Need help expatriating/fleeing from USA; medical concerns

Welcome to the site, and the forum, that was an EXCELLENT first post to introduce yourself and state your goals and concerns.  It's great when someone can articulate themselves and state exactly what their situation is 

As an American myself, I understand and empathize with your feelings about the direction the USA has been heading in.

While your medical concerns are valid of course, you might be overestimating the difficulty of getting treatment in another country.  I also deal with a number of chronic medical issues, and as an expat in Romania, I've been able to get effective ongoing treatment, including pain management medications that in the wrong hands can be abused.  In fact, most of my care and treatment is either entirely covered by the Romanian state medical insurance which I pay a very small amount for, or it's heavily discounted.  Speaking from experience in Romania, finding good health care providers can be very challenging....you really must hunt for them, but there are some good doctors that will do everything to help.

When I came over to Romania, my wife took me to her family doctor, I carried all of my medical records, we showed them to the doctor and that was that! The doctor wrote whatever scripts I needed, or referred me to the specialists so they could write the scripts.  Same thing with the specialists, the looked at my records, asked a few questions, and had no problem giving me what I needed.  Romanian docs seem to be in awe of Western (American, western EU) docs, as they're seen as more advanced and prestigious.

I hope this insight will help somehow.  Good luck selecting a destination!

Romaniac
Expat.com Experts Team

If you are looking for a place that is not in as much turmoil or political upheaval as the US, I would cross both Turkey and Israel off of your list. Turkey is still tense from the protests that were going on in 2013, and Erdogan is consistently consolidating more power and creating a more restrictive regime--- especially limiting the media and cracking down on any kind of protest. (I lived in Istanbul in 2013 and several friends tell me that things are more or less the same, just fewer riots now).

As for Israel, not sure how much you know of the history, but the ongoing conflict with Palestinians is real and violent. Yes, there are perfectly safe spaces you can live, especially as a Jew, but if your goal is to live somewhere where the tensions of hatred are not your everyday bread and butter... then the conflict against Arabs in Israel would probably be off-putting.

Bulgaria has a similar health care set-up as Romania (many former Eastern bloc countries do). Not all forms of benzodiazepines are available here (rivotril was stopped in 2013, due to how expensive it is and a lack of interest, replaced with clonazapam, as an example). Doctors are very very hesitant to prescribe narcotics and opioids here, but I am unsure of benzodiazepines.  I assume with your medical history you would be able to find a doctor in one of the main cities to take over your case, but it might take more than a month to work out. I would recommend finding a doctor and setting up an online consultation to see about your options.

But with Bulgaria, as with many Eastern European countries, you will have to deal with racism against Roma people and uneasiness about Arabs and Turks. Really, anywhere you go there will be political and racist issues. There is no utopia. As far as Jews in Bulgaria... Bulgarians often pride themselves in the "fact" that no Jews from Bulgaria were deported to German camps or killed during WWII, despite Bulgaria belonging to the Axis Powers, but they gloss over the gross mistreatment of Jews within the country during that period. In modern day Bulgaria, Jews are rather accepted, especially in large cities. Although there is not a huge Jewish population here. As with many places in Europe, there is a small neo-nazi population in Bulgaria, but they are more concerned with Roma and Muslims than with Jews. Oh, and with football.

@Professor..

20 odd year back i would have sneered at your posting and suggested the best course of action would be to fight the regime instead of bailing out. If all of us leave because our native societies take a turn for worse, there will be no resistance to fascism and we will end up running from on place to another..

Today..at age 50 plus.. I am an applicant for MM2H.. for a completely different set of reasons.

My recommendation to you will be Costa Rica. I have been there a number of times, while i am not considering it a place for my own retirement. Because of personal reasons..(family in Asia, linguisitic/cultural ties etc). Costa Rica has a lot ot offer you:
- Perfect weather year round and no major natural calamities (hurricanes etc)
- Very affordable cost of living
- Very good health care and very liberal social policies (Costa Rica abolished its Army to offer universal healthcare and social security to all its citizens)
- Large gringo expat population and overall local tolerance/acceptance of foreigners
- Your language skill ..will improve..and will be a great asset
- Political and social stability
- Proximity to US and family/connections etc

There is much more to say. but both Costa Rica and Panama may be better choices for you than Turkey/Israel or eastern Europe.

My $0.02
Shahnawaz

Being Jewish doesn't automatically give you citizenship in Israel. And being over 25 makes it tougher.

I am fairly disappointed to see such a post about the USA.  We live there now (my husband, native-born and I for over 50 years as a naturalized immigrant) and fail to understand the level of desperation in the above post.

The USA has gone through many different eras of turmoil, just as have all other countries in our very turbulent world, and -- just like most other countries, has come through those difficult eras in fairly successful ways, including now -- depending on one's individual perspective, of course!

My husband and I have been preparing to retire to Spain for the past 5 years (I lived there for my University years, but my husband has never been) and have determined where, when and how we will make our move.  We've even selected the city and have narrowed down specific streets and neighborhoods of interest (all via websites, Google Maps, reading, and communicating online).

This post is not only to say that the USA is not all that bad.  I understand that many are disappointed at the results of the last presidential election (not my husband and I) just as there were almost 50% of the country disappointed at the results of the prior 2 presidential elections (my husband and I certainly were!).

At no point in the past 8 years, however, did we consider running FROM the US, but rather, looked FORWARD to the day we could retire to Spain -- a very, very positive way of looking at things, I think.

My main point is to suggest that perhaps moving TO something from a positive perspective is perhaps a better basis than running FROM something with negative connotations which may well affect your perspective of possible new locations.

I would suggest, since, as mentioned in your post, both you and your spouse are worldly, well-travelled individuals, you are best equipped to determine, through study and research what countries may best suit your present and future needs.

I would doubt a forum such as this, as wonderfully informative it is, could really provide the personalized guidance you appear to request.

A review of the countries you mentioned, including la maravillosa Espana, may be of more assistance to determine whether the country may or may not fit your individual, personal needs.

The research my husband and I have conducted in the past years, utilizing the numerous, very informative websites that exist about "Moving to Spain," have helped immensely in confirming to us that my love of Spain is not misplaced, and my husband, through our research, has come to agree wholeheartedly.

I wish you and your spouse the very best of luck in your research and decision-making.

Michele

@ProfessorX, perhaps you may consider the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.  The official languages are English and French,  and the number of expats retiring to the Island is rising every year. There also is a Jewish community.  On Facebook, I think the group is called Jewish Mauritius. My advice would be to come visit the island.

Regards,

Vasoo

When seeking a retirement home, it's best not to be too fussy. There are dozens of countries where anybody can fit in, and can find other expats/immigrants to get along with. There is no one place for you. The second thing to say is that you have to take a chance - to be a wee bit more adventurous than you seem to be. Just stick a pin in a map of the world, and - always provided it's a place that welcomes retirees - go there. If it doesn't work out for whatever reason, move on to somewhere else.

The Caribbean, Europe, Central America, South America, "Down Under", south-east Asia, India - all of those places have thousands upon thousands of foreign retirees who are content there. You will go crazy if you demand perfection. Retiring abroad is all about settling for what's acceptable.

My wife and I - both in our late 70s - happen to live in a place (Cayman, in the Caribbean) that's rapidly getting too expensive for us. If we have to move, after 39 years here, our new home might be Mexico or one of the other Latino countries, or The Canary Islands or somewhere else near the Mediterranean, or Thailand or somewhere down there. It doesn't much matter which general area we choose. And it really doesn't matter much which general area you choose, either.

The medical thing will sort itself out, as somebody here said. And forget the Jewish thing altogether; most successful retirees are those who have broken away from their tribal loyalties, not clung to them.

I like Gordon's break-from-the-tribal message  , although I give thumbs down to his stick-a-pin-in-a-map concept.    Love ya, Gordo.

Give yourselves a break and stick to places where you have some language skills -- English, Spanish, French.

Narrow it down and then do research -- such as emailing doctors in the remaining five top countries -- to verify about the meds.

Keep in mind that some places are off-limits for some Expats due to hot weather.  I've been to Israel -- and it was supremely hot.  I have been to Thailand many times, and except for two months a year in northern Thailand, it is also a sauna.

Consider the possibility that anti-Semitic sentiment and other objectionable phenomena may not be so present in some parts of the United States.

Ashland, Oregon .. Santa Fe, New Mexico .. Show Low, Arizona .. southern Vermont .. that cherry festival town in Michigan .. Old Stonington, Connecticut .. it's a big country.

Move to, or maybe just visit at first, the best one of these .. swear off radio and TV news for a month .. walk in the woods or along the shore .. meditate .. and the world could look a lot different without moving to Jerusalem, Turkey, Romania, Iceland or Bangkok.

cccmedia in another good place: 
    Juan Valdez Coffee Country, Colombia


P.S. --  If "the dirt in the street" keeps whispering the same place in your ears -- Andalusia, Spain, for instance -- pay attention.

Hi everyone,

Just to inform you that some posts have been removed from this thread since post #10 has been edited and the reaction to this post could create further off-topics on this thread.

If we could continue sharing on the topic it will be most appreciated.

All the best,
Bhavna

Mczwz wrote:

My main point is to suggest that perhaps moving TO something from a positive perspective is perhaps a better basis than running FROM something with negative connotations which may well affect your perspective of possible new locations.

THIS is the single most important issue that determined if you relocate well!
I have seen many "quitters" over the years who failed to realise that a negative attitude towards their environment is part of themselves and not caused by the country they want to leave. They quickly become eternal whiners in a new place as well. Do not fall for that trap!

Another issue that you seem to underestimate is the ability to work, which you mentioned you need. Few countries give non-native-speaking foreigners the chance to teach local kids - and even if they do, you'd still be at a competitive disadvantage against local teachers.

Professor_X,
You'll probably just have to find a doctor in the other country to prescribe you the same or similar medications, shouldn't be a problem. If you have a legitimate condition that requires you to take them, I doubt you'll be denied. You'll just have to pay out of pocket for the expense until you might find a way to be covered under an insurance policy there but dollars are strong for now and the cost might be relatively minimal for you and maybe even cheaper.
I would suggest to focus on the degree of economic freedom in other places to help you come up with the decision of where to relocate. The more sound the situation, the better your chances of achieving the things you need to do once you're there. The heritage website will give rankings but do follow up research because there's much more to it than just picking the highest ranking place. I would suggest to steer clear of places with highly inflated property bubbles, high unemployment, a precarious financial situation and a great deal of government intervention in the economy. Your reason for wanting to leave where you are is your business and other opinions shouldn't stop you from moving toward accomplishing your goals. Best of luck to you

Hmm, I would suggest a place that is popular in terms of medical tourism. Where you can get quality care at a lower price. Costa Rica and Panama are great for that. But I have heard that Thailand is a good place. I would say make your health number 1 and then pick a few options and let us know so those who have been to these places can give you appropriate advice.