Scared of US; Where to relocate?
It has become very clear to me over the past few years that amerika is headed for some pretty rough times, and I've decided to leave before it becomes illegal for me to do so. The only question is, where to? I've been looking around for about a week, and the only country that's looked good so far was Anguilla (lower travel costs for FC99!), but it doesn't meet my requirements for a number of reasons... Key features I'm looking for are: 1) Stable political environment. I'm making the move, after all, to AVOID participation in a civil war. 2) Stable economy, with local sources for all the basics (food, water, energy). 3) Reasonable level of medical technology, and local talent. I want good care for my wife during childbirth, for instance. 4) A job market for unix sysadmins / networking gurus / hackers would be nice, but I wouldn't mind learning a new trade either. 5) Right to keep & bear arms + Freedom of speech are musts, other "bill of rights" type laws strongly desired. 6) Low or no taxes would be nice, but if the first five points are met even a fairly high (30-40%) tax rate would be endurable. So... any suggestions?
Switzerland jumps to mind for points 1-3: stable politically, good economy, and first class medical. There is a job market, but they're very restrictive about letting people in, particularly if you might want a job that a Swiss would do. It helps if you're rich. That every reservist has a machine gun at home is well known, but I don't know what restrictions would be placed on an immigrant. One of the safest places I've been, though. "[American] Bill of Rights" type freedoms may not be as enshrined as in the US, but on the other hand they often take a more pragmatic aproach to issues (like drugs). The taxes are high, as is the cost of living. There are strong social programs just about everywhere. It's landlocked. Consumerism isn't as developed there, which translates to poor service and bad selections. Not perfect, but nice. I'd feel a lot happier raising kids there than here in the US. -- Frederick G.M. Roeber My e-mail address is "roeber," not "dev-null." Anti-spam thing..
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- At 06:37 PM 11/14/97 -0800, Frederick G.M. Roeber wrote:
Switzerland jumps to mind for points 1-3: stable politically, good economy, and first class medical. There is a job market, but they're very restrictive about letting people in, particularly if you might want a job that a Swiss would do. It helps if you're rich.
Actually, this is not true if you don't mind temp work. Computer professionals can easily get temp assignments in Switzerland and become permanent temps. With luck they can get B permits and then C permits (permanent residency) after a year.
The taxes are high, as is the cost of living. There are strong social programs just about everywhere. It's landlocked. Consumerism isn't as developed there, which translates to poor service and bad selections.
The taxes (and everything else) vary by Canton. Some Cantons (Zug for example) have taxes low enough to qualify them as low-tax countries. Stay out of Zurich though.
Not perfect, but nice. I'd feel a lot happier raising kids there than here in the US.
A lovely Osteria in Ticino (the Italian Canton). Polenta cooking in a pot over the fire in the fireplace. Walls covered with the heads of dead animals and literally dozens of long guns of all vintages including a few semi- (full?)autos. Ten minutes outside of one of Switzerland's major cities. Nice people. DCF -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBNG/IOYVO4r4sgSPhAQEZVQP/SQ5fjOspsrvV6unCaXZ/1ivPKfM1aYc3 djQdEn9KRjuD9YsQF9Pl+jmRWXfyEKDtZcTC+oWfy84QXuwc33KzbOEbJns51J6f mZ4/+btDILMjgEfAplDH5HhnzqY4Px6aKnmU+4jfZHomnFROCgQQiROUwi4g8kU1 qQQYig8uSbc= =ZskP -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
participants (3)
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Frederick G.M. Roeber -
frissell＠panix.com -
nobody＠REPLAY.COM