# The World's Best Countries **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 19, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702 "2010-08-19T02:55:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/41 "2010-08-22T22:44:57Z")
Finland 1 Canada 7 is explained by noting that Finland sent it’s depressed Finns to Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/42 "2010-08-23T01:56:29Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Finland 1 Canada 7… Wasn’t that the outcome at the Olympic hockey tournament? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/43 "2010-08-23T02:16:24Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > > [@RickJay](#): > > > > I notice there’s no consideration of WEATHER. You can’t tell me that isn’t a factor in how nice a place is to live in. > > I’d like to see your proposition for determining the average weather of USA for example. Thanks for further bolstering my point. You just can’t reduce such things to simple integers. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/44 "2010-08-23T02:21:56Z")
These studies really do need to add more weight to things like the weather. I don’t care how idyllic and utopian Sweden and Finland are; it’s fucking cold. Granted, not everyone wants to live somewhere like Florida, but most people don’t want to live in the Arctic, either. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/45 "2010-08-23T02:42:43Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Finland 1 Canada 7 is explained by noting that Finland sent it’s depressed Finns to Canada. yeah all the good Finns came to Australia! > [@Grey](#): > > > [@RandMcnally](#): > > > > I thought you people only politely requested recounts? > > Occasionally, but I mean they don’t even have the decency to have a decent snowfall. Look at the top 7 - all countries filled with people that know how to shovel a driveway. Except for _them_. bum bum bum! 🙂 > > **sisu** , should I guess that this will get trumpeted by both parties on the campaign trail? It would up here 🙂 Yeah we don’t have a real big problem with snow. oh except for our ski fields that are full of stoned canadian snow boarders ey! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/46 "2010-08-23T02:50:37Z")
Any country without snow and saunas should be down near the bottom of the list. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/47 "2010-08-23T09:20:24Z")
Even by the numbers posted in that list, shouldn’t Switzerland come out ahead of Finland? Finland takes a massive hit on health care when compared with Switzerland, whereas the Swiss are only just behind the Finns in every other category. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/48 "2010-08-23T14:52:29Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Even by the numbers posted in that list, shouldn’t Switzerland come out ahead of Finland? Finland takes a massive hit on health care when compared with Switzerland, whereas the Swiss are only just behind the Finns in every other category. If Finland and Switzerland are the top two best places to live, then why is Finland number 14 in suicides, and Switzerland 17? Not to mention indirect suicide by alcoholism. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/49 "2010-08-23T14:56:22Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > If Finland and Switzerland are the top two best places to live, then why is Finland number 14 in suicides, and Switzerland 17? > Not to mention indirect suicide by alcoholism. Couldn’t stand the happiness, I imagine. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/50 "2010-08-24T00:21:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > [@Tapiotar](#): > > > > If Finland and Switzerland are the top two best places to live, then why is Finland number 14 in suicides, and Switzerland 17? > > Not to mention indirect suicide by alcoholism. > > Couldn’t stand the happiness, I imagine. yep lots of emos in Finland. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/51 "2010-08-24T01:01:24Z")
While we’re on the subject, isn’t _sisu_ Finnish for balls, or something? In the sense of courage, or “that guy has some balls, saying that to his boss’ face”? ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702/52 "2010-08-24T03:19:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > While we’re on the subject, isn’t _sisu_ Finnish for balls, or something? In the sense of courage, or “that guy has some balls, saying that to his boss’ face”? I’d say it’s more like perseverance through adversity, though courage can come in to it. It’s a bit of a loose concept. Can mean lots of stuff. Saying something to the boss’ face in a fit of rage would not be usually considered sisu, but speaking your mind and always opposing him when he’s wrong would be. _Rokka_ in the novel [The Unknown Soldier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Soldier_%28novel%29) is a famous character with lots of sisu. [Here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ljW0Huj-Fs) _Rokka_ mowing down some Russian soldiers from the 1955 film adaptation. Note that the Russians graze him but he remains unfazed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-best-countries/550702.md?page=2)