If you moved to a different country, where would it be & why live there?

If it was a possibility I'd go to New Zealand. If I wanted to say in NA to be closer to my kids i'd choose Vancouver BC

 

I was gonna say Portugul, but they might tax crypto.

Nah, jk Portugul is still awesome.

 

Singapore has a lot of issues, especially when it comes to freedoms and human rights.

 

Yes. Still not a bad place. I could live there. Good expat community. The prime minister (basically son of the founder of Singapore) is a very smart man. Had the privilege of being at a dinner with him a few months ago. This is what China should be like.

 

I have been to or lived in a lot of these places.

Something that no one really considers is how incredibly hard it is to buy a home in a lot of the places listed:

In New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, England and even to a lesser degree you will never be able to own a home.

You can find homes in parts of Canada and even England, but you are going to not be in an in demand area.

Go look at the cost of homes outside of Vancouver and Toronto and it is 7 figures.

That doesn't even include the homeownership restrictions and taxes.

Second: A lot of these places are nice to visit but not to move to. They tend to get bored, and there isn't a lot of ethnic or cultural diversity. Ireland is an example, as is New Zealand. They are great but get old after awhile.

Third: The cost of living is very very high in places like Australia and Norway and New Zealand.

Personally I have ruled out the Scandinavian countries. I have been there and their governments are fine but not as wonderful and the media or some Scandinavians claim. It is also quite cold and while the food has improved, it is only so-so.

I would move to New Zealand or Australia if I had to, and could be somewhat happy there. I ran into a lot of racism and ignorance in both places, especially Australia. The food was okay, and the people were nice (especially in New Zealand). There is a definite cultural difference.

Canada is like a colder and shitter USA, where all the people tell you how great it is because they want people outside of Canada to think they are great. Definitely an inferiority complex or insecurity. The food isn't as good as the USA and it is harder to be socially mobile. As long as you are not a Native American, it is easier to be poor in Canada. You get mediocre medical care but it is free at least.

The best places? Northern Ireland and the London area......... these places culturally are not that different than the USA. They have more diversity and they are at least interesting. I could live here, and perhaps would retire here. It is a lot harder to "live well" here, but it is more peaceful at least.

Spain and Portugal are beautiful but there are a LOT of social issues there. I wouldn't feel entirely comfortable moving to Spain as an American.

 

I could live in Singapore before a lot of places on the globe, but it wouldn't be my first.... it is certainly better than most.

 

Is Northern Ireland still expensive to own a home in? Like, my wife and I would love to be HOMOs (homeowners) in another country.

 

The weather gets old, and that area of the world gets boring after awhile unless you want to just sit in your apartment and drink every night.

 

It is cheaper than the rest of the UK.

I wouldn't say it is near as easy as the USA but it is doable.... most places want 10-15% down at least.

 

I complain a lot about the country but I will always say USA is the best.

I might have said Costa Rica in the past, but things have changed. My FIL lived there so yearly visits were a thing. Some things were cool and we did some super crazy things because they don't care how stupid you are, they won't stop you. Want to look inside an active volcano - go ahead. But overall it's not that great anymore for various reasons. It's changed.

If I had to pick, I'd say Greece but I've never even been there so I have no idea what living there would be like but the place looks sweet!

 

Yes things like freedom of speech arent' good in Singapore. It's a paternalistic and shallow culture. It's also go some of the highest standards of living, some of the best health outcomes and very very low crime. Given all that has happened in the US the past few years that is very appealing.

 

Damn is that what it's like @Master Baiter ??

I don't think that's fair, alcohol consumption isn't any higher (from WHO data) in those countries, and physical activity is likely higher than in the US as well.

The weather really isn't that bad in the south. Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen are actually relatively temperate and similar to the Northeast here, what you and Judoka are doing in the midwest come winter is far braver. The sunlight is the biggest difference for anybody coming from the USA, but there is more sun in all the places I named anywhere in Ireland for example.

Outside of the west coastline, Hawaii ... and maybe very specific areas in the southern Appalachia range? The US doesn't have many places are truly temperate, in Houston we're getting our faces melted off for 6 months, can't get out the house for shet until sundown... when the god damn mosquitos are waiting for you.

 

Maybe its because I have lived in cold weather climates for the past decade, but I'll take cold weather over the summer heat in Texas. Besides, Oslo and Stockholm aren't even that cold compared to where I used to live (Minneapolis). Those two cities are downright balmy in comparison.

The big thing is just the lack of sunlight in the winter. But the actual weather is fine in my opinion. And once you learn to embrace outdoor winter activities, you find that there's actually a lot to do. My son will still drag me to the park when its below freezing and force me to go on walks or take him sledding.

 

That’s fair. A lot of it is cultural as well. As for the lack of sunlight that did bother me but it was a problem in Ireland as well.

In many ways we are splitting hairs, all of these places are vastly better than the majority of the world.

Sadly the places I enjoyed the most, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Italy are not the places I would live at if I had other options.

 

Nah, I prefer the weather in most of the USA, but part of that is the lack of sun. Ireland for example is usually reasonable from a weather perspective but a lot of rain and fog and chilly.

As for the WHO, I take all of what it says with a serious grain of salt. For example, I LOVE Ireland and Northern Ireland but it is fully of alcoholics. It is so bad that Tesco (grocery store) actually limits how much beer you can purchase. My friend that lives there lost his father and sister to alcohol related issues.

When I was in Finland I saw a lot of drinking as well. A lot of people would sit around and drink. My grandfather is from Norway and he was an alcoholic…. Now they have less diabetes issues so it’s a trade off.

The only thing really good about the medical care was that it was free (sort of) and they did good preventative care. However I know in Ireland for example their procedures are technology is behind what is in USA and Germany. My wife graduated from medical school and has medical doctors that are friends there. They also sometimes have long waits to get procedures done.

Western Europe is nice. I would fat prefer being poor in Western Europe than USA. However I would rather be middle class or rich in USA.

It does take awhile to realize that some things are better (less violence in general) but others are worse (home ownership).

I prefer politics in Western Europe but even then there are more Trump like people there, also fascists and Nazi’s.

 

Belize was always high on my list but like a lot of South American countries it has really fallen off and become dangerous -- especially for an American with money.

 

Fixed*

Chile seems to be the only one making big strides.

 

Back to Canada. I got used to the weather immediately, and I still miss it. Granted, we kept a condo in Montana, so it was like the greatest “expat with training wheels” experience ever.

 

You're not wrong.

 

I want to be an illegal immigrant in Switzerland