10 Best Places to Live for Escaping World Conflict
Where would you be the safest if World War 3 broke out tomorrow? Perhaps it’s a grim subject, but safety and distance from world conflict can be a motivating factor in your choice to expatriate. At the very least, conflict around the world can weigh heavy on the soul, and it’s nice to know there are some places still left in the world where you might be left in peace. Thus, we’ve assembled a list of the 10 best places to live if you want to escape world conflict.
10. Switzerland
Switzerland’s long history of neutrality and its tucked away location among the valleys of the Alps still make it a safe bet, even despite having a high number of bordering nations. It helps that neighboring Austria is also considered a neutral nation.
9. Costa Rica
Costa Rica has a stable democracy, a disbanded military and a national policy of neutrality. It also ranks highly on the Global Peace Index, Happy Planet Index, and Life Satisfaction Index. Although it sits in the middle of a tumultuous region, there are far worse places to sit in peace as the world goes down in flames all around.
8. Papua New Guinea
There are regions of Papua New Guinea that are still being discovered for the first time. The canopy covered, mountainous nation contains some of the most isolated places in the world. Tuck yourself away in a nook here and it may be one of the few places left where you can completely insulate yourself from the outside world.
7. Canada
Canada is the second largest nation in the world, yet it only shares a land border with one other country– the U.S.A.– and it is a peaceful border. That means there is a great expanse to escape to, if need be. Furthermore, Canada has few world enemies, ranks consistently high on the Global Peace Index, and is relatively homogeneous.
6. Seychelles
Aside from being safely isolated from the rest of the world in the middle of the Indian Ocean, this beautiful island nation is a great place to forget about your worries. Isolation is the key here. And conflict is as transparent as the water.
5. Finland
Finland has a long history of desiring to stay out of international conflicts, is recognized as neutral and always ranks in the top 10 of the Global Peace Index. It’s northerly location also typically means the remote areas of this country are a perfect place to disappear.
4. Tuvalu
Isolated in the middle of Micronesia, Tuvalu is among the safest and most remote places in the world. It is the third least populated country on Earth, and the forth smallest. There are only a few places more distant from the world’s strife than Tuvalu.
3. Iceland
Iceland, of course, has no borders, has remote locations, is stable as a country and has virtually no world enemies. Its people are happy and the nation always ranks highly on the Global Peace Index. If world conflict erupts, Iceland is one of the few stable nations in the world unlikely to get caught up in the middle.
2. Bhutan
Landlocked among the Himalaya mountains, Bhutan is one of the most isolated nations in the world. It also showcases one of the most stable balances in the world between moderization and retention of ancient culture. Its religious population believes in peaceful resolution to all conflict, and although it sits in a troubled region, it remains protected by its geography.
1. New Zealand
New Zealand might be the most isolated and expansive fully developed nation in the world. It shares no borders, sits relatively distant from any other nation, has no real national enemies, has a safe democracy and a diverse landscape with many remote places to hide away within. Furthermore, it ranked #1 on the Global Peace Index in 2009.
I would include Cuba. It’s certainly safer than Costa Rica, which has a “disbanded military” only by calling their very obvious soldiers cops. I’ve encountered some dangerous situations in Costa Rica. I’m sure places like Tuvalu are as safe as you say. I’ve been to Luxembourg, which is usually at the top of lists like this, and I think it should be. But it’s small. I’d guess very few large countries, including Canada, can match it. I haven’t been everywhere. But I know the western hemisphere, and I think Cuba is the safest country on this half of the globe, easily the most civilized, and Havana is the safest large city.
I wouldn’t go to PNG. Not safe !Did you have to use that salty language ?
Really? Tuvalu, for anyone who gets their news outside of the US is suffering from severe drought. Bhutan is in the thick of an area surrounded by poverty, where invasions could be launched, and too close to China for long term stability (if China becomes unstable). Switzerland and Canada seem fine, until the Europeans or Americans go xenophobic. The Seychelles are already having problems with regional violence, Finland and Iceland seem safe, until Russia gets nervous. Iceland also has that volcano. Which leaves Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica, and New Zealand, the Canada of the South Seas. Costa Rica has lots of rotten neighbors loaded with drugs and weapons, and is too close to the US. New Guinea has had issues in the recent past. The last disaster that befell New Zealand, aside from that which took down the Maori, was in the Dardanelles, and can be blamed on England; and of course, Australia is right across the water, which is one of the best reasons for living in New Zealand, if you can’t for some reason live in Australia.
I LOL’d when I saw Papua New Guinea. It’s an extremely corrupt and rather dangerous place.
@Bruce.. I dont see a “like” button anywhere so… LIKE!!… hilarious!
@ Bruce
‘and they can’t play rugby.’
Facepalm.
Papua New Guinea? Huh? Did you do your research on this?
hahahaha I agreed all this countries!!! Glen Roberts has no idea of what’s talking about!!! Cuba is by far one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America.. Cubans have no right of opinion!!! which means they can’t say or even think anything that is not accepted by the Government… Prostitution is their bigger problem where you can find 9 years old girls who offer you sex in exchange of cloths or toothpaste, if you are looking for sex, then GLen, this is your contry!!… and Costa Rica has NO army at all!! you can’t compare the police men to soldiers! there is a HUGE difference… or are you gonna tell me that Switzerland’s cops are soldiers?! as an advice.. before you give an opinion, you should know what you are talking about …
Is there a place I can go where personal freedom and liberty still exist? As in NO Marxism, Maoism, Socialism, etc.? Kinda rules out the majority of these including Austraila huh..?
Referring to Canada, a country known for tolerance and multiculturalism, as “relatively homogeneous” is an incredibly ignorant statement…
The biggest danger facing you in Finland is the temptation top blow your brains out. I don’t know if it’s still the same but for many years it was the suicide capital of the world.
Why did Ireland not make the list. Admitedly our economy is in a bad way, but that means that no one will be interested in invading us for a while, (unless they want to take on our national debt!). We are a neutral country and the Guinness tastes great here!
@ Bruce, New Zealands earth quakes are only happening in one part, Chistchurch, the oil slip was cause by foreigners and is bing cleanded up as we speek oh and for all of you who don’t know, New Zealand is playing in the rugby world cup final on sunday and are the most succesful team of any sport ever. Oh and New Zealanders are great people, just ask the tourists visiting for the rugby world cup, they are friendly, helpful and all around nice, sure there are few not so nice ones but they tend to be around the typical places that no one visits, i.e low-socioeconomic areas. Also New Zealand is alot nicer than Australia, especially the people
Cuba is a horrible place, Finland top of suicide? ahahha but New Zealand sounds about great. I’m going there in 2015 when world war 3 breaks out!
Wow this is one dumb, shallow article. I mean really dumb. Too superficial. Take moving to Canada: this idiot author describes the US/Canada border as a peaceful!? Obviously he’s never been through the “Peace Arch” border between Vancouver and Seattle, which would better be described as “Police State Arch” (and that’s going both ways. The Canadians are now copying the extreme surveillance style of USA’s nazi border cops). But beyond the terrible border controls: Canada basically sucks as a choice. And this author is another sucker who looks at Canada from afar, from outside (“gee its sooo peaceful, and green, and there’s mountains too blah blah goo goo). Get an effin’ clue! I lived there for 3 miserable years and let me tell you, Canada is NOT a place to go to. Why? Waves of immigrants from China, India, and Phillipines will be competing with you for the meagre jobs on offing. Canada may look big on the map, but its SMALL in terms of population and jobs available. Get ready to clean toilets, drive a taxi, or clean fish for $9/hr with your masters degree dude! I am NOT exaggerating. Oh, did I mention the weather? Get ready, on the west coast (“WET coast” they call it) for 9 months of 40 degrees and constant rain and 3 months of kinda sunny every now and again. Get used to RAIN all the time in Vancouver. Just shit weather. Toronto? Get ready to freeze your f*cking ass off from November-April: 6 months of Siberia coming your way. Drunks often are found frozen solid at bus stops in the morning in Jan, Feb, or March. Grey skies, terrible weather and a butt ugly city: welcome to Toronto, the ass-crack of Canada and its biggest, butt-ugliest city (gray concrete giant sky scrapers over gray skies!? what where the architechts of this city thinking or smoking? ground up concrete in a crack pipe?). Canadians do NOT like Americans moving up there! Get ready for loads of passive-aggressive shit coming your way like baffled expressions when you mention you’re from the States (“why did you come up here?” will be heard over and over and over again). Native Canadians are masters at passive-aggressive shit against immigrants. Be forewarned. Oh–the cost of everything there: really f$cking expensive!!! Can of beans? $3-4 CAD. Loaf of bread? $5 CAD. 6 pack of Labatt’s or Molson? $15.00 CAD!!! That same 6 pack of LaBatt’s in USA costs $5 dude…think about it. I am not shitting you. In Toronto, a friend of mine just sold a tiny ‘side by side’ 3 bedroom (this thing was tiny!) for $500,000! I could not believe it. Only in Canada….the land of bending you over and f*cking you over for every single dime they can get out of you for anything and everything you may need. That little side by side dump would have gone for $125K in any major city in USA. Be forewarned: Canada SUCKS. And you thought directly experiencing WWIII would be bad? Much preferred compared to gradually being drained of every dime to your name, working a shit job because you couldn’t find a decent job with your Masters, and being packed like a sardine in the stinky, shitty TTC subway in Toronto (TTC stands for “take the car” LOL). You have been warned!
Switzerland!? Switzerland is on this list!? Oh, really!? Yeah, right: I’ll win the 5 billion dollar Lotto and maybe I’ll be able to rent someones dank-ass basement shoebox flat in Geneva, LOL. Seriously who wrote this brain dead, unrealistic article? I guess he has a trust fund to dip into when he’s gotta pay the $9,000 rent/month for his studio flat in Geneva. Seriously, who can afford Switzerland? Only the Davos crowd homeys….and not me or you. Get Switzerland off of this brain dead dumb “top 10” list! Not only is Switzerland EXTREMELY expensive to put it mildly, but immigration into the country is among the most difficult in Europe. You ain’t gettin’ in–unless you got family. About the only way you will get into Switzerland is if you bring your sleeping bag and live under a rock in the mountains somewhere, eating funghi and tree bark. Even then they’ll come after you and toss yer butt on a plane for Houston Texass.
@Bruce
“they can’t play rugby”? Hmm who lost to New Zealand in the World Cup a couple of days ago? And who also lost to Ireland? Australia so yeah. Think twice before you speak. And as for the oil slick, that happened in my town and it was caused by a foreigner.
New Zealand is the most beautiful and amazing country in the world, we may have had some horrible disasters this year, but it makes the people stronger and even more united as a nation. and as for the rugby comment…. well, I don’t know where you come from, but I come from a country where the rugby players are WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!
I don’t see where the article says the “perfect” places/countries to live. If you want the perfect country, I don’t think any of you are going to find it, as long as I know there is not a perfect place. Besides it doesn’t say anything about the “best country in sports” or “the best country in climate changes”, it said “world conflict”. If you want a place where you can go out at 10.00 pm and not worry about someone killing you outside your house, or worry about your car being stolen at night, or going out at 7.00 am and not worry about shooting persecutions on the streets, then probably these places are ideal. I think you guys rather live on New Zealand, Canada or wherever safe place you want, than on Irak, Afghanistan or any other country that is most of the time on war.
People are very opinionated about this subject. I don’t know why @Zam is so up in arms about Canada. I cross at the Peace Arch crossing bi-monthly and it is not a police state. It’s perfectly peaceful and easy. I think Canada will be a great place for me to build my post apocolypse bunker. That or New Zealand, mostly because of the beautiful Lord of the Rings landscapes but also because their accents are so flippin’ adorable. Too bad it costs an arm a leg and probably some other body parts to fly there not to mention move all your stuff.
Muy orgulloso de vivir en Costa Rica que es verdaderamente un pais de pas donde se encuentra una diversidad de culturas que armoniza con la naturaleza.
costa Rica tiene el 90% de su territorio como reserva natural y es muy bien cuidado por el gobierno
Los habitantes de este bello pais tiene la taza de longevidad mas alta del mundo
El mejor clima del mundo en un pueblo llamado Atenas
Libertad… que podemos decir de un pais que no tiene ejercito y que ademas la policia que nos cuida cada dia es la mejor de Centro America, muy neutral ademas.
La politica de cuido de los recursos naturales nos convertiran muy pronto en un pais de carbono neutro
Esto y muchas cosas mas nos combierte a todos los costarrisences en el pais mas feliz del mundo…
amo vivir en Costa Rica
Clearly the author is naming places that are one: fairly peaceful with no major current conflicts and two: countries that are isolated (with gorgeous pictures to help his point). As a college student studying biochemistry with no real knowledge of government or intrernational politics, I would have to say this writer is providing information on states that would be a great escape, and nothing more than that. I mean seriously, New Zealand? who is going to mess with New Zealand. Also papa new guinea…..I know people say that they are going through an internal struggle but that has little to do with what the author is suggesting: where it would be safe during a global struggle. What they would do if that occured? who knows, I don’t operate the government there. All that can be said are these are places that are great for vacations and places to escape because they really don’t interfere with the world.
Also, isn’t canada just a region? I could have sworn it was part of maine or something.
Canada doesnt actually possess territory, it rents from the united states.
Oh really “smittygee”, is that why the Canadian dollar is worth more than the American’s? Thanks for coming out.
And as for you “Zam”, with an attitude like yours I’m not surprised no one liked you in Canada, which unfortunately gave you the impression that it’s Canadian’s that want American’s out of their country. Being a Canadian myself with plenty of American family and friends, I think it’s sad, but not surprising, that American’s seem to have such a terrible reputation…but with tantrums like yours, Zam, can you really blame us?
at Bruce, low blows with the earthquake and oil spill comments… the blog is about escaping conflict anyway and also who one the rugby world cup???? it wasn’t australia
There is no safe place in the world, except within yourself.
You guys are so funny, everyone has its own mind and opinion of course. If or when World War 3 broke out, there won’t be any place to go with all the chemical and nuclear weapons, it’ll just be a matter of time before the whole earth gets affected. And good luck getting to Tuvalu or the Seychelles in such a time, no planes would get you there, of course you could always get your own boat, sure 😉 PNG sounds exotic but you probably would die by poisoning or some kind of disease or bitten by a huge spider, by the time you’d have found your perfect little place to live happily ever after! Anyway, one thing is sure, do not come to Belgium, we’re still without a government after 2 years or so, I stopped counting. It’s small, overcrowded, the only benefit is that you would have the choice between 3 languages, but wait no, you would have to stick to your part of the country then ‘coz we only speak one by region. It all depends on the situation but regarding a war or an economical crisis, I think I’d have more chance staying where I’m (even though I’d love to just move then to an exotic island with clear water and coconuts)and deal with it, being close enough to a city to try getting some food and medicine if need be, close enough to a water source too would be great… I always thought the best plan would be to get as far as possible, in a very secluded place, until I started getting practical, reading about disaster preparedness and such. I think I’d have more chance to climb a latter 2 the moon than fleeing very far away. And in the end, just as Mpilon said, the only safe place is within yourself 🙂
BUT thanks 4 the post, I love hearing ’bout others countries, I even did not know Tuvalu (see I know nothing, who am i to speak) and NZ is coming now on my “to visit” list 🙂
yes ofcourse you can go on himalaya and wait to war end or in sahara but take lot ofn water whit you
YAY Iceland! Really, it ought to be higher. Just kick the Americans out (sorry guys) and there’s basically no reason for any involvement in war, whatsoever. Unless someone starts messing with their fishing allowance, in which case, run away. Pretty far from anywhere that’s gonna get bombed, and winds normally go South of Iceland, so not too much chance of anti-UK radiation getting there. And if some idiot decides that it’s a strategic location and decides to invade, well, Greenland’s pretty nearby. Hide there. Not only that, but the crime rate is one of the lowest in the world. And it’s really pretty!
@ Melissa – erm….aw…sowwy I hit a nerve thin skinned canadian. The truth hurts LOL 😀 …erm, the US dollar is now worth more than your looney LOL 😀 ….go ahead and make your lame attacks that I have “no friends” in Canada (you would know, right?). Because you’ve requested a second serving of why Canada sucks, I’m glad to oblige:
1) High cost of living. Impossibly high. Most Canadians live from paycheck to paycheck and have a DAY job and a NIGHT job. All I heard for 3 years from Canadians was their moaning about high cost of everything (and when they were planning their next cross border shopping spree to USA–where stuff they need is affordable LOL);
2) Your immigration points system is a “Trojan horse” to lure skilled immigrants into Canada–only for them to find their degrees and credentials are NOT recognized. The oldest cliche in the book in Canada is the cynical joke about the toilet cleaner with a PhD from Iran….the Indian MD heart surgeon who is a taxi driver…etc. You know its true! For so many immigrants to Canada their “dream” ends up turning into a nightmare. There are even documentaries on this huge problem on Canada TV!
3) Fact–Statistics Canada own research shows that a significant portion of immigrants see Canada as a “plan B” or “layover country” for their ultimate goal of living in USA. Don’t believe me? Go look it up on your own government’s website.
Melissa, you act like a typical Canadian stereotype I encountered time and time and time again in Canada: when confronted with the employment barriers, chronic lack of jobs, ridiculously overpriced cost of living relative to the stupidly low minimum wage ($9.00 per hour in Vancouver–where average 1 bedroom flat costs $1,250/month!)–Canadians get very ANGRY and defensive….they begin to lash out at the person mentioning these evident failings in their country.
I did not go to Canada with an “attitude” as you say. I came with many high hopes for a new life. But I found out the hard way what a very hard country Canada is to live in for all of the reasons I mentioned. I’m only being honest. What’s more, you may attack me and claim I have a “bad attitude” etc but there are in fact MILLIONS of other immigrants to Canada who all say the same things I’ve said here.
So, as a public service announcement to anybody thinking of moving to Canada: Canada looks nice from afar….the mountains, the ocean views, the nature, the smarmy maple leaf flag, the “polite veneer” of the people who you encounter as a visitor. BUT moving there you will encounter a very, very different environment! Job centres (with no jobs), job counsellors (who are so incredibly swamped with jobless clients they are unable to help them), and millions of Canadians who are on the public dole in Canada for years on end…..because the Canadian economic system cannot provide them with jobs. Very, very depressing place to live–especially with cold, rainy, shitty weather for most of the year. I’m typing my experiences here to help other expats make more informed choices of where you move. I would definitely recommend you not move to Canada for all the reasons I’ve laid out here.
@Melissa-here’s proof millions of immigrants think Canada sucked: the quote below is from your own Statistics Canada website: a whopping 33% of all male immigrants to Canada LEAVE:
“Migration to Canada for some immigrants is not a permanent move, according to a new study, which shows that many newcomers subsequently leave Canada. Among young males, those admitted to the country under the business and skilled worker classes were most likely to leave.
The study addresses the behaviour of men who were 25 to 45 years of age at the time they arrived in Canada. The analysis shows that their future profile in Canada is strongly influenced by a variety of measurable factors, such as their country of origin and their economic qualifications
A substantial part of migration to Canada is not necessarily permanent, with about a third of male immigrants (aged 25 to 45 at the time of landing) experiencing out-migration within 20 years after arrival. More than half of those who leave do so within the first year of arrival.”
Link to above quote here:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/060301/dq060301b-eng.htm
More than 50% leave in the first year! In fact I met a Hungarian woman in Europe who also had a terrible experience in Canada–and left. But I’m sure Melissa the Canadian will smugly retort that like me, she had a “bad attitude” or some other rubbish. Along with the 50% of thousands of immigrants to Canada who leave after the first year, LOL 😀 ….Melissa’s smugness is so typical of Canadian passive-aggressive, in denial arrogance.
whoa Zam! Canada is fucking awesome i’ve lived here all my life. if ur life sucks don’t blame it on the country blame it on yourself, you create ur own experience. canada isn’t that cold or expensive or ugly and the boarder is pretty damn peaceful. geez what are you so angry and bitter about that u have to turn it all around nd blame it on canada? if u don’t like it, leave. period.
SWITZERLAND???? You must be kidding. Anyone who has lived there, like me for 4 years, will tell you it is well well overrated. THe people are so cold and unfriendly, the prices are very very high and everyone lives in a box and hears their neighbor when they fart. The food culture sucks more than any country i have been too in the World. It consists of bread, bread and yogurt. The swiss will kill you if you are a bit overweight….you will just not ‘fit’ into their apple and water diet culture. A movie costs 18 dollars and a piece of cheese which was produced down the street costs 20 dollars a pound! I never had a swiss friend. Only foreigners who complain about the stubborn swiss. The police will ask you what YOU did if you need their help instead of investigating the problem. They assume you did something wrong because you do not speak their language without an accent and that starts red lights in their head of ‘bad bad bad”. Yeah, do not go to switzerland unless you want to end up in one of their psycho clinics…where they will dump you if you become critical of their authorities.
@ Bruce
That is a completely biased and incorrect statement about Bhutan. You obviously haven’t done any proper research on the country’s conflict with illegal nepali immigrants. The deportation of the nepalis was not even religion-based. It was a completely secular move on the government’s part. Bhutan is a country with a population of less than 1 million. When the country experienced a rising number of nepali immigrants, the indigenous Bhutanese felt fearful that they would soon become minorities in their own country. Yes, the situation could have been handled in a more professional way, but at the time the country was, and still is, developing. You should probably educate yourself on such a sensitive topic before calling the monarch a “sadist who derives happiness from annihilating cultural practices of the minority”.
@Bruce – I am an American that emigrated to NZ. “Earthquakes” – seriously so you hold something against us that we cannot prevent. How VERY adult of you.
“oil spill” – umm, at least it is not a deep water well that blows because our gov’t didn’t do its job! QED
Also, 10,000 volunteers have already cleaned most of it up… can you say the same in America? NO, they just cover everything up with sand. FAIL!!!
Lastly, again this was a ship that ran aground… which was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Swiftly not decades later… like some other red tape heavy countries.
‘and they can’t play rugby.’ – HUH, really… because I think we just won the World Rugby Cup by stomping the living shit out of Australia!!! :)~
Also, we are not anywhere near as racist as the Ozzies are… I mean you want to see some rampant racism that will put even America to shame… head to Australia!!!
Thx for playing half-wit!!!!
I Agree with Zam, Canada is a shitty place to live, visit, or spend WWIII =/
Canadians usually visit to buy groceries and important things here on our US border state. and they can be so rude =/
Cuba, did that guy seriously just say Cuba was a safe place to go?
@bruce
um new zealand is a great country with terrific rugby players yes we have had a couple of disasters recently at least we arn’t a idea stealing country you australians stole pavlova our icon horse our musicians so don’t be mean against new zealand because we are a fantastic nation!
I’m going to stick with going to a remote place in the USA. We may not be good economists or peace advocates, but when it comes to blowing shit up we are pretty damn good. The only way a single foreign foot soldier could touch our shores if we have used up the world’s supply of Uranium and thermite.
Good to know the Seychelles are safe…If I’m gonna go, I’d like it to be there…
This is about the funniest exchange I’ve read in a long time. Hell, it makes me want to head to Australia and NZ just to see what the fuss is about. Zam’s probably right about Canada, but the same could be said about certain places in the US – take San Francisco or New York for instance. Try finding a studio that rents for under 1200 there! Not possible unless you want to live in crack-town. And the jobs?? Hahahhahaha! Now that’s funny… Still, NY and SF are not representative of the entire US of A, just like I am sure Toronto’s not totally representative of Canada. I’m sure there must be some places that are affordable, even if that does mean living in Newfoundland. 🙂 As a side note, isn’t Canada still beholden to the Crown?
I stay here thank you, as we have sevral problems one being everybody trying to gain a green card even if its not real. Safe place well it use to be, and I hope we can make it that way again, but as other countries can tell you if you let rats in you’d better get some big cats, or you’ll lose the to the invaders.
All welcome to visit my beautiful nation NZ, this is the place to be!our people are known through the world to be warm & friendly. No economic crisis No wars no worries. we are surrounded in the most beautiful natural land scape.Beaches bush,mountains,rivers,lakes,natural thermal hot pools.This is home to the all blacks aye Bruce!winners of the rugby world cup right Bruce..don’t be sad Bruce!Live your life and be happy with what Australia has to offer Mate!if your not.. suck it up and move to NZ
I’m from Finland and I must say that the picture on this page from Finland, does not represent our country at all. Sure, we have rivers, but we don’t have mountains.
Zam you are the man! Seriously! You have a great ability to express your thoughts into very clear points. I like the fact that you are not going to budge in your opinion, and that you use Canadas own site to cite examples, classic! I think you better be working on a book because I for one would buy it! Well done, I too have been to Canada and found that smug, sanctimonious, attitude to be very real, and very noticeable. I would not expat to Canada unless the entire US was melting and that was the only place to go to get drink.
Ive lived in many cities in both Canada and the USA and at the end of the day there are always positive and negatives about all of them . BUT generalizing about “Canada vs USA” based only on personal experience is so pointless that to even start such a discussion reveals your ignorance. mainly because Canada overwhelmingly beats the USA overall in global standing in standard of living ,human development index, literacy rate, employment , debt to GDP ratio, scientific publications per capita, crime rate, enviromental policy, green energy, peace index, diplomacy, natural recourses , water quality and the list goes on. it is by far the best choice of a place for Americans in a doomsday situation since its at least reachable — good luck booking a flight to NZ when you get word of chinas launching its first nuke!
@Zam
are you not understanding the content of this article? It’s best places to live if WW3 were to break out. Who cares about cost of living during WW3?! As far as I’m concerned, the safety of my life, and the life of my loved ones is much more important than the amount of money I’d be spending. Furthermore you’re “three miserable years” accounts for nothing compared to the impoverished households in the US (have you learned nothing from the occupy strikes??). I have family in Canada for 20 years and have heard nothing but great health care, pride for their nation and acceptance of immigrants (which I’m sure would be restricted if a world war were to break out). The only mistakes they ever made in terms of world politics was their following of the US in their current war (thanks to Harper, who is slowly being booted as PM, and as I’m sure you DON’T know didn’t win a majority, meaning he has little federal power…).
The Canadian/US border is actually very peacekeeping (take it from someone who has crossed it dozens of times…). The country itself is EXTREMELY peacekeeping — Had a friend who went to school in the states (In PA) and was told by Americans that they put a CANADIAN FLAG on their gear as they toured Europe in order to be treated better (just one example of many…).
You’re attitude is the epitome of United States’ ignorance that the rest of the world can’t stand. Hate to break it to you Zam, but as your economy goes to shit, so does your power. I advise you (and the rest of your American citizens) to stop being so self-righteous and take a damn hard look at yourself — you’re a mess and your “world policing” is only going to fuck you in the end WHEN a new world war breaks. Congrats, you have enough firearms to blow up the world multiple times, but when it comes down to it, you have no one to back you up. You’re an army on your own. Let’s see how well that works…
The way you talk about Canada is appalling..notice that no one else in this forum speaks of Canada that way?
And want to talk about cost of living?? Pretty sure that minimum wage in the US doesn’t exceed $9/hour…Oh and let’s remember they still have to pay for the health care they’re not granted as US citizens…so in terms of the high taxes/cost of living, Canada is one for all and help the unfortunate, unlike you US fucks who only care about the rich getting richer and the poor becoming poorer.
In terms of Job’s: The nation is still expanding. There are hundreds of thousands of untouched/underdeveloped land that are begging for workers. Just because it isn’t the type of work YOU want, doesn’t mean the work isn’t there.
ZAM, you’re a joke, and clearly uneducated. Read a book or a newspaper, or perhaps “youtube” (because I’m sure that’s more along your level of education) some sort of news report regarding world politics and you’ll soon understand. At first I was angry with you, and now I just pity your bitterness/naivety. I feel really bad for you. Perhaps Canada’s free health care/funded education could have helped you get some medication/post-secondary knowledge for whatever lack of education you’re suffering from. Poor American, should have come to Canada sooner to reap the benefits!! But it’s okay, Canada’s still accepting of immigrants wanting a better life for themselves 🙂
and sorry I’d love to clarify a couple of things:
Cost of living expensive? YES on the WEST COAST. Expand your horizons. ON and the rest of Canada, not so much.
and the Canadian attitude? HA! What joke! Traveled to the US and they thought I was very “proper” for using the word “pardon” rather than “huh”. Not to mention the absolute STUPIDITY of Americans — YES Canada is a country, YES you can ski in the winter, but NO they don’t snowshoe to work each day, and you won’t have a successful ski trip in July (just an experience a friend and I had in New York with a couple of dumb, naive Americans who shamefully happen to work on Wall Street)
Do not assume that all Americans are uneducated and naive based on the actions of a couple you met in New York. Stereotypes often reflect badly upon the reality of a situation. America isn’t that bad; and it’s certainly not as horrible as the hyperbole in your previous post. The general population of America doesn’t want to police the rest of the world. We wanted to get out of Afghanistan years ago. Congress doesn’t always do what the people want. But we trust that our government will do what is best for the nation.
Our economy is not “going to $#*!.” It has been slowly rebuilding over the past few years. Our monetary policy at the moment is such that we have what is economically referred to as a boom and bust cycle. We are in the “bust” part of that, but keep in mind it is a cycle and it does rebuild. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. Most of us are just thankful for what we have and confident from experience that it will grow back.
You mentioned minimum wage. It is $7.35 an hour. Minimum wage is a price floor that was introduced as an introduction to the workforce. It was not intended to become something people stay at. If you don’t go past it, it’s your own fault. Also, low minimum wage isn’t a bad thing. When workers push for more pay, executives must increase prices to compensate. Since all workers have more pay, they can pay for the increased prices of goods and services. More money is there, but it means less. Inflation occurs, in other words.
On U.S. poverty, the poorest Americans are typically OVERweight. When prices of junk food are so low, and a job doesn’t pay for being in good shape, there is little incentive to exercise. in our poorest district, over 95% of the “impoverished” (it’s a relative term) people have at least the following: a home, one or more color TV’s, a stove, an oven, a refrigerator, and a washer and dryer. Our average IQ has jumped 20 points up from 1950 (however according to the rules of the test, 100 is average, so when the average jumps, so to must the level considered 100). Granted, this may be swayed by the fact that there is a demographic that actually takes the tests. This demographic is probably smarter. However, we must take the same demographic into account when considering past IQ averages.
Also, when the rich get richer, the poor do not get poorer. If anything, we all get richer. If a billionaire made $3 million more, that comes from other countries and into the circular flow of ours. Circular flow is and economics term that describes the even flow of money in an economy. Please read an economics textbook before making over-generalizations about a country. I say over-generalizations because you judged all of us based on a few isolated experiences.
Peace is from inside ourselves.
stay in the states, as patriots!!! if you decide to go to NZ, PNG, or Island you will die anyway, cos you, selfish rats, are China’s target. seed love to change the world + and burn up Karma, call your dirty mates brits and israelis
Bhutan’s inclusion in this list is laughable, especially the line: “Its religious population believes in peaceful resolution to all conflict”. Try telling that to the 105,000 people who were expelled 20 years ago in an massive ethnic cleansing, and who have never been allowed to return, even though they still cling to that dream.
The comments in general on this topic are amazingly myopic and generally seem to reflect a low-end view of the world. Though I suppose its typical of the state of humanity these days. Sad.
I think those pictures posted and places referred are for holiday and relaxation .The OP was asking with reference to the eventuality of the dreaded WWWIII ,wake up people .
The best places to go is a country not much involve in war but we don’t know this yet . It is not just war but calamities too .You think those little white sandy low lying islands will survive a great earthquake and tsuanami ?In out present time ,not one place is insulated from any elements of conflict that may arise.Think about the 7 billion population get hungry – no food ,nuclear boms exploding ,draughts ,floods ,commerce totally put to a a hault. Man you need to get yourself away from the cities and run to the mountains and live wild .Read teh Bible Matthew 24 . Desperate people will do desperate things .So prepare for the extra horrors happening.
I am thinking of the same line too and wondering where I can be sheltered and get lost ,perhaps through thick forest and never seen when chaos and NWO starts chipping people.
I have to say, the comments here have been very enlightening. NZ seems to be the clear cut winner.
I second Chuck’s opin that Zam should write a book. Hilarious. I’ve been to Canada and he nailed it for anyone thinking the grass is greener…..Uh, well it is a little greener, but it’s usually frozen and when it’s not, it costs about a weeks paycheck to buy a mower. Socialism, Jeez.
I read this article because things have been inching closer to collapse for years here in the US and now we’re running to the flames, but I guess I’ll stay right here in Florida, buy some guns (I don’t want to be the only one with a knife), and go down with the ship….well, unless I can get the ship to sail to NZ!
I lived in New Zealand all over North and South Island for four years. It’s a Commonwealth country, not an independent nation. It’s found in the Southern Hemisphere, only somewhat isolated and the people seem preoccuppied comparing themselves to much greater, true, nations. And this lack of self-confidence is telling in many ways. The currency exchange was nice. A fair enough place to hang for awhile. But rather boring. An island is an island is an island.
Anyone know where that photo of NZ was taken?
This is an OPINION piece people, not scientific fact, so I wish you guys would’t read so deeply into it. I am Canadian, and out country IS very peaceful, and understanding, and not really that expensive to live in (in the grand scheme of things) I’d rather be here than in the USA if there was a WW3. I travel a LOT and Canadians are definitely welcomed much more openly than Americans (sorry guys)
Im using this piece as a travel guide above anything else. I’d love to go to Seychelles or Tuvalu and experience a REAL country, not one that has been bastardized for tourists that can’t travel without access to Starbucks and McDonalds.
Good work poster.
I don’t think the inclusion of Tuvalu or the Seychelles is very sensible. The people of Tuvalu are already being evacuated to New Zealand because sea level rise is flooding their country. At high tide you can be knee deep in water in some places- where houses have stood for years. The Seychelles is also shrinking due to rising sea levels so I doubt either of these will remain conflict free places
Sam ,photo of N.Z is central north island,Mt Tongariro,it’s a small mountain beside Mt Ruapehu,the water is a crater lake,I grew up on a sheep farm about 80miles north
would definitely add this in my bucketlist. Costa Rica has been my dream destination.
Where is Australia??! D:
I live in Canada. I am an artist and I do what I like. I get up when I like and paint when inspiration takes me. I’m mostly happy regardless of the state of the world right now. We cannot always change the events to come ( but we should try and band together to evoke change. We should not tolerate inhumanity not for one minute) and everyone, everyday no matter where they live should feel the freedom to get up when they like n do what they enjoy. We should have no monetary system and live to better ourselves.
@Maggie – you are entirely wrong on every point you make. You are delusional regarding Canada–and 4th rate, overpriced, dumpy country with shit weather. I could easily refute every single point you make–and already have: please re-read my original post. You seem to be the only Canadian making the ludicrous claims that Canada is a good place to live. Most Canadians I know (and I know very many having lived there for 3 long, expensive, low income, shitty dull years) agree with everything I’ve said here. For more evidence that you live in an overpriced dump of a country that’s also expensive and boring please visit this site–
http://amplicate.com/hate/canada/4149667-serious-talk-about-canadas-flaws-and-failings/
There you can see an excellent article on why Canada sucks to live in. What’s more, many Canadians chime in after this article fully agreeing with the OPs arguments. So dear Maggie, you are certainly entitled to your odd opinions about Canada. But obviously I am in the majority when I say Canada sucks.
The inevitable economic collapse will either be accompanied or followed by a very big war with resultant nuclear fall-out in the Northern Hemisphere.
Zambia is an option to re-locate to as an English speaking peaceful country, sparsely populated free from GMO, steroids, colourants, hormones, chemtrails and pollution, in the Southern Hemisphere. The climate is mild and the people are friendly. The government here is not big brother but is ineffective and lethargic and when the crunch comes will be looking after themselves. There is some time yet, but how much? Australia and New Zealand are under Big Money control evident by the laws they are passing. tjissekm[at]gmail.com
Opinions are great, Costa Rica has sounded good for a while to me. But as with all great things that look great from the outside, they have something about them that will be sure to disappoint. Thanks for the article, the cause is noble even if the information is not as good as the pictures.
Live in the US, we have drones…
Costa Rica! Pura vida!
Most of the list makes sense. Still, I am quite happy in my peaceful abode here in the USA (Virginia). I live in the mountain region in a safe / quiet town with excellent healthcare. I couldn’t be happier.
Oh, and I should mention that the overblown dramatization of the collapse of the USA is just that…overblown. My community and industry (R&D engineering firm) is doing quite well.
Well, this caught my attention and the places are absolutely beautiful like all over this beautiful planet of ours.. Here’s an idea.. why don’t we work on World Peace.. Then we wont have to run and hide, but by some of the comments that I read.. World Peace is going to be a lot harder than I thought/hoped.. Understand, not if or when but it is happening.. Collapse.. there is no true place to run and hide.. You need to know how to survive in your own environment, sure run.. but what happens when you get there, do you know how to survive in this area, do you understand how to grow food, provide shelter, clothes on your back.. Walmart and the Donut shop is not going to be open just down the street for you.. If you have not prepared and do not know how to take care of yourself and the knowledge of basic skills.. well, I truly fear for those that do know.. because you bunch of dreamers that think oh, I will just move over here then.. well.. I will be guarding my supplies/gardens.. because I see a lot of people that are going to wake up to reality real quick with no direction.. and just the confusion alone is going to cause mass riots.. Look, its already starting.. just turn on your TV, for what ever that is worth, at least they are starting to show “some” real news..
Good luck people, you go running to all your hideaways, they are beautiful.. but me.. well, with all of you gone.. right where I sit, will be that much more peaceful… 🙂
Hmmm, odd list.
Finland may have a ‘desire’ to stay out of conflict but that didn’t stop the Russians invading in 1939.
Canada and New Zealand by their sheer remoteness (or border in Canada’s case) maybe safe from domestic invasion but as their countrymen fight in Commonwealth wars, not safe from conflict.
As for Switzerland….well no one is going to invade the bank are they?
Strange article and odd choices…..
@ imsomeonelse, I would say Australia is not on there because we are the US’s little lapdog & participate in every illegal war they start, not to mention that we have US bases like Pine Gap, Nurrungar etc. All it takes is for some brain dead imperialist nutjob to start slinging nukes & we will go down hard.
New Zealand is my number 1 choice but if I can’t get there, then a location as far away from the cities & bases as possible but still habitable is my plan.
I think you confused Finland with Sweden or Norway. That pic is definitely not from Finland.
Hmm, if I had a choice I’d probably take myself off to Switzerland or possibly New Zealand. Seychelles looks amazing though, the water is so clear!
well yes those are amazing places to go but you didn’t mention anything from South America. You can be pretty much safe in the Amazon Jungle or in the Awesomeness of Galapagos.
Beautiful photos and an overall nice post – just one question – what do you mean by saying Canada is relatively homogenous? In people and geography, this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are also a number of diverse political, religious, and societal viewpoints. What aspect of Canada being homogenous are you referring to?
All these places look absolutely beautiful and I would love to check them all out after I hit the lottery.
Not sure where to start on this subject but I’d like to thank you for your effort in putting this article together. I’ve been working on this in my head for many years now and have done lots of research into it from natural to man-made disasters. I can’t tell all I’ve discoved in a few sentences or even paragraphs but I feel something more important to know is when you decide on a set place you need to study everything about it.
If you’re from the city and head for the hills to escape population you will be adding new and unfamilar dangers. Having lots of money is worthless in the woods except for fire tender or toilet paper. Your Boyscout training will give you a slight advantage over most but you need to not only study-up beforehand … you need to live it out and then you’ll only be experienced by the time invested. Do all 4 seasons there then decide if you really miss Starbucks & McD’s
Global nukes … forget about it! Stay where you are because it isn’t going to matter where you go hide unless you can get into Cheyenne Mountain … and good luck with Yellowstone’s super volcano. Anywhere south of the Equator would be best in this scenario. Only because the majority of our superpowers are mostly in the northern hemisphere. Fallout will circle the globe but very little if any will cross into the southern hemisphere but that could change also due to a few other factors such as how many nukes used and/or a shift in the poles. Further study here for a more accurate guestimate.
I agree with “scape to Southamerica” on a large percentage but take it from me (being from the FL Glades) I know the heat/humidity/wildlife will do a number on anyone experienced or not.
Oh … you watched Surviver Man, Man vs. Wild, Dual Survival, ect. ? Yeah, so did I and I also saw a few episodes where they may have killed a few belivers with their stupidity. Cody Lundin has the most common sense out of all the others only because he carries the most important tool with him at all times … Faith ! I’m not talking Religion here but you need to believe in something even if it’s a rock God. Remember that you need 5 things daily to live and I emphasize on “NEED” because everything else is a “WANT” !
1. Food/Water/Air (counts as one)
2. Heat (even in the summer- you may need to boil water to purify it or cook away bacterias)
3. Clothing (protection from many unknown/unrealized things)
4. Shelter (obviously protection from the elements and wildlife)
5. Faith (a will to live, wake up to another and do it all over again)
Also study up on the local wild medicines and a laymens knowledge of first-aid/surgery.
I could write a book I guess on this subject but there are already many out there. People say only the strong will survive but common sense has beaten strength and faith/willpower can conquer all things … if you can BELIEVE that !!!
My best wishes to all
My daughter is a smart cookie. She fell in love with New Zealand on her first trip back in ’98. Now she lives there. It is beautiful, the people amazing and in some ways, like going back to the US in the 50’s. Except with all the modern amenities. And depending on how you need to travel, with a few tools and adjustments, you can go pretty much anywhere, especially Asia and South America for less that you would spend at home in a month. But the first thing you have to do is get rid of debt.
Costa Rica Rules
Im from Costa Rica and we are the happie country in the word
Pura Vida !!!!
Im quite happy here in Sunny Dorset in Britain 🙂 These are not proven facts they are just opinions….
This sucks. Looks like there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Guess we should kiss our asses goodbye. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/27/us-png-politics-investment-idUSTRE80Q0D920120127
Seychelles is a peaceful country that is surrounded and victimized by Somali pirates. NOT an option, unfortunately.
Costa Rica is a really fascinating place to live. I’ve been there 4 times and i just can’t get enough of its peaceful and friendly environments. I recomend to everyone to visit CR.
Totally surprised to see that Norway is not on this list!
Ummm, Sweden hasn’t been at war since 1814. Missed that, guys.
@Oelando Florida
Not everyone who read this is from the States man… and I’m not sure your threats are coming across very positively either (if anyone can actually understand what you are saying)… in fact your comment is the main attitudinal reason this webpage even exists. People should be able to do what they want and be happy, free from war and negative vibes… what you put out comes back.. try it, you’ll see.
Honestly if its about surviving a nuclear war I’d go as far south as possible to an isolated island that isn’t a popular vacation spot or if need be antarctica cause the nukes of today are ten times more powerful than they were during WWII, and they wont just affect the countries they hit. everything surround the bombed countries will be affected.
In 10 yrs as said in “Home” movie we can make this world better place to live for all.
But for me the best way is to eat the greedy rich and give to the poor needy. If this works we have balance and peace/harmony among humans and that is the best of all.
Finland nr 5, nice … but that picture is certainly not from Finland…there are no mountain peaks of that shape and magnitude…
Iceland looks very peaceful and others also
great pictures thank u
Finland sucks. They don’t care about human rights. Example employment agencys are cheating or sometimes even blackmailing jobless people to make work for free.
Government is full of nazi workers and they don’t make any decission there because they gave our independency away with one worthless paper for EU, Usa, nwo..
They also censoreds all these kind of talk in forums all the time.
Read the article, enjoyed the point of view.
@Zam, simply put. U are an arrogant ass and if your friends hate Canada so much they are welcome to leave. I’m a proud Canadian, have a good life, do not live in a dump or poverty and 100% despise your ignorant comments. Open your eyes to the world around you, show less nasty criticism and don’t be the kind of person that creates so much hatred. Must be sad to be you and live with yourself being such a hater.
Canada is a great place to live and to the obvious american attitude that commented that Canada sucks, please note a few thing you use our fresh water our natural resources our oil! But that is the American attitude for you always right even when thier country is the one falling apart! I have a great job making very good money I live in a nice house that definately did not cost me a million dollars and I can snowboard, go hiking or go to one of the largest malls in the world all with in under 2 hours from my door! It is an amazing country and until you have lived here and enjoyed our outdoors lifestyle dont think that you know canada at all… Sorry we are not all dumb ignorant Americans… point proven in the states for a holiday 5 years ago and had a dumb waitress ask us if wr still lived in igloos and had running water, this is what i think of americans, not much!
Any country other than Islamic Countries, because the entire world is against them, since the perception is they are encouraging terrorism, even in their own countries
Iceland FTW!
Switzerland does however harbor income from individuals and companies using public resources in their own countries to profit without paying taxes – proving detrimental to the social welfare of their home counties and exacerbating external conflicts. Those countries then get the short end of the stick (as is now the case for Italy and Greece)
http://www.tackletaxhavens.com/the-problems/switzerland/
Left UK for 4 week vacation in 1971, stayed for 38 years in guyana. South America. More later. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
I doubt there are too many places left in the world where any American would be safe. The few countries that don’t despise us also want nothing to do with us.
@Amy post #45: Sorry, you’re wrong: Canada sucks ass, bigtime. What’s so funny is you wrongly assume I live in USA—when I don’t LOL. I live in Europe! I lived in Canada for 3 years and thank god I left–before that dump of a country would have cleaned out my wallet and life savings. Your argument technique is known as a “red herring”, e.g. you don’t address the facts I’ve laid out about how bad Canada is to live in, instead you attack me and the USA. My criticisms are strictly about how shitty Canada is—NOT about USA. If you go read my earlier posts on this thread (use ‘older comments’ button) you can read and learn about Canada’s plainly evident failings, and its extremely poor economy and prospects for immigrants. But for the sake of brevity let me give a quick list of points to refute your ignorance on this topic:
1) Canada has millions of immigrants living on the public dole. I know them, I knew them while living in Canada: they came with hopes of prosperity and got screwed: taxi drivers with PhDs from Iran….Engineers from Iraq cleaning toilets….business managers from Brazil now working as housemaids in Vancouver. Fucking awful. “You don’t have ‘Canadian experience’ and ‘Canadian education’ is the excuse given when hopeful immigrants to Canada look for jobs in their field.
2) Everywhere, EVERYWHERE in Canada the cost of food, housing, and other basic necessities is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive–easily 3 times the cost found in USA for exact same product. This is why so many Canadian families have to get food stamps from the government to make ends meet. Just shameful to see. Immigrants who have lived on the public dole year after year, depressed without hope: this is the true “Canadian dream”—more accurately a nightmare, which many immigrants leave and go back home to their native land. I once read somebody say “Immigration to Canada is big money and big business for Canadians and the government: they screw over the immigrants for thousands and thousands of dollars as these poor people struggle to adapt to the excessively high priced new home country—and fall through the cracks once they run out of their life savings. Many immigrants realize they’ve been had–and then immigrate into the USA from Canada where their credentials are recognized and they can live a decent life, with affordable goods and services unlike Canada where you’re being grossly overcharged for everything: $4 cans of beans, $18 6 packs of Labatt’s, and tiny duplexes in Toronto going for $500,000 or more. Fucking outrageous. I once met some Swiss tourists to Vancouver BC, who after spending a few weeks in B.C. said “We now know what BC stands for: BRING CASH” LOL. And this is the Swiss saying this! I rest my case. Be forewarned! Unless you’re a Saudi Prince, or a resident of Davos, Switzerland with endless amounts of money….Canada will rob you blind!
Amy–thanks for proving my point about thin-skinned Canadians: you can’t handle any honest criticism of your 3rd rate dumpy, frozen, shit country that screws immigrants over for profit. Your hypcrisy and hatred of USA is shameful: why are almost all of the major cities of Canada along the USA border? Easy: because the number one destination of Canadians is going to USA–where they can buy AFFORDABLE goods and services. All of the Canadians I know are always, always going to Detroit, Buffalo, Seattle, etc on weekends or for week long holidays so they can buy TONS of consumer goods to bring back home to Canada. THe facts are the facts Amy. Don’t shit on USA, you know and I know its the #1 destination for Canadians when they travel abroad, its Canada’s #1 trade partner.
Wow are you an idiot. Sorry about that LOL