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Impossible to answer the OP's question without more details.
Generally speaking ...
Europe if a student or retired (wealthy), or independently wealthy if between: the key is to avoid mammoth taxation. Which country or city depends on personal interests with respect to language, culture, climate, etc.
The United States for operating one's own business, otherwise the mediocre quality of life is not worth the stress of being a low/middle level wage earner.
Latin America, on a selective basis, if moderately independently wealthy or retired. Same could probably be said for parts of eastern Asia, maybe parts of Africa.
Australia and New Zealand also sound interesting, taking the word of those who know. How are they for being a student, a wage-earner, running a business, being a retiree, independently wealthy, moderate means?
The difficulty of visa question is overblown: determination, creative or not, and money solve that.
I hope you saved a LOT of money for your hiatus? With the sinking dollar, it's not going to get easier to survive in Scandanavia or Europe. I am an American living in Germany, and it's $$EXPENSIVE$$ surviving here.
Unless you have strong family ties to a particular EU nation, you can count them all out. Forget Switzerland too, immigrating there is extremely difficult. Also, unless you speak a foreign language the UK and Ireland are the only realistic options. I lived in the UK before, and I would not recommend it. It's very expensive and IMHO the quality of life there is not as good as it is here.
Australia and Canada both have points systems, meaning you can obtain a visa if you match enough of their standards, i.e. have enough points. I don't know why you'd be desperate to leave the US, but I think those are probably the only realistic options.
You know the saying "the grass is greener" Well it really does not apply. As others have stated, some parts of Europe are great but with language barriers, and the high cost of living, one can struggle. Same applies to any developed country, whether it is Canada, Ireland, Australia, UK or USA,
I live in france since I'm 6 (I lived in canada,toronto city,my family except parents of course stayed there) and it is a great place to raise children.Education is really good,even public school (there are public schools better than private),there are great cities not as big as paris and less polluated.You can live in a little village in campaign,and in a 20 min drive you are in a city like reims,and if you take the train,1h you are in paris.
Life isn't that expensive,and there is a great health system.You have a really great quality of life...
concerning switzerland it is very very expensive,but if you are wealthy it is a great place..
if you have any other questions.concerning france,ask me.
I doesn't compare france to other countries..I just give my point of view on what is life in france,I don't know if it is the best place to live,I don't think so , but I know it is a great place for children,safe and with good education .
each year I go to visit my family in toronto and I speak with my cousin everyday (she lives there) so I know a bit of what life is like there..but I never said it was a worse place to live..
Switzerland is said to have one of the highest quality of life in the world. Particularily Zurich and Geneva rank as the top two cities in the world for quality of life. Everything is so clean there, but taxes are high.
funny how many americans have such a hard time with taxes (ghasp!), socialization (grooooaaan), money for education (wha?), and an environmental/energy awareness (p-shaw). though some of the highest standards of living in the world involve higher taxes, socialization, money for education, and an environmental awareness.
what's up with that?
Last edited by hello-world; 12-27-2007 at 08:19 PM..
oh, never mind. i just remembered, taxes might bite into the size of the plasma screen TV we could buy as a commercial window into what we can buy next. hey - did somebody order a pizza?
funny how many americans have such a hard time with taxes (ghasp!), socialization (grooooaaan), money for education (wha?), and an environmental/energy awareness (p-shaw). though some of the highest standards of living in the world involve higher taxes, socialization, money for education, and an environmental awareness.
what's up with that?
So true, but we don't even balk about socialized roads, subsidized parking, artificially low gas prices -- a.k.a. universal welfare for car-and-driver!
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france
