Dropping out of the USA

[Ken Brown]

"A. Melon" wrote:
> 
> Well, this is not exactly on topic to any ongoing thread, but its
> something I'd like to get a few opinions on.  It seems that while
> science is moving ahead at a such a rate that I'm constantly amazed to
> see science fiction becoming science fact, at the same time we're seeing
> more political(?)-fiction(nightmares?) becoming fact as well in the form
> of government censorship and persecution.  As I'm not exactly excited
> about the prospect of being shot or winding up in jail indefinitely for
> 'political crimes', it seems the best options are to simply leave the
> country altogether or forget about the personal freedoms granted by the
> constitution.
 
> So my question is: where to go?  

You don't have a whole lot of choice. Few places in the world do even as
well as the US in the broad range of things you might be interested in.

> I certainly don't want to leave behind
> all the neat toys in the US like

> widespread broadband internet access,

Any rich country has this, at least in towns, and enclaves in a lot of
poor ones.

> massive bookstores,

Ditto. We probably have better ones over here in Britain than you guys
do. But you might not like other things about us.

> high paying tech jobs, 

If you are techy enough you can get these anywhere. You get paid less in
poor places of course, but then things are cheaper.

> Is there any country
> that has the same technological benefits as the US without the
> government steadily encroaching into every sector of life?  

Nope. Most European countries have more restrictive laws than you do,
though in practice the difference isn't that great. Everywhere you will
get government interference, it depends what you object to most. The
kind of personal firearms that are common in the USA are illegal almost
everywhere else. But then your crazy US alcohol laws are the laughing
stock of the rest of the non-Muslim world.  In Singapore you can get
banged up for spitting in the street.

> How does one
> 'drop out' of the US and keep all the good things one has become
> accustomed to?

Maybe by being very rich and in effect living in a fortress?

Or by making do with less money.