So you want to leave the United States... Why and where would you most like to live? (rent, mortgages)

[Khayla007]

Toronto, Canada
Panama (just 1 year)

Guess that won't be happening in this life time

[jaypzl]

New Zealand...

Genuinely nice people with a clean, culturally diverse and beautiful country.

[CMDallas]

Aguascalientes Mexico (I have Family, and I LOVE the weather... its like LA except inland.. they actually have winter too, the summers are nice a winters are mild)
Manila, Philippines- I Love it... Its humid and hot but I still love it
Monterey Mexico- its like a Mexican Dallas with Mountains..and family
Guadalajara- Family, nothing that nice... sort of like a Mexican Houston

other places: Bangkok, Beijing, Mexico City (awful crime though), Nanjing, and Tapei... mostly for family reasons.

[charolastra00]

Oaxaca, Mexico. Low crime, touristy but in a sort of Santa Fe way (in my opinion). I don't think there's much in my area of work there aside from the American consul though. I'm lucky enough to get to live there for a few months in the 2nd half of this year, so I'm excited.

More realistically, once out of college I hope to be able to find a job that lands me in Santiago, Chile; Copenhagen, Denmark; Granada or Sevilla, Spain; Monterrey, Mexico; anywhere in the UK; or Havana, Cuba (after Castro and only if the US does not swoop in).

[International Playgirl]

Originally Posted by desertsun41

I suspect once this thread gets going you will see lots and lots of choices going to Canada. You could count me in. I did and found it hard to get going due to so much red tape so I gave up. I would live up in the Okanogan Desert on Lake Kelowna in BC.

Mexico? Not unless you were Mexican. But even Mexicans running away from their own place of birth. From what I read and what people who lived there tell me. I would rather live in the Vietnam jungle.

Besides, Americans are forbidden to own real estate in Mexico by law.

Only in restricted zones, near borders is it "prohibited", and the technicality has been loopholed by a handy little formula for solving the problema! It is placed in Trust, and the foreign buyer, (i.e., American, in this case), enjoys all the rights of a landowner, while the bank holds the title. This is no different from how most Americans buy their homes (mortgages) in the US, except, the bank in Mexico can't take the property from the beneficiary of the Trust, because it isn't a debt relationship. But, my point being that the majority of home buyers in this country have to have financing to buy a home, and thus, must have a bank or mortgage company acting on their behalf, and retaining title to, their property until it is paid for. In Mexico, EVERYTHING is negotiable, no matter what's on the books, they're always willing to work with you on the details. That's what makes it so wonderful and free!! Here's my source on the subject, I have used this kind of online info gathering for the last two years while living in Mexico. Ya'll come on down, the weather's GREAT!

MEXonline.com guide to Buying Property in Mexico - Real Estate


MEXonline.com guide to Buying Property in Mexico - Real Estate

[SPE533]

Im currently looking at heading to Australia from the states.

[boardmanite]

I moved away from the US for a while. I'm in South Korea, just an hour outside Seoul. I'm having a great time, but I'm looking forward to coming home as well. The more I travel, the more I love America...

[gv0928]

Madrid or Buenos Aires.

Being from New York, I need a 24 hour city. I also love Spanish - being Hispanic - and thus it would make sense.

I think I might live in one of those cities at some point.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by tahiti

Oh please! Alesund is a tourist trap - head over to Denmark, far better scenery without all the hokey tourist stuff.

How bad does it sound for me to say that last picture reminds me of the Norway Pavillion in Disney?

Actually, it's spelled «Ålesund». Like English, "A" is the first letter of the Norwegian alphabet, but the letter "Å" is the 29th and last letter. It follows Æ and Ø.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by International Playgirl

I have moved out of the country and found that there is a pretty fair amount of us who do this kind of thing. I was curious what other people are motivated by and where Ex-Pat's are headed for their "greener grasses".
My Utopian Quest landed me in Mexico, and we love it!

Where in Mexico, International Playgirl? I'm starting to consider retirement some place where money stretches a little. I've lived in Europe and North America my whole life, so new scenery in Latin America appeals to me very much. I wouldn't mind returning to Europe, except it's no less expensive than North America. So, my gaze turns south o' the border, just not sure where. Considerations include Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina.