If you had to leave your country, where would you move to?
By country, I mean the country you are currently living in…
Here’s the catch… you must reside in the chosen country for at least 2 years… and you cannot travel out of that country until 2 years are up.
I currently live in the U.S. If I had to move I’d probably choose Canada… more specifically, Vancouver. Seems like a good place for me from the people I’ve met from there and the research I’ve done. I’ll be checking it out some time in the next year for a little bit.
I like living in the Middle East–I’d probably just move back to Beirut, or maybe to Turkey or Egypt. I’ll probably do it eventually anyhow–I can’t see myself living in Doha forever, and I like living abroad.
I’ve enjoyed the time I spent in England, Ireland and Canada. I’d probably like Australia. So any of those. I’ve enjoyed many of the other countries I’ve been to but I would never feel totally comfortable living in a country in which English was not the primary language. My brain is not wired in a way that learning a second language comes easy or at all.
It has everything you could ever want - crazy urban life, tranquil countryside, beautiful bays, mountains - all within an hour or so on a very good public transport system. It’s got a fascinating history and culture, there’s always something going on. Great food of every cuisine under the sun, great nightlife. Buzzing economy (despite current problems). It’s also a hub for other exciting places - you can take the train to China, boat to Macau, or be in Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, within three hours by plane.
Stupidest decision I ever made was to leave.
Failing that, New Zealand for the friendliness, the taste of home, and the breathtaking landscape. It’s just a little too far from everywhere else for me.
There are a lot of places I daydream about, but most of 'em I’ve never been to and have no idea whether the fantasy and the reality are even close. I’ve been to Mexico and throughout the Caribbean, though, and settling down to a simple life in St. Lucia would be interesting.
Jjimm: I think you speak canto, no? It wasn’t my favorite place to live (I did 5 years there on and off with stints on Lamma, North Point, Disco Bay, Heng Fa Chuen and Robinson Road) but then again I’m a mandarin speaker with just horrendous broken canto.
American here; my choice is New Zealand. I’ve always had a huge wander lust, so I’ve always wanted to go there just because it is so far. Also, it seems like a great place to live - good standard of living, enough of a social safety net, variety of landscape, etc. Best of all, there are no snakes and I hate snakes. Ireland is great and all, but the weather sucks, so that leaves only New Zealand for snake free locales.