I have been thinking about this for past few months: What is the best city/country to live?Of course, I have few parameters. Here they are:1) Jobs (in IT Consulting)2) Education for kids (Elemetary to Higher)3) Life in general: a) Nice house b) Good Health system c) Good Governance4) ClimateLife in UK is generally good.But, I am not quite sure about the Education and Health Systems here. Climate is also not the best.Guys, what do you think?

France, but you gotta learn the language

nomad, theres a reason most are heading to the west...opps are simply unparalled, most points on your list would be covered with the us...research nz..new zealand.me, u'r really one arrogant sob.

Why's he arrogant? Learning French is essential if you want to live in France!

France sounds like a good option. But, I am not sure how long it will take me to learn french before I feel at home in France. It may take a few years. This means first few years are gonna be tough???How about Australia or Singapore (I think one can manage with English in S'pore)?

Helsinki, Finland. And you can manage with English.

I'd second the france option. Learning french really won't be too much of a strain, as long as you have GCSE level french now and are willing to take classes over there. I would suggest that after 6 months you'd be fine. Obviously it would take a while till you could be mistaken for a frenchie...

the usual suspects ... Vancouver, Geneva, Zurich, Vienna.I was living in Vienna for a couple of years. I can recommend it for the points you mentioned.

I second Vancouver - great city to live in with good climate and nice atmosphere and best of all, Whistler is only 2 hours away by car for the best skiing around!

Demandez aux filles! d:-)//PS Also dont confuse best for consulting work with best for other aspects of life.

Singapore is great, however it can feel a little sterile. Plenty of jobs in IT consulting there if you're prepared to work 7 day weeks and very long days. It ticks all of your boxes:Education - excellent local schools and international schools (swiss, dutch, american, anglo-chinese, etc). You can do GCSEs, IGCSEs, Bac, A-Levels or the American system. Nice house - yup. Nice modern condominiums with gyms, swimming pools, tennic courts and big apartments. Detatched houses however are rare and very expensive to rent. Health - private only, but very good, and relatively good value. Governance - People freak out about Singapore's government too much. It's very well managed, healthy economy. Very low crime, great transport facilities, etc. Climate - equatorial, 32 degrees all year round with a couple of months of monsoon. Holidays - fancy a weekend break? Well I'm amazed you got a weekend off, but Malaysia is on your doorstep with outstanding scuba diving for the cost of a night out in London all-in. Got fired? - well then, you can actually spend a couple of weeks out of the office! Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Borneo, NZ, take your pick! You'll be surprised where you can go for your money. Some bad points, but I'm biased and choose to gloss over them..

Well alright then. Some bad points about S'pore:1 - if you have children there they may find it difficult to re-adjust when moving back to Europe, in particular the crime, crap weather, cost of living and crap housing. When I moved back to the UK at the age of 15, I was amazed at how utterly depressing and mundane life is. I adjusted to it after a while and now, would probably not go back to S'pore again for any length of time. Would love to live in NY though!2 - if you live there as an expat for too long, you might go a bit loopy. S'pore is a distinct microcosm of society which does not reflect reality anywhere else, especially if you are an expat with a western salary, ie, a lot of money. 3 - It is a very small country. 4 - It's incredibly westernised and capitalist. When you get bored, you will but a lot of stuff you don't really need. It has the biggest shopping centres I have ever seen, all along the same street, orchard road. 5 - Expats generally stay there for typically 2-3 years. Your friends and your kids' friends will come and go, which is a bit wierd.

I worked in Sydney for 6 months and loved every minute of it. The working culture is massively different due to a completely different take on life. It’s more sociable and the Aussies have great attitude to life.They're outdoors people, healthier and sportier than the UK. Sydney has got it all. Beaches, amazing harbour, big city feel and close to the country if you want to escape. You generally get more for money housing wise but I wouldn't say it's cheap.London is better for progressing up the career ladder so I plan to go back later in my career.I have a friend in Hong Kong. He's not coming back. Apparently loads of opportunity to make money and a much fairer tax system.

Anon, The bad points about S'pore didn't sound to depressing. So S'pore is on the short list.Down Under, Australia is defenitely a good choice. But I think, it going to get overcrowded soon (as everybody thinks it's the BEST)How about Dubai? I was in Dubai for for about 5 months in 2003 (Consultancy to a big Oil comany). I quite liked the place. Good housing, fantastic beaches, good food.Summar can be as hot as pre-heated oven. Also, I am not sure about job scenario. Does people generally stick to one job because of lack choices?

I'd be very interested to hear what sort of opportunities there are in Thailand. I know most of the big consultancies operate out there but I'd be interested in what sort of salaries are on offer and how easy it is for expats to gain work.

Anon, The bad points about S'pore didn't sound to depressing. So S'pore is on the short list.Down Under, Australia is defenitely a good choice. But I think, it going to get overcrowded soon (as everybody thinks it's the BEST)How about Dubai? I was in Dubai for for about 5 months in 2003 (Consultancy to a big Oil comany). I quite liked the place. Good housing, fantastic beaches, good food.Summar can be as hot as pre-heated oven. Also, I am not sure about job scenario. Does people generally stick to one job because of lack choices?

I think the only feasible way to go to Singapore or Thailand is to get your company here in the UK to transfer you over. You will probably receive relocation benefits, school fees paid for you, company car and your rent paid for you, and you'll keep your salary or get a payrise. If you get employed locally in those countries you won't receive any of those benefits, obviously you will need to be at a certain level in your career or seriously good at what you do to get expatriate benefits though. Expats are generally transferred to set up a new office or head up a major new initiative, hence their experience is invaluable and cannot be replaced locally.

Just one word: ITALY

Stockholm, Sweden

Monaco

why, why and why?thanks for elaborating.:)

Any Nordic countries... at least if you are looking for the best education for the kids.

Good thread Nomad! From my experience you can enjoy many different overseas locations, and it really depends on what your priorities are. I agree about the different attitude ini Oz - but id the east coast is too busy, try WA/Perth, especially if your background is in energy. I used to love Scandinavia, when my idea of a good weekend was touring around (especially on skis), but the cold seems to be losing its attraction. Dubia, at the other temperature extreme, is a great place, and growing fast, I'd just be a bit wary about how money oriented everyone is. The answer is probably to move around a bit, but that depends on having those all important saleable skills...