What country would you like to move to?

[applecorped]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091103/lf_afp/migrationusafricaasiaeurope_20091103190030

"Some 700 million people worldwide, or more than all the adults of North and South America combined, think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and want to permanently move to another country, a poll showed Tuesday.

The most popular destination was the United States, where nearly a quarter of the 700 million -- around 165 million people -- said they would like to settle.


In joint second were Britain, Canada and France, each being named as the preferred destination of around 45 million people.


Thirty-five million said they would go to Spain, 30 million to Saudi Arabia, and 25 million each to Australia or Germany.


The least likely to want to emigrate were Asians -- only one in 10 Asian adults said they would move to another country."




Since I already live in the US, I'll say New Zealand.

[theprestige]

Since I live in California, I'll say Texas.

[arthwollipot]

I might permanently move to New Zealand, or Canada. I might temporarily live in the US or the UK, with a view to returning someday.

But seriously, it's not going to happen. Australia is my home and always will be.

[Fnord]

Azeroth ... Elwynn Forest, specifically.

[Kritikos]

Schlaraffenland (http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Schlaraffenland.jpg&filetimestamp=20060403164012).

[bluesjnr]

I'm Scottish - I live in Malaysia but today (really) I'm on a flight at 10pm back to Scotland to live permanently.

So there's my answer!

[supercorgi]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091103/lf_afp/migrationusafricaasiaeurope_20091103190030

"Some 700 million people worldwide, or more than all the adults of North and South America combined, think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and want to permanently move to another country, a poll showed Tuesday.

The most popular destination was the United States, where nearly a quarter of the 700 million -- around 165 million people -- said they would like to settle.


In joint second were Britain, Canada and France, each being named as the preferred destination of around 45 million people.


Thirty-five million said they would go to Spain, 30 million to Saudi Arabia, and 25 million each to Australia or Germany.


The least likely to want to emigrate were Asians -- only one in 10 Asian adults said they would move to another country."




Since I already live in the US, I'll say New Zealand.

If it weren't so dark and cold there, I'd say Sweden or Denmark.

[SezMe]

Costa Rica.

[Roma]

I always dreamed of living in the United States,
my family came from there,
they were pioneers, covered wagons, fought the Injuns,
fought in the civil war.... over 200 years of family history in the U.S.

However after watching the U.S. slowly crumble I want to stay in Canada.

[Eyeron]

I don't know, I'd like to live in Europe for a couple of years. Then Japan.

[foxholeatheist]

I would have to be forced kicking and screaming to leave the US for good.

But if I was... Australia. No question.

"Give me a home among the gum trees..."

[tyr_13]

While New York will always be my home, I'd love to move to Japan. I've been trying to get a job there for the last two years.

So far it is yet another failed goal.

[arthwollipot]

I don't know, I'd like to live in Europe for a couple of years. Then Japan.I'm far too lazy to be able to live and work in Japan.

[TragicMonkey]

Vatican City, but not until they agree to make me pope. Pope Monkey I. I'm assuming my clones will carry on the traditional name. Yes, clones for papal succession. Just one of the many interesting reforms I will make. I will drag the Church, kicking and screaming, right into the ninety-first century. Robots should be allowed to be priests! Hiveminds have a right to choose whether or not to be assimilated! All 300 sacraments available to all, regardless of whether they divorced their inbuilt nanobot colonies! These rules will be confusing now, but they'll applaud my holy wisdom when the ninety-first century rolls around. "That Pope St Monkey I, he was an inspired dude. He totally deserves having that galaxy reshaped to look like his face." Gosh, I can't wait! I'm booking my flight to Rome now.

[WildCat]

I'm far too lazy to be able to live and work in Japan.
I don't smoke and I don't drink every night, so I don't think I could work in Japan.

[shawmutt]

Canada, my home. Netherlands if I had to move across the Atlantic.

[Kritikos]

If it weren't so dark and cold there, I'd say Sweden or Denmark.
How would you get through the snow on those stumpy legs?


http://forums.randi.org/images/smilies/B&WposeR.gif

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Atlantis

[Eyeron]

I also would like to live in Australia for a couple of years.

[Riayn]

I have always wanted to live and work in a foreign country. My company has offices in the US and UK so either one of those for a couple of years would suit me fine.

[Normal Dude]

However after watching the U.S. slowly crumble I want to stay in Canada.

Yeah I know, give it another few years and we will be reduced to cannibalism and headhunting. :rolleyes:

[Normal Dude]

Bavaria or Austria for me. Just adore that region.

[Trystero4]

Bakersfield

[gtc]

It would have to be Shebangabang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand) for me as well.

[lionking]

If I won powerball, not only would I not leave Australia, but I would live in exactly the same part.

But if I were forced to leave, Ireland or the south of France for me.

[timhau]

Melbourne? Sounds good to me.

[Tsukasa Buddha]

Well, practical immigration issues aside, I still can't narrow down between Norway, Finland, Scotland, New Zealand, Netherlands, Australia, or Germany.

But I'm still young enough that it would be put off even if I did have a strong choice in mind.

[Ryokan]

The most popular destination was the United States, where nearly a quarter of the 700 million -- around 165 million people -- said they would like to settle.


In joint second were Britain, Canada and France, each being named as the preferred destination of around 45 million people.


Thirty-five million said they would go to Spain, 30 million to Saudi Arabia, and 25 million each to Australia or Germany.

How can this be, the right wing politicians in Norway have been telling us for years that all furriners are trying to sneak into Norway to exploit our welfare system... :confused:

As for me, Japan, Thailand or UK, in that order.

Tsukasa, I have a spare couch if you do the household chores.

[Arcade22]

Canada, NZ, OZ.

[Ysidro]

Scotland. Then I could join the independence movement just for fun.

Hey, I missed out on one back in the 18th century. I'm sure as hell not going to miss this chance to give the English "what for"! :D

[malbui]

I've lived all over the place and with a young family my roaming time is over. Were circumstances different, though, I'd fancy a couple of years in Japan, which I visited earlier this year and completely fascinated me; Melbourne, where I went for work a while back and had a good time; or Madrid, which I visit regularly for business and always intrigues me.

[Darat]

Visited a lot of countries and even lived in a few but the only one I would consider emigrating to would be Australia, and it would be Melbourne.

[DevilsAdvocate]

If I won powerball, not only would I not leave Australia, but I would live in exactly the same part.

But if I were forced to leave, Ireland or the south of France for me.Same for me. Except I don’t live in Australia (I live in the US) and would not stay where I am at. If I had lots of money and stayed in the US, then it would be New York City or Colorado or maybe San Francisco, or maybe San Diego. I always think about moving to Colorado.

[Professor Yaffle]

Somewhere with no winter. But only if I could persuade my whole family to come too.

[Last of the Fraggles]

Having lived in Scotland, England, US, Japan, South Korea and China for varying periods of time I've found that everywhere has its good points and bad, live anywhere long enough and you start taking the good for granted and noticing the bad more and start pining for somewhere else I think.

I enjoyed all of those places but having spent a large portion of my life thinking I would love to live in the US I couldn't wait to get out of the place after 2 years. C'est la vie.

Maybe i just enjoy variety but I'm not convinced I really want to stay anywhere permanently. There are so many places to experience that it seems a pity to spend 70 or 80 years in just one.

I think it also depends if you are talking about a place to work and live or a place to retire. Somewhere Mediterranean sounds like a good place to wind down when I'm 60 or 70 but I get the feeling I'm more of a gypsy and probably will end up travelling more in retirement.

[rickps]

I've spent time in several places including England and the US but always looked forward to coming home. I still call Australia home and here I'll stay.:D

[Fishstick]

Live in Belgium, wouldn't leave it for anything. Maybe Norway, but I can't deal with that smurf language.

[Rolfe]

I'm Scottish - I live in Malaysia but today (really) I'm on a flight at 10pm back to Scotland to live permanently.

So there's my answer!


Well, there you have it. Whatever country we might fantasise about belonging to (mine's Norway, I think they're done a lot right, politically and economically, that we did wrong), we don't belong there, we belong here.

For these green hills are not Highland hills.... and all that.

Rolfe.

ETA: Just looked at the preceding post. What Fishstick said.

[Hawk one]

If it weren't so dark and cold there, I'd say Sweden or Denmark.
Denmark isn't the coldest place, really. It's all flat and surrounded by a sea that's (at least on the west side) warmed up by the gulf stream. They hardly ever get snow that stays more than a couple of days.

And speaking as a Norwegian, darkness isn't a problem. Electric lighting takes care of that. What's a bugger is during high summer when it's so bloody light during night-time.

Live in Belgium, wouldn't leave it for anything. Maybe Norway, but I can't deal with that smurf language.But you want to live in the country that -invented- the smurfs? :boggled:

[Rolfe]

Scotland. Then I could join the independence movement just for fun.

Hey, I missed out on one back in the 18th century. I'm sure as hell not going to miss this chance to give the English "what for"! :D


I've got a spare room! I'll even give you a lift to the SNP meetings. (But I have to tell you, it's not about "giving the English what for".)

Rolfe.

[whatthebutlersaw]

I never had a longing to live in another country, but after going for six years after uni interspersing month-long bouts of unemployment with reeeally ****** jobs a job offer doing what I am actually trained for in Scotland clinched the deal. Next stop England, and that's where I live now.

I always wanted to build my cv and move back one day but it is starting to look like it won't happen. I sometimes get so home sick I can't breathe. Then I remind myself that what I am pining for hasn't existed since 1985 - maybe it never existed.

If anyone is thinking of Sweden: stay as far away as possible from Gothenburg. It is pure crap.

[H3LL]

I wish I was young enough and fit enough to join a extra-terrestrial colony (should we ever get them).

A relative is just about to leave permanently for Canada - I'll see how he gets on but East Asia appeals rather a lot.

Ysidro, Rolfe, I wish Scotland would hurry up and get total independence and stop messing about.... and I'm English. :D

[Ysidro]

I've got a spare room! I'll even give you a lift to the SNP meetings. (But I have to tell you, it's not about "giving the English what for".)

Rolfe.

Oooh, and then I can do the American thing and visit the parts my great-grandparents lived and bitch about how my great-grandfathered got stiffed on not being part of the first US/UK checkers (draughts) match!

But I still want to have a proper revolution. None of this namby pamby "discussion" and "debate" stuff!

[Ryokan]

But I still want to have a proper revolution. None of this namby pamby "discussion" and "debate" stuff!

May I reccomend Iran?

[Akhenaten]

Queensland.

[a3sigma]

Have lived and worked in Switzerland -- would emigrate there in a heartbeat. May well do so if the Rabid Right regains power in the US. Germany and Austria tied for second choice.

[Eddie Dane]

I like big, multi-ethnic cities.

I'd prefer: Berlin, NY, Paris, Istanbul, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, Athens, London.

Energetic, rich, active, diverse, weird and going strong 24/7.

[Eddie Dane]

If anyone is thinking of Sweden: stay as far away as possible from Gothenburg. It is pure crap.

Why?

I liked Gothenburg.

[Eddie Dane]

I wish I was young enough and fit enough to join a extra-terrestrial colony (should we ever get them).


Living on another planet can easily be simulated by moving to rural Iceland, living in a caravan, eating canned food and wearing a motorcycle helmet year-round.

[Akhenaten]

Living on another planet can easily be simulated by moving to rural Iceland, living in a caravan, eating canned food and wearing a motorcycle helmet year-round.





:D

Nommy nom-nommed.

[Darth Rotor]

Since I live in California, I'll say Texas.
Since I live in Texas, I'll say Texas. ;) It's a big place with lots of neat features.

DR

[whatthebutlersaw]

Why?

I liked Gothenburg.

Did you tourist it or live there? If you touristed it I can understand why you liked it. If you lived there and liked it, I can only assume that you are a masochist or so wealthy you actually didn't live in Gothenburg but one of the posher suburbs or Majorna.

Please note that this does not mean I would like to live there if I could afford Majorna. The people there are horrible.

[GStan]

Thanks to the former prevalence of Foster's commercials here on American TV, I know how to speak Australian, so I'd probably go with Australia.

[supercorgi]

How would you get through the snow on those stumpy legs?


http://forums.randi.org/images/smilies/B&WposeR.gif

The SuperCorgi can levitate! (Actually I have to shovel paths in the backyard for him.)

[Toke]

If not Denmark, then New Zealand or Germany.
(Corgis should have no problems with the usual amount of snow here)

[uruk]

The United Territories of Mars.....Uh, wait... What era is this?..... Ok, Constantinople...wait!... uh...Where's the knob?......The Independent Republic of Texas..eh, close enough.

[The Shrike]

I'm surprised Ireland isn't faring better here. Something negative I've overlooked about the Emerald Isle?

[applecorped]

I'm surprised Ireland isn't faring better here. Something negative I've overlooked about the Emerald Isle?

Too many Irish people. :whistling

[Toke]

I'm surprised Ireland isn't faring better here. Something negative I've overlooked about the Emerald Isle?
The economy is not too good right now.

[scratchy]

I live in Sweden, and dont feel any urge to move anywhere. But sircumstances of life could change, and a fantastic job offer or a serious relationship might draw me away from here. If that happens i would prefer Australia, New Zealand, United states or Canada.

[The Drain]

The economy is not too good right now.


Oh, we're not doing that badly up here in British Occupied North East Eire.

It's helped by the Freestaters filling up our shopping-centre carparks with their badly driven cars and bringing in loads of lovely Euros.

I spent a number of years in South Africa and was intrigued by the number of Irishmen living there who would not acknowledge they they had emigrated - despite the evidence of having children with SA accents. They kept talking about visiting 'home', even as those visits became more infrequent.

I got out just in time.

[Elaedith]

I would like to move back to Australia from the UK. Unfortunately I need either a very well paid job lined up or to win the lottery to pay off my debts first.

[IMST]

I live in the US but suspect that I'd fit the culture better in a lot of other countries. I don't think it's likely that I'll leave permenantly, but I could see Canada for sure, with England or Norway/Sweden/Denmark as reasonable. With some work on the language, I could see Spain as well. At this stage, I'm not willing to go anywhere where English or Spanish are not primary languages.

[Akhenaten]

I would like to move back to Australia from the UK. Unfortunately I need either a very well paid job lined up or to win the lottery to pay off my debts first.





Try NOT paying off your debts. That's how MY ancestors got here.

[JPK]

Good afternoon.
I live in the US, New Jersey actually. I have been saying for years that when I retire from here I would like to move to and work at South Pole Station, Antartica.

[Prometheus]

...around 165 million people -- said they would like to settle.

In joint second were Britain, Canada and France, each being named as the preferred destination of around 45 million people.

Thirty-five million said they would go to Spain, 30 million to Saudi Arabia, and 25 million each to Australia or Germany.

The least likely to want to emigrate were Asians -- only one in 10 Asian adults said they would move to another country."


Nearly 260,000 people aged 15 years and older were surveyed

I think the maths don't quite add up. :p

They don't mention how those 260k people are distributed across various countries. Also, the descriptions of preferred destinations are given in absolute numbers, with no indication of where the people are who would like to go to those destinations. Only Asians are singled out as having less desire to want to move, but they don't say how many Asians were surveyed or where they want to go.

I wonder if this poll really means anything at all.

[sugarb]

Moving, moving. I've never had a desire to leave the US, to be honest. No real wander-lust here, which probably makes me quite dull. What we are considering, though, is moving in a few years to a different part of this country. In KY now. Considering Montana, N. Dakota, but even more seriously discussing Alaska (which would put me closer to little sister).

For now, though, family keeps us here.

[Prometheus]

Wanderlust runs in my family, it seems. I have relatives all over the globe, and I've lived in several different countries myself. Except for a couple of months in Amsterdam, I've never lived in Europe, though. I'm now seriously thinking about moving to France for a while, since French is my wife's native language and we're raising our children bilingually. Also we have several relatives and friends there who we can stay with while getting settled. But I love New England. I don't think I could permanently relocate elsewhere.

[Prometheus]

Good afternoon.
I live in the US, New Jersey actually. I have been saying for years that when I retire from here I would like to move to and work at South Pole Station, Antartica.

About 10 years ago I met a woman who lived in Antarctica for a couple of years. She gave me the contact info for a staffing company that hires support staff for the stations there, and I was considering going as a cook--then I found out they had a two year waiting list full of cooks that wanted to go. Then I heard that that company lost it's contract to another firm. I don't know who does the staffing now.

[Rolfe]

I'm surprised Ireland isn't faring better here. Something negative I've overlooked about the Emerald Isle?


I guess that would be my number 2 choice. Not a Catholic though.

Rolfe.

[plumjam]

Iceland might be fun.

MMgQ5HmXwp8

[The Drain]

I guess that would be my number 2 choice. Not a Catholic though.

Rolfe.


I think that might belong in the Non Sequiter thread.

[Drudgewire]

Australia. It's always been my dream to retire there, successfully breed platypi and have them replace the ferret as the yuppie pet.

[Delvo]

My reasoning is not cultural but environmental. I want to be where as much of the year as possible is cool, cloud-covered, foggy, and rainy during the warmer seasons or icy & snowy in winter. Also, I love big hills or mountains and deep dark forests. That combined with my being used to the USA and not wanting to deviate from that culture & infrastructure very much has me planning to try to find a job in northwestern Washington or southern Alaska as soon as I graduate. But there's some space between those states, too. What's that called? ;)

[arthwollipot]

Melbourne is overrated.

[Prometheus]

My reasoning is not cultural but environmental. I want to be where as much of the year as possible is cool, cloud-covered, foggy, and rainy during the warmer seasons or icy & snowy in winter. Also, I love big hills or mountains and deep dark forests. That combined with my being used to the USA and not wanting to deviate from that culture & infrastructure very much has me planning to try to find a job in northwestern Washington or southern Alaska as soon as I graduate. But there's some space between those states, too. What's that called? ;)

Scott Island (http://www.privateislandsonline.com/scott-island.htm)?

[The Drain]

My reasoning is not cultural but environmental. I want to be where as much of the year as possible is cool, cloud-covered, foggy, and rainy during the warmer seasons or icy & snowy in winter. Also, I love big hills or mountains and deep dark forests. That combined with my being used to the USA and not wanting to deviate from that culture & infrastructure very much has me planning to try to find a job in northwestern Washington or southern Alaska as soon as I graduate. But there's some space between those states, too. What's that called? ;)


I think you mean the Aleutian Islands - very nice at this another time of year.

[Eddie Dane]

Did you tourist it or live there? If you touristed it I can understand why you liked it. If you lived there and liked it, I can only assume that you are a masochist or so wealthy you actually didn't live in Gothenburg but one of the posher suburbs or Majorna.

Please note that this does not mean I would like to live there if I could afford Majorna. The people there are horrible.

I gave a lecture at the local business school there.
Went and got drunk with the students.
Then we went up north into the wild to look for cute animals, and shoot them.

Had a great time, really.

[Akhenaten]

Iceland might be fun.

MMgQ5HmXwp8





That was wonderful. Thank you plumjam.


Melbourne is overrated.





Yes. It IS nice, but not as good as those 'top ten' lists make it out to be.


Would you recommend Canberra? I would. Loved it to bits when I lived there. (Kaleen)

[JPK]

Good morning Delvo.
My reasoning is not cultural but environmental. I want to be where as much of the year as possible is cool, cloud-covered, foggy, and rainy during the warmer seasons or icy & snowy in winter. Also, I love big hills or mountains and deep dark forests. That combined with my being used to the USA and not wanting to deviate from that culture & infrastructure very much has me planning to try to find a job in northwestern Washington or southern Alaska as soon as I graduate. But there's some space between those states, too. What's that called? ;)

And I thought I was the only person who liked this type of climate. The only thing I like better then a cold, windy, rainy, day is a super cold, windy snowy day. The only problem with Antartica for me is that it is so dry. Not much actual snow but plenty of blowing ice.

[commandlinegamer]

I think that might belong in the Non Sequiter thread.

There's a non sequiter thread?!

I prefer blue baize on pool tables and red on snooker.

[Damien Evans]

Melbourne is overrated.

What?

[Damien Evans]

Queensland.

I LOL'd.

[whatthebutlersaw]

I gave a lecture at the local business school there.
Went and got drunk with the students.
Then we went up north into the wild to look for cute animals, and shoot them.

Had a great time, really.


Ok, so you spent a night on a pissup with the Handels-crowd and then left the county to go up north? Or did I missunderstand something there?

There are a few things that the lucky tourist may be unaware of after a short visit. Things like the miserable infrastructure, the casual racism and misogyny spouted by 80% of the inhabitants, the horrible weather, the perpetual gang violence, the burning cars, the exploding restaurants, the fact that if you spend enough time there your car _will_ be broken into, your dog or cat _will_ be attacked and possibly killed by a psycho, the local's missapprehension that they are "funny" when they spout their racist crap.

Just imagine en entire city populated by 40% archetypal "taxi drivers" (the "I'm no racist, but..." kind) 40% gangster wannabees, 15% advertising company employees or "mediatypes" on the dole (hard to tell them apart, they look the same) and 5% poor schmucks trying to make an honest living while dodging stray explosives, offensive jokes and braying laughs.

Add to this neo brutalist architecture, a dodgy police force and a sense of abject boredom as only conveyed by old super 8 films from East Berlin before 1989.

If you haven't killed yourself by now. Then you may venture a walk in Haga, a kind of "old town" part of the city aspiring to Notting Hill status, with cobbled streets and media students. Galleries (where they saw you coming), or one of the fifty to the power of a gazilion woo shops provide ample shopping for the terminally rich and stupid. In Gothenburg, you are never more than three feet from a joss stick. If you don't like patchouli... ...it's not your city.

Try to think of it as a city populated almost entirely by Vinnie Jones and Daily Mail Readers.

Oh, and the housing is crap. If you are not either loaded or connected or both, it's off to the projects with you (Millionprogrammet, as we call it) where you will be knifed for your iPod on the tram. One girl I knew didn't want to be knifed on the tram, so she lived centrally in a shared house, with a basement loo (earthen floor), no lock, you climbed down a ladder through a hatch in the floor to get there, and you flushed with a garden hose, and an uncovered outdoor shower - with cold water only - where the builders working on the house next door would watch her shower. (She got herself a special shower t-shirt to avoid that.)

And you have never seen so much yellow brick in your life.

(I bet it looked good through beer goggles though. Even Greenock would look inviting with beer goggles.

Thick beer goggles.)

[Rolfe]

Hey, Greenock's not so bad! (Cousin married to a minister in Greenock, lovely house with decorative cornicing finer than I've seen in stately homes. Talked to her on the phone last night, her Cambridge-educated medical student daughter has just got engaged.) Distinct absence of earth-floored toilets, explosions and yellow brick last time I looked.

Rolfe.

[JJM 777]

I would love to move around the globe every now and then.
Yep that would be the best possible option. Variety.
But it's not gonna happen because I am not rich enough to live and earn a decent living wherever I please and whenever I please.

[Toke]

Strange, as a kid we would go on assorted trips by the ferry from Frederikshavn to Göteborg. It was quite exiting, not only was it a big city but it was also foreign.

There were Liseberg the amusement park, the gamla stan, and Nordstan a real shopping centre with a role playing store in the basement.:)

The ferry were also known as Göteborg's biggest disco, the swedes would take the 3 hour trip in the evening, stay on-board and return to Sweden. There were and are major difference in the price and availability of alcohol in Denmark and Sweden.

[ProbeX]

I'd love to spend a few years in the Caribbean. Love the island life and ocean, plus the spicy food. It's beautiful in Nassau. Africa and India also appeal. Africa is beautiful and the idea of all that animal life is great (as long as I don't become a main course), plus all the photography opportunities there. India ... well, again, I'm a sucker for spicy food!

Have heavy Eastern European ancestry but pretty much no real desire to visit Eastern Europe at this point. Other parts of Europe? Not so much. Am also Scottish but the UK is too dreary and cold and the food is too bland for my taste. Spain and Italy hold some appeal. Not interested in living in Asia.

[Comsat Angel]

My reasoning is not cultural but environmental. I want to be where as much of the year as possible is cool, cloud-covered, foggy, and rainy during the warmer seasons or icy & snowy in winter. (snip) ;)

Welcome to England! How on Earth can 45 million people want to move to a country which has Such Crap Weather?

For me - Finland.

It's very cold for a lot of the time, which is great as I much prefer the cold. The locals are insular and tight-lipped, which is great as I am not Mr Chatty. They like their drink, which is great as so do I. They have wonderful architecture and unspoilt rural hinterland, which is great as I can appreciate both. And anywhere that produces Aki Kaurismaki gets my vote.

[BTMO]

I probably wouldn't live anywhere permanently, given the choice. A couple of years here, a couple of years there.

That said, I am Australian and live in NZ...

:)

[Tricky]

Costa Rica.
I was gonna say Costa Rica too, though it is far from perfect. Still, they have a very open government, no real enemies to speak of (They don't even have an army) and it is very eco-friendly. True, there is abject poverty, like in many Central and South American countries, but it is far better than many, and other nearby countries actually send people to Costa Rica to work. Also some of the greatest natural settings in the world. And they absolutely love Americans, and not just in a "we'll love you if you give us money" way.

[JJM 777]

Have heavy Eastern European ancestry but pretty much no real desire to visit Eastern Europe at this point.
The Eastern Bloc is a very interesting place to visit nowadays, the commercial city centers are at least as luxurious, if not even more luxurious, than in Western Europe. Then come the suburbs varying from Soviet era tall grey cubes to chic residential areas of richer people. A lot of variety.

[rockinkt]

I would stay in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada.
Vancouver consistently places high in the rankings of the most desirable places in the world to live.
The Economist ranked Vancouver 1st in quality of living in 2009.

The scenery is spectacular, the women are gorgeous, and a couple of hours drive takes you to North America's best ski resort - Whistler. (Home of the 2010 Winter Olympics).

[Foolmewunz]

None of those globetrotting ways for me, no siree! I like it just fine here in the good old You Ess of .....

Oh, wait.



Seriously, I've had the good fortune to live all over the USA and spent ten years in Montreal, two in Taiwan, have been in Hong Kong now for more than seven. Next stop - probably in somewhere between 2 and 5 years - is semi-retirement in Thailand. (Semi because I'd intended to buy a grass hut bar on a beach and waste away, but now I need to set up a cash-based business for my son and mate, as I realize I'm not going to live forever.)

Other places I'd dream of moving to?
Zurich - I like it there. Damned expensive, though.
Vancouver.
Capetown.
Melbourne.
San Francisco.
If I was filthy rich and could afford to airlift in books and have my own satellite to maintain contact? Someplace on the edges of the Atacama in Chile - I just loved the place.

ETA: 9700 posts!

[Akhenaten]

I almost agree with SezMe and Tricky in their choice of Costa Rica. I believe there's a friendly rivalry between CR and my lifelong dream destination, Panama.

The whole place fascinates me. From the Canal to the clouds. I sponsor a Coati at the Melbourne Zoo in my late wife's name, in recognition of her wish to see the Canal Zone as well.

I like jnugles.

[armageddonman]

Melbourne? Sounds good to me.

Personally, I'd prefer Sydney but that's only because I've been living the high life there on company expenses for 6 months.

[lionking]

Australia's a hole with absolutely no redeeming features and wildlife sure to injure or kill you.

Don't bother coming. I really can't work out what I'm still doing here.








;)

[Damien Evans]

Personally, I'd prefer Sydney but that's only because I've been living the high life there on company expenses for 6 months.

Haven't visited Redfern yet I see.

[applecorped]

Australia's a hole with absolutely no redeeming features and wildlife sure to injure or kill you.

Don't bother coming. I really can't work out what I'm still doing here.








;)

But, you've got Yahoo Serious!!!!!!

[Comsat Angel]

Australia's a hole with absolutely no redeeming features and wildlife sure to injure or kill you.

Don't bother coming. I really can't work out what I'm still doing here.

;)

Don't talk such utter nonsense, sir! You have i) Sunshine and ii) More sunshine and iii) Seashores uncontaminated by fecal matter or plutonium.
Plus you deify lager, speak English and revere HM Betty Windsor.

Oh - that wildlife issue. We here in the UK are more used to relentlessly hunting down and killing our wildlife. Wildlife that fights back would probably be an interesting challenge.

If all else fails, you can probably come to the UK as a bar tender or cricket coach. Don't forget to bring an umbrella and thick sweaters!

[GlennB]

"Some 700 million people worldwide, or more than all the adults of North and South America combined, think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and want to permanently move to another country, a poll showed Tuesday.


700 million people want to emigrate on Tuesday?

[davefoc]

I'm surprised Ireland isn't faring better here. Something negative I've overlooked about the Emerald Isle?

I've been lucky enough to travel to quite a few countries in my lifetime. I've thought about what it might be like to live in each one of them and which one I'd choose. Ireland would be way up there for me. It was the friendliest place that I visited. The people have genuinely mastered the art of graciousness. We greatly enjoyed the food. I think it was the best I've had in Europe, although the Pizza in Italy was awesome.

In our limited stay of about a week we never had a sunny day. It did occasionally clear to the point that the clouds only covered about half the sky but those were brief moments. But the rain was pleasant. We rarely get that kind of rain in California. At times it couldn't be distinguished from a heavy mist. The rain was common enough that it created bogs on the sides of hills which was certainly a different landscape than this California boy was used to.

I think there are a few things that might knock it down for me:
1. It's not close to any major Metropolitan areas. I haven't seen Dublin but I occasionally like to visit the attractions of a big city and I don't think Dublin would quite measure up.
2. I enjoy the varied environment of California. There are alpine areas, beach areas, desert areas, rural, urban and suburban areas all within reasonable driving distances.
3. The weather. I enjoyed the climate as something interesting to experience, but I'm not sure I'd be real happy with it on a full time basis.

I have also traveled quite a bit in the US. The only state that I've been in that I wasn't at least somewhat attracted to as a place to live was Texas. I've visited Dallas and Houston numerous times and I wasn't enthused.

So assuming unlimited wealth where would I want to live? I don't know, maybe in a Beach House in Laguna. We live in Fullerton, California which is pretty much one more mundane suburb in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, but it's still a pretty nice place to live. The city seems well run. Crime is fairly low. There are a number of interesting attractions nearby including the hills that I like to hike through in Santiago Canyon and a mountain bike trail that I enjoy. There are plenty of readily accessible services nearby. And my immediate family is sprinkled around not too far from us. The weather is very good, although probably a bit warm for some.

Still, I hope to have the chance to live a year or so in Europe within the next few years. I'd like to visit the home of my ancestors in Sweden and Norway and see the fjords. I'd like to have a chance to spend more time in Paris and London and maybe see some more of England and France and the rest of Europe that I've never had a chance to see.

[arthwollipot]

Would you recommend Canberra? I would. Loved it to bits when I lived there. (Kaleen)I absolutely would. Unless you like bustling, busy cosmopolitan cities. Canberra only has a population of about 400,000, so if you like places like Hong Kong or New York it'll be pretty boring for you.

Canberra's kinda partway between big-city and small-town. And the best part is that nothing's very far from anything else. It only takes 45min to drive from Gunghalin (far north) to Tuggeranong (far south).

No, that's not the best part. This is (http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthwollipot/sets/72157610523366797/).

[Prometheus]

I have a cousin who spends half the year studying Tango with girls in Argentina, and the other half teaching Tango to girls in Iceland. I think I might have liked that lifestyle had I thought of it when I was younger.

[Akhenaten]

Australia's a hole with absolutely no redeeming features and wildlife sure to injure or kill you.

Don't bother coming. I really can't work out what I'm still doing here.








;)


This helps (http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23680741-5013807,00.html)


Haven't visited Redfern yet I see.





Or Frankston.

BTW, I didn't mean to rag Melbourne back up there ^, it's a great place and way up the list, but I think they guild the lily a bit sometimes.


I absolutely would. Unless you like bustling, busy cosmopolitan cities. Canberra only has a population of about 400,000, so if you like places like Hong Kong or New York it'll be pretty boring for you.

Canberra's kinda partway between big-city and small-town. And the best part is that nothing's very far from anything else. It only takes 45min to drive from Gunghalin (far north) to Tuggeranong (far south).

No, that's not the best part. This is (http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthwollipot/sets/72157610523366797/).





We share very similar views about Canberra. I want to visit New York City, but I couldn't keep up the pace of living there.


Those pictures are magnificent. I'll post a request to you in the Australia thread to "host 'n' post" them there.

[Akhenaten]

I have a cousin who spends half the year studying Tango with girls in Argentina, and the other half teaching Tango to girls in Iceland. I think I might have liked that lifestyle had I thought of it when I was younger.





I encounter a lot of top-halfers who work as ski instructors in Australia during the Northern Summer.

You'll never convince me that living year-round in a ski resort could be all bad.

[learner]

Well im going to Ireland, march/april 2010. I shall have my largest rucksack and will be walking with the sea to my left all the way around. I may take detours, may not, see how it goes. If im not back home in a year, il be staying. Maybe.
Its a beautiful country sparsley populated with beautiful people.

Until I get there of course.

[Antiquehunter]

I am a Canadian, working in Afghanistan for a company based in the UK. I could work in a variety of charming places - opportunities for me in Sudan, Palestine and Nigeria at the moment - if I chose to leave Afghanistan.

Anyways - we recently sold our properties in Canada, liquidated all investments and bought a home in Chile, after spending 10 days there house hunting and doing some research. A practical decision based on treatment of globally earned income, quality of life and cost of living.

5 bedrooms, 3 baths 2500 sq ft beachfront an hour from Santiago for $165k. Western property ownership, relatively stable 'normal' government (if somewhat lefty), low crime, and no particularly wacky laws to cramp our style. Fair taxation based primarily on consumption.

-AH.

[Ryokan]

Welcome to England! How on Earth can 45 million people want to move to a country which has Such Crap Weather?

For me - Finland.

Love the irony!! :D

[Akhenaten]

I would love to move around the globe every now and then.
Yep that would be the best possible option. Variety.
But it's not gonna happen because I am not rich enough to live and earn a decent living wherever I please and whenever I please.





Welcome to England! How on Earth can 45 million people want to move to a country which has Such Crap Weather?

For me - Finland.

It's very cold for a lot of the time, which is great as I much prefer the cold. The locals are insular and tight-lipped, which is great as I am not Mr Chatty. They like their drink, which is great as so do I. They have wonderful architecture and unspoilt rural hinterland, which is great as I can appreciate both. And anywhere that produces Aki Kaurismaki gets my vote.





You guys need to set up a time-share deal between yourselves.

:)

[ProbeX]

The Eastern Bloc is a very interesting place to visit nowadays, the commercial city centers are at least as luxurious, if not even more luxurious, than in Western Europe.

I'd visit almost any place for a minute provided someone paid my way, including room and board plus meals. But truth is this area just doesn't interest me. And I say without sarcasm that I'm glad you find it enjoyable ;)

[Thunder]

I would like to move to an America that has a social-market economy, Universal Health coverage, free college tuition, a small but strong military, and a foreign policy that values freedom WITH American values.

[applecorped]

I would like to move to an America that has a social-market economy, Universal Health coverage, free college tuition, a small but strong military, and a foreign policy that values freedom WITH American values.

What are American Values anymore?

[Darat]

I always thought the phrase referred to "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"

[Foolmewunz]

I am a Canadian, working in Afghanistan for a company based in the UK. I could work in a variety of charming places - opportunities for me in Sudan, Palestine and Nigeria at the moment - if I chose to leave Afghanistan.

Anyways - we recently sold our properties in Canada, liquidated all investments and bought a home in Chile, after spending 10 days there house hunting and doing some research. A practical decision based on treatment of globally earned income, quality of life and cost of living.

5 bedrooms, 3 baths 2500 sq ft beachfront an hour from Santiago for $165k. Western property ownership, relatively stable 'normal' government (if somewhat lefty), low crime, and no particularly wacky laws to cramp our style. Fair taxation based primarily on consumption.

-AH.

Vina?

[Polaris]

Assuming money isn't an object, I'd love to have a lot of land and a decent-sized house in Tuscany or Lombardy. Failing that, Costa Rica or Uruguay.

I'd want to live where the Anglo-Saxon population is low, the food is good, the women are brown, the most recent immigrants don't blow themselves up and/or kill their daughters for batting their eyelashes at me, and the government won't up and decide one day to take all my money for the "good of the state".

[Hindmost]

Sometimes, I would like to live on another planet...I have to stop watching the news.

I haven't been to Europe, but I believe I would enjoy living in quite a few places. Money would be an issue. However, if I had a choice right now, I would move to New Zealand.

glenn

[bookitty]

Scotland. Mainly Edinburgh. I could keep the same job, have some nice cold weather, and be well-situated for exploring Europe and Africa. I even looked into UK citizenship but my grandfather got himself born in South Africa.

[Antiquehunter]

Close to Vina - small town called Algorrobo. 60-70 minutes out of Santiago, 45 mins from Vina/Valpo and 30 -40 mins from San Antonio.

[Foolmewunz]

Close to Vina - small town called Algorrobo. 60-70 minutes out of Santiago, 45 mins from Vina/Valpo and 30 -40 mins from San Antonio.

Quite nice! I loved driving from Santiago out to the coast, particularly coming through the pass into Valparaiso (but would never dream of living in Valpo - much too congested even if it's picaresque as hell). But the coastlines north and south from there are pretty awesome. Congratulations!

[Travis]

New Zealand: because what we consider to be "sluts" here would be just "virginal" there.

However, there is that chance that I couldn't get laid even there in which case I would just go off and establish an Antarctic Research Station. Population: ME!

[Eddie Dane]

Ok, so you spent a night on a pissup with the Handels-crowd and then left the county to go up north? Or did I missunderstand something there?

I visited Gothenburg on several occasions. I have friends who moved there from London. My former account was simplified for readability and attempted humour.

There are a few things that the lucky tourist may be unaware of after a short visit. Things like the miserable infrastructure, the casual racism and misogyny spouted by 80% of the inhabitants, the horrible weather, the perpetual gang violence, the burning cars, the exploding restaurants, the fact that if you spend enough time there your car _will_ be broken into, your dog or cat _will_ be attacked and possibly killed by a psycho, the local's missapprehension that they are "funny" when they spout their racist crap.

I cannot be sure here, but Scandinavians have a very dark sense of humour. If the people spouting racism were reasonably intelligent, they might have meant it ironically. Here in Holland we have a similar cultural trait. Some stand-up comedians that cater to the educated audiences will happily fire off some Anne Frank jokes. People laugh because they are shocked at the how utterly wrong this is, not because they agree.
Then again, you may just have encountered a bunch of racist twits.

half the people I know in Gothenburg are of Persian descent, not much racism there. Not even to Jews.

Just imagine en entire city populated by 40% archetypal "taxi drivers" (the "I'm no racist, but..." kind) 40% gangster wannabees, 15% advertising company employees or "mediatypes" on the dole (hard to tell them apart, they look the same) and 5% poor schmucks trying to make an honest living while dodging stray explosives, offensive jokes and braying laughs.

They seem to have a gang problem, mostly of the Albanian variety if I remember correctly. Their police force looks like it was configured to counter these problems. They all look like Dolph Lundgren on steroids and have a semi-military outfit. Very intimidating.

Add to this neo brutalist architecture, a dodgy police force and a sense of abject boredom as only conveyed by old super 8 films from East Berlin before 1989.

I kinda agree. Now we know where Albert Speer is hiding.

If you haven't killed yourself by now. Then you may venture a walk in Haga, a kind of "old town" part of the city aspiring to Notting Hill status, with cobbled streets and media students. Galleries (where they saw you coming), or one of the fifty to the power of a gazilion woo shops provide ample shopping for the terminally rich and stupid. In Gothenburg, you are never more than three feet from a joss stick. If you don't like patchouli... ...it's not your city.

Not my experience.

Try to think of it as a city populated almost entirely by Vinnie Jones and Daily Mail Readers.

I hang with DJ's, teachers and (Persian and Greek) restaurant owners. You may have ended up in the wrong part of town.


Oh, and the housing is crap. If you are not either loaded or connected or both, it's off to the projects with you (Millionprogrammet, as we call it) where you will be knifed for your iPod on the tram. One girl I knew didn't want to be knifed on the tram, so she lived centrally in a shared house, with a basement loo (earthen floor), no lock, you climbed down a ladder through a hatch in the floor to get there, and you flushed with a garden hose, and an uncovered outdoor shower - with cold water only - where the builders working on the house next door would watch her shower. (She got herself a special shower t-shirt to avoid that.)

Sounds like you took a wrong turn into Latvia. I was told that social housing in Sweden was quite good.

And you have never seen so much yellow brick in your life.

Yellow brick is very ugly. For this reason more of the allied bombardments of WWII should have been concentrated in Bavaria. But I digress.

(I bet it looked good through beer goggles though. Even Greenock would look inviting with beer goggles.

Thick beer goggles.)

On my four visits there, I was royally pissed much of the time.
This may have influenced my opinion, social skills and gun safety.

[Rolfe]

Scotland. Mainly Edinburgh. I could keep the same job, have some nice cold weather, and be well-situated for exploring Europe and Africa. I even looked into UK citizenship but my grandfather got himself born in South Africa.


You'd love it today! I'm sitting here in my office just outside Edinburgh, with a view over to the Pentland hills. There isn't a cloud in the sky, the sun is blazing down and there's a very pretty half-moon also visible. It is, however, downright chilly. We had a heavy frost this morning and the temperature was about -3C when I left for work. Great weather to wrap up warm and go walking in the hills, or to hole up somewhere cosy.

Rolfe.

[whatthebutlersaw]

Eddie: Nope, not Latvia - central Gothenburg, and no, there was no irony there. I am talking about the kind of people to whom irony means "sort of made of iron". I saw plenty of racism while living there and was subject to it, as the target of continuous harrassment. But the saddest bit was the institutionalized racism you would encounter so regularly it became boring. I will give you an example:

At one occasion, I was on the tram on my way from work. (my weekend job) I sat on a bench on the tram stop, reading my book and thinking of nothing special when my ear picked up a rowdy bunch at it next to me. I looked up and saw three of Västtrafik's ticket inspectors - although in plain clothes. During the weeks they would have a blue uniform, but these weren't. I knew they were ticket inspectors, because they talked about it. They spouted a lot of racist stuff, and talked about how they would take the ****** "blattar" who "always" rode without tickets. I didn't see them drink, but they behaved as if they had been drinking.

I, and them, was the only one gettin on at that stop, and for two stops only people looking "Swedish" got on. Then, on the third stop, a man I would have guessed to be Syrian got on. He had to run to catch up, and got on at the end of the carriage and started to move towards the ticket puncher. (At the time, the trams operated so you either paid the driver cash, and got a ticket, or you bought prepaid cards that you punched in a machine that counted down your money and issued a date and time on the card. You had to punch differently for how many zones you were travelling and you got to ride on one punch for an hour and a half, after which you had to re-punch)

The three immediately rose and cut him off just before the punch and demanded to see his ticket. He gave it to them and they said "You haven't punched this, that's a 600sek fine". And he explained that he just got on and that he was just on his way to punch it when they stopped him, but they said that he obviously was not going to punch it. He said that he was and surely they were not mind readers. Realizing that this would probably not hold up, they then suddenly claimed that he had got on two stops ago, (Something I knew to be perfectly untrue as they and I got on two stops ago) and that if he intended to pay he would have punched it then.

By this time he was getting stressed and upset. I sat, mouth open, and watched this unfold. (I was still new to Gothenburg and hadn't started to expect these things yet). So he turned to the carriage and said "Didn't any of you see me get on just now?"

I was not the first to find my composure, it was an elderly couple who - like me - had seats next to the door where he had just barely thrown himself into the carriage and therefore exchanged relieved smiles with him in a "yes, you made it" kind of way. When they found their tongues, so did I and when the three of us stood up, the rest of the people from the back of the carriage found their tongues as well. We said that we saw him get on, we explained that we saw him immediately starting for the punch as soon as he got on. I explained that not only did I know myself to be the only one, except for them, to get on two stops ago, but also that I had heard them talking at the stop even though I may have looked deeply entrenched in my book. This finally got them to back off, but not without actually going something like "You got away _this_ time".

The man was visibly shook up and a little shocked, they had ganged up on him and intimidated him to the point where he got unsure himself where he actually got on. Everyone else in the carrige was, or looked, Swedish and there was no guarantee that the people he was travelling with would have stood up for him. Thanks to the elderly couple, we did, but had it been up to my incredulous self I'm not sure I would have found my tongue in time.

I gave him the number of my spare cellphone and said that he should get in touch if he decided to take this any further. Fortunately, a friend met him in Brunnsparken so he had some support when the rest of us had to shove off. I never heard from him, so I guess he never did take it further. I wrote to Västtraffik and asked them if their inspectors really had mandate to behave like this, and got a nonchalante reply that they didn't condone racism, that they had the utmost trust in their ticket inspectors and that we must have been the victims of frauds. Thing is, they identified themselves with official ticket inspector ID (which I pointed out in my letter) and I saw one of them (with a quite recognizable, weaselly face) in uniform, checking tickets on another tram just a week later. So obviously noone had looked into this even though I was able to give line, time and stop and a description of the perps.

Did they abuse their inspector IDs on their own time? Or were they on the clock when they did this? I don't know. But Västtraffik sure as hell didn't want to know.

But hey, what do I know. You might hang with people who find it funny to intimidate people under the guise of authority and relieve them of sums of money that surely wouldn't inconvenience them, but that may be the difference between eating and not eating for the rest of the month to other people.

[GlennB]

Well we have already moved to the country 'we would most like to move to' - Greece.
The dream ticket for me would be to live in Greece from Oct-May and south-western UK (Somerset, Dorset) from Jun-Sep, for the fishing and the mild UK summer. Won't happen unless we win a lottery or something but we've easily got the better end of the deal so far.
For another entire move, though, rural southern France would be my choice. Somewhere near some nice rivers.

[Soapy Sam]

As a Scot, I should never admit this- but there are some places south of the border I rather like.

[Rolfe]

Speaking of someone who lived 6 years in Hertfordshire and 18 in Sussex - if you're going south, do it right. There's a whole continent over there.... :cool:

Rolfe.

[Highly Selassie]

I've already lived in Canada, and it's not much better. I'd rather live in Norway, the Netherlands or Switzerland, in order of preference. Even France would be better.

I would stay in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada.
Vancouver consistently places high in the rankings of the most desirable places in the world to live.
The Economist ranked Vancouver 1st in quality of living in 2009.

The scenery is spectacular, the women are gorgeous, and a couple of hours drive takes you to North America's best ski resort - Whistler. (Home of the 2010 Winter Olympics).

Vancouver also boasts an atrociously wide rich-poor gap and one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in North America. It's quite possibly the most overrated city in the world, and I have a feeling the Olympics will expose this once and for all.

[Antiquehunter]

I too, chose to leave Vancouver. Probably for different reasons than those specified above (my issues were cost of living as compared to quality of life, tax treatment for non-residents etc...) but I think that 'over-rated' probably does sum it up. Yes its a pretty city (in most places), yes it is relatively cosmopolitan, yes it attracts a diverse population who generally get along. But I do scratch my head as to why it ranks so highly as an international city.

[The Drain]

Well im going to Ireland, march/april 2010. I shall have my largest rucksack and will be walking with the sea to my left all the way around. I may take detours, may not, see how it goes. If im not back home in a year, il be staying. Maybe.
Its a beautiful country sparsley populated with beautiful people.

Until I get there of course.


What's your starting point?
If Shannon Airport, keep an eye out for the remains of 'famine villages' on the west coast. They're a reminder of the fact that Ireland (possibly uniquely in the world?) has a smaller population today than it did in the early/mid-19th century.
If Dublin Airport, you'll have to go through Dublin City first. Maybe consider going the other way with the sea to your right?
And don't miss the lakes of Counties Fermanagh/Cavan/Monaghan/West Meath - just because they're not on the coast!
Have a great time!

[Blackadder]

With enough money, I would emigrate to Great Britain with a nice condo in London and a nice little house somewhere in the middle of nowhere probably in Scotland or Yorkshire

With less money I already live in my favourite country on earth (The Netherlands) although Norway or Sweden would be great alternatives.

[BTMO]

New Zealand: because what we consider to be "sluts" here would be just "virginal" there.

This is true.

You can go for the low hanging fruit, or you can try for the slightly harder ones.

Either way, you will score so much and so often your dangly bits will fall off.

Incidentally, I am typing this on a laptop. In bed.

[Burning Beard]

Seeing lots of interest in New Zealand here.

No shortage of woo here that's for sure.