Leaving the usa

where do you want to move? Be aware that when you're an immigrant somewhere you often have limited freedom as well. You're often on visas which have restrictions and are usually unable to vote (some countries allow voting in local elections after some years).

that said, I'm not missing the US much these days

u are lucky girl because u live in america , we in morocco we don't have freedom as u in there , only foreign people who can have freedom in morocco , for exemple if u travel to here , police they will respect you , on a contrary they strickes ur if we want make manifestation , and i think the best country to live is suisse ,and all the Scandinavian countries ^^ , that's only my opnion

I am a Libertarian, and I feel the same way. It is sad to see individual liberties vanish in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I've lived in Europe and in Latin America, folks, freedoms in Europe are non-existent, especially if you have to make a living there. You will always be a guest in Latin America, subject to the whims of whatever crooked authorities come into power.  The changes occurring in the US are trending towards what has been done in Europe for the past 40 years so no need to move there, it's coming here...My take on all this, we need to stay and fight for what's right her in our own country. There is no heaven on earth where to flee to anymore.

kent&kathyboyd wrote:

Hi my name is Kathy, I am retired. My husband and I are tired of the changes this government is doing that affect our lives. I have been a patriot of my country all my life and its breaking my heart to see our freedoms going away.

Exactly what freedoms have you lost and how has it affected your life?

kent&kathyboyd -

You are an American I will assume. Therefor by creed you are supposed to remain strong. Failure is not an option.

I just returned to the USA for a short vacation from Brazil. Sorry, I do not agree with you. The United States is an amazing country with or without the b/s government. A lot can be done. The comparison of Brazil to the USA is not even describable. It is another planet.

During the 2000 election, Alec Baldwin almost said he would leave the country if Bush was elected.  The conservative media immediately pounced on him, saying things like only a traitor would leave his country just because he doesn't like the president or a true American would never cut and run.

Bill O'Reilly wrote:

We don't need foolish, demeaning attacks on any president, no matter what party he or she is in.

Rush Limbaugh wrote:

It's beyond me how anybody can look at protestors and call them anything other than what they are: anti-American, anti-capitalist, pro-Marxist communists.

Ann Coulter wrote:

Only liberals hate America.

usmc_mv wrote:

You are an American I will assume. Therefor by creed you are supposed to remain strong. Failure is not an option.

Would that it were so.

kent&kathyboyd wrote:

Hi my name is Kathy, I am retired. My husband and I are tired of the changes this government is doing that affect our lives. I have been a patriot of my country all my life and its breaking my heart to see our freedoms going away.

Another one hit wonder, just dump your negativity and run, find what you think is a better place.  Of course you have the right to stay and complain, but if you go no one will miss your attitude.  Amazing how cranky people get when they get older.

In all fairness, it's only been 2 days.  He/she/they could easily come back.

Well as I always say, "don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out."

We too were tired of it.  Not so much what the government was doing to our lives, but what our hustle and bustle life style was doing to our lives.  It was enough of the rat race and for my wife corporate America.

So we retired to the Dominican Republic 8 years ago and have not looked back for a second.

Bob K

Bob K wrote:

We too were tired of it.  Not so much what the government was doing to our lives, but what our hustle and bustle life style was doing to our lives.  It was enough of the rat race and for my wife corporate America.

So we retired to the Dominican Republic 8 years ago and have not looked back for a second.

Bob K

Glad to hear you are enjoying your retirement in the DR.  Please keep in mind that it is possible to retire in the USA and refuse to participate in said rat race.

Yes it is possible to retire there but one needs much more $$$ than you do here.

Bob K

I've always heard that living in other countries is much cheaper than living in the United States.  Then I moved to Hong Kong.

No many places are lots more expensive than the US. However many places in the Caribbean are cheaper.

Bob K

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

I've always heard that living in other countries is much cheaper than living in the United States.  Then I moved to Hong Kong.

I think it depends on how you set up your life. Compared to my life in the US, living in Norway is actually cheap for me. People who want the American dream with lots of huge cars and a mcmansion wouldn't find it to be so, however.

I lived like a queen in the US compared to how I live here.  It's the rent in Hong Kong that's killing me.  It's like living on the Upper East Side of New York without any decent bagels.

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

I lived like a queen in the US compared to how I live here.  It's the rent in Hong Kong that's killing me.  It's like living on the Upper East Side of New York without any decent bagels.

You always have a way of confusing me. But I don't see how bagels would bother you. You like "cake." Or was it "muffins." Can't keep track.

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

In all fairness, it's only been 2 days.  He/she/they could easily come back.

In all fairness, it's been a week, still MIA

mugtech wrote:

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

In all fairness, it's only been 2 days.  He/she/they could easily come back.

In all fairness, it's been a week, still MIA

Just to clarify, when I said MIA I meant missing in action.  Just found out last night on my most trusted news source, The Colbert Report, that MIA is also a female rapper from Sri Lanka.  Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

I'm glad you said something.  We don't want to confuse all the Sri Lankan rap fans.

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

In all fairness, it's only been 2 days.  He/she/they could easily come back.

Five weeks and not a peep out of Mr & Mrs Negativity

I think I shed a tear... NOT.

Hahaha

By coming to Brazil, I have learned that Ann Landers really was RIGHT....

The grass always does look greener on the other side of the fence, because it's growing over a huge SEPTIC TANK.

They could take away a lot of freedoms in the USA and Canada, but we'd still have a Hell of a lot more freedoms than in Latin America.

I get a chuckle out of the people that complain about the US or Canadian government being too invasive, messing too much with the lives of their citizens........ most of the complainers obviously have never spent more than a few weeks in some other country to find out just how oppressive and invasive other governments can be. We North Americans, by comparison, have very little to complain about.

wjwoodward wrote:

By coming to Brazil, I have learned that Ann Landers really was RIGHT....

The grass always does look greener on the other side of the fence, because it's growing over a huge SEPTIC TANK.

Book by Erma Bombeck.  Ann Landers said it always looks greener because someone is cutting it.

Thanks for correcting me mugtech, of course you're right. Must be getting older than I thought, how could I have forgotten about Erma Bombeck?

wjwoodward wrote:

Thanks for correcting me mugtech

My pleasure

I think the person that posted this pity party thread is getting way too much attention now.

Living in Brazil, I can attest to James observations. Just this past Friday I was leaving a bar with my friend when the "Military Police" stopped him and slapped him in the back of the head. Yes, he had been drinking but he wasn't mouthing off. Even if he had it's completely unacceptable. If that happened in the US I would have been a millionaire.

My friends response, "This is normal in a Brazil."

As an American, I find it unacceptable and abnormal.

That's right Matt, I think they'd soon wake up and see they've got a lot to cry about if they come to a country like Brazil or most other Lat-Am countries. If a cop here in Brazil asks you to identify yourself and you refuse, you find yourself in the cage in the back of the police car. You can't refuse and by law you must carry your ID at all times. Can't imagine how you could comply with that while swimming in Ipanema????

I'm sure that in the USA the police can't do that unless they actually place you under arrest first. I know in Canada they sure as Hell can't demand you to identify yourself.

Here we have a CPF number, it's like the US Social Security Number or Canadian Social Insurance Number, but it's the gateway into your entire existance, your very identity. It's not the least bit confidential, in fact any merchant enters the number in their store's computer system they can find out how much you weighed at birth, when you let your first fart, your parents' names, everything you've ever purchased in Brazil, all your debts, how many pairs of underwear you own and probably even how often you change them.

If you lose any piece of identification here it's a really big deal. First you need to spend all day at the police station reporting the loss. Then even though you've done that some crook robs you of your identity, commits crimes, charges merchandise, takes out bank loans, etc., in your name. Who gets stuck with the debts or ends up behind bars until you can prove it WASN'T you who killed 4 people??? You got it...... little ol' you. All because while you reported the loss of your documents, the police in one station don't even communicate that to those in the next station, let alone with the rest of the country. They probably don't even tell the cops coming in on the next F'ing shift.

You want to talk about invasion of privacy, well in Canada it's a crime to ask somebody their marital status (except if they're applying for a marriage licence or insurance or you've just employed them). So if a beautiful woman asks...... "Honey I'm single-0 and hot to trot." but if it's not a supermodel enquiring........."Off to the slammer girl!!!"

I really think people who whine about the mean old US or Canadian government should be sentenced to spend six months in Brazil, they'd never let out a peep again once they got back home.

I agree completely with the fact that the posting really seems to be a pity party...... Kathy, time to put on your big girl panties!

wjwoodward wrote:

I really think people who whine about the mean old US or Canadian government should be sentenced to spend six months in Brazil, they'd never let out a peep again once they got back.

This is a statement I agree with more than you could possibly EVER know. There was a push a long time ago to make it mandatory for US High School students to leave the country on an exchange visit for at least a week in order to graduate. It did not pass obviously and it was very far fetched. However, I truly believe every American citizen should be required to visit another country, any country outside the US/Canada - and realize just how good they have it.

It seems the only people that truly appreciate the United States/Canada are immigrants themselves who already know what their merry little life was like outside the US.

And it is the same in the US - during job interviews an employer can not ask your age, marital status and a slew of other questions. And it is the case in most circumstances with the exception of government applications.

Having a military draft also added to the appreciation, but its been almost 40 years

Not really. Police brutality here in the great usa is a daily occurrence. just google it and see for yourself.

Listen to Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan's Just Like Tom Thumb Blues, includes the line "If you're lookin to get silly you better go back to from where you came, cause the cops don't need you and man they expect the same."  This is about Mexico, not the USA.  You have no idea how isolated the bad cops are in the USA as opposed to a way of life in other places.

retiring to belize is one thing but the confederates that went to belize after the civil war found like a tough thing, making a living there is very difficult and good luck getting a bypass or valve transplant.

If you want to stretch your dollar, South East Asia is the place. More and more expats are retiring here. Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines are the top destinations, with Malaysia having the best infrastructure, medical services and fantastic command of English.

There is a programme especially for retirees called the Malaysia My Second Home programme which only requires you to prove monthly income/pension of USD $2400 and liquid assets of at least USD $84,000 and you are then awarded with a 10 year renewable visa.

Government portal for this programme is pretty bad ****

Hope that helps!

shobanjraveen wrote:

There is a programme especially for retirees called the Malaysia My Second Home programme which only requires you to prove monthly income/pension of USD $2400 and liquid assets of at least USD $84,000 and you are then awarded with a 10 year renewable visa.

Government portal for this programme is pretty bad ****

Hope that helps!

Requirements are a lot easier in the Philippines and Ecuador.  Many who move there have less than $2,400/ month income, less than $84,000 in liquid assets.