If yes, where would you move to?
If no, why not?
I ask this as someone who has moved around a lot (5 states) for better working opportunities. I often hear people say they wish they could leave their current city/state/country, but money is often (understandably) an issue.
As a radical leftist who lives in rural Kentucky, if I truly had so much money that it was not an issue, I would stay and try to affect change.
It’s tempting of course to move somewhere more sympathetic to my views and my desired lifestyle, but I don’t want to abandon my politically uninformed family and friends. I would rather use my wealth to organize mutual aid, fund libraries, and instill class consciousness here in my home, in the hopes of creating a community that aligns with my views and desired lifestyle.
Considering that money is power under our current economic system, this is really a question of if you received power would you use it selfishly to help only yourself or try to help others.
What is radically left in the US? Supporting free healthcare?
Some of us are actually aware of how fucked up the overton window is in our country you know.
I consider myself a library socialist and anarcho-syndicalist, and yes, I do support free healthcare, among other things.
Sorry I sounded condescending. USA just seems like such a shithole country right now and my guess is that it’s only going to get worse.
It seems that way because you consume our media. Which is entertainment disguised ad news. News doesn’t generate as much clicks and likes (and thus ad revenue) unless it gets people all riled up.
Plenty of things to fix, and no doubt there are better places to live (but you could say that about any country) but I have no desire to move.
No, I absolute would never consume your news.
…then how do you hear about the things happening here?
Many countries outside of the US have their own media and news sources, believe it or not.
I think if money were not an issue, probably I would either move to some sort of unpopulated island in the pacific, a space station, the moon, really anywhere I could sufficiently threaten geopolitical interests while being kind of isolated. Maybe even just the top of a new york high rise, lex luthor style.
More realistically, everyone’s saying scandinavian countries, nordic countries, and these are popular for a reason. I could probably acquiesce, because I’m white and can speak english, but I also would pretty much be fine with any EU citizenship. I feel like there’s a lot of different strengths and weaknesses that would be interesting to learn about from each and see which one I like the best, because I don’t think it’d be a high level idea to judge any of them from the outside looking in. Likewise, I’ve also seen some taiwan suggestions, and that’s kind of an interesting proposal as well.
I dunno. If money wasn’t an issue, I think I might as well just stay where I am, and use it to do some cool stuff where I currently live. It’s not really in the spirit of the question, but I think the main object, main limiter, in my life, probably in most people’s lives, is gonna be money. I don’t know if the context matters much, but then maybe thinking along those lines, I’d rather be homeless in a nordic country, so I might as well just kind of default to one of them because the consequences of financial failure there seem maybe less dire than in lots of other places. So maybe my answer is still the same as everyone else’s, nordic countries.
I’d move back to the UK. It’s where I spent my childhood. I genuinely love Shakespeare, theatre and all that crap. Small studio in London, volunteer/work in the arts/cultural sector, go to the theatre or a tv recording during the weekend.
Unfortunately life is shit in the UK if you’re not rich. I once calculated that I’d be better off staying unemployed where I live, than finding suitable employment in London. I have a couple of degrees, but starting wages were abysmal when you factored in cost of living (rent, etc.). A lot of money would also mean I can get another degree and get a visa. Also: private health insurance. The NHS ain’t what it used to be.
Of course, if I was really rich I could also just stay where I am (low capital gain taxes), build a fully self-sufficient eco house (energy, water) then fly/drive/take the train to London, Berlin, Paris, Prague, Amsterdam for the weekend. Hell, buy a nice car, go for a drive.
Maybe. Always wanted to see Ireland.
Yes. I live in Texas, and the heat makes me sick. I’m literally planning on being too sick to work or anything three days next week because its going to be unseasonably warm, and the central AC hasn’t been kicked on yet.
Also, whatever the fuck is wrong with our state government. We made abortion illegal BEFORE Roe was overturned.
Yes. I live in Dallas and some medical issues make me sick any time the temperature gets above ~80.
The only reason to live here is the cost of living, which has risen quickly enough that other alternatives like Chicago are starting to look good.
Also, our state government is completely nanners.
I did this.
I used to live in Seattle. It’s a pretty progressive city but the police are very bad there. Outside the pocket of liberals and progressives, once you start driving east or even west across the sound, things then to be more… Homogenous… and even a bit racist. Plus the gun culture/violence is just too much for my family.
We moved to Taiwan during the height of the pandemic and during chap or whatever thing that the Seattle police was doing to the local people. We had enough and put everything in storage and left .
Living in Taiwan feels like how America used to be. Being a very young democracy, people here are hyper focused on freedoms. The government here is super focused on social programs that help people.
Things like, expecting mothers and families with kids under 6 have special parking in all malls and public parking. Breast feeding rooms everywhere. You get financial support for having kids, not just a tax break. Just a straight direct deposit into your account.
Universal health care. The medicine is highly subsidized(usually free)Ambulance rides are free. Shoot once you get to a certain age, the government helps pay for your stay at home nurse.
Things like this reminds me of the American 40-50s. When freedoms matter and people matter.
Obviously there are some drawbacks living here, but it’s overall positive.
Was it difficult to emigrate from the US to Taiwan? Are there stringent requirements?
Honestly it was quite easy. I came from the USA so YMMV. You basically need to get a Gold Card which is a green card from the United states. As long as you’re making an income that is a certain level, you get it. I want to say it’s 65k.
Or you can come here and work in the in demand industries like renewable energy. Those you don’t even need to be making that much and you instantly get it. My friend works for a wind farm and got his gold card within a year. Even his wife, who doesn’t even work, got the gold card.
I think after about 6 months, you get all the benefits I described.
College and schooling is very inexpensive. I know student visas are quite simple too. I have a friend from Jamaica that got his doctorate here and married a Taiwanese wife. He said he had zero chance to get this far ahead in Jamaica.
I already did that. Here I am.
American here, and FUCK YES I’d love to leave this shithole and never return until they have laws against convicted rapists being eligible to run the show.
Probably not. I live in the midwest of the US. it’s quiet, good school system, small town, within arms reach of several larger cities. Plenty of music venues, arenas close by. With one or two complaints about my state’s laws, I am content.
If I had unlimited funds, I might look around out of curiosity, but I doubt I’d go anywhere.
If I had unlimited F You money, I would either leave Nebraska or sponsor some carpetbaggers from New York or California, preferably enough of them to sway the elections here.
It might be easier to just buy off the existing legislature in the state. That way you aren’t fighting gerrymandering.
I won’t…
I did it. US -> Japan. I decided in the early 2010s I was going to do it, came for a bit, failed to get a visa, saved money, finished uni, and came again. It was surreal watching the 2016 election and everything thereafter. I’ve visited the US (I don’t know that I’d call it ‘home’ anymore) twice since I’ve been here, and probably won’t be going back again unless it’s to take care of family or a funeral.
Were I to do it all over again, I may have chosen Norway or Finland instead. I already have some knowledge of Germanic languages so the former wouldn’t be hard to learn. For Finnish, I think the case system is the only hurdle I’d have. That said, in my mid-40s and having just bought a house, I don’t think I’m going anywhere. If we ever get out of farming (or can take a year off before we get livestock on top of crops), My wife and I might live in Canada, Australia, or some combination of the two for some number of months.
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The three things that stop me moving to another country are money (or ability to get a job for the money I need), family (I have an elderly mum who I need to be around for) and residency issues (thanks Brexit). I guess if I was super rich I would be able to get residency more easily, but in the absence of a teletransporter it wouldn’t fix the family issue.
Maybe. I have been to a few countries outside of my own and wouldn’t want to live in any of them more than where I already do. I’ve also been to almost all 50 states (haven’t been to Alaska, Hawaii or Maine) and I havent wanted to live in any other than the one I already do.
I wanna check out Japan and the whole Scandinavian region. All those countries sound cool as fuck, but I’ve never been to 'em to know how they really are.
