Which is best; the old world or the new?

What is the ‘old world’? :-)

I suggested Europe in the question but it could be anywhere with a history that goes back a thousand years or so.

With the exception of Canada and Mexico, the Old World.

The new world. Specifically the United States. This may sound dorky, but I have travelled to many different countries, and none have all that we have here. Maybe everyone feels that way about their home country, but there’s something special here, and I am proud to be a part of it.

OK the world that has a memory. In that sense… I have a clear preference.

In all honesty… I don’t live in Europe anymore. I now live in an even ‘older world’. Not merely in the sense that the towns are older here, but in an even broader, cultural sense as well. I live in the Middle East in the heart of the Islamic world and the culture is old.

Here old not just means that there are some buildings and history classes that refer to the twelfth century. Here, people are virtually living the same way they did 1433 years ago.

Of course, this is not the main stream, since my new home is a modern state with cars, tv and Nintendos, but even the main stream is old. Old in a sense that laws are 1433 years old and people look back on those days as at their cultural peak.

Personally I don’t like to be living in an old world. I like to be living in today’s world. I have spend much time in Asia, The Americas – including the US – and in Europe. I have probably travelled more US states than most US citizens.

From my experience, I think that I would like to think that Northern Europe is probably the best place right now (Nordics, Germany, Netherlands). This part of the world is firmly part of the new world. Leading in technology and - politically tainted - societal structure, this part of the world combines a strong outlook at the future with responsibility and historical awareness.

Historical awareness is a very important, I think and unfortunately lacking in the US where quite often things are oversimplified. That said… the United States are clearly a great nation which also have contributed greatly to a better world.

Depends where in both places. I like living in Canada, and I’m sure many places in Europe are just fine. But there might be a few countries that might not be so fun to live in. :/ For example I think Russia is fascinating, but they only accepted psychological disorders as something valid not even five years ago. Then again not too long ago in Québec, a man killed both his kids, and on account of mental illness, he got off free. But your dog bites someone and it needs to get put to sleep. The world is weird, man.

I don’t think there is a ‘best and worse’ for me; it’s more of a different. The main con in terms of living in the ‘new world’ for me is history. I live in a country with an Indigenous heritage of anywhere between 45,000 to 80,000 years but with the exception of cave paintings, dreamtime stories, there isn’t the tangible historic record. In contrast, evidence of European history is very present. I love the buildings, the art, the culture of Europe and specifically the UK.

A pro is the optimism of the ‘new world’ or at least in Australia. I can’t give any documented evidence for this but it something I noticed when I came here. There is a real sense of ‘positivity’ here. I remember watching Billy Connolly talking about Australia and he mentioned this too. “I think if you’re not comfortable in Australia, you’re not comfortable on the planet. It’s impossible to be uncomfortable in Australia. Apart from the climate being delightful, like America there’s an optimism about the people that I am completely hooked on.” (Phase 9).