Newsweek magazine reported in the 18th of August 2010 issue that the Netherlands is the 8th overall best country to live in based on education, healthcare, political and economic environments. Seven of the top ten countries were in Europe: Finland being number 1, followed by Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Luxembourg, Norway, Canada, Netherlands, Japan and Denmark. The USA came in 11th, overall. In their online article they have a pretty cool interactive tool for comparing different countries on a host of criteria: Newsweek Magazine Interactive Infographic.

The Netherlands has widely been reported as a country offering a good quality of life. The German UNICEF Foundation conducted a 2007 survey of children living in the industrialized nations and  their overall sense of happiness and security and the Netherlands held the top spot.

Dutch Children

According to the Dutch Daily News:

The German researchers studied children in 21 industrialised countries on the basis of six criteria: material wealth, health, education, relationships, safety and their own feelings of luck. The Netherlands has come top of a league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries.

Swedish and Finnish children were in second and third place. American children were bottom of the list where boys and girls are the most negative about their current situation and future possibilities.

Surveys by Britain’s Child Poverty Action Group, Unicef International and the World Health Organisation have all reached similar conclusions about Dutch children.

This is the second time Dutch children ranked happiest in Europe.

I firmly believe the there is no perfect place to live, only different experiences. But my observations from the past year of living in The Netherlands, is that it offers some wonderful benefits such as:

• The bicycle culture: we all ride our bikes as much as possible, including the children. So we own one vehichle and use it maybe once a week. This is not only great for our planet, but also our bodies and souls. One of the best parts of my day, is the 15 minute bike ride with my 10 year old son to school, and the bike ride along the dunes on the North Sea.
• The fresh food in the grocery stores: freshly baked bread is the norm here, so it is not expensive, it is just what is expected. The selection of cheeses is amazing, and the butcher offers a stunning array of cuts. But the best for me has to be the julienned or copped fresh vegetables in a bag for making homemade soups, sauces, and stews a cinch! The lack of preservatives in all the food, makes it worth noting my significant weight loss due to cycling and the healthy diet (no more expensive gym membership to try and shed the pounds!).
• The healthcare- most of you are tired of my droning on about the excellent healthcare system here, but is worth noting that when Bailey had his appendicitis out last fall, we never saw a bill or (despite the naysayers) have a thing to complain about in terms of the quality of his care.
• The lack of violent crime: most of the crime in the Holland is of the petty theft type, and because guns are illegal you do not very often hear of shootings, or violent crimes because if someone breaks into a home, they are typically not carrying a firearm.

OK to be fair…there are a couple of things that drive me crazy: the fact many people have dogs here would not bother me in the least, BUT the fact, they do not feel it is their responsibility to clean up their dog’s waste, makes me incensed! The weather is a big difference from California but to be honest I am enjoying all the seasons…maybe after a few years, I will feel differently. (And no…they don’t wear wooden shoes to school!).

So far, Living La Buena Vida here in The Hague has been a simple adjustment for this family.