# Best country for this family?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-country-for-this-family/670496>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 6, 2013, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-country-for-this-family/670496 "2013-10-06T08:54:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-country-for-this-family/670496/21 "2013-10-07T15:48:51Z")

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> [@Dorjan](#):
>
> Really, taxes in the US are pretty damn low compared to most of the countries on your list, especially in your income bracket.

I agree. The OP talked about an annual income of $60-90,000 and three children (so three dependents on his 1040 form). His effective tax rate is not going to be very high. What I thought was weird is that he mentioned that his “finances are strong”, but based on those numbers, his family is safely in the middle class. Not at all “well-to-do”.

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**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-country-for-this-family/670496/22 "2013-10-07T16:28:04Z")

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> [@bengangmo](#):
>
> For New Zealand -  
> a) Yep - you will get good support for home schooling, and it is certainly an option  
> b) Not sure why you are so keen on homeschooling though - schools in New Zealand are fine, and I would not expect any “meaningful” bullying / drugs / gangs etc  
> c) Housing is cheap - if you go to one of the more rural / extra urban areas you should be able to get into a family home for around $200k NZD  
> d) If you have the “desired” skills, you can get the necessary residency permits - and if you can sell your business as a going concern and then restart it in NZ you should be able to qualify for the investment category  
> e) You will be able to get lots of natural food, although there is not as much of a critical mass for such things outside of the main population centres
> 
> I would choose NZ over Singapore in a hearbeat - mostly because of the cost factor, but also because you will have a much better quality of life and lifestyle in New Zealand, unless you have pretty serious “fuck you” money (I’m thinking in the likes of $8-10 million + a strong ongoing income stream)
> 
> Also, there is a lot of “anti immigrant” emotion in Singapore at the moment - and the way that things are going, it’s just going to get more crowded, with housing and cars for foreigners getting more expensive.

Speaking of costs, another plus might be office rent since the OP has a business. I read recently that Wellington had the second-cheapest office rent among major cities in the Asia-Pacific. (Manila is cheapest and Bangkok No. 3.) Why is Wellington so cheap? My guess is because it’s so far away from other major markets. Australia is what? 1000 miles away?

[Here’s the report](http://www.cbre.co.th/propertynews/thailand-property/bangkok-office-rental-bangkok-third-for-affordable-offices-manila-cheapest-city-in-asia-pacific-says-cbre-6793).

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