What is Digg?59 Comments
- iceperson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22nothing like double digit unemployment and the chance to get kidnapped and held for ransom, or better yet, get killed by a corrupt police force to make me want to rush down there...
- randersontt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18Too often we think that the problem is with everyone else and not with us. I'm guessing that most people hoping for a simpler life, would find after relocating to Vanutu, that they are no happier than they were before.
If one really wants "the simple life", it can be attained here in the U.S. No one is forcing us to buy a fancy car or plasma TV.
- darkzealot89, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14I agree with this article. Sometimes we lose focus of what matters in life during our hectic day to day activites. Back to basics and slow things down. Dugg
- tylas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12It's kind of funny that is works like that. Here, I am a total gadget and techno nut (like most of us that view this site daily - hourly - or by the minute), but when I travel I can shed all of that nonsense and just have fun enjoying the moment unhindered by gadgets affixed with LCD screens and flashing led's. I can enjoy the sun, rain, snow, and beach without longing for my constant connection with the digital world. Just maybe a camera, film preferably because of my passion for photography and a beach chair or maybe a fishing rod borrowed from a local fisherman.
But here I need the latest and greatest thing every week. True I only buy stuff that will be useful for me, as I try not to surround myself with the crackberries and whatnot, but I have a freaking computer chip branded from apple in my shoe! Where does it end? I makes me happy and keeps me useful I guess so I continue with my gadget-crazed life but somehow I think just walking around with a backpack from place to place and enjoying life would be better for me, and everyone for that matter.
But then there is the matter with a job, work, and money...
I need a vacation. - TheBarge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Can't I have a plasma screen, internet access, TV, and phone in my modest frame house, open to the trade winds, with floor-to-ceiling bookcases (and indoor plumbing)? Now THAT would be divine.
- SmeRndmGy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11But girls with nice asses more than make up for all that, right?
- dshPls, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12I don't see this guy living in a hut in the woods..
- celopes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Do you even live in Brazil? Are you insane???
First: the levels of violence are out of control and stray bullets is just one of the symptoms.
Second: in the big cities where you can actually find decent jobs in IT - that means mostly Rio and São Paulo - the traffic jams and ridiculous public transportation system are a hindrance to any potential quality of life.
Third: if you think the US' wealth distribution is unfair, go check Brazil's!
Fourth: Taxes are ridiculously high. Sure, people CHEAT on taxes all the time. How about being paid in cash to avoid paying taxes on the money? Or getting a third of your salary declared and part the rest in cash in a popcorn bag?
Fifth: double taxation. Because ALL the public services suck you end up paying for private education, private health, private security; ON TOP OF HAVING PAID TAXES TO SUPPORT ALL THAT.
Who can have quality of life in an environment like that? I'm all for getting out of the rat race, but Brazil is no paradise... - SmeRndmGy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10"The things you own end up owning you."
- quentinp, on 10/12/2007, -9/+16That article was a whole lot of nothing.
- SmeRndmGy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8"The problem with our society is that our tools for recreation (e.g., television, computers, etc.) also serve the dual purpose of serving us more marketing."
Recreation is a side effect. It is the lure on the hook that grabs your attention and gets you to look at the marketing. The true purpose is marketing, getting you to spend money you don't have on crap you don't need. Or maybe I'm wrong, and everyone reading this really does need a $15 tshirt about some website they read comments on sometimes, especially if it comes with a marker! - ChileanGoD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Nice description. Maybe asking yourself this question might bring an answer: "What is your purpose in life?"...Is it to work, get money and get stuff?... Do you aim at making this world better for everyone? What do you live for? tech things? Money? Or trying to be a part of humanity that tries to push forward and better our own race. I know I love tech stuff, i love technology... but not at the expense of someone elses exploitation... For me, always heading towards a goal of making my world around me better, to help and not contribute to anything that might be negative to other human beings is a worthy goal. A goal that makes me sleep well at night and makes me feel that i belong as part of humanity and as a living being that has the privilege of self-consciousness and (most of the time) intelligence.
- RajAtWork, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10I call BS. Middle-asian countries of former Soviet Union (*stan) ranked higher than western world? They obviously never went there.
- SwordofKahless, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Too many people. If only the world was bigger or there was a new unhabited frontier where you stake a claim in land, a place with no government and most of all no taxes.
- ClassicJBC, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7The problem with our society is that our tools for recreation (e.g., television, computers, etc.) also serve the dual purpose of serving us more marketing. Think about it; if you didn't know there was a newer, faster, prettier [iPod, car, computer, TV, etc.], would you really be so dissatisfied with what you have? It's about unplugging every once in a while, both literally and figuratively.
I did a great job at it for a while, and I was completely free from the desire to buy new things or be dissatisfied with what I have. Of course, now I've fallen back in the hole of wanting newer, cooler flaming *****. Maybe it's time to unplug again. - thewoz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Yah, Tony Long just needs to shut the ***** up. He must not be familiar with Carl Menger's Theory of Subjective Value- what makes one person happy may annoy the hell out of someone else. Then again, he did cite those wackos over at the New Economics Foundation as a the source of his ***** "happiness index". You can be just as happy in America as anywhere else in the world- and if you're not happy, it probably has more to do with something other than your country of residence.
- phucku2, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Bah. Go to Australia instead. Same holidays, nicer weather, they speak English, civilised, egalitarian and multiculural.
- celopes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Please, mod him up a lot.
The environment may impact your happiness, by trowing obstacles in your way. But ultimately, it is the individual that must decide what is it that makes him happy.
This from a guy that actually moved to another country when his own just seemed to be entirely about obstacles. I live in the US today and I'm much happier here than I was there. The stress factors - the ones that stressed me out; they are different for everybody - were all removed.
Could I do it there? Probably. It would require more work on my part to remove the stress factors. But I would probably be OK. - rodan32, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I would recommend Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. This dude survived Nazin internment camps and learned that happiness has pretty much nothing to do with where you are. Good read if you're serious about getting happy and looking for a better solution than a campy blurb in Wired.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671023373/sr=8-1/qid=1153414218/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4925840-0323037?ie=UTF8 - CedEx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Time to unplug! Exactly.
Take a camping trip to the middle of no where with just the bare essentials for a week.
When you get back home, you'll realize the luxury of clean water, running water, heated water, even heat itself amongst the numerous things you missed while out in the sticks.
After a trip, the very first hot shower I take serves to remind me that I've got it pretty good. The rest of the year, I take showers for granted, which is why everyone need a trip like this every now again to let them know what they have. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I think the best thing to take from this is that you can't trust the "New Economics Foundation". A "progressive" think tank. It's the whole world view of "if we just got rid of things, we'd be much happier". So, a ***** hole with no possessions is on the top of the list.
- DarthTurducken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"Throw on some kevlar?!" That's some sales pitch. Don't ever work as a travel agent.
- lahar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Come up to Canada. There is a huge amount of land in the wilderness. You could easily set up a log cabin and live by yourself in our beautiful natural forests. You wouldn't be bothered by anyone.
You'd have to know how to do it though.... Not everyone can live like that without some preperation. I'd love to do it some day.... - riverrunner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2He should have stuck with the points about plasma TV and not gone on about moving. Have you seen the sheer amount of stuff most Americans have - rich or poor - most of it unnecessary? Its pretty sad.
- espot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If you look up Vanuatu on Google earth, you can actually see an erupting volcano (Ambrym) on one of the islands. Pretty cool...
- jo42, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Welcome to modern slavery.
Instead of chains and shackles, they figured out that mortgages, credit cards and having to own the latest bling make them far more $$$$$$$$$$$$$ than indentured servitude in the past. - DarthTurducken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"You are not your khakis." :)
- astroid0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2All I'm working for right now is to buy a yurt (www.pacificyurts.com), some land, and all the goodies to make it as self-sufficient as possible. I'm going to school for a career where you can take 12 week jobs, meaning no commitment for more than a month and a half. I can't wait until I get the yurt.
- poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2hopefully the coming avian flu pandemic will solve this overcrowding problem (and lower the price of housing here in NJ)...
- poipoipoi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2dracflamloc has never heard of the Amish, apparently.
There are a million place you could move to and start a small, self-sufficient farm if you wanted. the problem is, farming is hard. it's SO much easier to sit at a cubicle 8 hrs a day. which is why so many of us do exactly that. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I live to utilize my sexual organs in the act of reproduction, so that my genes may spread.
- eliasg, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7You've got Cuba and Vietnam near the top of the list... right. I think he meant countries where you can't buy a plasma screen or a bitchin' Bimmer.
- IpodCrazy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2No one said that America was easy. Sure, maybe we're pressured a lot, but you do have to work to live.
- SwordofKahless, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6"If one really wants "the simple life", it can be attained here in the U.S. No one is forcing us to buy a fancy car or plasma TV. "
What comes to my mind when I read the article is in order for a person to be in good standing with your employer Americans typically work more than 40 hours a week and take little vacation. Many employers only provide a 2 weeks vacation and during that time you may expected to be connected. Essentially your whole life dedicated to working for the man in a rat race. - Thorz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Colombia in 2nd. place? This people is dreaming, or even worst yet: They have not a F. clue about what is living in Colombia. The ecology is terribly affected day by day, the unemployment and sub employment is an everyday issue, FARC and other violent groups are finishing with all the beauty because you cannot travel to the nicest rural places because of them (the best places, a lot of these marvels could be as big tourist attractions as other known tourist countries like Mexico). The common Colombian is always thinking in how to pay debts, etc.
The country is a beautiful place but the problems that it has don't let it be placed where they have done it. - riverrunner, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Amen. I work harder owning my own biz and make less - but i can take time off without guilt if i arrange things with my peeps.
- ChileanGoD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Me too :). But those are my private goals. ;)
- babakshirazi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Try any place in America with a population under 10,000 people if you want the laid back lifestyle.
You can lounge around in Kentucky sipping on bourbon or chill out in Florida at some nice beach, relax in Mississippi where time stands still or head to South Carolina and do all three. How about a relaxing desert location like Nevada or Arizona?
There are thousands of places in the US to go to enjoy that lifestyle.
On the other hand, you could also not buy all that crap and do the same in NYC. No one said you had to have a mortgage, plasma TV or a car at all. - rjespo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2The point of his article wasn't to move to the countries at the top of the list. It was, whether you agree with it or not, to live a less complicated life right where you are.
- dracflamloc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Thats not the only problem though. These days you aren't even allowed to just work for yourself to live. If you wanted to just live in a place you built on land you own and live off some small farming that grows enough for just you and your family its not possible because of all the laws and taxes the government mandates.
- masamunecyrus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Well, Japan is one of the best places in the world to be, but you have to work a lot.
And if you already have some money and get a Canadian passport, I hear Cuba's nice. - Cykaos, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I lived in Guatemala for 2 years and I will tell you that central america is not the place to live yet 7 of the top 10 are in central america.
Why does the logo say the "un" happy planet index? - SanTe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Interesting. Where're you going with this IKEA Boy?
- vegasbright, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Agreed. THe ***** prolly is sitting in his New York loft in front of his own plasma TV thinking that "I'm special...I NEED these, the plebs dont"
- dudeknt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Props for correctly using the term "bimmer"
- goldenbb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I have to chuckle because this morning I watched out the window while an IT manager made an elaborate ritual of adding some Mobile 1 to the engine of the 80s era whale tail Porsche he purchased as a status symbol.
- MyKungFu, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1The people that write for Wired are an f'ing joke. The commentary on digg is more insightful and better written, and that's saying something.
- JohnyRed, on 10/12/2007, -9/+8Throw on some kevlar, catch up on your portuguese, bring over some computer skills, and kick back. Looking to runaway from the rat race, make Brazil your new home. 30 days paid vacation, over 10 holidays a year. Most cities have over 200 days of sunshine. I dont even have to mention the ladies. Message me for sure if you looking for new horizons.
- rodan32, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1edit
- goldenbb, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1"First: the levels of violence are out of control and stray bullets is just one of the symptoms.
Second: in the big cities where you can actually find decent jobs in IT - that means mostly Rio and São Paulo - the traffic jams and ridiculous public transportation system are a hindrance to any potential quality of life.
Third: if you think the US' wealth distribution is unfair, go check Brazil's!
Fourth: Taxes are ridiculously high. Sure, people CHEAT on taxes all the time. How about being paid in cash to avoid paying taxes on the money? Or getting a third of your salary declared and part the rest in cash in a popcorn bag?
Fifth: double taxation. Because ALL the public services suck you end up paying for private education, private health, private security; ON TOP OF HAVING PAID TAXES TO SUPPORT ALL THAT."
Since this is how the US will be at some point in the future, you could go down to Rio, learn how to survive, and then move back to the states and profit by training others in how best to maneuver around the system. -
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