# If you had to leave your country, where would you move to? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371 "2009-04-08T07:00:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/1 "2009-04-08T07:00:18Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/2 "2009-04-08T08:04:09Z")
France . . . specifically Paris. It’s the only place I can never get enough of. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/3 "2009-04-08T08:10:37Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/4 "2009-04-08T08:13:20Z")
New Zealand. Or maybe Spain. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/5 "2009-04-08T08:58:06Z")
The UK, Manchester specifically, because there’s someone there I’d like to spend time with and plenty to see without leaving even that one island. Second choice would be Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/6 "2009-04-08T09:31:38Z")
India. Interesting, fascinating, cheap, and with as much cultural variety as Europe. Easy choice. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/7 "2009-04-08T09:33:03Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/8 "2009-04-08T11:20:30Z")
Namibia, or Zimbabwe if it settles down. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/9 "2009-04-08T11:26:27Z")
Hong Kong. Would go tomorrow. 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. After that, Thailand. Just because. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/10 "2009-04-08T11:36:48Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/11 "2009-04-08T12:42:44Z")
Scotland. But I would miss Australia. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/12 "2009-04-08T12:47:32Z")
American checking in: Singapore, Turkey, Estonia, Belize, and the UK round out my top five. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/13 "2009-04-08T12:50:18Z")
I guess I would default back to the US of A. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/14 "2009-04-08T12:50:18Z")
South Korea, I’ve already spent 3.5 years there and loved it. Another 2 years would be easy. ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/15 "2009-04-08T12:58:09Z")
I think I’d go to Europe. Probably one of the Scandinavian countries. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/16 "2009-04-08T13:03:55Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/17 "2009-04-08T13:16:26Z")
Costa Rica. I’ve never been there but I’ve heard it is great. Plus, it is warm. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/18 "2009-04-08T13:17:09Z")
I haven’t seen that many countries personally, but I loved every minute of being in the UK so I’d go with that. I’m dying to go back, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/19 "2009-04-08T15:11:24Z")
I’ve never been to Australia, but I’ve always thought I’d love it. After that, places I’ve actually been to - Copenhagen, or Malta. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371/20 "2009-04-08T16:05:07Z")
Only 2 years? Lots of choices. Rest of my life, not so much–I am really attached to my city and hope to retire here. But only 2 years, I could pick a hundred countries–almost anywhere would be great. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-leave-your-country-where-would-you-move-to/492371.md?page=2)