I’ve sometimes thought it would be cool to live in another country for a while to experience another culture, but I’ve never been really sure which ones to look into. So I’d like to hear suggestions.
I have a few requirements for any place I’d consider living in:
Must have a relative level of freedom as the US. I don’t want to be treated as a second-class citizen just because I’m a woman, and I don’t want to be restricted in basic movement or speech.
Must allow people who live in the country to own handguns. I like my handguns, and I want to be able to take them with me.
I’ve thought about this a lot, too. The countries I most want to live in are Mexico, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Unfortunately, most of them are exuberantly expensive, or difficult to emigrate to, so the only one I see myself realistically living in one day is Mexico.
I don’t know of any other first-world countries with good medical care that will let you enter with handguns. I don’t mean this to sound snarky whatsoever but your 4 non-negotiables make it sound like you want to stay right where you’re at.
Cats will be a problem too for many countries, because they will have to stay in quarantine for a fairly long time.
In addition, most of the places that are desirable to live in are hard to migrate to. For example, I migrated from Australia to the US about 7 years ago, and it was difficult going through all the hoops. I suspect that an equivalent US citizen trying to migrate to Australia would find it even harder to do.
Doesn’t have to be first-world, though of course that would be nice. Many second-world countries have medical systems good enough that you could go in for a broken arm without worrying about dying from the experience.
I, too, have thought about Mexico.
Could be. I might have to either reconsider my non-negotiables or give up on the idea altogether. Still, I’d love to find out if there’s just a perfect country out there for me.
Be bold. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Attributed to Mark Twain
Yup. In Australia, the handgun thing will elicit responses of “Handgun? Ha! That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all week!” from the customs guys, and your cat will have a miserable time in quarantine for months.
Other countries are similar.
It sounds to me like you need to think about staying put, especially if you love your guns so much.
English. And the barest smidgen of Spanish. I could learn Spanish pretty easily; it comes naturally to me. Eight days in Costa Rica, and I was already responding to simple statements in Spanish. I liked Costa Rica, though the humidity was just killer, and the earthquake we experienced our last night was a bit of a shock (ha!).
Oddly enough, I’ve never regretted anything in my life, because I know if I want something bad enough, it’s ultimately up to me to try to get it. If I never leave this country, it’s because I chose not to take the steps necessary, so there’s no reason to sit around wishing I’d done otherwise.
Have you thought about signing up to go teach English in another country? The ones I see ads for most are Korea, Mexico, Central American countries, and - believe it or not - Spain. All you need is a college degree; I don’t think it even matters what your major was.
Offhand I would guess that handguns will be an automatic no from any modern country. The US is the only one where we’re prepared to storm the Whitehouse.
Quarantine periods vary a lot by country. My parents go back and forth with their dog to both France and Mexico, and pretty much are fine so long as they have a letter from the veterinarian certifying that she doesn’t have anything.
Mexico might allow handguns, but it’s not a modern country. You could get a job at a restaurant pretty easy in Los Cabos or a job selling land, but that would be about it for profession choices unless you start your own business.
I could go for Costa Rica, maybe Mexico, and probably one of the island countries in the Caribbean like St. Lucia. I am scared of the climate in my ancestral homeland in the British Isles because I despise sustained rain and cloudy skies. Italy is out because I don’t like them. I could live in France for a year although I wouldn’t fit in most ways including a complete lack of French.
You can have handguns in Canada, but you would have to jump through a lot of hoops to import them into the country. If you have status as a permanent resident, you would have to get a fireams licence, go through gun safety courses, and then get a special permit for handguns, since they are a restricted weapon. That would include a criminal record check and perhaps a background check by the police. Once you got them, you’re very limited in how you can use them. No concealed carry, no open carry - last time I checked, you can only have a hangun at your residence, and at the gun club, as well as in transit between the two. When the gun is not in use, it hase to be safely locked away, without ammunition.
Agreed. Keep your weapons where they belong - the only Western country where adoration of weapons is written into the laws of the land. If you truly want to experience different cultures, then don’t demand that they be just like home but in a different location.
I moved to Thailand years and years ago and have never once regretted the decision. No handguns, though, at least not for foreigners; only Thai citizens are allowed to possess firearms. That’s not an issue with me.
Cambodia is up and coming, though, and I have Western friends in Phnom Penh who enjoy it there. The firearms laws might be different there, dunno.
Depending on your profession, you will run into people who have troubles thinking of a woman in that kind of job. We’re slowly eroding that hill, but I keep running into twenty-something females with that mindset. I haven’t killed any of them so far.
No prob, you’ll need to get a license.
I consider it decent. Better in some parts than in others, but that can also be said of anything else you can think of.
The cats may have to spend some time in quarantine, otherwise no problem. I think that with the proper paperwork from the vet, not even this.
The freedom to go wear you want, wear what you want, believe what you want…women or not
EXCEPT if you want a handgun…(WHY?) We are not so fond of “lone rangers”
Oh and your cats would have to do 6 mths quarantine. Good news is that there are cats galore here, apparently we own more cats per capita then anywhere (well that’s what they said on the news last week ). Personally this is a one cat household (said cat is outside most of the day).
). Personally this is a one cat household (said cat is outside most of the day).