easiest inexpensive-stable countries for emigration (communities, free, small)

[jtur88]

Malaysia is fairly affordable.

[mikelee324]

In Asia, Malaysia has the best retirement option for foreigners. I believe there are various travel magazines that did a study and they all chose Malaysia which provided the best benefits for foreigners. Malaysia offers a longer visa 5 year visa I believe, more stable government, you can own land and houses, but real estate is more expensive compare to Thailand (they require you to buy upper class housing), but that kind of ends there.

Most people choose to retire in Thailand. Aside from the unstable government (it has no affect on foreigners at all to be honest), shorter visa, foreigners cannot own land / houses only condos. There are more things to do, more variety of food, more places to go, mix culture, easier to get involved with the locals. Big foreigner community. Very centrally located in Asia, pretty much everything is cheap. English is everywhere and most people know the very basics so you won't be stuck with learning a language in order to get going. Setting up a business could pose a difficulty depending on what area you wish to go into.

It is probably one of the most gay friendly places in Asia.

[jungeon]

Originally Posted by niceguy19125

I'm considering a move out of the US to a place where the cost of living is low, and where the country is stable and not in widespread poverty.

I'm open to pretty much anything on this side of the planet...meaning Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Africa (though limited options there).

I plan to open my own small business, so the lack of red tape involved is a consideration. Another caveat, it should be somewhat gay-friendly. I'm not a rainbow-flag-waving "out" gay man, but want to feel comfortable where I'm living.

Panama has emerged as of late as a possibility. Also Uruguay, though it's a bit far from the US, which would cut down on return visits and friends visiting which is problematic. Some of the usual suspects, Costa Rica & Belize for example, are reaching critical mass in terms of "Americans opening a new business", so looking to avoid countries like that. Are there any island nations in the Caribbean I'm missing (St Vincent, St Kitts/Nevis or Antigua/Barbuda)? Or any other recommendations?

Well if your a gay just say so, it would make it easier to help you.
As far as Africa goes, South Africa would be the normal. But I'd suggest go off the beaten path, go to ghana, low crime, little corruption, high tolerance. People will not embrace your gayness or have a gay parade because gay is unafrican, but no one will stone you for it either as they are highly tolerant. The only country outside of my own in africa that I'd do business in. Belize is ok and Puerto Rico not too bad either. If your not willing to learn spanish your options are limited as the days of poor carribean coutnries with cheap land are long gone. More Jamaicans live outside Jamaica than in it, some are starting to return for retirment so the small business atmosphere is so competitive that McDonalds had to leave it. Not to mention that all these expats moving with their retirment savings buying mansions has push the price of a decently constructed house sky high, so you now have a class of people living in shacks despite the fact that the country has lots of land for its population.

Your best bet is to learn spanish and move to chile or something.

[megonow]

Honduras is the most poverty stricken place I've ever been. Of course, I didn't go to the boring tourist part Roatan but to Tegucigalpa where children pull ox carts. Dominican Republic attracts alcoholics who come and drink and find young girls to spend the winter with. In Panama you risk kidnapping for ransom.

[megonow]

you could try the czech republic

I just came back from 2 1/2 years there.

It's getting harder to get a visa now that they have
joined the EU but it is still possible. You can get a EU
citizenship after 5 years.

Having said all that, the Czechs can be difficult. And,
bribery and corruption are endemic.

I think no one would hassle you in Prague but like any
place, the country or small towns are more conservative.

I don't highly recommend Prague but when i think of the
difficulty of other places, it is doable.

Of course, you have to try places and see for yourself.

good luck

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by jja100

You can forget Europe... Europe is more expensive than the US in almost every regard except healthcare and property taxes.

Eastern Europe is still doable, provided one has a source of income independent of the local economies.

[Thomas R.]

Hmm I missed the gay part in my earlier answer. This might complicate things. I think I mentioned Mauritius and Seychelles, but both seem to have laws against "sodomy."

Uruguay seems to allow civil unions and banned anti-gay discrimination this decade.

[Chi-townChica]

Hello,

I know it's a little far, but you may love Bali, Indonesia. Accepting of gays, great weather and dirt cheap. Just to give you an idea: A two-bedroom house with maid, driver and cook would cost $1,000/month. If you're like me then you can get a one-bedroom apartment, fully furnished, clean it yourself, no cook or driver and pay $400 a month. Don't be put of by the 30 day visa. Hop over to Singapore and it renewed for much longer. Keep in mind you'd have to do this a few times a year. I could go on and on. PM me if you want more info. Good luck!

Acapulco, Mexico is another consideration, but you'd have to watch yourself. A lot of poverty and a lot of rich people. My mother has a ton of friends that live there in nice apartments and love it. Just try not to look like a "mark." lol

Originally Posted by niceguy19125

I'm considering a move out of the US to a place where the cost of living is low, and where the country is stable and not in widespread poverty.

I'm open to pretty much anything on this side of the planet...meaning Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Africa (though limited options there).

I plan to open my own small business, so the lack of red tape involved is a consideration. Another caveat, it should be somewhat gay-friendly. I'm not a rainbow-flag-waving "out" gay man, but want to feel comfortable where I'm living.

Panama has emerged as of late as a possibility. Also Uruguay, though it's a bit far from the US, which would cut down on return visits and friends visiting which is problematic. Some of the usual suspects, Costa Rica & Belize for example, are reaching critical mass in terms of "Americans opening a new business", so looking to avoid countries like that. Are there any island nations in the Caribbean I'm missing (St Vincent, St Kitts/Nevis or Antigua/Barbuda)? Or any other recommendations?

[Teak]

Originally Posted by mikelee324

In Asia, Malaysia has the best retirement option for foreigners. I believe there are various travel magazines that did a study and they all chose Malaysia which provided the best benefits for foreigners. Malaysia offers a longer visa 5 year visa I believe, more stable government, you can own land and houses, but real estate is more expensive compare to Thailand (they require you to buy upper class housing), but that kind of ends there.

Four years ago when I bought my house, the minimum purchase price for foreigners was RM150,000 (~US$40,000) for most parts of the country, and RM250,000 (~US$67,000) for the higher-end states (Penang, Selangor, Johor). I was fortunate to be able to buy a house for around US$43,000.

Then they raised the amount to RM250,000 for the entire country. Now, there are plans to raise that amount to RM500,000 (~US$143k). What is happening is that: (1) developers are requesting that the government raise the minimum to get foreigners to buy their over-priced property developments; (2) there was an influx of the "wrong kind" of retirees -Indonesians, Bangladeshi, etc.- who were not the initial target groups. Malaysia really wants Brits, Koreans, Japanese, and Middle Easterners.

Malaysia, thus, is becoming less affordable except for the rich for whom there are many more options: Philippines, Thailand, Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, and etc.

So, for a gay retiree wannabe, I would suggest taking your RM500,000 to Penang and buy a condo there. Penang has the largest expat ghetto retirement community and is less conservative than the rest of the country.

[Huckleberry3911948]

unless you got buckets of money, fleeing the unites states to another country would be like me moving to detroit.