If you had to leave the USA, where would you go?

[KansasVoter]

I would pick Canada!

Also, assume the country would let you in.

[Skittles]

1. England

I feel like home there

[KansasVoter]

That was my 2nd choice!

[Skittles]

21. check us out - me and my brother as English schoolkids!

:D

[pipoman]

37. We don't need no ed-u-cation...

[Ikonoklast]

109. More like...

Must be an English thing.


:scared:

[zanana1]

51. Is that really you?

How adorable!

[Skittles]

110. yup that is me

I kicked ass even as a Brit schoolkid (me mum is English) - check me and my bro's out here - which one of us do you think ruled? Yes INDEED.

[zanana1]

132. How did you go from being cute little British kids to...

Texans?

[Ishoutandscream2]

144. She got lucky!

[Boudica the Lyoness]

24. If your mum is British then so are you.

I don't know if you knew that.

I was born in England and my American born son is British by descent. My son went to England last year to study and got his British passport, NHS number and voted in the general election.

"Children born abroad to British mothers before 1983
At present there are two entirely different paths through which children of British mothers and children of British fathers born abroad before 1983 can acquire a passport. The differences also have a bearing on costs. Children of British mothers born before 1983 require a nationality registration fee which (as of c. 2010) is currently £540, they also have to undergo a background check into their eligibility and be of "good character", and a as well as attend a civil ceremony.<8>"

My sons was easier to do because he was born in 1988. My older son is married to a Brit.

Here's a link if you're interested;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nationality_law

:)

[Skittles]

112. AWESOME!

I always felt more at home in England than anywhere else; also, my grandfather was a Dunkirk vet, and I very much remember using shillings and farthings.....yes, I AM a Brit!!! :D

[Boudica the Lyoness]

146. My sons feel more at home in England as well.

I've lived here in the US for about 36 years, but home will always be England for me.
I had no relatives fight in WW2 because they were either too old, too young or already killed in WW1.
Glad you're a fellow Brit. :)

[Skittles]

151. my mum lives in Chicago

Union Jack on the wall, watching BBC, sipping on tea - she may as well be in England LOL. Mum still remembers a couple of planes popping over the channel and "machine-gunning the whole bloody town". She's from around Great Yarmouth. :D

[Boudica the Lyoness]

152. Bless her heart.

I grew up listening to war stories. My mum and dad were both 10 when it started and 15 when it ended. My mum was in Wales during the war and my dad in Bedford, 50 miles north of London. He said the sky glowed red when London was being bombed.

I have been to Yarmouth. I also enjoy BBC America, tea and love me Union Jack. :) You can take the girl out of England but you can't take England out of the girl.

[uncommon]

153. One of my best friends has dual citizenship bc her father is British.

[Bobbieo]

42. Nw Zealand. I have friends there.

[Romulox]

68. "Out of the frying pan..." nt

[pitohui]

2. panama

theyd let me in but even recognizing all the countries that wouldn't "really" let me in and pretending they would like england, germany, canada etc. those are all fine countries but i'd prob still pick panama

[mnhtnbb]

99. Hubby and I have permanent resident visa status in Panama.

At one time, we were building a house there, but have given it up. Still have the visa, though.

[pitohui]

117. beautiful little country esp. for the bird watcher! (EOM)

.

[SoCalDem]

149. I lived there as a child (age 4-13), and LOVED it.

Bust as a grown-up, I have never gone back because I know it would break my heart to see what "modernity" has done to the verdant wonderland I have imprinted in my brain..

I still remember the way I felt when I found out that someone had built a fancy fishing charter/resort at a wild beach we used to roam.. No humans, as far as the eye could see.. just miles of open beach & tidal pools.. the only evidence of humans was a tattered shark-flag that was raised or lowered by local fishermen.

We literally had to drive through rivers & jungle trails to get there, and once there, camped on the beach & boiled water from streams..Our food was fruit we picked in the jungle & fish we caught..

Now it's a fancy-schmancy tourist trap:cry:

Bahia Piña, or Piñas its popular name, is home to the famous Tropic Star Lodge hotel. If you are interested in Big Game Fishing, you have absolutely heard about the Zane Gray Reef in Piñas Bay. Dr. Guy Harvey has recently caught a 1,300 LB Black Marlin while shooting his new Tv Series in Piñas. The offshore fishing is world renowned and is frequently visited by local and foreign sport fishing crews

[glowing]

3. someplace in Europe.

[NoPasaran]

4. Texas!

[pitohui]

7. texas wouldn't let my birds in

otherwise i might pick them...

[Angry Dragon]

5. To Hell

[neverforget]

6. Canada as I have relatives there.

[denbot]

8. Costa Rica, or Australia..

Costa Rica, is easy, but I had a buddy who found entering and working in Australia was difficult even with an Aussey wife.

[pitohui]

30. australia it's diff icult for americans

they have some kind of exchange deal w. the eu so they have all the british, irish, canada, etc. workers they can stand coming on extended "gap" years

as an american i was surprised at how extensively i was questioned to be sure i wasn't planning to say i mean, hello, i'm sure you're a great place but i have a pretty big frontier in my own backyard if i just wanna disappear????

[southerncrone]

9. Uruguay

On edit...can't type.

[Tikki]

32. That would be our choice, also.

The Tikkis

[Vickers]

10. Germany. n/t

[Anakin Skywalker]

11. Rush Limpball Still Hasn't Left!

Remember how that windbag threatened to leave if health care reform passed? Somebody remind him!

[Stardust]

12. My heart says Sweden but my body says Costa Rica.

[DFLforever]

13. Canada.

I like the country and the people.

My Scottish ancestors emigrated from there to the US about 170 yrs ago.

My daughter-in-law is Canadian so maybe I could finagle my way in if needed.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Canada or maybe Ireland

[tblue]

15. France and Japan have the best healthcare in the world, but

Italy would probably be my first choice. But would they even want us expats?

[Bitwit1234]

16. Scotland or Ireland

[realisticphish]

17. Hungary

With language courses, I qualify for citizenship

Of course, I would prefer Canada, the UK, or Australia, because I'm lazy, and learning a language takes a long time :)

[cliffordu]

18. someplace in europe.

or Asia

[GETPLANING]

19. Spain

It has everything. And all the women look like Penélope Cruz. I'm not kidding.

[JI7]

20. of the few places i have been UK or Singapore would be nice

but there are many places i haven't been to which i would love to visit. especially in eastern europe and east asia.

[Edweird]

22. Canada. Working on it in fact. Australia is my second choice.

[TransitJohn]

23. Thailand.

My wife's Thai, we already plan on relocating there in a decade or so.

[jannyk]

25. Home (London) then on to Paris. eom

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. Japan

I've already lived there, I speak the language, I know people, and I could get work from the same customers I already work for while living here.

The hard part would be obtaining resident status.

[napi21]

27. Denmark or Sweeden. I know they're both socialist countries,

but although they do pay high taxes, they really take care of their people, and if you remember the researce that studied what was the happiest country in the world? It was Denmark. They're very happy, sociable people and I'd love that.

[jberryhill]

28. New Jersey

You don't have to pay the bridge toll to get in.

[jberryhill]

29. New Jersey

You don't have to pay the bridge toll to get in.

[krabigirl]

31. an island somewhere far away..south pacific maybe? fiji? never been there but it sounds nice:)

Otherwise, probably somewhere in Europe, but from the time I have spent in France (DH is from there and has a large family there), many people are just as bigoted as here pretty much toward foreigners..and there are many problems as well. But at least they have safety nets.

[Ozymanithrax]

33. Where ever they take refugees...n/t

[KingFlorez]

34. UK

Seems like a nice place.

[zanana1]

35. I'd pick Canada, also.

I'm of French Canadian heritage. I wonder if that would make it any easier to get in?

[EC]

36. One of the Scandinavian countries

they seem to treat old people better...

[Lindsey]

38. It's a tie between Canada and Europe. n/t

[AnArmyVeteran]

39. Canada! I'm starting to pack now.

[madrchsod]

40. back where my folks came from a long ago--sweden

[OutNow]

41. The Netherlands

No, not for the that reason!

Everyone speaks English, even the kids, which is a good thing because Dutch is a difficult language to learn.

There are lots of people with sailboats, although sailing can be quite chilly compared to Greece.

Best reason: I can take a train up to the Hague to attend the war crimes trials for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. etc.

I want to live in the best place in all of Holland, Madurodam.

[Michigan-Arizona]

43. Australia

My mother is still an Australian citizen & I have heap's of family there that hubby & I could stay with till we found a place of our own.

[chollybocker]

44. I chose many years ago - Canada.

With no regrets.

[rrneck]

45. Italy

[beac]

66. Me too.

Same corruption in government-- but much better food, wine and culture. And free health care, of course. And I already speak the language. :)


ETA: Of course, they want to see that you have a million in the bank before they'll let you in permanently, so this will have to remain a lovely daydream in my case.

[rrneck]

82. I'm jealous.

I have a really hard time learning languages. There are those who would say I have a tenuous grasp on English. :P

I vacationed there a few years ago. Venice is magical, and Vernazza was made for hanging out and doing nothing.

[beac]

89. I was lucky in that my husband had to be there for a year for work, so I got thrown into

the deep end and had to learn to swim... er, speak.

I took an "Italian for Tourists" course before departing, but once I'd asked where the train station was, my conversational options were just about nil. There were few English-speakers where we lived, so I learned it like a baby would by hearing people speak it all around me. My husband was fluent before we left, so he translated for me until I could make it on my own.

If you do want to learn a little Italian the BBC has a free online course: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/talk/ and BYKI has a free course you can download http://www.byki.com/fls/FLS.html. Wish I'd known about these before I went that first time.

[rrneck]

91. Thanks! nt

[The Northerner]

46. I'd choose Canada as well

[Cleita]

47. I have looked into various countries that I like

and found most of them would rather not let me in including Canada. So I might go there and become an illegal immigrant. Talk about the push north.

El Norte! El Norte! LOL! :rofl:

[Whoa_Nelly]

48. Southern Ireland

Counties Cork, Mayo and Limerick....my family roots are there and would willingly go

[flyarm]

49. South of France.

I want to live here!

Cap Ferrat


or here

Beaulieu France...

two of my favorite places in the world!!

[Lost4words]

76. South of France, Second Choice Spain! Bolivia might be nice

I even getting sick of the English language!

[pitohui]

119. a funny story about bolivia

to get my tourist visa i had to prove i wasn't gonna move there permanently (a lot of financial docs, etc. had to be provided i've never had to provide to any other country)

is there really a big problem of americans sneaking into bolivia and refusing to leave? not sure i met a single american ex-pat while i was there, most of the ex-pats well all of them i happened to meet were from the old world (europe and africa, the africans being white africans)

[Lost4words]

125. interesting story, thanks

[DesertFlower]

50. costa rica. nt

[spinbaby]

52. Germany

I have dual citizenship and speak the language.

[Sisaruus]

53. Finland

It was just ranked as the best place to live by Newsweek.

And since all 4 of my grandparents were from Finland, I have lots of family there.

[annabanana]

133. Can my family go with you? . .n/t

[Land Shark]

139. +1. And Finland has new right of emigration (finnish blood requirement though) nt

[Nay]

54. Canada.

[olegramps]

55. I would go to Texas; it isn't part of the United States. No, not really. That's last place.

[Vinca]

56. Canada - my husband has dual citizenship.

If McCain had won, we'd already be there - that was the plan.

[harun]

57. Canada.

[CBR]

58. Barbados. nt

[IrishEyes]

59. Prague

I think Prague is beautiful. I also like New Zealand. It is a great country with fun extreme sports. Of course, Ireland is always wonderful.

[LostinVA]

60. Canada, Ireland, or England -- I can legally go to the latter two

Although Victoria, BC, would be my first choice.

[Pab Sungenis]

61. England would be my first choice

but I have the immigration points to move to Canada if I can raise the cash you have to bring in with you ($13,000) to support you and your family once in.

[Lucky 13]

62. Canada or New Zealand

[Joe Fields]

63. Canada.

[woo me with science]

64. Hawaii

According to Cokie Roberts, Obama keeps vacationing there and pissing off Americans because it's too exotic.

[Seedersandleechers]

65. Moving to the UK on Sunday...

I have sold or given away everything I have except what I can put into two large suitcases and a carry-on bag. Don't know when I'll be back to visit. Yeah it is kind of scary and exciting all at the same time.

[Luciferous]

77. Have a safe trip!

[mnhtnbb]

102. Do you have a job there?

[Luciferous]

67. I would choose New Zealand, but my husband would say England

since he's a dual citizen. We've actually discussed moving to England a couple of times but can't bring ourselves to do it just yet.

[raccoon]

69. Canada or Norway. nt

[Romulox]

70. O Canada?

Possibly Australia.

[WinkyDink]

71. Specifically, Alsace.

[MineralMan]

72. Why would I have to leave the USA?

I can't think of a single reason that would cause me to have to leave this country.

Can you help me understand what reasons you think might cause someone to have to leave?

[Lost4words]

78. if you move, it would defeat the prupose, you can stay Right here

[MineralMan]

80. Well, that doesn't make any sense to me at all.

I guess there's no answer forthcoming. I still don't understand why anyone would have to leave the US. I can understand why some might want to leave, but not why they'd have to leave.

I'm not sure exactly what your point might have been, but it's certainly not an answer to my question.

[Romulox]

140. LOL. What a fantastic response (and hilarious reply by MM)

Well done.

[pitohui]

120. i can think of lots of reasons someone would have to leave

financial and health are the big ones for americans

example, a married woman's husband was an engineer, a bridge failed, loss of life, he got sued

she had a choice of living on the street or taking her half of the $ and moving to costa rica, not too hard to figure out what she did, in that way, they got their money to safety and she (now in bad health, in her 80s) can have a decent standard of living -- she would be dead or in a "home" if she lived in america because she would be wiped out

another example, this more generic but common, you are in your 50s, get laid off, you can never get another job w. health insurance, if you stay in america, you will lose everything but if you sell your house and move to a cheaper country where health care is priced fairly (costa rica, mexico, etc.) you can save yourself and have a decent future -- so there are a lot of guys from america who own pizza parlors or what have you in costa rica and panama, it might not make a LOT of money, but it keeps bread on the table and by not living in america, the minute they get sick and need bypass surgery at age 64 instead of age 66, they are not wiped out financially

so there's pretty much several hundred thousand dollars of reasons why people have to leave america in middle age

if you're old/on medicare and don't have these worries it's cheap and easy to say "why would i ever leave?" same, if you're young and figure even if you lose every penny you have time to earn it back

but a middle aged person CAN'T earn it back yet they CAN'T get medicare...they are pushed out of the usa under current situation

maybe it will be diff in 2014 but it ain't 2014 yet

normal people don't wish to leave their home but if it's leave home or die you have to make a hard choice

[hobbit709]

73. Austria

[mmonk]

74. Canada.

Possibly the UK.

[marmar]

75. Hmmmmm.......

[Lost4words]

79. you stir my memories,...........

[sinkingfeeling]

81. Republic of Ireland.

[Ezlivin]

83. Pandora

The Navi seem to be pretty cool people.

[TK421]

84. Somewhere that is really cold...I'll take suggestions

edit: replaced word

[femmocrat]

85. Canada -- for the health care. n/t

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

86. Hawaii

(joke)

[KansasVoter]

97. Ahhh...Obama's home country!

[truth2power]

87. Canada n/t

[Jennicut]

88. Italy, the Foggia area where my family (on my Mom's side) is from.

I have wanted to go there for years and even live there for awhile.

[4lbs]

90. Sweden. I saw pictures of various places in Stockholm, and said... that's for me!

:D

[amandabeech]

145. Sweden is very, very nice.

I'm partially of Swedish extraction, so maybe I'm prejudiced, but I liked it very much when I visited.

If I were better at hearing languages, I'd go to Sweden.

Alas, I'm lousy, so I'd opt for Canada.

Besides, Canadians are better at my favorite sport--figure skating!

Both countries are good in hockey, though.

[Greyhound]

92. Southern France. n/t

[patrick t. cakes]

93. Portland, Oregon

It's a lot like Europe: culture, great beer, bikes. Also a jumping of point to Oceania if the corptocracy gets to dicey.

Headed out this spring!

[GreenArrow]

94. Interesting. Not much interest in the Southern hemisphere.

I'd have to say Canada would be my first choice, mostly for reasons of climate and culture, but I think Central and South America might be better choices.

[Uncle Joe]

95. The Philippines.

A beautiful country with lovely people and I could look up an old girl friend.:)

[alfredo]

96. Somalia

Actually,

Central Ky is very nice. It's my home and I know all the wild foods that grow in this region, and a couple fresh water springs.

The Pacific Northwest looks appealing.

[pitohui]

122. never been to somalia but...

there's only one country where i never met an ex-pat, and that was madagascar

there are ex pats in kenya, ex pats in bolivia, as well as ex pats in places where any of us would feel privileged to live such as panama, costa rica, etc.

somalia is prob. on that short list of countries that NO ONE wants to go to, i guess zimbabwe is on it as well...

[alfredo]

126. I lived north of Somalia. It's been a bad place for as long as I can remember.

I lived up in Eritrea, a country like Somalia, a place where the first world goes to shit. Both countries would have been better off if the colonial powers had let them be.

[Spider Jerusalem]

98. I have; I'm in the UK.

[KansasVoter]

Miss anything?

[Spider Jerusalem]

107. Some things...others, I generally don't.

I moved here from the Atlanta area; I don't miss the summer weather (we've had maybe ten days this summer where I am when it's been warmer than 70F); I don't miss the religious fanatics (supposedly fewer than 6% of the British population attend religious services regularly); I don't miss having to drive everywhere (I live in a city, with good public transport and pretty much anything I want within walking distance--you don't get that in most American cities outside of NYC); I don't miss the strident insanity of right-wing talk radio (which is an unknown phenomenon here) or the sensationalism of American television news (I've been spoilt by the BBC)...and I definitely don't miss the costs of medical and dental care (spoilt also by the NHS). The things I miss are mostly small ones, things like being able to go out for good Mexican food or a Cuban sandwich (which aren't so easy to get here); the adjustment has otherwise been not too bad, and there's quite a lot here I'd miss were I ever to return to the States.

[pitohui]

123. spider's from atlanta, nuf said, he had nothing TO miss

somalia might look good by comparison... :-)

i know i'm evil but god that is just such a characterless pointless anthill it's the los angeles of the south, ain't it?

[JVS]

100. I'd really rather make it so other people leave and I stay.

[mnhtnbb]

101. We have friends (Republicans) who are moving to the Dominican Republic in a week.

[WhiteTara]

127. wow. That ought to freak them out completely

they will be such a minority color, they will never sleep the whole night through.

Oh, I mean, good luck to them!

[mnhtnbb]

138. They're planning on living in one of the gated communities there.

It's so ironic. When we bought property in Panama with the intent to create an escape after Bush was installed for his second administration, the guy in this couple called me "nuts". Then, after Obama won,
they decided they had to leave the country! Only they're actually doing it.

She's about 20 years younger than I am and I think he's at least 15 years younger than my hubby.

I doubt that we will leave, at this point, especially since we decided to rebuild on the lot where our house burned down here 3 years ago. We still have our permanent resident visas in Panama--but no place to go since we gave up on the idea of building down there. Hubby will be 68 this year and I'll be 60 next year. Frankly, I don't think I have the energy to move to another country now.

And the choice of Panama for us was influenced by the fact that retirees can't get into Canada or New Zealand.

[X_Digger]

103. A pacific island that I could get a 99 year lease for.

One where hopegfully, I could dive the coral reef and collect specimens for my tank(s).

[Arugula Latte]

104. France, Italy or Spain

[Beaverhausen]

105. Australia- I have friends there, I have been there and love it

if they would have me, that is.

[Odin2005]

106. New Zealand.

[BeHereNow]

111. I'm with you. Let's start packing!

http://www.escapeartist.com

Check out the NZ real estate section!!!
Quick link for you:
http://www.escapeartist.com/International_Real_Estate/New_Zealand/New_Zealand.html
BHN

[Xolodno]

108. Mexico!

[Terra Alta]

113. Australia

Love their accents, and the people seem to be pretty friendly, too. Only thing I would have to get used to would be Christmas in the summertime.

[depakid]

115. Christmas in the summertime is excellent (goes along with graduation and summer vacation))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkELoYAEXWw

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It's summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:

OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA
ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT
OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE
IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE

Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

[Catshrink]

114. Scotland

[Synicus Maximus]

116. 1.Texas

2. Australia
3. England
4 Germany

[burrowowl]

118. France or Sweden

Relatives there or even Mexico, relatives there too.

[roamer65]

121. Canada, then Australia.

[liquid diamond]

124. Australia. n/t

[Frisbee]

128. The Duchy of Grand Fenwick...

But if they won't let me in, Freedonia is a close second. Who wouldn't want Rufus T. Firefly as President!

[verges]

130. Just don't call him an upstart!!

[AnnieBW]

129. Australia!

Especially the Brisbane area. I felt a real connection to that area when we were there.

[jasperilla]

131. Belgium n/t

[voteearlyvoteoften]

134. The Conch Republic

Long as there's a locked gate on card sound road.

[LiberalPersona]

135. Either Canada or Japan

Both have their pluses and minuses.

[AsahinaKimi]

136. Taipei Taiwan

If I had to leave I would move to Taipei Taiwan, or Singapore. I have friends in both places, and the one in Taipei would surely want me to live with her. I am so glad I don't have to make such a choice.

[LatteLibertine]

137. Canada, Austria, Switzerland or Norway

I might consider the Netherlands too. Australia wouldn't be bad either.

If we get a Republican majority in the House/Senate and get a Republican President in 2012, I may very well move out of the country. I will have completely lost faith in "the people".

[SargeUNN]

141. Finland or Sweden

[shanti]

142. france, italy, spain

somewhere with a coastline, safe, and preferably warm.

[EstimatedProphet]

143. The Netherlands

[SoCalDem]

147. If I could know what I know NOW, and be 16 again

I would learn French and immerse myself in French culture & move there ASAP..

[TBF]

148. Most likely England due to family ties -

but I'm eager to travel to Australia as well.

Wish I could afford to leave now.

[CTyankee]

150. Probably Malta. Great weather. Close enough to Italy to visit.

Or hop on a ferry and go to Siracusa in Sicily.

I'd like to spend a month in several different countries, travelling around. I'd like to visit Luxembourg. I'd like to be in European countries when various arts festivals are being held...opera, theatre, ballet, symphonic music, etc, and for Carnival week. I'd like to see all the major art museums in European cities such as Viena, Budapest, Prague, Berlin, where I have not been. I'd revisit Madrid, Rome, Florence, Milan, London, Paris...I'd take a barge down the Seine and visit Honfleur.

[sakabatou]

154. Canada, Scandinavia or maybe Japan