Deciding where to relocate

The name of this country you are looking for is HEAVEN.

Hi kwevans69,

I'm not sure if it's at all easy to obtain a Permanent Visa in UTOPIA, but you can always hope.

Regarding military spending necessarily equating with war, I can tell you from personal experience that the two are NOT mutually exclusive, nor do they mean it's inevitable. For example Brazil, it has an extremely large military, yet they are a very pacific nation and don't involve themselves in wars (except with the drug traffickers LOL). The country is free from invasion because a strong military guarantees their soverignty and safety. In fact the moto of the Brazilian Army is "Braço forte e ombro amigo" which means Strong Arm and Friendly Shoulder. I can tell you that because of the natural resources in the Amazon and the fact that it is not only petroleum sufficient but also an exporter the USA would have tried to take it over by force if needs be long long ago had it not been for such a strong military.

By contrast, my homeland Canada has virtually no military at all. We often joked that if anyone declared war on Canada we'd have to borrow submarines from West Edmonton Mall because they have four. No army doesn't mean a weak country or wars either... it's all a matter of the culture and mindset of the nation. Nobody would invade Canada simply because they wouldn't have the first clue as to what to do with all that emptiness. Almost 90 percent of our population lives in a narrow 300 Km band of land along the USA/Canada Border. The rest is virtually empty.

Every country in the world has its own unique set of problems. Some of the richest and most stable nations of the past are now in the midst of crisis. Their very existence is threatened because of poor economic policies. That doesn't mean that they are no longer good places to live.

Like the old saying goes... If life gives you lemons, then make lemonade. You make the best of what you've got. Brazil has more than it's share of problems and it's not like Canada by any stretch of the imagination, but I am blissfully content here. Foreigners are flocking here in droves every year. Europe looks like it's undergoing a mass evacuation and everybody wants to line up at the nearest Brazilian Consulate looking for a visa.

Anyplace can be paradise if you want it to be. You just have to know how to get to where you can see the glass as being HALF FULL.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Try Laos

BRUNAI DARUSSALAM...good luck.

The Vatican city is probably as close to HEAVEN as you can get while alive - but even that tiny country has a military (of 50 Swiss guards in medieval costumes carrying halberds).
Also, I think there is no agriculture in HEAVEN. At least I have never seen anything growing on CLOUDS.

Getting back to the point I guess that Utopia does not exist and you have to compromise once in a while. If you need safety and peace I gladly recommend you so called Scandinavia: Sweden, Norway or Finland. No war, no drastic turning points in their history, people not obsessed with money and showing off their status. People here are crazy about nature, eco lifestyle, organic food and any kinds of sports.
However you might find the locals very distanced and not willing to have anything in common with foreigners who come from outside Scandinavian comfort zone. However, the better language you speak, the better reception. Taxes, costs of business and everyday expenses - very high.

After struggling with adaptation to the local conditions I may say that I would not dare to move to another country where the stress level is higher than the one when you miss the bus or have to pick the queue ticket. No overtime work

I know I'll not find the Utopia I'm looking for but I hope to get close. I guess the most important factor would be the militarism. I'm stick to death of it. And I suppose it does depend on the society/culture. I'll do some research on Brazil, and the other suggestions. Maybe I'll get a few more ideas.

The world it's a big place so as long you are well-off you should not be having problems relocating.

@ wjwoodward:
How well could an older foreign couple from Europe get along in larger Brazilian towns speaking only English with initially no Portuguese at all? In other words do the locals speak some English, enough to get along with for buying produce at the market and shops and so forth.

read my proposal,

Expat living five years in Sinville is looking for a business partner and investor ($15k-$20k) interested in the bar and restaurant business, diving, kayaking, snorkeling, sailing and other water sports. The business I having in mind will generate enough income for two Western families to live a comfortable life in Sinville plus putting some money into the bank; will help the marine environment and the families living in the fishing village near Sokkah beach. Contact: Sinville[at]Hotmail.com or a SMS to: 0978997943

Hi El Jost,

In financial terms a retired couple could live well in Brazil, however I couldn't imagine anyone being able to get by without speaking at least some Portuguese. You will only find the middle management employees of big companies here speak much English. The average Brazilian...... forget it.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi Hailey,

Well, West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta was from the time it was built over twenty years ago now the largest shopping mall in the world. This has only recently changed. The mall has a huge indoor theme park and water park with a huge man made lagoon. They really do have four submarines that give underwater tours. If I'm not mistaken that's three more subs than the Canadian Navy has.



Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Correction:

The Canadian Navy purchased (between 2000 - 2004) four aging Victoria class diesel submarines that the British Navy had chosen to retire rather than try to maintain. Immediately this became controversial and it was found that many key welds had to be redone, hulls seriously dented and in need of major repair and that the British had stored subs with water in the fuel tanks. As far as I can see, to date none of them are fully operational. So if anyone ever declared war on Canada we would depend solely on the guys at West Edmonton Mall.

Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term: military intelligence (or lack thereof LOL)

as crazy as it might sound - but try Cambodia. If you can overlook the human rights issues and you really want to live your own life and maybe even help some people - this is the perfect country. Near to no tax,very save, extremely tolerant population in the countryside ( you do not want to live in a Cambodian city!!!) and everything is very affordable. This is a country where even a small man still can make big changes.

According to Wikipedia there are 195 countries in the world. Using Freedom House I eliminated those listed as not free or partially free. Then using Wikipedia's list of invasions, revolutions, coups, and civil wars, I Eliminated those countries that had participated in or had been invaded, suffered revolution, coup or civil war recently. The using Wikipedia again I eliminated densely populated countries and those that spend a higher percentage of GDP on military than others. I now have 16 countries I'm going to research in depth.

Hi kwevans69,

Papua New Guinea should be lots of fun, sure you'll love it there. You'll just have to watch out according to the traditional beliefs in Masalai the evil spirits there are responsible for poisoning people, causing calamity and death. Oh yes and there's the practice of sorcery too. Take a tsunami warning alarm along with you too. Other than that everything else I've heard about the place is pretty positive.

Bon voyage my friend.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Yes I know that Hailey, when it was built West Edmonton Mall was the biggest in the world. I stated that this has changed. It still remains the biggest in North America and now 12th worldwide, Mall of America is largest in the USA but shows on the list as 20th worldwide if you're including Nickelodeon Universe which actually is a separate venture it is then 11th and you would be correct, the largest in North America. When we're talking about malls or skyscrapers NOTHING remains the biggest for very long anymore. You are correct most of the biggest ones are now in Asian countries.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team.

kwevans69: "I now have 16 countries I'm going to research in depth."
I don't think you should exclude nations' autonomous overseas territories, such as British colonies. I live in one of them - Cayman Islands in the Caribbean; you can check out the Islands' Forum on this blogsite for some information. The percentage of our GDP spent on military adventures is zero, and our local populace hasn't invaded anywhere since 1503, which is as far back as official records go.

It's not perfect, by any means, but it should be on your list.

Why wouldn't you include Nickelodeon?  It's in the middle of the mall.  I guess it doesn't matter.  Whatever Americans and Canadians do, we'll never be able to compete with China and Dubai.

More importantly, when anyone finds the perfect place to live, let the rest of us know where it is.

I would not recommend Papua New Guinea.
Having lived and worked on 6 different projects and experieneced first hand,  rioting, looting, burning and killing it is not a nice place to be in.

Did you ever apologize?

You might try International Living as a resource for places to live. Typical places they have touted include Eastern Europe, France, Italy, Panama, Belize and my fave, Ecuador (cheap for a retiree like me).

Regards and good luck in your search

wow i see u are really fed up of this horrible world like me ...we sailing in a same boat ,i am currently living Dubai and find it a nice place to live ,the only problem with them is that if u do mess up against their rules and regulations they will deport u  to where u originated from but otherwise u can live with happy life ,it is so peace and serene ...

What is perfect for you it doesn't have to mean that is will be perfect for the other.
As for your request: how many countries doesn't have a army?

Jordan is not perfect but it has a warm and very hospitallity people, the weathter is most of the time ok, taxes are low and you can earn a good living with a project what you want.
And most important: it is the most stabiel country in the region.
But I guess the Middle East is not on your list.

I really think you're looking for a utopia.

You might also try the web-forum "International Man". It has plenty of threads to choose from. I made it the topic of an item in my personal blog last May, if you want a rough introduction.

What countries did you end up after the Wikipedia search? Im considering to move to New Zealand , but would like to chat with south africans who moved there and how they are doing? I did holiday in new zealand over 2012 holidays and loved it but I also know a vacation did't tell me about how it is to live in NZ?

If anyone can help please do.

Renier

I'm focusing on the Western Hemisphere, looking at
Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica & Uruguay

I currently livein the USA

Why do want to leave usa? only asking cause I did consider usa as a possible new home.

militarism and the erosion of civil liberties that goes with it and the coming financial collapse

I call this "grass is greener on the other side"-syndrome.
It's surely easy to complain about things while living in one of the richest, best organised and most democratic societies in the world. Such people usually fail miserably when relocating to one less developed (and then never want to talk about the experience ...).
Good luck - I feel you're going to need it!

Hi kwevans69,

Given the criteria you mentioned in your original posting you should have crossed Brazil off your list long, long ago.

Brazil has an enormous military and defense budget, however they are not involved in wars.

Dense population, well the present population of Brazil is about 200 million so it's hardly what you'd call sparsely populated.

Regulations and taxes, Brazil is without a doubt one of the most bureaucratic nations on earth. Bureaucracy was not invented here, but Brazilians have turned it into a science. It invades every aspect of life and suffocates Brazilians and foreigners alike. Brazil also has one of the most complex sets of tax laws in the civilized world (according to a KPMG report) and you can believe it. The tax rate on personal income is 17 percent and everything else is taxed. The overall average tax on food is 22 percent, with some products subjected to 60 percent or more. Imported goods are subjected to a 60 percent tax, right off the top. All utility bills are taxed as well. Tax, tax, tax upon tax and the average citizen sees nothing in return.

We've not been invaded, but were under a dictatorship in the 60s.

Farming, well that depends on where you want to settle in Brazil. Some parts of the country have suffered from droughts that have lasted for many years. Other parts produce two harvests per year.

Crime is everywhere and Brazil has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, of which approximately 5 percent are ever solved.

Despite all this, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else because there are so many good things about living here that they far outweigh the bad.

I really think you should take a long hard look at your list of criteria. Personally, I feel apart from being Utopian and thus unachievable, they're totally unrealistic in the world in which we live. With what you claim to be looking for there isn't a single country in the Americas or on your list that meets even half of them.

I really don't know if you are really being serious about you "wish list" or if you're just pulling our legs, sitting back and having a good laugh. Sorry to be so blunt, but I call 'em as I see 'em.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team