As a kid, I grew up in a rural region that still operated with a community phoneline (meaning six to eight folks on the same line). In terms of a legit grocery....there was a single four-star grocery approximately 15 miles away, and then ten local grocery operations that you'd consider two-star by today's standards.
In terms of safety and hygiene....you always felt completely safe (even at 11 PM at night), and getting food poisoning (at least in the 1970s) was next to impossible. The cost of living wasn't crazy, but then the most expensive 'wild-item' to buy was a color TV.
In my view at that point....this this was the 'first-world'. I had high school teachers who'd gone off to Pacific Islands for WW II and describe in great detail....the third-world nature. We had neighbors who gone off to Italy in 1944, and would describe marginal living conditions (at least in their mind), to which we always seemed 'blessed' by the standards that we viewed locally.
I left that landscape in 1977, and traveled around the US, Panama, Europe, and over the past decade have seen Hong Kong, South Africa, Iceland, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. In essence, I've been to the first world, the second world, and the third world.
So onto the essay of the world today, and how things have changed.
First, you can go to Cyprus and find better roads in existence than in most areas of Detroit.
Second, you feel safer on the streets of Dresden than you do on the streets of Seattle.
Third, you trust the police of Singapore way more than the police of most most major US urban areas.
Fourth, the airport in Istanbul is probably more modernized and appealing than JFK Airport in NY City.
Fifth, the railway system in Den Haag or Amsterdam....is ten times better than any city in the US.
Sixth, the 'welcome-appeal' in Italy is almost shocking....something that you'd rarely find except in some areas of the south (of the US).
Seven, the odds of you getting food-poisoning in Prague or Barcelona? Nearly impossible. You go and review food inspections in Tucson, or Nashville? You just shake your head over how some restaurants failed their inspection.
Eighth, on taxes? Well....that's where you could find yourself in Texas or Florida...feeling fairly happy about the money left in your pocket. Or you could end up in the Netherlands where 52-percent of your check is going to state taxes.
Ninth, yes....there are areas of Iowa where people still leave the front door unlocked, and there are areas of Germany where almost every basement has bars over the windows, and even half the ground-floor windows are barred up.
Tenth, a vehicle inspection in Germany might make you grit your teeth because they've rated five problems on your five-year old car as requiring 'resolution' before getting the two-year inspection sticker. The vehicle inspection in Louisiana might just mean a 60-second review and the worst you might get dinged upon is a muffler issue.
The thing is....we've all reached the point where we examine first world situations, and rate them against a second world group, and even a third world group.
There's no doubt that I feel utterly safe in Wiesbaden, Germany. I can walk 99-percent of the streets even at 11 PM (the train-station 'quarter' might be the only area to avoid). On food and drink quality, it's virtually impossible to find food poisoning. In terms of coffee and cake quality, it's hard to find any place better. On railway travel and autobahn conditions....they outpace virtually everyone else. But then the cost of these things, along with taxes....makes it a tough decision.
Three years ago, I traveled around most of New Zealand for eighteen days. I felt like I could park myself there and stay....after just ten days.
Five years ago, I spent five days in Iceland...generally surprised how it rated first world, but I rated the roads three degrees less than the worst roads in Alabama.
The problem with this type of analysis....you end up with trade-offs. You start to prioritize things....shocking yourself that police protection might be in your top twenty issues. Or you might find that some nations are extremely proactive in protecting your health....to the degree that you'd rather they spend less effort. Or you might find that some wonderful country simply has way too many poisonous snakes (like Australia for example).
In the end, we are nomads in search of some paradise that simply doesn't exist. Or we arrive at some location and see the paradise-label....but wake up seven years later to admit that it's paradise-lite and missing something.
Just something to ponder about.
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