In the event I should wish to leave dear old Blighty, I’m wondering where I should go.
Criteria, in no particular order, are
Strong rule of law.
Universal medical care.
A provocatively dressed Opal. ( )
Very relaxed firearm ownership laws.
English or French speaking, or a large proportion of such speakers.
Moderate climate: I don’t mind a bit of snow in winter; I do mind excessive (30+) heat in summer.
Cheap.
Alcohol not banned.
The last one rules out the Islamosphere, healthcare rules out America, the climate rules out Australia, I’m not sure about the taxes in New Zealand. So, to where should I go?
You could come here, we don’t have Opal but I could probably slip into something. Climate here is fairly mild, although there’s a few hot/cold days every year. Other than that, we have everything you list.
I think the ‘very relaxed firearm ownership laws’ would rule out Canada.
Really, I can’t think of any country that fulfills all those criteria. You might have more luck in French-speaking countriles, though. Unless Belize suddenly comes through.
I dunno; maybe there’s the official rules and what people actually do. Every farm on the Prairies has firearms on it. I would be surprised if more than a handful of them are registered. Do we even have that asinine Gun Registry boondoggle any more?
If you like crowds, high prices, rainy weather, and mild winters, Vancouver might be for you. Oh, wait, you want cheap - not Vancouver then. Or Calgary. Or Toronto. Maybe the Maritimes. As far as I know, alcohol isn’t banned in the Maritimes.
The great thing about Canada is that since there is so little gun violence, most people, even Canadians who are not interested in firearm ownership, are not even aware of how easy it is to purchase firearms. I wouldn’t say our gun laws are perfect, but I consider them to be fairly reasonable.
Off the top of my head, for example, Canada has no limits on imports of Chinese firearms, unlike the US. One can pick up a nice pump shotgun with a folding stock for just $199, and it comes with a 1 year warranty as well. Maybe not the most polished piece in the world, but it will still put holes in things when you pull the trigger.
If you want to get a bit fancier, these guys in BC are selling IMI Tavors for about $3K with the Meprolite optics and free shipping in Canada.
All of these are considered “non-restricted” and so can be shipped affordable via regular Canada Post. I thought about picking up a Tavor when they first started importing them a few years ago, but decided I wouldn’t really use it enough to justify buying it.
As far as I know, the “billion dollar boondoggle” is still around. I’m unsure what it was supposed to do, except possibly to placate Toronto, to give the Prairies another reason to hate eastern Canada, and to give a whole lotta jobs to Ottawa bureaucrats.
Yeah, you know your new legislation is a sure winner when the cops say flat out that they have no intention of enforcing it. That reminds me, Quartz - we do have gun legislation here, but the cops don’t enforce it. Just like marijuana. You can pretty much smoke all you want.
I’m a bit prejudiced on this (as I’m in the the process of emigrating) but my criteria were similar to yours and I went for Canada.
Then again, I also had a few additional ones - winter sports, climbing, mountain biking, etc.
Also, I think what sunspace would view as tight gun laws would be viewed as extremely relaxed to anyone who’s ever had to go through the UK firearm certificate process.
Well, Quartz, you have to pay for universal health care somehow…
I think you’re looking at New Zealand or Canada, myself - part of it depends on just how relaxed you mean on the gun laws. My own opinion is that our Canadian laws are too relaxed, but there are others who disagree with me on that one. As far as cheap and good climate, you can probably still find some places in the Gulf Islands that are difficult in terms of access to the larger centres of Victoria and Vancouver and therefore, less expensive.
My sister and BiL were overwhelmed by NZ, and our mutual friends who have been down there teaching love it. FWIW.
I don’t know about that; I know lots of immigrants, and not many of them seem all that rich to me. Maybe they were rich before they started the immigration process.
NZ tax rates vary from 15% to 39% for employees plus 1.4% ACC. 12.5% GST is on all goods/services.
You ought to find somewhere here that matches your climate requirements.
Currently my neighbours are from the UK and are going through the immigration process as skilled migrants. I gather there are unending fees and costs, plus a bonus 9 months of waiting in semi-limbo. He can work, she can’t, childcare is limited/more expensive, full rate for health… From their comments, it appears to be faster and overall less hassle to get the visa while still in the UK.
Firearm ownership isn’t too hard, though in your case you probably will need to join up with a club unless you buy a farm. The main point is each police area has a different security requirement. Where my firearms are current stored, the requirement is a steel box bolted to the floor and wall (which can be an issue if you’re renting), whereas here I just need a locking wardrobe or even cable through the trigger guard to an eyebolt.
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