I have seen so many articles about Best Cities to live…etc, each comparison is different from one another. I have always wanted to write something about this, as I had lived in Asia, Australia, North America and Europe over the past 10 years.
My method is always the same “Cost of Living Cost ve Living Standard Index”, this means: Higher Cost of Living does not mean Higher Quality of life.
Therefore, the optimal place will be “Low Living Cost and High Quality of Living”
Is this possible? Yes, I think so, as I have lived in some places which have affordable living cost, yet the quality is pretty good, it’s all comes down to comparisons, let me go through some cities.
Asia:
Generally speaking, the quality of life in Asia is worse than in the west, living cost can also be much higher. People simply work work work and never stop, plus bad traffic, bad pollution and no place for kids to play, therefore, I do not rate Asia highly in terms of “Good Places to Live”, and other reports seem to conform with this. I had lived in Taiwan, some parts of China and Hong Kong; living costs there including China are very high because of the large population, and living in cramped apartments; Hong Kong has very good salary, but the cost of living is just so high! Cost of food is reasonable in most parts of Asia, but utilities can be very high, and transportation cost is especially high, cars in Asia can generally be twice more expensive than USA.
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OK, I am now using an unusual break this week, had a very busy week. Now I am writing part 2: Australia, Canada or USA. Let’s talk about USA. I have lived there close to 2 years; and had travelled to no less than 20 cities while I was there; and most of my relatives (and increasing number of friends) are also based in USA; majority of them have moved there from Australia and Asia.
So, that is a statment already; contrary to what many Australians think (those who have not travelled especially); USA actually has probably larger if not same Australian expat-community as in UK, and in fact, majority of Aussies live in USA are usually highly qualified professionals instead of part-time workers.
To give you some examples; I met 3 people while I was in US 2 months who are from Australia.
1.  A lady now works in NASA, she graduated from high school and university in Sydney, and is now hoping to become an astronaut, she is already doing a lot of training (WOW!) no such job in Australia…
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Three nations, popular for immigrants, which offer better prospects for 2010?
In fact, all 3 countries are great countries, and should not be compared simply as “Who is better”, I think those who make some comments are really irrespoinsible, it’s like saying: Germany and France, which one is a better country? How can you make assessments like?
I am therefore, making a better assessment by going through 5 points on each country; pros and cons; and as I have lived all 3 countries; I believe my assessment will be realistic.
Australia:
Top 5 “Props” about Australia and why you should call it your “New Home”
1) It is a growing land of opportunity because of the resources boom and its close ties with China. However, it is not relating to all sectors; not everyone is going to work in the mining industry for example. Nevertheless, Australian economy has benefited from the mining boom.
2) It is a multicultural society just like Canada and USA; and this is really great for childern; as they can expose to different cultures.
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Hot Export Sectors In Australia
 
What are the export sectors in Australia? Many have associated Australia being a resources oriented or primary goods driven economy? Is that a correct assumption or shall we also look at other potential sectors? In this article, we will also look at what assistances are available that can assist in your export opportunities.
 
Australia - a major export economy?
 
Yes, Australia is a major export economy, because of its relatively small population, Australia is not really a “self reliant economy” and needs to rely on exports to boost its economy. This is why Australian Government has spent considerable amount of investments in boosting Australia’s export opportunities - and diversifying products and services available for export.
 
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Have you ever wonder after spending so much time marketing your product you are still not getting the desired increase in sales you would like for your business? The truth is consumers have certain needs and they go through a thought process about the benefits and the perceived value of a product that will eventually persuade them to buy or reject. If your marketing is not meeting those requirements it is probably why your product is not selling as well. Most consumers are simply not only persuaded by the “price” tag, they are more visually stimulated by what a product can bring and do for them. That is the most important reason for purchasing.
If you are totally bewildered and having difficulty in selling your product after implementing so many marketing and promotional strategies you may want to consider the following reasons why consumers don’t buy.  You should then carefully evaluate how you can do better at marketing your products in a way that converts consumers into your customers which is the true measurement for the success of your marketing strategy.
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It was 2005, and I was retrenched, I was so confident I could find a job within 2 months, but reality bites, I was a Marketing Specialist with an Internet Data Center company, the problem was, it was too specific and no one really know what Internet Data Center was back then, I was in a wrong market at a wrong time.
What could I do, I sent out thousands of applications went to no less than 100 interviews, but it was really going around the circle, filling in the same application forms even taking assessments, and going through over and over again, it was a frustrating 18 months experience.
I can understand what it feels like during unemployment; as that was ultimately what made me and many people decided to change our career path.
We launched our own business in 2006, it was hard initially, but tell you what, the big difference is expection and the positive attitide. When seeking a job, you would be naturally be more pessmistic as basically you are doing the same thing every day (finding positions on Internet, send out CVs); it’s a routine job, and very disappointed when you found out most of positions advertised were there anyway!
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Your credit rating reflects your creditworthiness or trustworthiness to the lenders. They assess your repayment ability by running your credit score. Your credit score is a very important number in your life. It affects the amount of monthly mortgage payment you need to pay on a loan, your insurance premium, your car loan payment and various other things.
<a href=”http://www.creditmagic.org/”><img src=”http://www.creditmagic.org/styles/creditmagic/img/creditmagiclogo.gif” alt=”Creditmagic: Helping You Build up Credit” title=”Creditmagic: Helping You Build up Credit” width=”271″ height=”101″></a>
You must understand why credit score carries so much importance for you. This score is worked out based on items that are listed on your credit report. The higher is your score, the better it is for you. If you have a good score, then it’s simpler for you to qualify for credit at lower interest rates and affordable terms and conditions.
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Climate Change is causing problems and also increases our health risk; did you notice how hot it has been in Australia this year; and don’t you feel that the summers are getting longer and longer in Australia each year?
 
In countries like Australia, the average temperate has been increasing over the past 10 years; we have seen record breaking hot temperatures in Australia almost every year.

 
A far worse health risk is also emerging in Australia, which is skin cancer. Skin cancer is already one of the most lethal cancers in Australia; despite of the increasing awareness towards sun protection; skin cancer remains as a major health risk in Australia; and it is actually getting worse due to the climate change.
 
Are Sun Screens really enough?
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You don’t need to travel overseas to find international green career opportunities. We launched our first edition of Top Environmental Engineering Firms - USA this week, I was so impressed with the diversifty of the companies in terms of their geographical locations as well as capabilities.
I have always wanted to launch a report dedicated to this industry as it is a fast growing industry, and my guess was correct, out of the 200 firms we have researched on, there are less than 10 companies not hiring at moment, what a big contrast compare to other industries!
Furthermore, many of these companies are both national & international companies; and international recruitment is certainly on the rise especially in Asia and South America.
US environmental companies are global leaders in many segments; especially water resources management; which include planning, development and implementation of water resources technologies. Urban planning, energy management are also excellent areas that US companies are able to export.
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Just finished my trip in Vancouver, Canada (not Vancouver, Washington); and what an interesting comparison to compare that to Sydney (Sydney, Australia not Sydney, Nova Scotia). The names themselves are so confusing..lo.
Many have compared Canada & Australia as likely cities, both have made themselves to most livable countries in the world; I am not going to comment on the ranking as frankly speaking, I think the ranking works on some some strange system that nobody understands.
However, Canada has a number unique advantages to Australia. First, I am not afraid of cold, and it’s not really that cold in Vancouver anyway, it did go down to -7 while I was there, and that was as cold as you can get!
Canada, being right next to the big USA has so many advantages (and maybe some disadvantages); on the way coming over from USA; we could see lots of ships lining up, and we are talking about RECESSION!! The scale of economy is amazing; I had counted number of cargo ships arriving; it was a huge line; and Canada had benefited a lot because of the transportation cost from US is bugger all as they say in Australia. This advantage has helped Canada to source goods at reasonable price, the general cost of living in Canada is much lower than in Australia.
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