Best Countries to Move to?

Hello, I was hoping to get your opinions on the best countries to move to from America?

Please be specific as to why you feel the country you state is the "best" country to immigrate to; political/social atmosphere, minimum wage, social mobility etc.

It occurs to me that much of what is available on the internet, especially on sites like Wikipedia, is misinformation at best and disinformation at worst. At any rate, such information is undeniably colored by politics.

Thank you for your time! Stars for all who post.

israel iraq :lolr afganistan what about north korea vietnam granada cuba and russia is the current favourite or if you are feeling really brave move to canada only jk

My question is- what is the main reason(s) you are looking into moving out of America? Is it the current political climate? the economy? etc?

Canada statistics are...

Minimum wage is about $10.75, the tax vary by province, anywhere from 8%-13%... public transportation are great, and clean.

"free" health care.

Public schools are pretty good. Not much extremist groups here, but can still find them in small corners away from main cities.

the politics is very even... about 5 parties and 3 parties get major votes.

Liberals and Conservatives are pretty much the same, slight variation, no one has a "team" here.

Winter from November to May, Summer from around June to October, plug in the transition spring/autumn in between.


expect to say "Thank You" and "Your Welcome" often.

I've been looking for several years. Top contenders appear to be:

Uruguay
Ecuador
Belize
Panama
Costa Rica
Thailand


There are significant quantities of expats and expat forums.

reply to post by micmerci


Basically, I have no future here.

I may as well be broke and underemployed in a different country rather than stick around here waiting for the ball to drop.

Our debt is a huge reason as well.

Thanks for the answers guys, try to be as detailed as possible. I'm looking up these countries myself, but I don't know how much I can rely on Wikipedia and the CIA fact book.

Also, do you need to be in the country itself to ask for asylum or just at their embassy, as that counts as their soil? Just a random question.

America is a cesspool that seriously needs some septic tank cleaner poured into it. It has turned into an "I'm a victim, and you owe me" crybaby land. Entitlement, government going to sh!^%, racially charged, divisive, no jobs, predatory lenders, predatory Government, spy state. Why the hell would anyone want to leave

Canada seems to be the better option.

reply to post by eternity4us


Actually, I disagree with your assumption that nothing is owed to the citizens.

If they pay taxes and are loyal citizens, I think they ARE owed something by the state which they PAY for and support.

Nonetheless, I'll still give you a star.

And calling America a cesspool is just insulting to cesspools.

Well I am happy as hell.

I just got a free hat from the army guys at the stand in the mall

He even said "heres your tax dollars back".

Why not just move to a better community?

Were you born here?

If you were then you should be ashamed for wanting to run when the going gets tuff. You sound just like everyone else. Definitely not the American spirit.

"What, everything isn't roses and diamonds, f that im bailing"....lol

See ya...just hope the country you move too does'nt collapse...cough cough cyprus...cough...

The whole word is in shambles friend.

My vote would be Taiwan.
They are very business oriented (big and small.)
The people are very friendly.
They have a dim view on violent crime.
Riding around Taipei in a taxi is a gas (not for the faint hearted.)
They have a great museum and the north beaches are awesome.

oh yeah, and their politicians get into fistfights on TV when they really disagree.

Stay clear of the UK. Not as bad as some parts of the USA yet but its on the same track.

Scandnavian countrys are lovely. See Norway, Finland, Denmark and sweden. Also germanys great, got a strong economy with strong manufactureing industry and its pretty good debt wise as its the lender rather than the borrower.

France i would stay clear off, just because its france. Same with Ireland, spain, italy, greece but due to econemy.

Dont let the US MSN fool you about Europe its not all a debt ridden 3rd world tyranny every country is diffrent and there are some good gems along with bad ones.

Originally posted by liejunkie01
Well I am happy as hell.

I just got a free hat from the army guys at the stand in the mall

He even said "heres your tax dollars back".

Why not just move to a better community?

Were you born here?

If you were then you should be ashamed for wanting to run when the going gets tuff. You sound just like everyone else. Definitely not the American spirit.

"What, everything isn't roses and diamonds, f that im bailing"....lol

See ya...just hope the country you move too does'nt collapse...cough cough cyprus...cough...

The whole word is in shambles friend.

edit on 9-8-2013 by liejunkie01 because: (no reason given)

There is a big difference between "things not going one's way" and being a subject of a government that no longer has the best interests of it's citizens in mind. America has descended into an immoral cesspool and police state. We stick our noses (and tax dollars) into every other country's business while our country is going bankrupt (Detroit, anyone?)

reply to post by teachtaire


Hi,

I live in Norway.
The minimum wage is quite high, but there are a lot of taxes. You get something else in return than war though.
Murders are scarce and the police don't carry guns. They are stored sealed in the trunk, and they need to radio HQ for permission to use them.

The social atmosphere is very liberal.There are cases of racism and we had the terrorist two years ago. However it's not nearly on the scale of the US for example.

Almost everyone speak English to some degree, most good. This is a mandatory language that is thought from the age of 10.

The social mobility is quite low, but there is a massive government apparatus and workers union. Hopefully the new government will rectify some of this. Despite this abundance of bureaucracy, the state has about $500 billion in a sovereign fun and keeps pumping into it due to the oil.

The social security net is very expansive. You can't really go poor here.
Medical expenses are usually limited to about $150 a year in deductibles, after that it's completely free.

The average wage is about $80000 of which you would need to pay about $25000 in taxes.
Some items like gas and alcohol are taxed more than the usual 25% VAT.

But everyone enjoy 100% paid sick leave, 5 weeks vacation + numerous other holidays, security if you become disabled or unable to work.
If you give birth, the mother and father have 10 months combined 100% paid leave to take care of the newborn.

Housing prices vary depending on where you want to live.
A 100 square meter apartment could cost anything from $1.000.000 to $150.000 depending on location.

All in all. Life is quite good here. It's not perfect. A lot of things can change for the better, but I feel that we are better off than quite a few others.

And if we manage to get a change in government this autumn the worker immigration laws will probably be relaxed.

Originally posted by liejunkie01


See ya...just hope the country you move too does'nt collapse...cough cough cyprus...cough...

Erm unless the USA reins its debt in it wont be long till the USA does the same....

reply to post by tyfon


So... basically it seems as though immigrants have difficulty finding work in the Nordic countries? Jeg forstar ikke.... is this for only "minority" groups, or for all immigrants?

It seems as though most immigrants for all European countries are generally minority Muslims from regions of unrest... if anything wouldn't Americans be preferable to such "questionable" individuals?

Come to Australia mate, you'll be right

The majority of immigrants here are Swedes, and the second largest group are Pakistani workers that moves here in the 70s.
Unemployment is 2-3%, so if you want to find work, you will find it.

At my place of work we have people from Barbados to China, and the working language is English.
When we hire we look at skill, not the colour of their skin or their religion.
But as I said, not everyone are like that, but they are pretty far between.
Americans should face no such barriers at all.
The language is not too bad to learn for English speakers if you put a bit of effort into it. In fact,
I think you get free lessons from the government when you move here.

If you are to move here, I guess you would need to get a job first.
finn.no is a place where a lot of jobs are posted. It's in Norwegian, but you can probably coax something out of it using google translate.
The employer then have to sign some forms and get you a workers visa.

What is it that you do for a living?

reply to post by memedoug


Well, I called up a recruiting center, turns out Commonwealth Citizens can't just come over to your country. Besides, I doubt I could make them believe that I have "valuable skills" which seem to be a requirement to moving there. Not to mention my job history is shady at best and mostly revolves around collecting information on political targets,

Speaking with some of my Expat buds.....call it real life experiences..The Philippines is terrible due to crime and has gone down hill quite a bit in the last 40 years..Vietnam, expect to get shaken down for money starting at the airport ...Laos is another shake down country which almost any conflict with the (hum) law starts at $5000 U.S. if you are a yank..can usually be negotiated down to around $750 or less; beautiful country in some places though...U.S. Embassy is very little help...Cambodia..humm it is the most third world of the whole bunch but there are some nice areas...Thailand has some of the most beautiful places (both man made and natural) in the world..but there are still problems with an extended visa, however money solves most things. ...At least in Thailand if you buy a place there are no property taxes; therefore you actually own it...China is getting very expensive and depending on what city you may need a breathing apparatus on certain days..A few years ago I had some friends who were buying beach front property in San Salvador and planning on moving but over the years I have lost contact with them. Peru depending on the location is still livable but unless I was married to a local I would not want to live there....Just me..

Many have moved to Panama and seem to like it there.

Central and South America if you speak Spanish still has some large Expat communities that are attractive as far as cost of living. I prefer to speak the local language if I intend to stay in some country...It is a sign of respect for their culture IMO however I know guys who have lived in countries for several years who can not even speak the basic greetings or ask for something; they seem to do OK because they are married or living with a local girl etc etc...

No place IMO is perfect. The infrastructure and convenience in certain areas of the states is hard to beat but other countries have their good things too.... unless you are someone who can not adapt to different ways of doing things.."Well in the UK or America we do it this way"...You will not be in Kansas anymore so you might want to leave that attitude behind for the locals could care less and you just end up showing your ass....

I peronally like Buddhist countries and the way everyone from the government to the local population treats and looks at things...just me...No matter where you go there is corruption.... some just more open than others.

Usually there is a forum consisting of people from you home country (if there are any Expats there to begin with) where actual people living in a land get together via the Internet and discuss everything from local issues to stuff for sale...Type in a city you might be interested in and add the name "forum expat" to the title and hopefully you will be able to pull up the good, the bad, and the astounding of a place you are interested in.

The above info is based on retirement and not going someplace to make a living...Can be done but in many countries if you want to own a business you have to have a local as a pardner..not bad if married to a local but there are some real bad stories of how guys lost everything...just like the states in that respect.

This is the info I have gotten from people I have talked to. No pics and no links take it for what it is worth.

reply to post by tyfon


I'm currently a student... I don't make money, I spend it.

But basically, I used to collect information on regional politics and make lists of key political targets/gather information on them.

*EDIT* as far as I'm aware, that is a useless skill. I can't even get a job washing dishes right now, as the owners of businesses... don't really trust me anymore. Lol.