DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Even Greener Pastures
HTML https://evengreener.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Cultural Miscellanea
*****************************************************
#Post#: 9454--------------------------------------------------
Time to move
By: Allie Date: November 23, 2018, 5:29 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thinking about living abroad?
Here are the best places to be an expat
HTML https://www.internations.org/expat-insider/2018/best-and-worst-places-for-expats-39583
Would you have thought about those places?
Would you consider moving to any of them?
#Post#: 9458--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: Truman Overby Date: November 23, 2018, 1:02 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Dr. Lecter link=topic=636.msg9454#msg9454
date=1542972569]
Thinking about living abroad?
Here are the best places to be an expat
HTML https://www.internations.org/expat-insider/2018/best-and-worst-places-for-expats-39583
Would you have thought about those places?
Would you consider moving to any of them?
[/quote]
"Four of the top 10 countries are located in Latin America:
Ecuador (3rd), Mexico (4th)," Hilarious if it weren't such an
ignorant and stupid thing to say. Yeah, Mexico's a real
paradise. This is easily confirmed by taking a look at the news.
Thousands upon thousands of Americans and others from the
countries south of Mexico are risking it all to live in the
Shangri-la known as Mexico.
You just have to wonder if the writers of these articles do any
research. Have they never read a paper? Do they not keep up on
current events?
#Post#: 9463--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: Alharacas Date: November 23, 2018, 5:47 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Mexico gets 4th place? Mexico? And Colombia is also among the
top 10? With Italy among the bottom 10? Er... I'd love to know
what the criteria were. Availability of hard drugs? Potential
for becoming a smuggler?
Spain and Portugal - yeah. Lovely climate, lovely food, lots of
lovely people. Would love to live there (again), provided a
lovely fat savings account spares me from having to live off the
miserable excuse for a salary you usually get there.
Bahrain (really? Bahrain?), Taiwan and Singapore - hot, crowded,
and hot and crowded. Hmm...
Ecuador and Costa Rica sound good. And I can relate to Czechia
being on the list. Wonder what they make of (let alone do with)
all those expats, though. Nikola?
#Post#: 9464--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: SHL Date: November 23, 2018, 5:59 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Jerry-
Don`t be so critical of that report. Some of the countries are
ranked higher than I expected, like the US. The US should be at
the bottom, like 68 or whatever the lowest on the list is. Then
Kuwait can be 67.
I was shocked that Germany didn`t come out as number 1, but
there are other good places, like Holland, and the Scandinavian
countries.
I looked into the South American countries myself, only because
of immigration difficulties in moving to an EU country, Germany
in particular. Unfortunately, unless you are very wealthy, you
can`t just move there for good. You either have to marry a
citizen, have enough money to become an investor who starts a
business that will hire local workers, be an asylum seeker or a
citizen of another EU country. So it`s tricky.
They used to say Paraguay was the easiest to get a residency
permit in, with just a $5,000 deposit in a local bank, or the
Dominican Republic with also easier immigration laws. Mexico is
very attractive to US retirees and has been for years. Jesse
Ventura lives there 6 months of the year and loves it. There are
safe areas of Mexico to live in (Puerto Vallarta for example)
and you can live there very well on just an average US social
security income of $1500 or more a month. I was in Puerto
Vallarta in 2013 I think, and there were quite a few US ex-pat
retirees. The town is pretty and the rents are dirt cheap, like
$300 a month for an apartment and food is cheap.
The only problem is these are Spanish speaking places and I
don`t speak Spanish (I wish the Germans had been more ambitious
about colonizing Central and South America and kicked out those
Spanish- it would be fantastic if Mexican people spoke German
natively. Well, you can`t have everything I suppose).
So, the ex-pat list is not bad. I`ve been looking into all these
places for a while. Ecuador is not bad either. It`s up and
coming. But, again, Spanish speaking, which is the down-side.
But, to escape Trump and America, places like Mexico or Equador
sound like 1000% improvements.
#Post#: 9465--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: SHL Date: November 23, 2018, 6:05 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Alharacas,
Well, you have to keep in mind that the ex-pat list was possibly
designed for Americans trying to escape from the US, so you have
to include a few places that are easy to immigrate to.
Yeah, they can keep Singapur and Bahrain, and Taiwan. I wouldn`t
even want to go to those places, let alone live there.
I think they`re taking into account the immigration problems US
Americans have being stuck here with no where to go, unless
you`re a millionaire. That`s the BIG problem. See. US citizens
don`t have ANY options of going anywhere unless they are
millionaires, with very limited exceptions. It´s pretty pathetic
really when you think about.
#Post#: 9466--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: SHL Date: November 23, 2018, 6:22 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Let me amend what I said. The expat video seemed to survey
people from all over the world living in various places so it`s
not just a survey of American ex-pats, but they were surely
included.
Most of the ex-pat sites I`ve looked at were designed with
Americans in mind, but this one seems to have a more
international bent to it.
I get the feeling it was designed for people in their 20s and
30s, working and raising families, because it talks a lot about
job opportunities and safety. So, I`m not sure how tailored the
study is for ex-pat retirees.
I too find the results hard to understand. I don`t find Equador
as being a surprise, but I noticed that not every county was
represented in the study (like Paraguay for example).
So, it is hard to know what to make of it.
#Post#: 9469--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: NealC Date: November 23, 2018, 7:08 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Costa Rica designed a special visa to attract American and
European retirees, great place, from what I hear it is fairly
well developed (expensive) now.
Panama has a similar visa, Ecuador is looking into it, so is
Nicaragua. I have looked at all three. Panama is too small and
has one (hot) climate. Ecuador is nice but too many leftists.
Nicaragua has some great locations, but still too unstable.
Mexico, yes in the ex pat enclaves. But I want to be with the
people. And Mexico isnt safe enough outside of the enclaves.
Columbia is doing well now, but not enough history of stability
for my taste.
I like Argentina, they have Italian (and German) areas there.
Cheap , yummy beef. A great, Italian accented Spanish dialect.
Nice.
Taiwan and Singapore have an appeal, so does Thailand. Taiwan
should get some minus points as "Country most likely to be
invaded by China in the next 25 years".
But I still like the idea of living at least part of the year in
a small town in Southern Italy or Sicily. I can be the "Crazy
American" who lives up the block.
#Post#: 9472--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: Aliph Date: November 23, 2018, 7:44 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=NealC link=topic=636.msg9469#msg9469
date=1543021729]
But I still like the idea of living at least part of the year in
a small town in Southern Italy or Sicily. I can be the "Crazy
American" who lives up the block.
[/quote]
Sicily is great. I was there at the end of spring and really
enjoyed it. People are very welcoming towards anybody. Nice
climat, good food, still some space, not to crowded. The perfect
choice.
#Post#: 9474--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: Susan Date: November 23, 2018, 9:03 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I have read quite a bit a few books and many blogs by expats in
Latin American countries, so Ecuador and Mexico do not surprise
me. The thing about Mexico is that some parts are extremely
dangerous and some parts are a lot safer than cities in the U.S.
Given the media coverage of Mexico, I was quite surprised when
I went looking for statistics and surveys about the area I am
interested in-- Ajijic, Mexico. I was shocked how much lower
their crime rate was than Wichita, where I feel quite safe, and
(also Indianopolis, Jerry.(
HTML https://www.numbeo.com/crime/in/Ajijic
HTML https://www.numbeo.com/crime/in/Wichita<br
/>
HTML https://www.numbeo.com/crime/in/Indianapolis)
Apparently like
all of Latin America there is petty theft, but Ajijic is a
particularly popular place for single women to retire and
according to the many blogs retired American women somehow feel
safe walking by themselves at all hours of the night! I haven´t
visited there yet to see if I also feel safe. The thing about
living there is it is still cheap and the weather is unbeatable.
Fresh fruits. Organic foods. Open markets. Tennis and
pickleball. Cheap massages. Organized volunteer opportunities.
Good cheap healthcare. It does sound too good to be true to me.
Colombia did surprise me. I have two teachers from Bogatá and it
definitely did not give me the impression of safety. Right now
I understand the ELN and others are fighting for some of the
business the FARC used to have in the drug trade, so some parts
of Colombia are extremely unsafe. Apparently Medellín is a
really nice place right now though. I definitely would not be
buying a house right now though-- in either Mexico or Colombia--
my impression is that those drug wars disputes sometimes change
cities. You also have hordes of impoverished emmigrants from
Venezuela coming to Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru rights now.
Costa Rica did not surprise me. Last Christmas I met a retired
woman who had moved there but was back visiting family. She and
her husband loved it. Especially they loved the nature, the
heatlhy lifestyle, the people, and especially the weather. She
said whether it was cheaper or not depended on how much you
adopted the local lifestyle. If you want to eat fresh fruits
and vegetables and other unprocessed organic foods, it could be
less expensive. If you insisted on maintaining habits of eating
your favorite convenience foods, cereals, etc, you were going to
pay a lot more for things to maintain your old American
lifestyle. I had a teacher from Costa Rica. Apparently they
have never had a war or even civil unrest there. There is petty
theft but that is about it.
#Post#: 9476--------------------------------------------------
Re: Time to move
By: Truman Overby Date: November 23, 2018, 9:31 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
One needs to ask why these hordes invading the U.S. on a daily
basis don't simply stay in Mexico ( which they are legally
required to do ) when they reach it, instead of coming to the
U.S.
*****************************************************
DIR Next Page