Inspired by a comment where one said he wouldn’t even visit the US and he already lived there, i got curious about whether people dream of living in any other specific country.
What would be your reasons to live in this other country?
I live in Denmark and I am quite satisfied with my life here. I’ve been to many European countries, some Asian countries and Australia.
The only other country I would consider moving to was Australia. I absolutely loved the nature, I liked that it seemed like you could pretty much mind your own business, if you lived in the rural parts, while still not being too far away from “civilization”.
I’ve only been in Australia as a tourist, so it is of course limited how much of the daily life of an Aussie i was exposed to, but those locals I talked to seemed happy, despite hating on the politicians (but that is a global issue, for every country, I guess.), and then there was of course quite a lot of racism, but again, you see that in many countries.
Australia also seem to be spared from a lot of the global political issues we currently see, but I am not sure that is correct.
American here who is currently awaiting approval of a visa for Australia. My wife got a job in Adelaide, so we’re just waiting for visa approval and will be moving us and the kid. Cannot wait! I look forward to a healthier lifestyle, assimilating to their culture, and just having a new/different outlook on life.
We only visited Sydney and Cairns a couple of years ago, but we loved everything about both places and wished we could stay.
I’m a Brit and I moved to New Zealand in 2010 and haven’t looked back. UK is a shit hole traumatised by Tory rule and Brexit. New Zealand is such a literal breath of fresh air. sure we also have similar social issues like right wing politics (Act, NZ1st, National), but we also had Jacinda and I’d vote for her again forever. you don’t move to NZ to get rich, you move because you love the land, and the people are awesome and friendly. I’d never go to the US. ewwww
FYI, on that tropical island in the header image:
Living there is not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s green hell, salt eats everything, pests never get culled from freezing, I could go on and on.
And unless you’re exactly on the equator, tropical cyclones are going to make your life difficult.
Born in Europe but my mother stupidly decided she wanted me to have the American dream with a picket fence and 2 dogs, so she brought me to Phoenix of all places.
Well, I made it out in my twenties and have been living across Europe for the past 10 years. Out of the places I’ve lived (Germany, Portugal, Ukraine, and now the Netherlands), I would choose Ukraine if not for Putin and his fucking war.
I’m actually visiting America right now for the first time in 8 years and holy shit I do not feel comfortable here any more. I hate the Netherlands but I realize I prefer it 100x to America. I actually finished my work early, came to the least American part, Puerto Rico, and I’m going home 5 ahead of schedule. See ya America, hoping never to set foot here again.
I live in NZ.
There are a bunch of people saying that NZ is is a place they would like to go. It is really nice, slow pace of life in most places; however the cost of living here is way too high compared to incomes.
Politics is relatively stable compared to other nations; but we do have our own scoundrels who are complete fuckups.
There are quite a few drawbacks; talking with a German friend last night. We were talking about cites around the world, he said “Rome, oh yea I went there in high school when I was 17 for a week”. That is just not really possible from here. Getting certain things here is just not worth it; the postage is more than the thing itself; or it just doesn’t ship here at all. e.g. Jolla phone; but it isn’t just niche Linux phones; a few years back I couldn’t buy a laptop with a Ryzen processor, had to order it from Amazon in the US, everything available form a NZ retailer was Intel.
Public transport here is shit; outside of Wellington, it is 30 years behind where it should be. The CRL (city rail link) just opened in Auckland (our biggest city); this completes a loop that should have been built in the 90’s. NZ is a very car dependent country; I can’t catch a train from Taupō where I live in the middle of the North Island, at all, there is no rail line here.
this completes a loop that should have been built in the 90’s
To be fair, living in Auckland, it feels like they started building it in the 90’s.
Germany, yeah SWITZERLAND PLEEEAAAASSSSEEWE TAKE MEEE!!! PLEASE ANNEX US!
Originally from China. It’s probably quite hard to explain on a short post over the internet especially since there are way too many fucked up things where I’m from, but I absolutely wanted to and have been living outside for 11 years straight now, and I’ve been mostly happy wherever I’ve been (and I’ve been in some shittier cities). Although it is more of an “anywhere but China” attitude for me…
So yeah. I don’t think I necessarily dreamed of living in any particular country, but just wanted to live anywhere else
Just for kicks, I looked into this years ago, pre-trump. Figured Scandinavia would be good and ultimately settled on Gothenburg, Sweden. Big city, relatively mild weather, close-ish to the rest of Europe.
Other options I’ve either daydreamed about or heard good things about over the years:
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Australia (East coast, have some extended family)
Spain
Baja California, MexicoI live in Denmark and am studying French to move either there or to Spain (I already speak Spanish) although it would mean higher living costs.
I miss people with strong, possibly contrasting opinions. And crowds, damn I miss street crowds!
Other than mine? Probably France, Italy or Portugal. They are like cousins to me, I feel I could be at home in any of them. And the languages are similar enough to what I already speak that I’m sure I’d pick it up without too much trouble.
Currently living in Russia.
Would love to explore Scandinavia more, had mostly positive memories from visiting Finland (although, folks, don’t forget smaller towns also need some colors! Imatra, for example, is depressing AF in the autumn).
China is also interesting to explore and live a bit in. An incredible mix of cultures and ways of life, all packed in unimaginable ways. Also, the nature of Far East is breathtaking.
Other than that, I’d love to settle somewhere very, very remote, away from the world’s troubles and noise. New Zealand seems to be nice, or, if I’d want to go hardcore on a small civilized spot in the middle of nowhere, St. Helena is a great pick.
yes, France. Alas they are as afraid of me as the Australian government is afraid of the French
why ? As an Australian, France has way less Australians, so that’s a huge bonus.
but more seriously, i’d be forced to learn another language and be open to exploring entire new ways of thinking and living.
As an Australian I don’t have a problem with the metric system :) and both France and myself think our ex PM ScoMo is a complete fucking asshole, so we have lots in commin :)
currently I spend 8 months a year in SE Asia and 4 months in Australia.
Nice! So where do you stay in SE Asia?
Lived in Norway most my life, and one day I woke up and decided to move to Estonia. Been living here for some years now, and life is quite similar, but with a lot of different nuances.
People are a bit more cold and generally untrusting towards strangers, but not in a bad way. People here are really warm once you befriend each other however, and they invite you to go mushrooming with them. I like mushrooms, and Estonia being a big swamp, there’s a ton of them here! (my freezer is completely full of them now as the season draws to a close)
Before I moved here I had traveled a lot, and I’ve seen many people and cultures. With how easy it is to travel the world in this modern day and age, I really recommend people to go a bit outside their comfort zone, and experience life from a different angle. It truly helps get a more open mind and wider perspective on things. The language barrier that some people here mentioned isn’t that much of a barrier anymore, since a majority of people under 40 know passable English these days, and there’s always digital translation solutions.
Also, learning a new language is considered a very healthy thing for the mind!I’ve lived in 5 developing countries for work, though 2 are really only developing outside of urban areas, and 5 places in the US. Spouse and I still can’t even agree on a place to want to live, but our criteria is super picky.
It’s worth also saying that to move from your home is very much a personal decision, and not everyone is into that. I value understanding a people and a place, not travel for the sake of IG posts. Without leaving the US, I got the hell out of the small town where I was raised because there were no opportunities to grow as a person. Not because I wanted to go to college in a place with a Starbucks.
Sometimes people need to step back and see if they’re just stuck thinking the grass is always greener somewhere else. Humans love to compare things.
There’s a time to appreciate where you are, a time to leave to improve yourself or your situation, and a time to fix where you are rather than leave.
The Netherlands. I already understand some Dutch and I think the weather will be okay with climate change.
I don’t think climate change affects that neverending wind much
Yeah it will only make the ongoing dutch war worse
