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SVG makes some excellent points below, so rather than reply to another six
messages, I'll just compile my thoughts with his. This is based on some
of
the information I've snarfed from a couple years research, but is not
necessarily firsthand (or in other words, I ain't actually visited these
places myself). Therefore, YMMV, all standard disclaimers apply,
yaddayaddayadda...
Oaxaca, Mexico: Daryll, I can't believe you brought up Oaxaca in
particular. For years, I had a friend who was born and raised in Oaxaca
(unfortunately, I knew him through my ex- so I've lost contact long
since). By all accounts, the words "tropical paradise" were coined for
just such places.
New Zealand: Good investment if you can save up some cash and use $US
Dollars to purchase property before expatriating. Don't know how
employment pays if you're working for Kiwi company however.
Australia: I've heard inflation is out of control for the time being, and
everything costs way too much unless you're working for a company paying
you in $USD.
Brussels: Nice city, but you've got to work around language quirks (the
job
you get may require Flemish, or Francais, or both), and the taxes are some
of the worst I've come across. Also, most of the expat boards seem much
more concerned than most with employment, so it sounds as if getting a job
may be pretty difficult.
Argentina: Lots of the expat advisors are screaming "buy, buy, buy" in
regard to Argentinian property, citing the exact same arguments SVG just
did. A great deal right now, and everybody feels the economy is going to
bounce back just fine. It's just going to take a little time.
Canada: I've already got friends who have made the move to both Toronto
and
Vancouver. I've been up to Toronto several times myself, and it's a kewl
city filled with nice people. Canada's a good option for those who don't
want to deal with major language or culture issues. Not to mention after
3
years residence, you can apply for citizenship, then move to a nice
Carribean paradise without having to pay any taxes back to your new home
country. FYI, the US is one of the few countries in the world where you
have to pay taxes back to the US no matter where in the world you actually
earn the income (the only other countries who do this are typically
well-known bastions of human rights... like Libya).
The Netherlands: This is where we first started investigating, since
Holland has a great record with tolerance, equality, and human rights. To
paraphrase something I've heard Rick Steves actually say on one of his
programs, "the Americans I know who have relocated to the Netherlands are
some of the happiest Americans I have ever known." This only moved down
our personal list of countries because my wife and I intend to have a
large
family. Since the Netherlands is the most densely populated country in
all
Europe, finding a nice roomy house that will comfortably support a family
with at least five kids is not easy -- or cheap.
France: I'm sure there are lots of people who can speak firsthand on
living
in France. While we've got a real draw to the country itself (property
costs in Southern France are at an all time low, as well as Paris probably
being one of the easier places for me to find a job), the politics seem to
be following the United States' lead in rolling back privacy and
rights. Although it would still be an improvement over where we are now.
Cyprus & Greece: Nice vacation destinations, perhaps great for a summer
home. However, not much hope of making a decent wage on Cyprus, and
Greece
would draft me. 'Nuff said...
Central Europe: This is where we're actually visiting at the end of this
month. First choice for us (on paper at least) is Budapest. Hungary
seems
to be doing best of the former Eastern Block, property is reasonably
priced, and if you can pick up a job with an International company, the
exchange rate means you can live very comfortably. It looks to be a
really
beautiful city as well, but I guess we'll find out in a couple of
weeks. Prague, Czech Republic is second choice. There seem to be more
jobs available in Prague, but they don't look as if they pay as well as
Budapest. Also, I've heard that you can't spit in Prague without hitting
an expat (someone actually told me that there are more expatriates there
than Paris).
Ummm, boy, I really went on there for a bit didn't I? Okay, I'll try to
shut up now for a little while... ;)
-c-
At 02:06 PM 1/3/2003 -0800, S V G wrote:
> As the question was asked about where would one go if they left the
> US, here are a few thoughts of mine.
>
> Current politics in New Zealand tend towards being interested in
> what the people are thinking. A land mass the size of California and a
> population one fifth the size of Los Angeles. The American dollar goes
> pretty far there. There are some pretty hip communities around Auckland
> on the north island and Golden Bay on the south island.
>
> Australia would be a good choice as well.
>
> If big city turns you on, I've heard great things about Brussels.
>
> Though economics are tough in Argentina right now, the people are
> among the greatest I've ever met. I'd seriously consider moving there
>if
> I had some sort of plan to make a humble living. Again, the American
> dollar goes very far there.
>
> Canada worked in the 60's and it's still a great place with great
> people and sensible politics (relatively). You can easily rent a
>"summer
> home" there or a "winter retreat" and not raise any eyebrows. Just keep
> a current drivers license in the States and everyone will think that you
> live in the US part time as well.
>
> For myself, I'll probably stay here in the States. Somebody has to
> stay behind to counteract all these God-fearing-bible-thumpers...
>
> SVG
>
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