…for whatever reason, you’ve been asked to leave the country of your current residence*, and been told never to come back. But since you’ve done such admirable things in your field, or for society in general, you can choose whatever country you wish to and start anew. You can keep your possessions, if you choose, and will be able to find work in your chosen field, assuming that field exists in the country you want to move to**. You will earn only the prevailing wage for that field, thouh. You have immediate voting and other rights equal to those of the average citizen of that country***.
Which country do you choose? Why?
*For people with dual citizenship, assume that both countries have now rejected you.
**Forget about being a downhill ski instructor in Fiji, for example.
***Burma does not immediately become a full democracy just because you showed up.
The UK. Britain’s a great country, not too different from the US in many ways (not that different is bad, but in the long term it could lead to more homesickness), and with a British passport I could work anywhere in the ever-expanding EU, plus, I think, some parts of the Commonwealth.
Canada. I’ve lived there for a few years but never held citizenship. I like the country. I know French. French doesn’t do you much good outside Quebec but it’s satisfying being able to read the other side of the cereal box as well. And I wouldn’t mind living there forever, either - not just in a “it’s a nice country” sort of way, but in a practical, “I know people there and there are more job opportunities there” sort of way too. For me, it’s a no-brainer.
Brazil, living in either in Florianopolis or the Northeast (preferably Natal). Why? Well, it’s … Brazil; sun, beaches, Brazilian food, Brazilian beer, Brazilian music, Brazilian women, it’s heaven on earth. If I could live there working in my chosen field, that would be great. The problem is that most of the work in my current field is in São Paulo, and I don’t want to live there.
The the countries at the top of my list wouldn’t let me keep all of my stuff, as that includes an arsenal that puts several Third-World countries to shame.
I’d say Canada, but being barred from reentry to the US would be a real pain. So I’ll pick Denmark. I’d play jazz (they love jazz), and drink beer, and eat pickled fish, and ride a bicycle, and learn that horking-your-brains-out-through-your-nose language of theirs, and fall in love with some sweet bicycle-riding Janne or Kirsten or Lis and and settle down in a tile-roofed cottage.
Australia. They know how to have fun, and they manage to combine the politeness of the Brits with the casualness of small-town USA. Plus, my kind of weather.
Well, it’s a toss-up between England, Ireland, the Netherlands or France. It all depends on which has the most active community of professional musicians in the two genres I perform, bluegrass and jazz.
There’s not that much grass in Europe (except for England) but both the Netherlands and France have very active jazz scenes, with some real monster players, especially in Gypsy Jazz, which is one of the genres I’m partial to performing.
I’d end up in the Netherlands, most likely, as it also tends to fit my social and political belief structure the best.
China has my wife’s side of the family and they are pretty well off, so I wouldn’t have to work. Australia, England and Canada because the culture is similiar to the US, and I wouldn’t have to learn a new language. (My Mandarin is equivilent to that of a parrot’s; a few words here and there and my pronunciation is horrible.)
Hell, I’m a lazy bastard, I’d go to Canada because it’s closer and I could possibly sneak back into the US occasionally to visit my family.
