2009 Quality of Life Index

http://www.internationalliving.com/Internal-Components/Further-Resources/qofl2009

By the staff of International Living

For the fourth year running, France comes first in our annual Quality of Life Index.

In your IL magazine every month, we consider the countries around the world where you could live cheaper, pay less tax, enjoy better weather, take advantage of opportunities in emerging markets…places where you could start a new life, start a business, retire…

Then, once a year, every January, we take a different perspective. We consider not only those places that offer particular and timely opportunities for the would-be expatriate…but nearly every nation on earth. This year, our survey looks at 194 countries.

To produce this annual Index we consider, for each of these countries, nine categories: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate. This involves a lot of number crunching from “official” sources, including government websites, the World Health Organization, and The Economist, to name but a few.

Once the data is collected, we also take into account what our editors from all over the world have to say about our findings. These correspondents and colleagues are working and living in these countries themselves and give us a more realistic view of our official findings.

This year, as with the past three years, all our number-crunching, rating, and ranking landed France at the top of our Index. France scores high marks across the board…from its health care (84 points) to its infrastructure (90 points) to its safety rating (100 points). But the main appeal of living in France is arguably its lifestyle (its scores 85 points in our Culture and Leisure category).

France’s sensual allure leaves nobody untouched. Spend even a few months here and you will never again regard life in quite the same way.

As our European editor, Steenie Harvey said of her first visit to this country: “It was love at first sight. I can’t get enough of its culture, fashion, stunning architecture, and intoxicating history. As for the food and wine—well, even thinking about it makes me salivate.”

The French believe that every day is a pleasure to be slowly savored—and lingering at the dinner table for three hours in conversation isn’t considered abnormal. Family, friends, and good food are all vitally important to the French—and so is having enough time to appreciate them all.
The unsurpassed quality of life the French enjoy doesn’t have to cost astronomical amounts. Even in Paris, you can enjoy tasty two-course lunches for around $10—if you know where to go.

Tourists rarely investigate supermarkets. So here are some prices from a common French supermarket—taken in September, 2008.

· A half pound of Camembert cheese: $2.45

· A half pound of garlic sausage: $1.60

· Around a quarter pound of paté de campagne: $0.87

· 12 croissants: $2.97

· Bottle of Grenache Gris rosé wine: $4.12

· Hubert de Claminger Champagne brut: $16.98

In this current economic climate, you’re probably worried about how far your dollars will stretch if you buy property here. You may be surprised to learn that there is plenty of French property that doesn’t come with a ridiculous price tag.

Whether you dream of a city pied-à-terre...or a rambling farmhouse among the sunflowers...or a village house wrapped in wisteria-hung memories of long ago, France is more than affordable. In fact, Americans are at an advantage with a favorable exchange rate. Today, a euro is worth $1.31. Six months ago, a 100,000-euro house for sale in France would have cost you $159,000.

Today, the same house would cost you $132,000. That’s a 17% drop in six months—which means now is a good time to buy.

There are many parts of the country where habitable homes in storybook settings cost less than $100,000. We recently found farmhouses in a famous French wine-growing region selling for just $53,000. We also came across a lovely town an hour from Paris—where a two-bedroom apartment costs just $145,000.

Today, France is a buyer’s market. Owners are often willing to negotiate. In some cases, they’re dropping prices before it even gets to negotiation stage.

It’s true, some second-home owners are over-stretched. But unlike the property markets in the U.S., it’s unlikely you’ll ever witness the same property crash in France. Unlike in the U.S.,

France has never experienced a housing bubble—the property prices increased gradually, over many decades.

Even so, this is a good time to position yourself to take advantage of the situation. It’s certainly not a fire sale, but here are some recent price cuts:

In the Poitou-Charentes region, a four-bedroom stone farmhouse with outbuildings and a large garden. Price reduced from $201,000 to $186,000.

In the Dordogne (long one of rural France’s most expensive pockets), an immaculate two-bedroom stone house with lots of character and a nice garden. Price slashed from $304,000 to $230,000.

A renovated gem of a stone cottage in the heart of a Brittany village popular with tourist vacationers—reduced from $131,500 to $117,000.

But overall, the keyword is stability. France doesn’t experience unrealistic booms followed by an all-too-realistic bust. On the whole, it’s a mature market, not some highly-speculative “hot new destination” for gamblers.

Take Paris. Property prices for the city as a whole rose a healthy 8.7% in 2007, attracting as many investors as romantic dreamers. As a long-term investment, Paris property is low risk and has always appreciated steadily.

The fact is, nobody does quality of life quite like the French. And then there’s Paris—the most bewitching and beautiful city on earth. Stack it all up, and if quality of life is important to you, you’ll understand why we think France is the world’s best place to live.

Switzerland takes silver

Switzerland always scores high in our Index, and for the second year running this country comes in second place. Boasting a stable economy (it scores top marks in this category) and infrastructure that is renowned for its reliability and efficiency, Switzerland is also a beautiful country.

Who isn’t charmed by the thought of a cozy alpine chalet or an elegant apartment overlooking a mirror-calm lake? In fact, Mercer’s 2008 “Quality of Living” survey names Zurich as the world’s best city with Geneva coming in third position (www.mercer.com). Generally, the standard of living in this country is high, the crime rates are low, and the currency is one of the world’s strongest.

As always, the north European counties feature prominently in our top 10: Luxembourg comes in fourth place, Belgium sixth, Germany eighth, and Denmark 10th.

These countries score high marks in all categories and all boast excellent health care and infrastructure, little poverty, strong economies, and high levels of freedom.

The good life Down Under

Coming in fifth position this year is Australia. With its year-round sunshine and great big outdoors, Australia offers an active lifestyle. Plus, as an American, you still get value for your greenback. As we go to press, $1 buys you $1.52 Australian dollars. The cost of living is relatively low (Australia scores 57 points out of 100 in our Index), and the country has great infrastructure and health care…and it’s safe.

Another antipode outpost, and coming ninth in our Index this year, is New Zealand.

New Zealand is a stunning country and a great place to live, but it has its drawbacks—it’s a 12-hour flight from the States and, unless you are young and qualified in certain trades, there are restrictions on foreign residency. For more information on the rules for establishing residency in New Zealand, contact Malcolm Pacific, website: www.malcolmpacific.com

Countries on our radar in 2009

Italy (7th): Last year, our roving Europe editor, Steenie Harvey found a 752-square-foot house in a hill town in southern Italy that was ready to move into for $51,650. “This wasn’t a one-off,” Steenie says. “Properties to restore here started at just $15,000.” Steenie regularly scouts this country for property bargains. Watch out for more of her coverage this year.

Brazil (42nd): Our real estate expert Ronan McMahon and our Latin America editor Lee Harrison have traveled to Brazil on a number of occasions in the past year to bring you coverage of the amazing property deals you can find here. Just last month (see your December issue), Lee found beachfront properties in Brazil’s eastern point for just $32,500. Here you can read about the property bargains he found in the colonial town of Sao Luiz and the bustling city of Fortaleza.

Costa Rica (44th): With road improvements on the Costanera Highway underway and scheduled for completion in two to three years, we believe that property development in southern Costa Rica is on the move and now is a good time to buy here. Read more on this area in these pages in 2009.

Ecuador (49th): One of the cheapest places in the world to live and with one of the best climates, Ecuador has been on our radar for many years…and will be for many more to come. Just two months ago (see your November issue) we profiled a couple who live in the perfect retirement spot two hours north of Quito for less than $600 a month, including rent.

This month we profile Gary and Merri Scott who live in the same beautiful Andean village—Cotacachi. In your February issue, Lee Harrison tells you about some of the best property deals in Coastal Ecuador.

Of course, we can’t ignore the fall of the U.S. economy in 2008 (in the economy category of our Index the U.S. fell from 89 points last year to 57 this year). We asked our investment experts to give us their analyses on the current economic crisis.

www.qualityoflife2009.com.

US-Korea Free Trade Deal Sparks Controversy

By Sean Burton

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/8380/

4-11-09, 11:31 am

In April 2007, South Korea and the US reached a controversial free trade arrangement after fourteen months of negotiations. Unions and other organizations representing South Korean workers and farmers, supported by the local social democrats, consider the deal a threat to South Korean jobs, and their industries as a whole. Similar hostility was expressed last year in the massive dispute over US beef imports, directly related to the South Korean government's desire to improve its trade standing with the US.

This particular agreement, the KORUS FTA, would be the first between the US and a major East Asian economy, and the largest overall since NAFTA was signed in 1992. This is by far South Korea's largest free trade deal. All that remains is for both countries to ratify the agreement.

South Korea's government has moved significantly to the right since April 2007, and is keen to implement KORUS FTA. But the parliament has had to postpone the ratification, fearing more large-scale anti‑government protests. Meanwhile, disputes in the US Congress initially delayed the ratification. With the onset of the global economic crisis and the election of Barack Obama, further delays were inevitable. Still, a report to Congress early in March stated that the government would no longer delay the ratification of FTAs with Korea, Panama, and Colombia.

But the future of the agreement is uncertain. Ron Kirk, the U.S. trade representative‑designate, told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee that the present agreement with Seoul "simply isn't fair, and if we don't get that right we'll be prepared to step away from that." The Obama administration has already begun taking steps, however limited, to "protect American jobs."

This FTA is likely perceived as a potential threat to those policies. Even Obama himself has said the deal is flawed. Naturally, Kirk's statements have worried the leaders of South Korea.

The first reaction from the presidential office here was that Kirk simply couldn't represent the official position of the U.S. government. The phrasing of that announcement indicates a great deal of hurt, as though saying, "We have been great friends for so long! How could you do this to us!?" Supporters of the FTA claim that the deal shouldn't be abandoned "just because a new administration has stepped in". That is a weak argument. What is the point of a new administration if it does not reevaluate widely despised policies of the preceding one?

The biggest concern seems to be the auto industry. Instead of talking about defending American jobs in hard times, KORUS FTA supporters talk only about how U.S. auto producers are "losing their competitive edge" against "better" Korean manufacturers. In other words, jobs do not matter, only profitability. If the companies aren't doing well, they say close up shop. A Chosun Ilbo newspaper editorial also argued that a renegotiation could spark more large protests akin to the beef import demonstrations last year. And so it should! The "delicate" balance achieved in trade negotiations does not change the fact that it's still a raw deal for South Koreans.

The Korea Herald reported recently that Kirk offered more "positive" statements regarding the FTA. South Korean analysts claim that his earlier comments were a mere "formality" to show his loyalty to Obama. The FTA, they say, is in principle a good thing for the economy, but with a few "problems" to be worked out in dialogue. But where are the voices of the workers and farmers, the ones who will feel the impact of the deal? It is one thing for a newspaper or a member of parliament to say that certain groups in society strongly oppose the deal, but another to actually hear from these people.

Acting in the interests of big money, the South Korean government does not care that public opinion is largely against them, even if half a million people take to the streets in protest; that's what the police force is for.

Obama Calls on Nations to Unite to Tackle Global Challenges

By Kim Chipman

April 11 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama urged global cooperation to combat threats including the economic crisis and terrorism, saying U.S. leadership alone can’t solve worldwide dilemmas.

“These are challenges that no single nation, no matter how powerful, can confront alone,” Obama said today in his weekly address on the radio and Internet. “The U.S. must lead the way, but our best chance to solve these unprecedented problems comes from acting in concert with other nations.”

Obama, speaking after an eight-day trip to Europe, Turkey and Iraq, said progress made at last week’s Group of 20 summit in London and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting in France is an example of how countries can work together. He said it’s crucial for nations to move beyond old conflicts and unite to face common challenges.

“Make no mistake: We live in a dangerous world, and we must be strong and vigilant in the face of these threats,” Obama said. “Let us not allow whatever differences we have with other nations to stop us from coming together around those solutions that are essential to our survival and success.”

Obama praised the G-20 nations, the world’s largest economies, for taking joint steps to “stimulate” growth and protect against future financial crises from happening again. He also lauded NATO allies’ support for the U.S. plan to root out terrorist safe havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Nuclear Weapons

“It is only by working together that we will finally defeat 21st century security threats like al Qaeda,” he said.

Obama, 47, drew attention to his call last week to work with Russia to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. He also reminded listeners about his April 6 comments in Turkey to rise above “the barriers of race, region and religion”

The Democratic president’s comments come amid the Jewish holiday of Passover and one day before the Christian observance of Easter.

“It seems fitting that we mark them both during the same week,” Obama said. “They are both moments of reflection and renewal. They are both occasions to think more deeply about the obligations we have to ourselves and the obligations we have to one another, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what faith we practice.”

Meanwhile, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, in today’s weekly Republican address, criticized the Democrat-controlled Congress’s budget plan, arguing that it would create “mountains of new debt” and doesn’t provide adequate tax relief for middle-class workers and small businesses.

Republican Response

“The federal government should keep a lid on taxes, control government spending and borrow less,” Pawlenty, 48, said. “‘I urge President Obama and the Democrat-led Congress to let hardworking American families keep more of what they earn by cutting taxes and reining in spending. It’s just common sense.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week approved drafts of Obama’s 2010 budget that largely adhere to the administration’s priorities.

Obama has proposed a $3.6 trillion budget blueprint for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 that calls for revamping the country’s health-care system, education policies and energy economy.

The president has said his plan would bring tax relief for most working Americans and reduce the deficit while also making the long-term investments critical to the country’s future prosperity.

The House approved a $3.55 trillion plan on April 2. The vote was 233-196 with every Republican who voted opposing the plan. The Senate passed its draft, 55-43, with no Republicans voting in favor and two Democrats, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Evan Bayh of Indiana, in opposition.

Lawmakers will try to work out their differences later this month after returning from a two-week break that began April 6.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman in Washington at kchipman@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: April 11, 2009 06:00 EDT