i am moving from the USA

[briesberrypatch]

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Costa Rica has an excellent medical system. The biggest problem they had (with medical system) in 2001 when I was there was illegal immigrants coming from Nicaragua and using the system. I'm not sure if they fixed that.

And, as further proof of the continued excellence of the system, I saw an article just a few days ago about Costa Rica being one of the countries that US insurers are now contracting with to provide low-cost, quality care to American patients.

 

[briesberrypatch]

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Every country has problems. I don't think anyone has denied that, certainly not the people who are serious about moving if they have the opportunity.

Plus you cant just imigrate into germany like they used to let ya. Same with Australia and other countries.

I don't think you can immigrate anywhere now like they used to. When I checked a few years ago I needed $60k in the bank or a job offer to get residency in Spain. I'm checking out the current requirements so I can get my plan in order.

I love the States..and will remain here until I die.

I'm glad that you've found a place where you're happy. However, just because you're happier here than in Germany doesn't mean others wouldn't be happier in Germany (or another country). And not everyone who dreams of leaving the US is building a castle in the clouds. A lot of us HAVE lived abroad for long periods of time and would like to return.

If it is easier living.. less laws, less taxes , less crime, less .gov involvement you seek.. might as well stay here.

You're right about taxation. You're right that there is less regulation. But then, less regulation brought us Enron, Tyco, AIG. Lehman Bros, the mortgage crisis....

I don't think you're right about less crime. Yes, some countries (Mexico, for one) are pretty dangerous. Others, not so much. When I lived in Madrid, a city of nearly 4 million people, I was a lot safer than in my nearby Ohio city of 200,000. The worst thing I had to worry about was pickpocketing, and I never even had that happen. I have noticed that there is more confrontational crime in Madrid now (actual muggings instead of pickpocketing), but violent crime is still pretty low (I just looked at some statistics), especially if you're outside of metropolitan areas.

Because its not so green on the other side.

The important thing is to be realistic and know what you're getting into before you move anywhere, whether it's a different state or a different country. There are bigger socio-cultural differences when moving to a different country, but it isn't automatically worse. It depends on the person and what their values and expectations are.

Guns may be banned in alot of EU countries.. or overseas somewhere but ..Russia. ..Chechnia etc are still importing/smuggling weapons left and right.. so there are guns and there is quite a lot of gun crime beeing commited.. you dont hear about it alot if you dont look for it... you dont read european news do ya?

Actually, I do read Spanish newspapers and watch Spanish newscasts online almost every day. I also listen to BBC News. And when I was in Madrid this summer, I noticed more gun violence reported in the media than ten years ago. Ten years ago gun violence was almost non-existent, but it still seems to be a lot less common than in the US.

take all of this into consideration before you think the USA is such a bad place to live..

I haven't read the last several pages (I got tired of all the "good riddance, USA-haters!" messages), but I haven't seen anyone say that they think the USA is a bad place to live. That assumption seems to come from the people who are criticizing the desire to leave the US.

The USA is a pretty darned nice country to live in. I have no desire to renounce my citizenship - I would probably want to come back here some day. But you know what - the USA doesn't have exclusive rights to "nice place to live". There are other countries that are pretty darned nice places to live, too.

You know why I want to move back to Spain? Not for political reasons, or because the US is so terrible, as most people seem to assume. For social, cultural, and quality-of-life reasons. Spain is simply a better fit for my personality and my lifestyle. I miss a lot of things. People chatting with strangers while they wait in line instead of stewing about how long the cashier is taking. People seeing a friend and stopping to catch up, even though it made them late for another appointment. Families taking the time to eat meals together. A system of public transit that would take me just about anywhere in the country that I wanted to go. An appreciation for multiculturalism and speaking multiple languages. Speaking Spanish every day to everyone. Being able to get on a train or plane and in a few hours be in a different country, with a different language and culture... I could go on about the reasons why I'd prefer to live in Spain, but you'll notice that not one of them was that the US is a terrible country.​

 

[saddina]

In many ways, for many people, the world is becomming smaller. I see nothing much different in people wishing to move to a different country then I do in people choosing to live in a different state. It used to be that people retired out to where I now live because land was cheap and moving here improved the standard of living for retirees. After 20 years of that land is no longer cheap here, and it seem no more strange to consider a beach in south america than to consider a beach in the gulf coast. I'm wondering how many more generations untill people are choosing not what country but what planet to live off of. I'm pretty certain I'll live to see that, I may be too old to go, but my grandchildren won't be.

 

[rufus]

Well Belize sounds nice. It became an independent country in 1981. Look carefully before you make a move or invest any funds.

Sometimes things change. We often thought of retiring in Mexico. We have family and some investments there. However, now the thought of moving away from the kids and grandkids is too much. We can't do it.

Rufus

 

[Sillystunt]

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Will do! Thanks

 

[goobhen]

My nephew works on nuclear power plants around the world. He has worked in England (he loves it! He has been there twice. Would go there all the time if he could), Spain, he HATES Spain, said it was the worse country yet. He loves Brazil, Argentina (can't wait til he goes back). He has been to Puerto Rica twice, not his favorite, he didn't like it, can't remember why though. He is going to Canada in September, he told my mom he thinks he will be going back to South America. He didn't like Spain because of all the European countries, Spain was the most anti-America place he has worked. He had nothing but great things to say about the South Americans, said he the people there are most most warm-hearted and kind.... Theresa
I always wanted to move to either England or Australia, now that I am a grandmother, well I can always visit England one more time, one of my grandsons has taken my heart, can't leave him!

 

[Big C]

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Belize is a providence of the UK and yes, you can own property there. You can own in mexico as well but they have a law that you can't own so many miles from the beach. I ain't living in Mexico, no way! I will stick with Belize

Formerly a providence of the UK. Surrounded by Guatemala and Mexico. I showed your post to my Mexican national employee. His quote: "This person is not correct. At any time any level of the government can change the rules to suit them. Depends on the amount of bribes they want to pay to keep what they have." "The worse the economy gets there the more they have to pay." "I will have to pay more bribe money to keep my farm safe from the drugs" "They want to take my farm". "Americans have no rights here, they are foreigners and that will never change". "It is our country, and our culture is much different than yours". "This person should do research before she moves from America". "I would not come here unless I had to, would more rather be with my wife and children"...

 

[PurpleChicken]

This thread is making it more clear to me that we need to double military funding, INVADE & CONQUER Mexico and make it a state. We did it once already and ended up with Texas. Sounds like a good deal to me.


Oh, Canada, your next.

 

[saddina]

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You forgot California. It blows my mind when people complain about border crossings illegially here, and I'd like to beat then about the heads with a 4th grade history book.... but I don't.

*For those who didn't take CA State history in schools, we did the same here as in Texas, a bunch of US "settlers" squatted in what was Mexico's land, started some fighting, and then told the army to come rescue them, which is how we got to become a territory. The next year gold was found and it was used to help justify the theft.*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_War

 

[PurpleChicken]

Yeah, I know about Mexico sort of owning Cali but couldn't care less. Mexico was as meaningless then as it is now. Personally I think Mexico should be plowed over by our Army and Marines on the way to beat the poo out of and conquer Venezuela. North and South America can be united under OUR Constitution and OUR language. Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Chile can retain their own nation status as long as they stay in line and bow to us. The rest of the world call us imperialistic so why not live up to it.

Eventually the Pacific rim will be conquered by China so we need to secure our hemisphere NOW. God only knows what the Middle East or Europe/Eurasia will look like in 100 years.