Geographically undecided

A frequent debate n question that keeps coming up is that of which country is best to settle down in. I'm not just talking about myself here. People I meet all have their own opinions about this which I guess is what it comes down to.

I'm really just batting generally here. But the thing that got me thinking was a conversation I had with a fellow traveller a month back. He had moved from Amsterdam to the place I was travelling to. He asked my feelings on the place and I did like wise. Basically he adored the place. Citing things like weather, how great the nightlife is and the city, things like that. I did ask what about the city exactly. N things like the modern buildings, cool bars n restaurants, etc came up. He was an expat so he basically hung with his other expat work buddies at the country club. Which I find ironic as the nation is so small it has no "country" to speak of. Thing that struck me is it seemed more that he was liking the expat lifestyle n not the country. His surroundings r pretty much all money made. What I mean by that is that by having enough cash you can make your surroundings as great as you want. And even his personal interactions were just with guys who were familiar, as in not really of the nation he was in.

This got me thinking that when you look at it, most things a country uses to sell itself is actually money made. Bars, clubs, theme parks, malls, hotels and for countries rich enough even beaches. Things that aren't consist of things like the weather, the lay of the land, the people and the history of their lands. The last 2 are the hardest to experience, but the most important. As like it or not sooner or later you have to deal with the indigenous population. In the simplest form, the law n officials. All the way thru to local shop keepers or people on the street. The history of the place also leaves a mark on those who live there and the land itself in cases.

Having been to a good deal of places now, when I look closely at it pretty much nowhere has all I want of it. whether the weather sux or the infrastructure sux or the people/government leave alot to be desired or its hella expensive or there r too many natural disasters or regional instability. Its tough when you look at it in that detail. As such I can't really find a place I can say "yeah, I wanna live there because its better than where I am now". And that in the end is what puzzles me when someone says they are migrating to such n such country. To me they are basically saying the aforementioned statement. And seeing as I have not spoken to anyone coming from a war torn nation or oppressive regime, it bugs me that they rate 1 place over another so whole heartedly they are willing to uproot their lives there. I guess the answer is simple. Its personal. People like stuff that others might deem crappy. I'm the perfect example. I like crappy weather you get in the northern hemisphere. The dark cold winters, the grey skies etc, I like it and many see me as mad because of it. Probably the say way I see the same madness in others when they say how much better 1 place is over the other.

 No real point to this rant at all other than the affirmation that I have no clue where I would realistically want to settle down.