“You Can’t Get Rich Here”: 35 People Reveal The Best And The Worst Thing About Their Countries
The phrase ‘there’s no place like home’ was probably made up by someone who wanted to feel better about where they came from. It’s not a secret that every country has its advantages and disadvantages, but since you can’t actually pick the place you’re born in, embracing everything about it is just a part of the process.
People from different places around the world joined this online thread to share the pros and cons of their homeland. From culture and food to politics, economy, and the quality of life, true experts share what makes their home so easy yet so incredibly difficult to love. And it’s a perfect opportunity to learn things about countries you would never find in tourist brochures.
Scroll down to find out the good, the bad, and the ugly about these countries in a list that could serve as a blatant guide to check before choosing a travel destination or a new place to live. And don’t forget to praise and expose your country in the comments!
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Switzerland.
Con: high cost of living.
Pro: the flag is a big plus.
United Kingdom.
Pro: Beautiful countryside that generally has public access.
Con: Run by a bunch of corrupt and useless tw*ts.
Australia.
Pro: No guns and free healthcare.
Cons: everything wants to kill you and the sun gives you cancer.
Australia: Pros - Hugely diverse nature. Cons - Hugely diverse nature.
Norway.
Pro: incredibly beautiful and clean nature.
Con: the weather is often so bad you need to stay indoors.
The real con is the months of basically complete darkness imo. That's so much worse than bad weather.
Finland.
Pro: people avoid you.
Con: that's kinda lonely.
Canada.
Pro: free healthcare.
Con: it takes so long to get that you might die waiting for it.
Same in Mexico. There is free healthcare, doctors are well trained and the attention is good, but it is so understaffed, bureaucracy-ridden and slow that most who can afford it just go for private care.
Scotland.
Pro - it's pretty stunning.
Con - The weather is s**t.
Scotland: Pros - One of the most beautiful places to explore. Food fit for the climate. Con - Midges!
UK Pro: We're like a USA lite. Some of the good parts of the US without the guns and religion.
Con: We're like a USA lite.
México. Tacos and narcos.
I'm Venezuelan.
A pro is that our food is delicious, a con is that for like five years we had none of it.
Venezuela is one of the most beautiful countries on the world, sad what's goin on there
Armenia.
Pro: We still exist.
Con: Unsure for how much longer though since 3 neighbors repeatedly genocide/ethnicically cleanse/invade us.
Looking up the web for civil war in Armenia. It started in about 200 BC. The first Nagorno-Karabakh war started in 1988.
Pro: if you're rich it's one of the best places in the world.
Con: you can't get rich here.
Italy
USA.
Pro: I have the freedom to choose the profession I love.
Con: I have to practice active shooter drills with my sweet kindergarten students.
Bonus!! Pro: my pay is funded by the government.
Con: My pay has me constantly worried about having enough money for my bills.
That's a weird choice of pro. Even most people living in dictatorships and autocracies have the freedom to choose a profession they love. And certainly everyone in a democracy does.
Egypt.
Pros: it has an airport.
Cons: I don't have money to get on a plane in that airport to get the hell out.
Con -women are not safe here, many women I know have been groped and harassed, and a lot of men wont talk to you if you are with a man they will ask your husband/boyfriend instead, very agressive salesmen in shops, friend was puled into a shop and they locked the door telling her to buy something, she had to scream to be let out.
South Africa.
Pros: Amazing climate, amazing food, amazing people, incredible landscapes and natural beauty, affordable cost of living compared to the rest of the world, robust private sector.
Cons: Horrific corruption, poverty is rife, horrendous public service delivery, rolling blackouts, inflation, stagnant economic growth.
Brazil.
Pro: it's a beautiful country.
CON: we have 9000 bank robberies or street-armed robberies every day.
Two of my Brazilian friends were comparing bullet wounds they have and laughing about it. I'm just standing there going, wha.. that's terrible! and they were like, ahhh it's Brazil.
The Netherlands Too many pros so ill name a rather unknown one Pro: we have specialized tools for everything. Need a tool to cut out the seeds of an appel, here you go appelseedscutter. Want to get every little piece out of ketchup or appel sauce put of your bottle, here a flessenlikker. Con: house crisis, cost of living.
OP forgot the kaasschaaf, a tool to slice cheese. Very important!!!! Osthyvel_2...6d71e9.jpg 
India.
Pro: amazing food & festivals.
Con: religious tension, overpopulation & corrupt government.
Terrible pollution, terrible air quality, and a lot of poor sanitation.
Germany.
con: we had one of, if not THE world's most infamous leader in history represent our country and it still haunts us to this day. Our education system is on par with American dumpsterfire and our current military would get soloed by our local gym.
pro: we got some hella good non-alcoholic drinks here, tho.
Pros: Beautiful beaches and views, great weather, hospitable people.
Cons: Corruption, exploitation of the marginalized members of the society, nepotism, bad infrastructure, low pay, and the culture of placing celebrities and politicians at the pedestal of our society.
Welcome to the Philippines.
I'm married to a Filipino and have visited many times. Pros: Beautiful scenery, incredible biodiversity, very hospitable people, great food, family-friendly, cheap pampering in the form of massages and manicures, etc. Cons: Poverty, celebrity worship/consumerism, pollution and (for me personally) the humidity!
Spain.
Pros: almost everything: weather, food, open minded society, relatively affordable, free healthcare…
Cons: Our people always thinking that life is better anywhere else.
Sounds like a great place, let the moaners go! PS: I enjoy going to Spain, specially in winter when the weather is grey and gloomy in France.
Greece: Pros: * The weather is nice, except in the summer when the sun just hates your very existence and you roast alive even with the AC on full blast. * Nice beaches, in the right weather. * Kick*ss cuisine.
Cons: * Greeks have a reputation of hospitality but honestly, we are not a very nice people. Sexist, closed-minded, always out to exploit others for gain. * Greeks naturally just hate each other over the shi*tiest things. We're talking actively, maliciously wishing misery upon one another, especially the ones we view as in any way successful or 'different'. * Anyone in the tourism industry is an exploitative shark, the islands are no longer places where people actually live, they are just glorified resorts for the rich.
China.
Pro: culinary peak of the world, I'm very objective.
Con: we kinda live under the facade of a monarchy in the name of socialism.
France.
Pro: THE food, landscape.
Cons: Strikes, and for foreigners, poor level of English (and others languages)
I'd consider the strikes a huge pro. You keep your government and their capitalist overlords somewhat afraid!
United Kingdom.
Pro: Universal healthcare, beautiful countryside, nothing that can kill you, good infrastructure, more cheeses than France, more beers than Germany, lush, no cockroaches, no snakes, almost no mosquitos, good education, religion in deep decline.
Cons: Cost of living, Pay rates, Non-income taxation (hidden taxation), Brexit, Conservatism, urban decline.
We have snakes. One species of which is venomous. It won't kill you but it will hurt for a while. Our education system has gone to s*it. We have cockroaches and plenty of mosquitoes (although our mozzies don't carry diseases - yet). Compared to the rest of Europe our infrastructure is dreadful and expensive. We may have universal healthcare, but the waiting lists are so long that people are dying before seeing specialists. Doctors and nurses and paramedics have been on multiple strikes.
Bosnia.
Pros:
probably one of the best and most delicious food in Europe - ćevapi and burek unimaginable for anyone who didn't try them, even vegetables is for some reason much more appetising than in Great Brittain and Germany.
Cheap restaurants - for 15 -20 euros you can eat whatever and whereever you want
Coffe culture - everyday, even at work, there is bare minimum of one paid, sometimes two half-hour long pauses when people stop with everything and socialize in cafe.
Crime rate - although there is a lot of crime like corruption there is not much robbery and things like that and is safe in almost every city to walk alone in any time of day.
Hospitality - it is part of culture that everybody greet guests in their house with table full of food, some rakija - homemade brandy made from plum, pear, quince - we're experts in that, they teach you how to make rakija and show hospitality from childhood basicaly.
Free education and healt care - I can't stress this enough. There is no student loans, most universities are state owned universities and healt care is also free, even most medicament are free!
Cons:
Corruption: everything, and I mean everything is ruled by political connections, and because Bosnia is country of Bosnian muslims, Croatian catholtick and Serbian Orthodox christians (plenty of citizens don't consider Bosnia as their country, rather Serbia and Croatia) there is plenty of corruption and stealing of money.
National tensions: war from 90s is almost everyday topic, we are living in the past
Standard of living: salaries are pretty basic, if you have salary cca 2000-3000 euros you will literary live like an milionaire in USA, but if you are without political connections or expert in you area of work, you will find it extremly hard to find a job and unfortunately plenty of people are emigrating.
The hospitaility thing seems like a little much to me. But maybe there's less introverts there and more people who enjoy having company.
Ireland
Pros: No guns, so a very safe place to live.
Cons: Totally unaffordable rent and near impossible to buy a house.
Pro : Anything, anywhere, any time. Food, alcohol, whatever.
Con : Way too much politics, casteism, division, racism, unsafe environment for girls, road rage.
Country : India
Portugal.
Major pros: Great food and nice weather.
Major cons: Incompetent government and c**p economy.
Myanmar.
Cons: One of the poorest countries in the world ruled by a malicious military dictator who kills everyone who opposes him. Unending civil war (Edit: World's longest actually). Economy in the sh**ter. Basically, everything is much worse than almost every other country on earth.
Pros: We don't tend to live that long
Colombia.
Pro: Great weather, biodiversity.
Con: violence, corruption.
For Canada, I would say this
A pro : Peace of mind. I don't have to worry if I will be able to afford college for my kids, I did not worry about money when my kids need healthcare, I don't have to worry about health insurance if I'm unemployed, I don't have to worry about being financially ruined if I get injured in an accident and the OTHER driver was at fault and not insured, I can just enjoy life and even if I have minimum savings and both my kids want to be doctors, money will never get in the way of that.
A con : Winter can be rough. It's cold, everything gets dirty because snow is only nice and white for some time before cars turn it to that brown slush, and taxes are steep. Almost 40% of my income goes right back in taxes and on top of that, we can easily pay 12-15% in sales taxes which is a lot.
Ehhh Canadian here, I think OP might in the nice boomer generation, most gen xyz can't afford to live in the cities or go to university without owing half a mil student loans by the time you graduate
Not the boomer generation. Many of us are having to work until we die because seniors income doesn’t even reach up to the level considered to poverty. Unless you worked a job that provided a separate pension from that of the government. Even that leaves no guarantee you can keep your head above water. Once you turn 65 all of your healthcare needs are paid for by the government. Hooray!! No. If you need physiotherapy for anything you’ve got a very very very long wait because the government pays so little, hope you can afford to pay for it yourself. Our economy is hitting everyone. I don’t know what total utopia this person lives in, but it’s not Canada. But if it is, I don’t know how they managed to afford the deeply rose coloured glasses they’re wearing. I genuinely feel for younger generations who will never own a house, be able to afford to have the kids they won’t be able to afford to send to university, and who the he!! could afford to feed and clothe them anyway.
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Please don't take this as criticism of your country, or any other country, but those high taxes are what pay for the "free" stuff, like health care or university educations.
Pro: They will help you kill yourself. Con: if you're really sick you'll probably die.
PP can't even pass a security check to be allowed to sit in on secure briefings. You can't think that Mimi Trump is the answer for anything. All he does is rage farm.
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American here. Con: I've heard that because you live next to the US, it's like living above a meth house.
so true re: taxes and winter.....plus our current Prime Minister, who spends a lot of our money, is a spoiled boy - not good at all.
But you’ve got Trailer Park Boys and Letterkenny which are definitely Pros.
I live in So Cal we're used to high sales taxes. How much 'milder' are the winters in Coastal BC-I mean you got palm trees growing there-bout the same as the Seattle area?
Most sales taxes are much higher here, over 20%. Only basic necessities like food have lower sales tax, but that's still 9%.
College/university isn’t free ( or necessarily cheap) in Canada and if you are in a middle class income household, our young people can’t even get student loans. So families who are rich can afford it and kids who are poor can go ( cuz of student loans) but middle class get screwed. The kids have to work and save for years before they can go. Canada has access to secondary education screwed up
Def written by a boomer who doesn't understand their kids will spend the rest of their lives paying 50% their income for rent. Those kids might make it, but if your parents aren't helping you get a start here, you're never going to own a home unless you're in a select few cities or a small town. Boomers scream the loudest about the sales taxes cause it makes it harder for them to get a new vehicle every few years, speaking from personal experience
The high taxes are what pays for the health care and education. You can't have one without the other. And our roads, miles Opps, kilometres of roads that the winter gives potholes to and not very many people to pay for them. Politics are the shits but otherwise a really nice place to live!
Don’t have to worry about college? Are you rich? Free healthcare system is failing. Many now seek private care. Again, are you rich?
Kazakhstan.
Pro: Best economy and tourism in Central Asia.
Con: Economy, tourism still s****y.
Netherlands - Pro: bureaucracy gets s**t done - Con: bureaucracy doesn't get s**t done It works really well when it works, it is really s**t when it doesn't work basically.
Malaysia.
Pros: Natural disasters doesn't occur frequently. Abundant natural resources.
Cons: Religious bigots ruining the country for everyone. Affirmative action for the majority.
Belgium:
Pro: culture and food.
Con: the "goverment".
Pro: they invented chips. 🍟 Con: the US calls them ''french Fries'' anyway🍟
Pro : Beautiful landscape
Con : No other pros
(Slovakia)
EDIT: to be fair, in landscape we can count some cities and castles too, so more like, geography, and there is also low crime rate as far as i noticed
Singapore.
Pros: Healthcare system where you pay based on your ability to pay with government subsidies, yet is very high quality, accessible and efficient. Very low crime rate. A lot of nice green architecture and increasing amounts of renewable energy. Very high home ownership rate of good quality public and private housing 80-90%. One of the worlds highest GDP per capita. Poor are allowed to rent apartments from the government for dirt cheap. Very good food. Cons: Very high cost of living that’s continuing to rise, increasing wealth inequality, increasingly harder to buy a home. The government keeps banning all the fun TV shows and movies.
You forgot a tiny thing : that’s not a democracy but an authoritarian regime that dictates everything. Thus no liberty at all. An open air prison.
Poland
Pro: not much going on
Con: not much going on
On the one hand you get low crime rate, low homelessness, stable employment rate, stable growth, not nearly as bad of a housing crisis compared to the west, cheap, fast and robust city and intercity public transport, decent public healthcare and education, conveniently placed żabkas on every street, nearly all housing is decent quality, extremely high chances you won't go cold, you won't be hungry, you won't be stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare, you won't be sick, you won't be bankrupt
On the other hand we still power everything with coal and gasoline, we refuse to grant lgbt people marriage or anything like that, the church is strong, abortion isn't that accessible, generally no progress on social issues, and while your basic needs are nicely met, your polish wage will probably not grant you much else - gonna ride a 20yo car to your job in front of a 10yo computer so that you can go home and watch your newly bought 8yo TV.
So, not much going on. You're gonna have a stable but quiet life here. You're gonna be tired but eh, could've been worse, at least your landlord does not give you any headaches so long as you pay up, and you always do. The flat is small, but there's no mould like in Birmingham and it's not legit cramped like in amsterdam. If you're queer you're gonna be queer exclusively at home. The air smells funny and your kid developed allergies. Allergy medication is cheap, thankfully. That's about it. Spice it up with a little vodka on the weekend, it's way cheaper than actual hobbies. Generally, a little money solves all problems but a little-little money is all you have.
New Zealand.
Pros; safe, free healthcare.
Cons; tax, cost of living.
The Netherlands.
Pro: the weather, generally nice. Neither hot nor warm.
Con: the food is unbelievably boring.
Singapore.
Pro: Decent healthcare, education, public transport, public housing, no gun violence, no major drug problem.
Con: something something Disneyland with the death penalty something something.
Sweden.
Con: Swedish justice system is really s****y imo.
Pro: sun never goes down in the summer.
That was the best pro you could come up with? The Swedish false modesty working true to form. Pros: Very few religious people, "free" health care, a democracy, great scientific quality, well developed technical standard, and Internet coverage, clean massive forests, clean water, tolerant culture, civil rights etc etc. Con: people voting for nazi-derived a$$hats trying to destroy all of that and replace it with a viking-like society.
Romania.
Pro: if you have euros and convert them in my currency you're rich.
Con: gang sword fights between roms.
Russia.
PROs: amazing nature, beautiful women, generally friendly people, accessible and convinient online services.
CONs: delusional warmongering leadership, many of these beautiful women and friendly people supporting abovementioned leadership, also you can get conscripted via accessible and convinient online services.
Scotland.
Pro • Beautiful scenery • We have Bens, Glens and Lochs • Deep Fried Mars Bar • NHS • Still Game Con • Politics dividing a country • Religion dividing a country • Football teams dividing a country • High cost of living • Expensive public transport
Austria:
Pro: very good Healthcare.
Con: Racism, sexism homophobia, you name it, is out of control.
So when people are beat up for being any of those things they have free healthcare. Yes I'm being ironic
Italy. Pro: we have really nice views with ancient stuff everywhere, have nice clothes and good food. Con: low pays for very high home rent/selling prices, a bit of intolerance here and there, cities are really cr*ppy-managed, expecially about trash and pollution. People have no respect of public places.
"People have no respect of public places" and most of them are tourists!!
Pro: Universal healthcare
Con: stagnant wage growth/s**t government.
Australia.
Argentina.
Pros: Lots of memes. About anything and everything, specially the negative aspects. The term "there's always a silver lining" doesn't even come close.
Cons: +50% poverty, most corrupt politicians ever, the average income is between 200 and 300 USD and getting lower every minute, and there's literally nothing you can do about it.
Nigeria
Pro: pretty lawless if you have money, you can get away with most (any) things
Cons: Same point as above, absolute s**t value of life.
Ireland Pros: Friendly people, lots of greenery, high level of eduction (particularly at college level) Cons: Our housing market is an utter joke - so much demand and null supply, weather is pretty meh from September to March.
Was anyone else struck by the irony of "high level of eduction" (I assume the writer mean education)?
USA.
Pros: We have a military budget big enough to fight god.
Cons: We use it on dumb stuff.
Kuwait.
Pros: Easy life, good money, very safe.
Cons: Boring, expensive, extremely hot summer.
USA.
Pro: guns are easy to get.
Con: guns are easy to get.
“It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it” - Dr. Seuss Being a responsible gun owner is not all that difficult. Education and communication is key.
TURKEY
Pros:
* Naturally really beautiful. All those archeologic sites, natural beaches, Cappadocia etc.
* Delicious food.
* Friendly people.
* Good weather. Can swim and also can go skiing.
Cons:
* Erdoğan
* S****y government and economy
* All those immigrant Syrians, Pakis etc. who do nothing but use our resources, breed like crazy and look at our women as if they want to eat them.
It really feels like the world is on the verge of collapse. Fascism is rising almost everywhere, people can't afford to live and have a home, wars and more wars - it seems like it's all about to come to a head. 😕
I don't think the world is in much worse shape than it's ever been, and better in some ways. We think it's bad because so many people focus on the bad while overlooking the good.
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Disturbing how many of the cons regardless of country were “corruption” and often specifically “corrupt government”. This appears to be a problem far wider than just a specific country.
Yep. There's parts of the world where if you don't have the ability to slip a bribe during a handshake, you may as well avoid the country. And, yes, I have learned that skill.. And that's just to get out of the airport. The corruption is one thing that *does* trickle down. (Profits, not so muc.)
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Pro when I moved to the UK: part of the EU :) Con now: Not part of the EU :(
Since I used to live in Kenya: Pros - A large amount of diversity with language, communities and landscapes, great weather, affordable cost of living Cons - it's quite unsafe bc of high crime rate, limited transport options and roads are s**t, SO MUCH corruption, good luck finding water, little variety with food as low imports.
Canada, Pro: vast landscape, diverse culture, high standard of living, universal healthcare, clean drinking water, low crime rate, good infrastructure Con: Because of our close relationship with the USA we import all their political hatred. Our politicians are constantly trying to pit the working class against each other so that we forget that the rich and mega corps are bleeding us all dry.
USA: Vast landscapes, huge diversity of natural beauty, diversity of culture, not as bad as a lot of places. Cons: The politics are scarily divided and getting worse. Americans think that the US is the center of the universe. We don't learn from other countries' success.
Trinidad & Tobago Pro: Beautiful island, diverse people and wonderful food infused with all different cultures. Con: We are fast becoming a crime ridden and corruption nation.
The World has, is, and will always be a horrible place...of that you can always be assured.
This isn't just US-bashing, we're at world-bashing at this point.
Not a country, but a province. Newfoundland. Pros: Beautiful scenery, free healthcare, and most of the locals are quite nice. Cons: The weather is sh*t, there's barely any hospitals here, and most of the nicer locals are in rural areas.
Taiwan, pro: beautiful scenery, friendly people, very safe, excellent health service, great food. Cons: noisy, governing party just screams and does nothing constructive, humid, crowded. Neutral: we've been hearing that the PRC is about to attack for the last 70+ years, so let's get something to eat instead of worrying about that.
It really feels like the world is on the verge of collapse. Fascism is rising almost everywhere, people can't afford to live and have a home, wars and more wars - it seems like it's all about to come to a head. 😕
I don't think the world is in much worse shape than it's ever been, and better in some ways. We think it's bad because so many people focus on the bad while overlooking the good.
Load More Replies... Disturbing how many of the cons regardless of country were “corruption” and often specifically “corrupt government”. This appears to be a problem far wider than just a specific country.
Yep. There's parts of the world where if you don't have the ability to slip a bribe during a handshake, you may as well avoid the country. And, yes, I have learned that skill.. And that's just to get out of the airport. The corruption is one thing that *does* trickle down. (Profits, not so muc.)
Load More Replies... Pro when I moved to the UK: part of the EU :) Con now: Not part of the EU :(
Since I used to live in Kenya: Pros - A large amount of diversity with language, communities and landscapes, great weather, affordable cost of living Cons - it's quite unsafe bc of high crime rate, limited transport options and roads are s**t, SO MUCH corruption, good luck finding water, little variety with food as low imports.
Canada, Pro: vast landscape, diverse culture, high standard of living, universal healthcare, clean drinking water, low crime rate, good infrastructure Con: Because of our close relationship with the USA we import all their political hatred. Our politicians are constantly trying to pit the working class against each other so that we forget that the rich and mega corps are bleeding us all dry.
USA: Vast landscapes, huge diversity of natural beauty, diversity of culture, not as bad as a lot of places. Cons: The politics are scarily divided and getting worse. Americans think that the US is the center of the universe. We don't learn from other countries' success.
Trinidad & Tobago Pro: Beautiful island, diverse people and wonderful food infused with all different cultures. Con: We are fast becoming a crime ridden and corruption nation.
The World has, is, and will always be a horrible place...of that you can always be assured.
This isn't just US-bashing, we're at world-bashing at this point.
Not a country, but a province. Newfoundland. Pros: Beautiful scenery, free healthcare, and most of the locals are quite nice. Cons: The weather is sh*t, there's barely any hospitals here, and most of the nicer locals are in rural areas.
Taiwan, pro: beautiful scenery, friendly people, very safe, excellent health service, great food. Cons: noisy, governing party just screams and does nothing constructive, humid, crowded. Neutral: we've been hearing that the PRC is about to attack for the last 70+ years, so let's get something to eat instead of worrying about that.
