Trump. Trade war. Supreme Court. Do-nothing Congress. Health care. Rampant guns. Alabama. All kinds of attendant BS.
I’m close to being fed up and starting to think about where else I could go. What countries would be good candidates for a retired American with a decent pension to consider?
Afghanistan, actually on a more serious note, isn’t there a sizeable expatriate community of Americans in Mexico lol, like Jesse Ventura?
Costa Rica.
I did a year of study at Cambridge University back in the 90s. I loved the UK. I liked the people, the history, the culture, the excitement of London. Even the climate suited me. And the pubs are awesome. I don’t have any plans to leave the US, because it’s home and I want to be close to my family, but if I were going to bail out, I’d look seriously at the UK. I’d probably wait to see how Brexit shakes out, though.
I’ve only spent a week in Ireland, but I also loved it. It’s just unreasonably beautiful, and the culture is amazing. I’d give it some thought as well.
The answer to that question depends on a lot of variables; there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some things to consider:
[ul]
[li]How much money do you have? Do you need to retire somewhere where the cost of living is modest, or can you afford to spend a ton of money every year until you die?[/li][li]What is important to you in terms of your daily life? Do you want continuous access to most everything you can find in an American grocery store, or are you willing to do without (random examples follow) Campbell’s condensed soups, Quaker old fashioned oats, barbeque sauce, frozen pizza, unsalted butter, cottage cheese, and so on?[/li][li]How is your health, your health insurance, and what are your expectations for quality care if you become ill? Are you willing to accept limited diagnostic and treatment options if you get, say, cancer? Or do you expect high standards of care?[/li][li]How much of a like-minded community do you need around you? Are you okay with going for days at a time without speaking to anyone who is from a similar cultural background?[/li][li]What is your linguistic facility like? Are you willing to learn a new language? Or do you want to live somewhere where a language you are already fluent in is commonly spoken?[/li][li] Do you have a significant other who is interested in moving with you? Or will you be alone/looking for a new partner in your new country?[/li][li]Will you want to return to the US regularly to visit family - perhaps you have children who may graduate from school, marry, have children; or you have siblings who may become ill or just want to visit with you once or twice a year?[/li][li]How patient are you? Can you put up with astonishing levels of bureacracy? Are you willing to sort through complexities of getting visas, obtaining a driver license, signing a rental agreement or buying property, paying taxes, etc. from outside the US?[/li][li] Do you care if the country you choose to live in also has, shall we say, imperfections of a political nature? [/li][/ul]
…and so on. Those are just examples of the kind of questions you should be thinking about when contemplating a permanent move to a foreign country. You also need to think about whether that country will have a visa program that works for you; just as the US is closing its borders to immigrants, so do a lot of other countries not make it easy for foreigners to reside permanently within their boundaries.
(I lived outside the US for 28 years between 1986 and 2018, so I know what I’m talking about.)
.
Pura vida.
Ehr, sorry, Pavlovian reflex. But yeah, it’s a great country for American expats unless you happen to hate bad roads and hot weather (with your choice of “wet”, “dry” and “variable”). Getting residency is pretty easy with even a relatively low pension (low by US standards), lots of amazing places, the nicest people in the world, most speak at least some English… you can go to a gated community where everybody is American if you want, too (not my piece of cake but other people evidently prefer it). It’s relatively close to the US, with multiple daily flights from the capital to several US airports, and decent medical care is available at costs Americans find unbelievable.
As a UK-based US expat, I would recommend the UK if it weren’t for the fact that the government and country are similarly engaged in various forms of destructive BS.
If you go someplace with blinders and ignore local governments and politics, then there are lots of suitable places. I’ve lived in Germany, Mexico, Canada, and China, as well as in several states here in the USA.
They all have their awesome points, as long as you don’t care about their politics. I can find something rage inducing about every place I’ve ever lived. There is no Garden of Eden, not even in Canada.
For many years, I’d considered retiring in Mexico, and not in an expat enclave. Maybe I’ll consider it again. I love the people, the culture, and the general atmosphere, and foreigners are forbidden by the constitution from interfering in their politics. I’m well versed in its national level politics. My choice would be to live there despite those politics, because it’s someplace I legitimately wanted to be.
But as long as you’re moving solely to ignore politics, then there’s no reason to leave the USA. Make your choice based on something to do with lifestyle.
Thailand. That’s where I’m going.
In 8 years.
First question, is the country interested in having you.
I’d go to Italy - I mean, their politics is nuts, but it has always been thus, and the food, culture, history, wine, landscape, weather and people more than make up for it.
Ask not when you can leave your country. Ask when your country can leave you.
Not so easy to immigrate though, for a US citizen with no close Italian ancestry. If the OP has an Italian grandparent then it becomes much easier.
Oh Canada! That’d be my choice.
The single best thing I have ever done in my entire life was to (literally) buy a one-way ticket from Salt Lake City to Frankfurt, then spend the next few months drinking my merry way around the Bier Belt of Centeral and Eastern Europe before randomly ending up in beautiful, peaceful, historic, safe, affordable, open and welcoming Krakow, Poland (just to sightsee in general, and more specifically to pay my respects at Auschwitz) for a supposed one week visit.
That was nearly 4 years ago, and since that time my life has changed in nearly every possible way, all 110% for the better.
Each and everyday I wake up and read the news from America and I Thank God anew that I am blessedly away from the hateful, poisonous, corrosive venom that has taken over that once truly great nation, a sick, caustic worldview from both Trump and his band of deluded, rabid followers, as well as from my “Own People”, specifically today’s so-called Liberals (who are clearly the vast majority right here among the “Smartest, Hippest”) far too many of whom are every bit as bigoted, narrow-minded and intolerant of any viewpoint other than their own as the most vile, brainwashed Klansman you could find.
In these past 4 years, I have spent time in over 15 different countries, (none of them English speaking) and have felt almost nothing but sincere, welcoming friendship from the locals I have met along the way.
Life away from 2019’s America has been magical for me.
That, a lot. Alternatively I do have a coworker with a home on the beach in Costa Rica. He loves it.
USA. You have 50 shades of crazy to choose from between Talibama and The Peoples Republic of California. If you can’t find something you like in there, you’re probably not going to be able to run from the sorts of troubles that are haunting you.
I guess one would go to a country that doesn’t have the things with which you are fed up. That can vary greatly just like our political and social ideologies vary greatly.
Being a socially minded liberal who values human rights and inclusiveness, I’d love a place like Sweden. People like Pence and the Alabama state legislature would probably feel right at home in North Korea.
I assume that, due to language differences, you’re not able to read or watch the local newspapers or TV news? If so, you may be insulated from whatever bullshit is going on locally. I suspect that a foreigner living in the US may similarly feel relief.
This. Many Americans assume that emigrating abroad is as easy as…picking which nation to emigrate to. The EU, Aussies, etc. don’t just let people in because they want to be in.
A fair point, but after nearly 4 wonderful years in Poland (although a significant portion of that time saw me travelling in other various countries) I have a working grasp of Polish politics, and there are local newspapers for English speakers living here.