# Someone Gives You $200,000 To Leave Your Home Country For A Year... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 3, 2014, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782 "2014-01-03T08:31:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/41 "2014-01-03T17:41:35Z")
I’d visit Canada for a year. Easy. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/42 "2014-01-03T17:55:07Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I’d go to Europe and spend a year touring it by motorcycle, maybe on a [Ural Solo](http://www.realclassic.co.uk/bikepix/ural08081203.jpg). Ah, didn’t see the “one country” limit. I’ll take the Ural to Australia and ride around for a year, then. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/43 "2014-01-03T18:03:24Z")
I’m assuming some kind of legal visa comes with, allowing us to stay for the full year? I’m not sure of the world-wide standards, but the US expects you to leave after six months unless you have something like a student visa or a work permit. I’d be surprised if that wasn’t a general practice elsewhere. Anyway, my answer is boring, but here’s what I’d do: Move to Vancouver, Canada. It’s only about three hours from where I live now. I’d commute home for appointments with clients a day or two a week and have my office manager mail me any docs that come in so I could keep working. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it would be worth $200,000. If I wasn’t allowed to keep working during this year in another country, then I’d have to turn it down. I won’t make $200,000 next year, but a year away from my business will cost a lot more than $200,000 in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/44 "2014-01-03T18:03:53Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > Ah, didn’t see the “one country” limit. I’ll take the Ural to Australia and ride around for a year, then. Damn-I didn’t see it either. In that case, I’d pick Latveria for its low crime rate and polite people, and I hear Doomstadt is beautiful in the summer time. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/45 "2014-01-03T18:19:37Z")
No thanks. Come back broke, with no job, and a one year gap? Nah. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/46 "2014-01-03T18:30:52Z")
Head to Italy. Spend a few warm months exploring the Adriatic under sail. Then settle in a cozy villa in Tuscany and explore Italy by Alpha Romeo. Return having acquired a new language and some great memories. Ciao! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/47 "2014-01-03T18:38:24Z")
Another no, here. Taking a year off, especially right now, would do a number on my career prospects. Now, 200k would be enough to enable me to weather that… except it’s no good to me if I can’t take it home. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/48 "2014-01-03T18:45:20Z")
Practical problems are the issue. England would be nice, I like England - but you can’t stay for a full year as a tourist, and getting anything other than a tourist visa is a pain in the back end - a lot of the pleasant countries have similar restrictions - you can’t just “move there for a year.” Switching countries would remove that practical issue, but violate the terms of the agreement. $200k isn’t enough to really tempt me to dump my kids and pets on my parents and have my husband quit his job - it would be VERY EXPENSIVE when we come back. The whole deal would cost us in excess of $200k if we couldn’t keep any to compensate for the job loss. I’d be saying no. In another ten years - maybe as little as five, sure. IF I could manage to get a Visa somewhere I’d want to be. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/49 "2014-01-03T18:47:49Z")
Well, I’d definitely do a lot of writing in that year. 😉 Where would I go? Not sure. USA, England, or Australia would all be ‘kinda-safe’ options. Not sure if I’d want to go somewhere very foreign if I’m stuck there for a year and can’t change my mind. (That was before I thought about the potential visa issues.) ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/50 "2014-01-03T18:58:38Z")
Can we only take one person? If so, I’d really hesitate, as we’re a family of four. I might think about taking my 7 year old and spending a year somewhere in France. The spouse and my 11 year old could come for a nice long visit in the summer. I could work part-time remotely, and the kiddo and I could both become fluent in French. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/51 "2014-01-03T19:01:39Z")
I’d have to get hubby on board, as one of use would have to be a single parent. Either I take baby to hubby’s country of origin, where I’ll hang out with his family, learn the language, and try to get established so he can join us after the year, or I take on a job in a hardship country, like Afghanistan, and take advantage of the cash and career advancement that could come from that. It’d be a tough sell either way, though. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/52 "2014-01-03T19:04:25Z")
Since My Beloved also posts on this board, does that mean we each get $200,000? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/53 "2014-01-03T19:08:11Z")
If my good friend in Switzerland hadn’t died a couple years ago–and I could get a visa–that’s where I would go. But I am really too old to start adventuring so I would go to the only country that I don’t need a visa for, the good old USA. I would likely spend four months with each of my three kids. Two of whom have just been blanketed by a foot of snow (Boston and NY). $200,000 for a year comes to about $550 a day. For that money I could stay in a cheap hotel even in NYC and still have enough to eat well, go to theaters, the Met, etc. So yes, I would. With one caveat. Every three months, I would spend a day in Quebec to keep my health insurance valid. This would also validate the out-of-country coverage provided by my employer. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/54 "2014-01-03T19:14:04Z")
I’d be in the UK, living in London, seeing a show in the West End every night, and taking three-day weekend trips to various places around the country. (I actually did this for a summer many years ago, and it was heaven.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/55 "2014-01-04T01:11:10Z")
$200K is hardly enough now. I’d lose money on the deal. In 3 years when I’m going to retire anyway, then we have a deal. We’re planning to live in London for six month, so that would be a top choice. I like Copenhagen from my 4 day stay there, so that is another. My daughter says that Dublin is very nice also. I was only in Stockholm briefly but I’d be happy to try it out. Definitely not Italy or Greece or Spain. How about Montreal? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/56 "2014-01-04T01:16:48Z")
Yep, still another “nope.” I could probably arrange for my job to still be waiting for me when I get back, but it would inconvenience a lot of people. I don’t think I’d do it even if you added another $200K as a “repatriation bonus” at the end. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/57 "2014-01-04T01:47:04Z")
We’ll i have actually just left my home country and intend to live somewhere else for a year. Where do I collect my 200,000? ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782/58 "2014-01-04T02:05:27Z")
In a second, I would take it and go to Slovenia. I would just find a little out of the way place, that is close to a train station and run around Europe at will. I have never been to Slovenia but I have a very strong desire to go there, I don’t exactly know why. I doubt that I would come back **Capt** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-gives-you-200-000-to-leave-your-home-country-for-a-year/677782.md?page=2)