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Countries with the best lifestyles: These are the places where people live the good life

By Ben Groundwater

Updated November 23, 2016 — 11.27am

Life in the Cooks is pretty sweet.Credit: Alamy

What is the sweet life? What is this mythical "dolce vita" that everyone's always talking about and dreaming of and searching for?

Is it a life of prosperity, of never having to worry about money ever again? Is it a life of high GDP, low government interference, and national peace? Maybe it is – and that's certainly how organisations like the UN measure national happiness.

But to me, it's more than that. Living the sweet life is not just being prosperous – it's being able to enjoy that prosperity. It's being passionate about the things in life you love. It's about good food and sunshine and family; it's about taking time to just relax and have fun.

There are some countries that get all of that right. They may not be the richest, or the most stable, or even the safest – but they know how to enjoy life.

The Cook Islands

For some reason the Cooks never comes close to topping lists of happiest destinations, despite being soaked year-round in glorious sunshine, despite its every island being encircled by postcard vistas of palm-lined, white-sand beaches, despite its warm, clear, fish-filled waters, and despite the fact everyone there seems to be loving life 24-seven. There's no doubt that, for those who live there and even those just visiting, life in the Cooks is pretty sweet.

See: 10 reasons the Cook Islands will make you happy

Italy

The country that coined the phrase "la dolce vita" was always going to make this list, and anyone who's spent any time in Italy would understand why. Yes, there are political divisions, and geographical divisions, and football-related divisions that reflect those first two issues. But Italians, despite their problems, know how to enjoy themselves. They know how to create a work-life balance, and it often involves very little of the former. They know how to enjoy great food, and nice wine, and how to revel in the everyday beauty that is life itself.

See: The ultimate food-lovers' guide to Italy

Live 'la dolce vita' in Italy.Credit: iStock

New Zealand

The Kiwis don't have a lot to complain about. They have a stable economy, they have a progressive political bent, they have almost unfairly good sports teams, and they live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. So you can understand their good humour. You can understand why everyone is so friendly. New Zealanders live good lives, and they appreciate that fact.

See: 10 things you can only do in New Zealand

New Zealand: One of the most beautiful places on the planet.Credit: iStock

Brazil

Thanks to some bad PR during the Olympics, you're probably picturing Brazil as a cesspit of crime and violence, right? And in some ways, in some places, it can be like that. But Brazilians aren't miserable about it. Quite the opposite, really. Brazilians are some of the warmest, kindest people around, and they know how to enjoy themselves: from samba to football, caipirinhas to long days on the beach, life is well lived in Brazil, and visitors can't help but be swept up in it.

See: The 20 must-do highlights of Rio de Janeiro

Life is well lived in Brazil.Credit: Getty Images

Laos

There's nothing like shared hardship to bring a country together, and to make its citizens truly appreciate the good times. At the risk of orientalising the Laos people, there does seem to be a genuine happiness in this place of very little. Laotians love a Beerlao and a chat, love a meal of sticky rice and char-grilled meat, love sport, and love family. It's a place where you always feel like people are having fun, whatever the circumstance.

See: The hidden side of Laos

Laos: A place where you always feel like people are having fun.Credit: iStock

Argentina

Thanks to a strong cultural history brought across by Spanish and Italian immigrants, the good people of Argentina know how to enjoy themselves. A survey by the social media website Badoo.com once found that Argentinians have the most days of fun per month of any nation in the world. They're a passionate bunch, the Argies, who love with an all-encompassing force, who can feel as strongly about a football team as they do a good coffee or a night spent around the "asado" with friends.

See: Buenos Aires - South America's most European city

Argentinians have the most days of fun per month of any nation in the world.Credit: Alamy

Turkey

Yes, Turkey. Ignore, for a second, the attempted coups and the troubled neighbours and instead focus on the life of your average Turk. It's pretty good. It's lived for enjoyment. Turkey is a place you can visit and find cafes and bars lining the streets; you can discover ancient bathhouses designed for nothing more than relaxation and enjoyment; you can find teahouses; you can walk into clothes shops, food stalls, bakeries, and more. And you'll always find these places heavily populated by locals.

See: Intoxicating Istanbul

Istanbul locals having fun during the colour run.Credit: Alamy

Germany

It should come as no surprise that Germans live a good life. This is, after all, one of the most prosperous nations in the world, with an extremely high quality of life. It's also the home of Oktoberfest, and other similarly beer-soaked events, as well as Christmas markets, and parks where people take all of their clothes off and lie in the sun, and liberal, arty cities, and beautiful villages, and forests and hills that are always dotted with hikers and bikers and anyone else who just wants to get out and enjoy their lives. Which is pretty much all of them.

See: Why Germans are the champions of going nude in public