First Ever World Map of Happiness Produced

Click to see Article
It's a bit outdated, 2 years, but I don't think much has changed...Really quite interesting!

What's the criteria? ""Further analysis showed that a nation's level of happiness was most closely associated with health levels (correlation of .62), followed by wealth (.52), and then provision of education (.51)".

The 20 happiest nations in the World are:

1 - Denmark

2 - Switzerland

3 - Austria

4 - Iceland

5 - The Bahamas

6 - Finland

7 - Sweden

8 - Bhutan

9 - Brunei

10 - Canada

11 - Ireland

12 - Luxembourg

13 - Costa Rica

14 - Malta

15 - The Netherlands

16 - Antigua and Barbuda

17 - Malaysia

18 - New Zealand

19 - Norway

20 - The Seychelles

Other notable results include:

23 - USA

35 - Germany

41 - UK

62 - France

82 - China

90 - Japan

125 - India

167 - Russia

The three least happy countries were:

176 - Democratic Republic of the Congo

177 - Zimbabwe

178 - Burundi

Source: University of Leicester

My Way of Going About in the World

So, I've decided to do a work abroad program this summer, the right way, through BUNAC. I am deciding on going to Canada or the UK. I am not sure which.
Next Spring '09 I want to study abroad as well. With my school, we have partnerships with many US schools. But I am not sure whether I want to go to a UC school or NYU or its campuses in Europe. I would really like to transfer and peace outtt but its definately too late.
Then, hopefully I'll be able to go to Grad school in Amsterdam in 2010-2011.
Many plans, hope I've inspired you.

Best of Luck!

BUX.TO

Do you know BUX.TO? It’s a moneymaking site (or so I’ve heard) and I just starting earning up those cents. Why don’t you join with me? Please can you refer me!

At Bux.to, you get paid to click on ads and visit websites. The process is easy! You simply click a link and view a website for 30 seconds to earn money. You can earn even more by referring friends. You’ll get paid $0.01 for each website you personally view and $0.01 for each website your referrals view. Payment requests can be made every day and are processed through AlertPay. The minimum payout is $10.00.

Earnings Example
» You click 10 ads per day = $0.10
» 20 referrals click 10 ads per day = $2.00
» Your daily earnings = $2.10
» Your weekly earnings = $14.70
» Your monthly earnings = $63.00

The above example is based only on 20 referrals and 10 daily clicks. Some days you will have more clicks available, some days you will have less. What if you had more referrals? What if there were more ads available?

Studying Abroad Hot Spots

I think more people should study abroad - but it can seem like a daunting task. But, if you wanna experience life outside your home country, I think you will have a much more fulfilling stay abroad if you choice an exotic location. I mean everyone goes to England, the Oz, France (guilty of this), Germany, Spain and like Mexico & Canada. How boring, really. Pick a good location, because probably you will be only staying there for four or five months unless you get married or something. If I were to go abroad again, I would pick a place that I don’t know anything about. Take the whirlwind of being so fucked up when arriving and settling in for your first month and then start to pick up your cultured shock self and become a little more immersed in your country. I mean, it’s totally cool to go to England if you are from Brazil or France if you’re from Taiwan or Germany if you’re from South Africa, etc, etc. What I’m saying is mix it up a bit. Don’t be so predictable.

Here’s my two cents in picking some *hot* new study abroad destinations without thinking about program eligibility & cost. I just think it would be really sweet to study abroad in these places.

Wellington, New Zealand

HOT
Pretty trendy
Bustling nightlife
Beaches,beaches, beaches!
Kiwi hospitality, I’ve never met an unfriendly New Zealander
NOT
Severe weather, earthquakes, & volcanic eruptions

Kiev, Ukraine

HOT:
You will really feel like a foreigner.
Brush up on your Ukranian!
If you are an English Speaker, you can probably find work teaching English. BIG DEMAND.
Yummy food & drink
NOT:
Possible crime or racist attitudes

Prague, Czech Republic

HOT
Great historic city with its remains intact unlike many of its counterparts in CEE during WWII
Take advantage of CZ before it becomes part of Euroland i.e. CHEAP
good nightlife
pretty safe
NOT
Czech might seem really foreign, however you might be able to survive in Prague by speaking English

Easiest Countries to find casual work for travelers in Europe

“Cash in hand” or “under the table” work should really be the last resort, I am not promoting illegal work but obviously in some countries it is easier to find this type of work. I’ve done some research and here are a few countries that are worth trying to get bar/restaurant/club/hostel/hotel work. Best of Luck.
* Greece - the Greek Isles during the summer season
* Ibiza, Spain - enough said and supposedly there is a big “black market” in Spain.
* London - especially if you are an English Speaker
* Ireland - same as London
* Amsterdam, Netherlands - I add this with great caution because the chances of getting under the table work here are very very very small. You are not only competing with the Dutch but with EU citizens and every backpacker American who wants to prolong their stay!
* other countries it is possible too, especially if you are here for a longer period of time. Try teaching english, but it won’t be possible to get clients if you are only staying in a particular country for anything less than a month.
* Another possibility is au pairing - but with legalties you need an Au Pair visa however you might find some stints doing English Babysitting. I’ve gotten up to 10 euro an hour for some vacationing families in Paris.

No commitment is just that - sometimes you can find a way to earn some extra cash other times you won’t. Timing is everything. So keep an eye out for signs and network, network, network. Usually knowing someone is always an advantage in finding leads to seasonal or temporary jobs. This should only be a temporary and last resort because you don’t want to get caught by authorities. Chances of this are rare, but possible. I have done some under the table work, but never in a public place like a restaurant or bar.

More to come….

Work At a European Hostel for Accomodation

This work opportunity is relatively new but many hostels offer international backpackers jobs for room and possibly eager pay. This is especially good for Americans, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis and any other Non-EU citizen traveling in Europe and want to earn a euro or two. I have not personally done this, yet (considering on doing if if I can’t find a paying job in Europe this summer), but I have managed to find some hostels that offer free accomodation for working a handful of hours (depending on the hostel) cleaning, desk work, and everything in between.

Flying Pig, Amsterdam NETHERLANDS (competing with many, many, MANY backpackers including ME!)
http://www.flyingpig.nl/

The Station Breda, NETHERLANDS
Stationsplein 1
Breda, NB 4811BA
Netherlands
Phone: +31651418192
Fax: +31765297406

The Pink Palace Corfu, GREECE
http://www.thepinkpalace.com/

Hostel PRZY TARGU RYBNYM Gdansk, POLAND
Grodzka 21
Gdansk, 80-841
Poland
Phone: (+48 58) 3015627

Old Prague Hostel, Prague CZECH REPUBLIC
http://www.oldpraguehostel.com/job

St. Christopher’s Inn, London UK
http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/about/jobs

There a lot of more opportunities, I’m sure, but if you have a target city and are planning on staying for an extended period of time contact local hostels and see if they need an extra hand. You will be staying in a place for free! I will make regular updates when I find more hostels that offer this work/exchange. It is also good to have foreign language skills, but speaking English might seal the job during high vacation seasons! Best of Luck!

Working Abroad as an American

For those who don’t know, Americans cannot work NEARLY as many places as Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders in Europe. I find this extremely unfair! Unfortunately, the USA government does not have work program deals with many countries thus making it hard for foreigners to come work in the States and Americans to work abroad. However, I am going to highlight a brilliant program that I have encountered and will possibly use to work abroad one day if not soon.
The program is BUNAC.

http://www.bunac.org/usa/
If you are planning your escape and need money to support yourself, BUNAC is probably the ONLY program that will help you secure a work visa (provided that you are a student or just graduated). BUNAC allows Americans to work in Ireland, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and volunteer in South Africa, Peru, and Cambodia. So basically if you want to work in an English speaking country, BUNAC is for you. A working holiday sounds great and the visa is not going to break the bank.
The Work in Britain program fee for 2008 is $290.

Check out the site for more information. Additionally, if you want to work in another country and want to get a working visa contact that country’s embassy for more information. However, working holidays in other countries won’t nearly have as much leverage as BUNAC. You might be able to become an au pair check out: http://www.interexchange.org/
or pay a heavy program fee for a study/work program in order to secure the proper working papers.

Working abroad with a work permit is a difficult task to be realized especially for Students unless you are already studying abroad and have some sort of residents permit which enables you to apply for a work permit (good luck finding an employer who will sponsor you though).

Best of Luck!

Cheap Airlines to & within Europe

If you are from the USA and you are planning on going abroad or even domestically, use STA travel.

http://www.statravel.com/cps/rde/xchg/us_division_web_live/
This site is amazing because it offers cheap selected flights for us, students, on major airlines. It is even better if you back months in advance. Once I got a ticket from the States to Paris CDG for under $300 dollars! I mean RIGHT now they are offering flights to Europe beginning at $169, flights to Asia for $440, and flights to the Oz from $702 ROUNDTRIP. You really can’t beat it. STA has branches throughout the world - but flights from the USA to go abroad are great for budget student travelers.

The second type of airlines that I want to bring up are the low-cost airlines operating in Europe. Once to get to Europe, you have a wide variety of airlines that can take you from Budapest to Rome to Dublin to Athens. You just have to know what airlines go to your desired location and you are more than half way there to your dream vacation!

EasyJet is probably the most well-known and used. It has locations throughout Europe and runs special deals occasionally for future books.
http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/index.asp
http://www.easyjet.com/EN/routemap/ - here is a map of its current routes.
You are probably wondering how cheap it REALLY is. Well I’ll do a simulation of buying a ticket for you right now.
I’m going to book a roundtrip flight from:

Paris Charles de Gaulle to Krakow

With one month booking ahead, It is possible to get a ticket for about 91 euro! Cheap! And Paris & Krakow are pretty far. So a ticket to Madrid or London would be in the 70 euro range especially if they have promotions. EasyJet is the number one airline used for cheap travel (and widely used amoung the students who attend my university).

Good airline for cheap travel to the UK or within the UK. Cheap if you book ahead, I’ve heard stories of getting flights for 1 cent (keep in mind the taxes) which can total a 1 cent book or a dollar booking to about 60 euro. If EasyJet doesn’t have it, Ryanair will!