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Are people happier in other countries?
04-20-2010, 11:56 PM
I wonder this at times:
It seems like we're the shit because we're living in the richest nations on earth, but at the end of the day are people actually happy here? All I see is people who work a job they dont like and use the evenings and week-ends to restore their energy to be back in the social rat race (picking a job you enjoy to a certain degree obviously helps with that, but you guys get the drift).
I remember seeing a tv show about some caribbean c ountry the other day(or well the other year). There was some guy chilling outside the big city and he was asked why he didnt go into the big city to live there,etc. - his reply was basically "ah no..in the city, you have to work all day long...".
Im not a lazy guy, at all, but....looking at people around me, 2 of my favorite quotes would have to be "....and then life happened", or "life is like tetris. You try to plan it out while it keeps piling up" (bet i read this on this forum lol).
Dont get me wrong Im not against hard work, and I might be taking it to an extreme, now, but it seems to basically be accepted that life has to suck lol.
Are people in other places in the world happier / not constantly stressed? The whole working to live, rather than living to work kind of idea?
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04-21-2010, 12:36 AM
"Are people happier in other countries?"
How many people do you know are "truly happy" (whatever that means?) in America?
And how many people that fall into the "truly happy" category are there from a standpoint of ignorance/naivety?
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04-21-2010, 12:59 AM
The simplest and truest issues in life MUST come from within, hence I don't buy that in this or that country people are happier, I only buy: "i know myself, I know what can bring me moments of happyness and I am to pursue them".
Everything else is circumstantial. I have lived in plenty of countries around the world, some of the richest, some poor and there is no average, there are individuals who find their way to happy and there are masses who only dream of some copied happyness.
I know germans quite well and I can imagine what you mean, Germandude, but still, it all depends on each individual making more right decisions than wrongs during his lifetime.
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Are people happier in other countries?
04-21-2010, 02:45 AM
@kindredspirit: I dont think 9 to 5 is that bad in theory, but it seems that about everyone with a 9 to 5 is really working a 9 to 7.
@thegmanifesto: I didnt really get your point admittedly..?
@lilactag:
I dont refer to Germans exclusively, it seems to me that Americans have the same kind of problems.
Not sure I understand why you mean issues in life must c ome from within? I was basically wondering if there were environments (countries) in which the population is not basically part of a big factory...some call it the social rat race. Example: that guy in the caribbean I saw on TV who didnt want to go into the big city :-)
Actually, onec Ive graduated from college Ill probably be in a career I love (Im a geek like that..), however I would be surprised if I wont be affected by that whole stuff....
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Are people happier in other countries?
04-21-2010, 10:45 AM
I think happiness is of course relative. I think what you're alluding to more is are people more content to live with that they have in other areas of the world? Are they not obsessed with external appearances to their neighbors, ie. new car, $$watches, new clothes? I think to an extent yes.
With too many options and choices come confusion and unhappiness. You look at places where the economies are the greatest and the standard of living is the highest, Japan, USA, UK, most of Northern Europe and you have people who are overwokred (esp. Japan and USA) and you have depreesion, suicide, divorce and in general the rat race of a consumer world filled with hollowness and outward apperance of bieng establlished and therefor happy.
I'm not saying people are this way because they live in a good economy or that its the fault of our wealthy societies, but I'm saying that it is easy to get caught up in the consumer culture where your salary and your new BMW define you. If you can open your mind and think for yourself, pursue things that make you happy (even just hobbies) and forget about bieng the hardest little worker bee in your apartment stable, then the corporate rat race means allot less to you. That is why people should travel to places and see how other people might live a poor life, but still live a very fullfilling and happy one.
I'm betting, somewhere in the middle of bieng rich but hollow, or dead broke but happy, you can probably be pretty comfortable in your life.
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04-21-2010, 06:17 PM
you got some crazy questions dude
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04-21-2010, 06:25 PM
I like the tetris analogy. It seems to be true.
You seem to apologize for, and be cautious about, talking against societies 'work ethic'. Don't worry about not agreeing with the bullshit work ethic that is taught to you by society. That is, unless you live in a completely socialist society. Some people, who work very hard, think that people who work less hard then them, even if those people make the same or more money, aren't 'moral' from a work ethic perspective. The people who think like that are either uneducated or brainwashed.
If everyone was honest, no one would admit to liking trading their time for money. Your only commitment is that to yourself, which is to live the happiest life possible, whatever defines that, without infringing on the rights of others. If you are doing that, then no one has the right to judge you. That includes if you live on the street or if you own half of Germany.
As for people being happier elsewhere, i think that there are happy and unhappy people everywhere, in every crowded city and every paradise island.
Happy people seem to be the one whose personal lives are rewarded well enough for the amount of work that they do. People who work overly hard for the little they have tend to be less happy. Staying out of debt, and living within or below your financial means, can have a lot to do with this.
Some people are unhappy because have never had to really work or struggle for anything, including their very good job, and therefore don't realize how lucky they are to enjoy a relatively good position in society and the good life that their work affords them. Would they like to not work at all and still enjoy that good life? Sure. Who wouldn't? But, unfortunately, I guess happiness comes down being okay with playing the work game that society demands of us, in exchange for a decent quality of life. The happiness comes from appreciating the fact that you have the opportunity to work a job with good pay and conditions. So, yes, happiness is a little about settling for 'good enough' for most people at work, assuming their personal relationships are good.
A lot of people do not have good work opportunities, and those are the people who would be very happy if the spoiled and unhappy person's work opportunity was available to them.
If you are willing to live more simply, work less, and if that makes you happy, then do that. Happiness is about finding the type of compromise between work and owning your life that is best for you.
Thats what a lot of people on this board are striving for. Its not easy.
All that being said, I've heard anecdotal evidence that most people are happier in many socialist countries, even if it means that they have less luxury. It could be because there is less financial pressure on them for their basic survival needs, less social / class competition and probably enables them to better 'live for the moment'. However, this assumes that the socialist government isn't overly repressive.
I heard a Ben Kingsley quote in a movie once that went something like "Its better to live in the dark then die in the light" when his character was comparing living in soviet Russia to the new capitalist Russia. But, of course, that was a movie.
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04-22-2010, 09:07 AM
Good post Speak Easy...I am actually surprised at the top 5 ratings.
All very homogenous, all Nordic, all cold hmmmm not what I would have thought, certainly not what our schools teach us.
Hydro: I am kind of in agreeance with you, but on the work ethic part I differ a little. If you are talking about working to keep up with the Jones's and trying to have the newest shit just to keep up apperances, Im with you 100%. If you are talking about work ethic in general, like job well done, then I cannot agree. I was raised real blue collar and taught to pull my weight. If you're going to take a task on, then do the best you can. This to me, is why our country and some other countries like ours have prospered. Hard work. Taking the easy way out and bieng a leech is worthy of scorn by your co-workers IMO.
Your view point on socialist countries I think is more readily explained/interchangable as homogenous countries. Look at the top 10 on Speak Easy's link. Those are slightly socialist, but I think its much easier to swallow socialism when everyone around you has the same religion, ethnicity, goals, history etc.
Socialism plus integration of religion, race and culture = struggle for some sort of differentiation and power. Historically it turns out ugly. Think early forced integration done by the Romans, and more recently look at the former USSR / former Yugoslavia.
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Are people happier in other countries?
04-22-2010, 03:22 PM
Hey Roosh, do bots call out other link droppers like I did in some other thread?;-)
