ACTUALITES

The World’s Healthiest Places to Live (part 1)

Optimism and purpose, a low stress level, a natural diet and an active lifestyle…experts say those factors are three times as important as your genetic makeup when it comes to enjoying a long and healthy life. Luckily, it’s easy to embrace those elements when you’re living in a place where they come naturally. And they do in our top picks for the world’s healthiest places to live.

In these enclaves, people tend to put great value on personal interaction and friendship—and that involvement keeps you engaged every day. A slower pace—often coupled with a much lower cost of living—relieves the pressure and anxiety that so often takes grip at home. In the U. S., the “locavore” movement—which advocates eating foods grown near where you live—is just gaining momentum. But in the places profiled here, the foods you find at the markets are always fresh, local and organic. In these destinations, the air is clean and the sun shines—so you tend to be outside more and therefore more active.

As American Lee Carper reported after a few months in Ecuador, “I haven’t felt this good in so long I can’t remember. I used to take pain medication, but here I rarely take an aspirin. I don’t pick up a phone or get on the computer. I used to be glued to all that at home.”

If you’re ready to escape to a place where you’ll feel better, look younger and live longer, read this week about one of the countries that will make your hart beat faster or maybe slower on a long term, if you are lucky.

New Zealand: Healthy Living Kiwi-style

Home to 4.3 million people, New Zealand and its awesome landscapes is admittedly a long way from North America. But as our winter is their summer, you could consider retiring here part-time. In a pollution-free environment, it’s much easier to embrace a healthy lifestyle.

Those of working age may have a skill that New Zealand needs. Most transplants find their work-life balance changes for the better. There’s less stress, and health care is affordable and often free. For both sexes, average life expectancy is two years higher than in the U.S. Here, it’s 83 for women and 78 for men.

Its “outdoors lifestyle” isn’t all about high-octane adventure or team sports like rugby. The most popular participation sports are walking and hiking. Surveys suggest that 64 % of adults go “tramping.” Many families own a small boat, and fishing and swimming opportunities abound. No matter where you live, nowhere is more than a 90-minute drive from the ocean.

A Colorado transplant, Jill Chalmers moved to New Zealand with her Kiwi husband. “Everyone, young to old, always seems to be doing something active,” she says. “People just get out and do things. It’s easy to join in.

“Plus there’s an abundance of healthy whole foods. We eat fresh seafood (we often catch it ourselves) and local organic fruits and vegetables. Everyone grows something here and neighbors all put out bags for purchase by anyone. We get fresh lettuce from the kids’ school, avocados from our tree, and kiwis, apples and plums from our neighbors.”

Source: Internationalliving.com
Date of publication: 9th of July 2010
Remark: LEX posted only an abridged version of the article. For detailed information on this topic visit the mentioned source website.

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