. My only complaint? I wish I had been born here! Growing up in Australia would have been great!. So – to those who are thinking about the move – go ahead – If you are unhappy here then you can always go back to ‘Blighty’. But I can tell you – from personal experience ‘pre Australia’ – that it is impossible to return to ones previous life – you will find that you have changed too much!
    Peter (the ex Pom)

    • BobinOz November 13, 2018, 8:32 pm |

      Great to hear from you Peter and you’re preaching to the converted with me, I love it here too. I have only been here 11 years so far, but like yourself, I have no interest in going back to the UK. Now obviously I don’t know what sort of things you’ve been up to, but I reckon after 43 years living here, if a policeman were coming for you from the UK with handcuffs, he would have done it by now.

      I think you’re in the clear.

      Just one thought though; I agree being born here would have been great, Australia is a wonderful place for kids to grow up, but I do think there is an advantage to having moved here from elsewhere at some stage. I think knowing very well how Australia does compare to the UK helps us both appreciate this country much more.

      Good on ya, as we say, cheers, Bob

  • Light90 January 11, 2018, 9:50 pm |

    Hi, I’m a medical graduate pursuing a career in dermatology. Which country has a better dermatology training? (The UK or Australia).

    • BobinOz January 12, 2018, 4:17 pm |

      Sorry, I have no idea. I think you would need to speak to a dermatologist who has experience of working in both countries to get any meaningful kind of answer.

  • Glenn Service January 14, 2017, 11:42 am |

    I love Australia. I previously lived in Sydney for about 7 years and loved every minute of it.

    I find Australia a more normal country with a nice lifestyle. I felt comfortable and at home in Oz.

    I have since returned to the UK, and bearing in mind that I am British, and although I love Britain, I do find it absolutely bonkers here. I feel more stressed here, and generally I think this country is going the wrong way.

    I will be returning to Australia sooner rather than after methinks.

    • BobinOz January 14, 2017, 9:04 pm |

      I’ve been here just over nine years now, I won’t be returning to England any time soon, not even for a holiday. I love it here.

      I’ve known quite a few people return to England because they missed the UK, I think it can be easy to remember only all the good things about the place and be tempted to return. For those who do though, it’s often a disappointment and they can’t wait to get back to Australia.

      I know of one family who went back to England after almost two years here in Australia on a 457 and now they wish they hadn’t returned, but they can’t find a way back. If they had at least stayed a little longer and converted to a permanent residency visa, they would have had more options. Too late now.

      Sounds like you do have options though and that you will be back soon. I don’t blame you either.

  • ian August 22, 2016, 6:18 pm |

    I certainly would not recommend any one moving to Australia without seriously thinking long and hard about it and doing a lot of research they are the most ignorant people I’ve come across very expensive to have a night out unless you’re into AFL OR NRL the sport choice is ridiculous
    very hard to find work unless it’s a shirt job no one wants very discrimitive or may be envious of us Brits (oops poms ) as they like to call us give me England Anytime

    • BobinOz August 23, 2016, 4:48 pm |

      On the face of it Ian, this appears to be a comment from a Brit who has come to Australia and does not like it, and even feels that maybe the British (oops poms) don’t get treated quite as equally or fairly as they should be. But then, just four minutes later, you make a second comment on this page, just here.

      In this comment you are clearly racist towards someone thinking of moving to either Australia or the UK, and racism is something I will not tolerate on my website. I have though, in this instance, decided to leave your racist comment up in full on this page, simply because it shows what a hypocrite you are. Basically you think it’s okay to be racist against somebody from Pakistan, yet you think that as a Brit rocking up in Australia you should have the red carpet rolled out for you.

      It’s almost amusing. Do not comment on my website again, you’re not welcome.

  • BobinOz November 19, 2010, 9:46 pm |

    Hi Brooke

    Yes, it sure does feel nice. I just checked out your website, you got some great information there.

    Anyone else want to check it out, click on the link above, Brooke, WhyGo Australia

  • Brooke, WhyGo Australia November 18, 2010, 8:50 am |

    Living in Australia does feel nice! I’m an American expat here now and I feel happier now than I remember back home 🙂

    • SAIF November 21, 2012, 7:33 pm |

      HI I AM PAKISTANI.I WANT TO SHIFT TO AUSTRALIA OR UK.CAN U TELL ME WHY AUSTRALIA IS BETTER THAN OTHER COUNTRIES,BENEFITS

      • BobinOz November 22, 2012, 12:53 am |

        It’s all here on this website, you just need to read it SAIF.

      • ian August 22, 2016, 6:22 pm |

        Go to Australia u.k don’t need any more Pakistan you will feel right at home in Aussie

        • BobinOz August 23, 2016, 4:56 pm |

          Firstly, SAIF, my apologies for the blatantly racist remark made here by Ian. I would usually remove these kinds of comments immediately, but I’ve decided to leave this one online just so that my readers can see the hypocrisy of this person who also posted a comment whingeing about Australia here.

          Again, my apologies, I can assure you though that racists are thankfully in the minority in both Australia and the UK.

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