Australia tops in happiness

[Hum]

With its idyllic beaches and seemingly limitless sunshine, most of us have long known that it is the lucky country.

And according to an international league table of happiness, Australia truly does take some beating on its quality of life.

It has ranked number one on the OECD?s first such chart ? and, somewhat unsurprisingly, well ahead of Britain, which came tenth.

But while Britons may not be quite as content as our friends Down Under, we?re happier than the Germans or the French, according to the rankings.

Australia?s strong economy, good public health, low pollution and low levels of crime were some of the reasons why it is better off, the OECD said.

The attraction is already well known to the tens of thousands of Britons flocking there each year in search of a better life. In 2011 49,000 emigrated Down Under.

The OECD?s Better Life Index is based on 11 categories, including income, jobs, housing and health, surveyed in 36 nations. Overall, the UK was beaten by a string of Scandinavian countries, among them Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Britain scored highly on income levels, high employment, low crime, and community spirit ? measured by polls that found almost everyone knew a person they could rely on in times of trouble. It also ranked highly on the environment, based on lower air pollution and water quality.

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[Max Norris]

Australia?s strong economy, good public health, low pollution and low levels of crime were some of the reasons why it is better off, the OECD said.

Don't forget the koalas. How can you look at a koala and not be happy...

[Growled Member]

Australia?s strong economy, good public health, low pollution and low levels of crime were some of the reasons why it is better off, the OECD said.

The bad thing about these lists is when they are published everyone wants to move there.

[Osiris]

Guys, guys, lets keep this on the d-lo....after all its just a table, anyone can make tables with data...no reason to consider moving to Aus.. :shiftyninja:

[Hum]

The bad thing about these lists is when they are published everyone wants to move there.

Australia would be a rather expensive move for most.

[Crisp]

Don't forget the koalas. How can you look at a koala and not be happy...

Africa have the Honey Badger, explains why they're not listed...

[Growled Member]

Australia would be a rather expensive move for most.

It'd be totally worth if to be happy. :D

[Astra.Xtreme]

Africa have the Honey Badger, explains why they're not listed...

And because Africa is a continent. :rofl: But yes, you're right.

[Argi]

Just watch out for the drop bears. :D

[compl3x]

Guys, guys, lets keep this on the d-lo....after all its just a table, anyone can make tables with data...no reason to consider moving to Aus.. :shiftyninja:

Ahh... Yeah. We're not really that happy. Remember we have snakes, spiders, octopus, stingrays, and all types of deadly **** everywhere. It's best you all stay where you are. You're much safer there. :p

[Raa]

I'm happy with that result! ;)

[wrack]

It'd be totally worth if to be happy. :D

Happiness is relevant :)

Australia would be a rather expensive move for most.

That I agree.

Guys, guys, lets keep this on the d-lo....after all its just a table, anyone can make tables with data...no reason to consider moving to Aus.. :shiftyninja:

:ninjapirate:

I'm happy with that result! ;)

:ike:

[Original Poster]

england ? low crime? ....there is a field that is right out side my flat... in the last month there were two murders....and unconfirmed number of rapes.

[AussieAnon]

Aussie! aussie! aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

Melbourne FTW. Sydney is a dirty dump.

[+virtorio MVC]

england ? low crime? ....there is a field that is right out side my flat... in the last month there were two murders....and unconfirmed number of rapes.

Sounds like they really need to wall off that field.

[Original Poster]

Sounds like they really need to wall off that field.

lol really nice place during the day

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Haha! Australia and Sweden are countries I've wanted to visit for a long time.

[trip21]

I know I'm pretty happy given we're about to see the end of Gillard!

[Hum]

england ? low crime? ....there is a field that is right out side my flat... in the last month there were two murders....and unconfirmed number of rapes.

Shucks -- I can't even get sexually harassed here. :/

[szo]

Even some of earth's rarest creatures love it there! Some of them are only found there!

Giant, fluorescent pink slugs found on mountain

It would seem to be something you'd see only in a cartoon or at a Phish concert, but according to park rangers in New South Wales, Australia, dozens of giant, fluorescent pink slugs have been popping up on a mountaintop there.

"As bright pink as you can imagine, that's how pink they are," Michael Murphy, a ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "On a good morning, you can walk around and see hundreds of them."

The eight-inch creatures have been spotted only on Mount Kaputar, a 5,000-foot peak in the Nandewar Range in northern New South Wales.

Scientists believe the eye-catching organisms are survivors from an era when Australia was home to rainforests. A series of volcanoes, millions of years of erosion and other geological changes "have carved a dramatic landscape at Mount Kaputar," the park service wrote on its Facebook page, and unique arid conditions spared the slugs from extinction.

They "probably would have long since vanished, if a volcano had not erupted at Mount Kaputar about 17 million years ago," Ben Cubby wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald. "The result of that eruption is a high-altitude haven for invertebrates and plant species that have been isolated for millions of years, after Australia dried out and the rainforests receded."

And they're not the only unusual inhabitants on the mountain.

"We've actually got three species of cannibal snail on Mount Kaputar, and they're voracious little fellas," Murphy said. "They hunt around on the forest floor to pick up the slime trail of another snail, then hunt it down and gobble it up."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/giant-flourescent-pink-slugs-140528983.html

[Hum]

^ Aliens ! :woot:

[Growled Member]

He looks dangerous. :p

[compl3x]

Hey, Sweden, since we're close now how about sending us some of those Swedish volleyball players? We have plenty of sandy beaches we'd be just thrilled to let them use.