I would love nothing more than to live in Harry Potter’s world. I can’t decide if I would rather work with Hargrid and his care of magical creatures or if I would kick Snape’s ass out of potions and make it exciting and fun.
As others have pointed out, there are certain things about the Harry Potter universe that make me wonder where the advantage lies. Apparently Harry has to physically visit Gringotts to get his money, which he carries around in a bag in the form of gold coins. Haven’t they heard of an ATM? And don’t get me started on the practicality of owl-delivery of mail versus the Internet.
In a world with a subtle and universal source of power such as magic, the legitimacy of ANY form of government would be difficult at best maintain. I submit there would NEVER be a “time of peace” that lasted for very long in such a world. Sooner or later someone would develop skill at magic that made him hanker to dominate his neighbors. It’s the human way, magic or no.
Besides, the books already show that for all the advantages magic affords, wizards inhabit a society with a financially-defined hierachy analogous to the one I already live in. How would I come off ahead being a broke wizard versus being a broke Muggle?
Oh, sure! I can see myself as a Care of Magical Creatures type, as I currently now work with horses. Or, I would maybe work for Gringotts, as I used to be in the financial industry.
No way. I left RenFaire and SciFi Fandom because I couldn’t stand people who couldn’t grasp the “real world.” I’d have very little patience for a minority culture that can’t grasp the “fellyphone” or subway tokens enough to fit in on a day to day basis - both apparently from cluelesses (Mr. Weasley has an interest and love for it and can’t grasp it) and some sense of superiority ('cause, you know, there ARE advantages to an ATM - as was said).
It would be another thing entirely if Rowling had chosen to seperate the Magic World from the Muggle World more completely - but many of these people live in London and remain clueless.
Personally, I’M fascinated. I was in a discussion this past weekend with the Webmistress of the-leaky-cauldron.org & magic as a recessive gene came up, but I think your theory of the double recessive makes much more sense…wish I’d read this before I met Melissa. 
Science is a process, silly. Looks to me, at a glance, that most of the tricks a wizard can do involve tapping into an unknown energy source, using the wand as a catalyst, and creating effects. If all there was to a spell was pointing your wand and saying “Avakadavara” a lot more people would be dead.
But using scientific methodology you could work this out. Or at least, the research magicians could.
I’d either be slaying dragons, or taking over the newspaper and firing that Rita bitch for writing fiction.
That would be the best world, because I could still enjoy the good parts of the Muggle world when I wanted to. I could live between the two worlds, like Hermoine. Hell yeah.
Heh, I don’t think I’d mind being a teapot in the Harry Potter universe, as long as I got to be one of the special enchanted ones that Mr. Weasley is always having to confiscate from unsuspecting Muggles. That would be fun 
Back again.
Sure, I’d try life in the Harryverse if given a chance. I think I’d like to be an Auror, chasing down evil wizards, or play pro Quidditch, or maybe teach the History of Magic course at Hogwarts (I’m sure I could make it more interesting than that boring ol’ ghost). I would respectfully decline any appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts post… that’s a snakebit job if there ever was one.
Well, I might like to get the job as the Commissioner of the Quidditch League. For a while. Mainly so that I could try to get a committee together to reform the rules, so that they would finally make sense.
As a decently skilled wizard? Sure. If I were a poorly skilled wizard, I’d switch to the muggle world and make my way there, using my limited magic to help things along.
I would want to be a special muggle visiting professor at Hogwarts. Teach muggle studies. Also try to get Dumbledore (or whoever) to change the curriculum. These kids graduate ignorant! Sure, they learn potions, herbology, transfiguration . . . But what do they know of literature, English composition, foreign languages, philosophy, literature, social studies, (non-magical) history, mathematics, or any of the hard sciences? Remember, wizards, the laws of physics and chemistry and biology still apply in your world! There’s a whole set of other natural (or supernatural) laws you can use to affect their operation – but that doesn’t mean the findings of muggle scientists are wrong, merely that they are incomplete. And how about a little phys ed? These students don’t get any exercise off the quidditch pitch! How about a little training in self-defense against threats other than the Dark Arts? Harry’s cousin Dudley (the boxer) could wipe the floor with any of you if you’d gone out without your wand!
I would hide my identity and become the most sucessful muggle porn star ever.
“ENGORGIO!”
“PETRIFICUS PHALLUS!”
…what?
sorry.
Though I fear squibdom, I would like to live there–even in wartime.
The reason there are no ATMs (and no electricity etc) is because all the magic interferes with it–I think that was covered in book 1.
Frankly, I like a world without cars–as long as I could travel by broom or Flu powder etc…