IF, You Can, Where Would You Go???

Switzerland . . . the franc is strong, the food is excellent and unadulterated, and it's beautiful.

The only downside - I think homeschooling is illegal. :(

I've also thought of Panama. Canada is an idea too, though I fear the winters LOL (not that winters would be all that great in Switzerland either).

No where. I love good old America! I lived in Bermuda for 3 years and while it was amazing, I was SO glad to come home.

So I'd take the year to travel and always come back home.

FYI - In Canda we get one year paid maternity leave. We also get free health care. We pay higher taxes, but it is worth it. I love the four seasons we get here, even the cold winters are fun if you dress appropriately, and they do make you really appreciate the hot summers. Canada is safe. We don't seem to get nearly as many natural disasters as other parts of the world, and we don't have any dangerous creatures (poisonous spiders, scorpions, venomous snakes or alligators). Anyway, I would never leave Canada. In fact, I would never move from the city I live in. I was born here, and live only blocks away from the house I grew up in.

My husband and I have talked several times about moving to the United Arab Emirates. Why? The first $190k or so of income is not taxed by the IRS, as long as you meet certain conditions.

They pay American doctors (hubby) about double what our doctors in the US make, and pay teachers (me) in the $80k range. Furthermore, most employers subsidize the housing expense, which is VERY high.

We have talked about moving there for 3-5 years so that we can save enough on taxes to return to the US and pay off all of our student loan debt, buy a new home for us (and my aging in-laws) to live in, and have college funds for our kids.

Probably Spain.....for vacation. I don't want to leave my family, but a nice vacation villa would be great!!!
I speak Spanish, I love the men, I think the country is beautiful (at least what I have seen in pictures! lol), it would be nice to have a winter home there.
L.

I think Finland or Norway. Somewhere Northern. Really cold in winter and very mild summers. I hate summer heat and thrive in cold dreary weather.

I also respect so much of what they do as a country to address the use of their water resources. They take care of their sick and aged, their poor do not go without food and shelter. They take care of their citizens.

Not for any political reasons, but I am a creature of comfort-- the idea of up and moving somewhere else, away from my sweet home and friends and family-- that would be very tough.

That said, if I had to move, I'd consider New Zealand. Beautiful country, loads of beaches, and closer to the places in the South Pacific I would want to visit.

Nope, not me! I'm fine right here in the good ole U.S. of A; as my Daddy always called it. For all the things that are wrong with this country and everyone complains, there are still way more things that are right and I am happy right here!!

I'm not saying I wouldn't want to visit other places - I would love to see the Eiffel Tower, The Pyramids, Polebrook - where my Daddy was stationed in WWII, etc., but I would never want to live anywhere else.

Except maybe California - not a different country but I hear it's a whole different culture out there!! lol!!! Plus, it's warm!!!!

Fun question!!

Canada. If it wasn't so far away from my family and my husband could ever be persuaded to move more than 10 minutes away from his, I'd be up there.

greece and ireland are two on my bucket list to visit. hard to say for sure if i'd like living there, but i'd love to visit long enough to decide! having gone to england for the first time last year, i can say i lovelovelovelove it there, but probably couldn't live there. i'm too addicted to heat.
bermuda is home for me. i could go back there and live happily in a heartbeat. my men all think it's too small to stay for long, that they'd get claustrophobic. i didn't when i was a kid, but then, i didn't know anything else.
i really love how the scandinavian countries have worked the abhorred 'socialist' concepts into something that works for their people. they sound like awesome places to live in most (but not all) ways.
there's just that problem with cold and dark.
i could probably be happy in any of the mediterranean countries, or any of the island nations. and i daydream about it a lot.
but when the rubber meets the road, as horrified as i am by america a lot of the time, i really do love it here.
edited to reply to cheryl, i don't offhand know of anyone who thinks that healthcare is free. but we already have your 'death panels.' they are called insurance companies, and they decide, based on profit not feasibility, who will receive treatment. for every example you have of someone who's been helped by coming here for health care, i can show you two of people who live elsewhere who may have had to wait for care, but who received excellent care and didn't risk losing their homes and livelihoods over it. everyone does pay, one way or the other. at least with 'socialist' medicine, good health care isn't reserved solely for the well-off.
:) khairete
S.

Ireland!! because it's beautiful and has castles and fun people and great culture. :)
plus I recently found out I'm part Irish! so that was exciting to me!!

ETA: If it's not about health care and not to live permanently? Australia.

I'd love to go back to visit Germany. So much has changed since the EU did their "one currency" thing...but Europe is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!
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No where. Although if Obamacare goes through - we can go anywhere - as it will all be the same...

Keep in mind that if you move to Sweden you would have to be a CITIZEN and pay their taxes - which are HIGH - like 60%. And Japan's tax rate is 75% and the government "takes care of you".

The United States was the lifeboat for the world in way of health care and many other things. One of the reasons health care in other countries isn't worse is because people can come here for care if they choose but, once Zerocare takes full effect, that won't be true anymore.

Not only won't others be able to come here, but we won't be able to go anywhere else as the lines get longer and longer and the death panels decide who gets care and who doesn't. The whole world is a better place because people can come here - when we are socialized, the whole world is sunk. We're the last lifeboat; when Obama sinks us, everyone drowns.

As for Canadians having "GREAT" health care? i wonder why my neighbors CAME TO AMERICA for health care? She had breast cancer - was waiting MONTHS in Canada. Came here? Resolved and still cancer-free.

NOTHING IS FREE!! Someone, SOMEWHERE is paying for it.

I would love to live in England. There's no language barrier and they have a great sense of humor. Having said that, most Americans really miss all of the convenience of living in this country...stores are open late and everything is very service oriented in our country. Other countries aren't that way and Americans get very impatient waiting and waiting for places to open and waiting to get just basic things done (like getting internet or getting a drivers license).

I would love to travel all over the world. But I would always come home to Texas. Wouldn't consider living anywhere else.

Most of the places that pay more for jobs, medical leave, etc., etc., are so much more expensive to live in. My cousin from England was just here with her family. My uncle is British, and their gas is $10 a gallon. Other things like clothes were half the price here or more even in some cases at the same stores as over there. So you get what you pay for wherever you are really. As for the scenery and visiting that's another story. I loved Europe and England and the sites to visit. I wouldn't want to live there now.

I have day dreams about moving to Fiji, but I have never been there so I don't know if I would actually love living there or not. As for Sweden, the pro-natalist policies there are certainly appealing, what is interesting is that they have NOT had the desired effect of increasing the number of Swedish children born, go figure. Also, the real estate and other living costs (not to mention taxes) there are really high.

I have lived in Japan and England. We could see returning to England. However, I doubt we would ever do it. Their healthcare isn't good. I was hospitalized for over 2 weeks while we were there. Thankfully I had private insurance, so I could choose my doctor, and got excellent care. The guy in the bed next to me wasn't so lucky. I was leaving the day he got his first bit of treatment. We had arrived the same day with similar issues. His we're actually a bit worse. (I had a horse riding accident and he was in a motorcycle accident.) The NHS doctors were rude and impatient with their patients (we had 5 people in our ward, and their meetings with their doctors were appalling to me). They do have longer maternity leave. Guess who pays for it. The taxpayers. No thanks. They are taxed at an incredible rate. Why is their gas so expensive? The base price is the same as ours. The difference is in the taxes. We visited good friends in Sweden last year. We enjoyed our visit, but would *never* live there. We know many Swedes who are leaving their country because of their oppressive government. They are fleeing in the night because of the tyrannical control they have. They are also taxed at a ridiculous rate. I love Europe for so many reasons. It is beautiful! But I don't think I could raise my children in such a socialist place. America is about 20 years behind them, and catching up fast. Scary to me because we have seen the results on the people. The thing that shocked me was that the people didn't even know how to ask basic questions about their care. They just laid in bed waiting for someone to tell them what to do. There was a man there who had broken his ankle the year before. At the time they couldn't get him in to set his ankle properly. He was back for them to re-break it so they could set it properly. So many people we knew there had misformed arms and such because they were never set properly the first time! Again, shocking.

And yes, getting used to the much slower pace was difficult at first. Not much is open in the evenings. It takes weeks to get cable/phone hooked up, etc. they are in no rush. But, once we got used to it, it wasnt too bad. We were shocked at the fast pace of the States when we came back. Overall, I prefer America. We have many advantages and freedoms we don't even realize we have. And we have a voice. Many countries don't allow for that!

CALIFORNIA...for many reasons....they have everything as my dad always said.....the ocean, the mountains, the desert, all compact in one big state!!!! Something for everyone! Oh, and the surfers in Southern Cali are so much fun just to watch......lots to do, beautiful state, seasons, weather, fun stuff like movie stars, Golden Gate Bridge is spectacular!!!! I just love love love the place. Now, get rid of traffic and high cost of living and we are all set. LOL ya, right!!