I'd recommend Berlin or Israel. The latter I'm very surprised would make my list but only under these special circumstances.
ISRAEL:
It is by far the most disgustingly capitalistic country I've ever lived in but the VK crew may find this to their benefit. They will also find a nice and strong Russian community in Israel and a large pool of talent to pull from. What they will not find there is any sort of non-commercial activity (non-edu research, hacker spaces, fringe technical movement of any type) nor will they find a government interested in free speech. And they will have to turn a blind eye to all the shit their tax dollars will be put toward.
BERLIN:
If you want free speech then definitely go to Berlin. Germanys conservative government comes off more liberal than the US's most liberal government. You'll find strong party factions with ties to post-NSA thinkers and movers. The place is beaming with intellectual discourse. It is also a hacker mecca so there are plenty of fringe technological movements. What you will not find is a large tech community (though it is growing fast) nor a very money driven culture.
Go to Berlin if you want to make impact on the world. Go to Israel if you want to make money.
I've never been to Israel, but from what I've read:
- If you get three Israelis in a room, on most subjects you'll find four very different viewpoints.
- The media are free and have a large range. From what I've seen in English, much more allowed than the almost censored Swedish media.
(But sure, it is a country in a permanent low intensive war -- and the only country in the world with a nuclear weapon threat over their heads. That will influence the general attitude quite a lot.)
Comments
I'd recommend Berlin or Israel. The latter I'm very surprised would make my list but only under these special circumstances.
ISRAEL: It is by far the most disgustingly capitalistic country I've ever lived in but the VK crew may find this to their benefit. They will also find a nice and strong Russian community in Israel and a large pool of talent to pull from. What they will not find there is any sort of non-commercial activity (non-edu research, hacker spaces, fringe technical movement of any type) nor will they find a government interested in free speech. And they will have to turn a blind eye to all the shit their tax dollars will be put toward.
BERLIN: If you want free speech then definitely go to Berlin. Germanys conservative government comes off more liberal than the US's most liberal government. You'll find strong party factions with ties to post-NSA thinkers and movers. The place is beaming with intellectual discourse. It is also a hacker mecca so there are plenty of fringe technological movements. What you will not find is a large tech community (though it is growing fast) nor a very money driven culture.
Go to Berlin if you want to make impact on the world. Go to Israel if you want to make money.
I don't think it would meet the no wars criteria (probably the police state one too).
I've never been to Israel, but from what I've read:
- If you get three Israelis in a room, on most subjects you'll find four very different viewpoints.
- The media are free and have a large range. From what I've seen in English, much more allowed than the almost censored Swedish media.
(But sure, it is a country in a permanent low intensive war -- and the only country in the world with a nuclear weapon threat over their heads. That will influence the general attitude quite a lot.)