Where in the world….

[Belle RoseParticipant]

I have been joking about it for years but I’m not really joking lol.

As soon as my kid graduates I am leaving the US.

I am wondering where in the world you guys think is going to be the best place to live given climate change and all of the political crazy shit that’s going on right now…

If you were going to be an Expat where would you move to? And why…

[NoelParticipant]

Hey Belle:  Somewhere where they speak Spanish and/ or English I guess. A little late for me to learn a new language. Somewhere temperate. Everywhere I’ll go they probably will have their own political crap to deal with so no escaping the racism, nationalism, and hate.
I might be better off staying put as at least I know what to expect here. I live in the Liberal North East so not as bad here as the south and the mid west.

[Simon PayntonParticipant]

I hear that Spain is good.  It’s doing well economically and weed is legal.  They’re still in the European Union.  They’re recovering from a fascist past, like the Germans, so maybe they’re super-laid back now with a vibrant culture, like the Germans.  I don’t know too much about it.  I hear it’s pretty happening.

[PopeBeanieModerator]

I just picked an arbitrary latitude, 40 degrees, and looked at my beach ball globe. Was surprised that there’s almost literally nothing in the southern hemisphere at 40 degrees or lower.

In the northern hemisphere near or above lat 40, barring Canada, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia and North Korea, lies all of Europe, Scandinavia, Greenland and Iceland. I imagine Greenland, Iceland, and Hokkaido could warm up nicely for a while, next to the northbound ocean currents. I hadn’t thought of this before, but maybe Ireland and nearby would maintain milder, Atlantic temperatures than the inland, continental countries.

[AutumnParticipant]

I think the difficulty is the variables that matter most change way too much from individual to individual. I know many Americans have contemplated fleeing to Canada. It can be an amazing option for some people, but I think many would be in for a higher degree of culture shock than they’d expect. If you’re not used to the way things are here, much of Canada can feel like a very isolating and lonely place if you’re used to more extroverted and expressive cultures. (Even many Canadians struggle with this when moving to other parts of the country and leaving familiar social circles behind). And of course, like all countries, it’s not a utopia. It’s a nation with pros and cons like all others.

Personally, as someone who’s trans, I’m fairly limited in where I could move without taking a step backward. Certainly I wouldn’t want to live in the US or much of the UK. Some nations in South America have advanced a lot in trans rights over the last decade or so, but it’s difficult to understand whether that translates to general cultural acceptance on par with Canada (which is middling to fair). Parts of Scandinavia may be a good option for me in terms of climate and possibly culture (I mostly keep to myself anyway, though), but I don’t really have much in the way of means and I am not sure how easily I could even be a resident in any of those nations.

This is one of those questions where it’s way easier to identify the worst options than it is to identify the best.

[Belle RoseParticipant]

@autumn

This is one of those questions where it’s way easier to identify the worst options than it is to identify the best.

What are the worst options? Lol and where are those places you said in south America where attitudes are becoming more excepting? I would love to know what those countries are… South America is one of the places I’ve actually been looking at…

honestly, language barrier anywhere in the world is not a concern for me. I feel pretty confident that I could learn the language. Of course already speaking Spanish, all of Latin America is a possibility for me, but what I have found is that the immigration requirements are easier in some places than others. For example I’ve been really looking at Nicaragua, and Ecuador simply for the ease of immigration and the fact that I could live there on almost nothing lol… Also Guatemala and of course Mexico is high on my list. Costa Rica… Spain… Even Brazil. I think I could learn Portuguese pretty quickly.

but then I started researching countries like Portugal and my eyes got pretty wide. Portugal is beautiful and I think if I could find a way to go somewhere like that, that would be amazing. There’s just so much of the world out there that I haven’t seen. I have only seen many parts of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala. I’ve never traveled anywhere else. And so I can read about the places but I think until you’re actually there it’s not really the same. I even started looking at Indonesia, and Mali.
although for me a place like that the language barrier would be something I’d have to prepare for, whereas anywhere in Latin America the language is no problem. I can easily understand all dialects of Spanish. And I could probably get by in Brazil just by understanding the language a little bit, but I’m not sure about that to be honest. I don’t know how much Spanish Brazilians know lol…

decisions decisions….

As it stands right now, and all of the places that I have looked at as real possibilities for me, I would have to say that Mexico, and Nicaragua are my top two. And to be honest, Nicaragua is probably number one.

I wish I could move out of the country now. But my ex-husband would kill me lol…

[Simon PayntonParticipant]

@belle rose – you might be interested in this article.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230207-the-five-countries-expat-families-love

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