Where in the world should WhiteBark move? Possible reward for info..

[whitebark]

Hey All

As you can gather from the thread title, I'm looking to move my butt somewhere else in the world outside of Canada. I've traveled here and there over the years but there are plenty of places I haven't been, or didn't see enough of to make an educated judgment on this scale.

My biz partner and I are amicably splitting ways. I'm taking most of the online biz, he's taking the offline stuff, so this means I can live anywhere as long as I have a fast Internet connection.

Where I need help is with the following:

• Desired location must be sunny and warm most of the year - no more snow for this Canadian thanks.
• Desired location must be stable and an open democracy.
• Desired locale must allow foreigners to own/sell property - and how much would it cost for a two to three bedroom house/condo/apartment in U.S. $'s?
• How hard is it for a foreigner to move there and possibly become a citizen?
• Can a foreigner start/open a biz, and can employing a local or two streamline any visa/immigration requirements?

I'm not overly concerned whether it is a city, suburbia or the countryside - as long as this single guy can get what one needs to live a happy and healthy lifestyle - i.e. - lots of beer, pretty girls and sporting events.

I will give a reward of $200 US dollars if I end up living in a town or city you suggest, or give valuable information on a particular country I do select.

I'm putting my home up for sale next week, and would like to have a destination in mind in the next couple of months, so your help is much appreciated.

Thanks!
Roy

[draggar]

South Florida!

• Desired location must be sunny and warm most of the year - no more snow for this Canadian thanks.

Hasn't snowed here in over 30 years.

• Desired location must be stable and an open democracy.

We think we're in a Democracy here but in reality it is a Republic. I don't think there are any true Democracies in the world.

• Desired locale must allow foreigners to own/sell property - and how much would it cost for a two to three bedroom house/condo/apartment in U.S. $'s?

Hell, its mostly foreigners here. I don't think anyone would notice. 2-3 bedroom home, depending on where, $250K and up (way up!). Home prices have plummeted here in the past few years so you can get some good bargains especially in nicer areas.

• How hard is it for a foreigner to move there and possibly become a citizen?

Don't know about that.

• Can a foreigner start/open a biz, and can employing a local or two streamline any visa/immigration requirements?

I don't see why not, most small businesses here are run by immigrants (many illegal / undocumented)

I'm not overly concerned whether it is a city, suburbia or the countryside - as long as this single guy can get what one needs to live a happy and healthy lifestyle - i.e. - lots of beer, pretty girls and sporting events.

Plenty of beer. Dolphins, Marlins, Heat, and Panthers all in Miami / Ft Lauderdale plus baseball spring training. Even Jai-Ali and horse racing but no hurling.

South Beach - lots of pretty rich girls (hell, pretty girls all up and down the coast line, or guys if you're into that).

Great day trips: Key West, Everglades, Orlando, Kennedy Space Center, St Augustine (long day trip!).

Moniker is based here so you could apply for jobs with them, too (if you want to work for someone). Plenty of domaining action here, too.

[whitebark]

Thanks for the reply Draggar. I've traveled 23 of the lower 48 states, but never got as far as Florida.

I've looked over homes in the US as they are great buys right now with the home market crash, strong Canadian dollar, and I've got plenty of relatives in the US, but outside the possibility of making a killing buying low and selling high, the US feels too much like Canada if that makes any sense! LOL But Florida is on my 'to visit' list this summer after a quick jaunt to Cuba, so that may change!

[Zoobar]

Rio de Janeiro

Always wanted to go there myself.

[Poohnix]

Lived in South Florida for a cuple of years, didn't care for it much.
Rio... visit, maybe, but never to live there... to unsafe and violent.

The place i'm looking at myself is Costa Rica. Stable, democracy, a generally great place.
They got rid of the amy in 1949, and used the money on education and health care instead...
No problem with immigration if you have money, no problem owning real estate, and still at reasonable prices.
No specific town, but the central valley or pacific northwest are the best areas.

Another alternative is Malaysia.

[lotsofcoffee]

Panama. It's got what you want - good weather, cheap prices, good internet infrastruture, welcomes expats, etc.

[jasdon11]

South of France.

[HarveyJ]

Australia...

Our currencies have nearly the same value.
Our system of Government is nearly identical.
Alcohol is one of our largest export and consumer items, particularly beer.
Provided your above the Southern 30th parrallel, the weather is generally good all year around.
You can own property and a business, provided you're a permanent resident.
Crime rates are pretty low (compared to global averages) for all forms of violent crime.

We also have an incredibly brutal national sport, with NO body armour (Rugby)...

[agile]

Hi Roy,

I'm just back from backpacking
round the world for a year and was quite impressed with the
idea of living and starting a biz in New Zealand.
Residency comes through an application for an Entrepreneur Visa
after the business has been running for two years.

Population: Four million
Language: English is the main written and spoken language
Seasons: Opposite to countries north of the equator.
Winter is June through August and
Summer is between December and March.
Government: Modern parliamentary democracy.
Parliament is made up of 120 Members representing eight parties.
New Zealand has the reputation of a liberal/tolerant society.
Landscape: You're within a couple hours drive to mountain ranges with glaciers, native forests,
deep clear lakes, miles of sand beaches and great seaside & baytowns of every size.

Friendliest place of all my travels (lots of stories).
I was there for two months and heard only ONE angry car horn!

There are a number of business migration options.
The most common one of these is the Long Term Business Visa (LTBV) which is detailed at:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/nzopp...e/business.htm

Step 1-- Quick check
You will have a business plan that demonstrates you:
* Have enough money to establish your business and make a viable contribution to the economy
* Are suitably experienced
* Have not been involved with any business failures or fraud.

Step 2-- Validate
The Invest section of the Apply and Settle website
will give you more information about the criteria and process for applying.

Step 3-- Start your application
Once you’re confident you want to apply, complete the Application for Residence in New Zealand
under Business Categories PDF, and support it with the required evidence and documentation.

Full details of visa and permit requirements,
advice on rights to employment in New Zealand
and reporting requirements, are available through the
New Zealand Immigration Service website at http://www.immigration.govt.nz

Good Luck on your move!
~~~Bob

[DNP]

Hm .... Should you speak fluent Spanish to feel comfortably in South Florida / Costa Rica / Panama ??

[hugegrowth]

these are places I would consider:

Australia
New Zealand
Nice, France
Hawaii
Arizona - affordable homes now and good desert climate
and for exotic, maybe Singapore - safe, clean, modern

[RustyK]

Hey Roy,

You buy the beer and I set up a cozy little shack on the beach of Kauai. Howz that sound?.

Aloha!
Rus

[socalboy]

Hi Roy,

As you may have noticed from my previous posts, I have been thinking about the same thing.

I would say #1 is OZ (Australia). Nice weather, friendly people, state health care, simplified tax system, reasonable housing prices. Pick your desired city: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth are all cosmopolitan.

I would not suggest the U.S. We have too many problems here right now.

I'd say #2 would be NZ if I had my dithers. Same advantages as OZ. However, smaller community; I have a friend from Welly (Wellington), and he's now living in London for the action.

Since Canadians are part of the British Commonwealth, I think you have preferential immigration advantages that Americans don't have.

I have to agree with Jasdon, I also love France. However, may be a language and culture shock for you. I guess my other suggestion would be Britain.

If you want to make the big break, and can get in, I'd say go to OZ. I'll take 200DNF$ if I win, but since it looks like you don't have any DNF$ left, this one is on the house.

Keep in touch,

Eric

[sashas]

hey Roy, come to India

Seriously, you can get a decent house in the capital, New Delhi for about 40-50k (renting would be about 250-2500 USD/month), there's obviously no snow here, language wouldn't be much of a problem, citizenship etc. wouldn't be a problem either, especially if you've got some money...

[socalboy]

Better yet, please donate the $200 to Myanmar relief...if the government there will just let the food in.

[whitebark]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Wish I could have responded earlier but prepping my home for sale has taken longer than expected. Couple that with an unexpected move of hundreds of websites from one server to another with all the problems that always come from that...

Better yet, please donate the $200 to Myanmar relief...if the government there will just let the food in.

I did make a donation to the red cross already - they are able to get in and do their thing thus far. Sadly it may not be enough.

hey Roy, come to India

Seriously, you can get a decent house in the capital, New Delhi for about 40-50k (renting would be about 250-2500 USD/month), there's obviously no snow here, language wouldn't be much of a problem, citizenship etc. wouldn't be a problem either, especially if you've got some money...

I've been to India and liked it and hated it at the same time. Great people, great cultures but the pollution and poverty is a bit much for me. Add in the recent bombings and I think I'll just make it a vacation destination again instead. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

Hi Roy,

As you may have noticed from my previous posts, I have been thinking about the same thing.

Eric

Hey Eric - I haven't been to either yet, but will visit both in a few months. I've heard many great things about NZ so it's on my consideration list for sure!

Hey Roy,

You buy the beer and I set up a cozy little shack on the beach of Kauai. Howz that sound?.

Aloha!
Rus

Oh man - I'd love to relocate there but it might be out of my price-range. Looking over home prices there it seems the US home downturn hasn't hit all that hard there. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Panama. It's got what you want - good weather, cheap prices, good internet infrastruture, welcomes expats, etc.

What is an average home price?

Anyone from South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia?

[Namefox]

I have a friend who lives on the beach in Thailand. Lives on a pension of about 2000 a month and lives like a KING with servants and everything.

[steveto]

I'm a Canadian living in Austria (NOT AUSTRALIA) now for the exact reason you want....because you can..

My focus is to get as much experience as possible and not be "stuck"..meaning there are so many other places to go and see if I want when I want. Right now, I'm in Austria. If you want...I got a huge apartment...so if you want to check out the digs for a week or two to see if you like it, I can at least inform you on how to obtain a visa just about anywhere in Europe.

Why do you want to relocate and sell your home? Rent your place and move..I mean if you don't like where you move to..you can always pick up and leave..why lock yourself in?

Take it from a guy that travels a lot too..rent first then decide to stay or carry on.

From where I am ..2 hrs from Munich, Prague, Vienna, 4 hours from Budapest, Venice, Bratislava...swiss border. Austria borders 7 countries and it takes 7 hours to drive from east to west.

Austria is a socialist country, but man do they take care of you. I have to pay into the system for 15 years and I come out with a decent pension, not to mention I would get 2xpensions if I wanted to come my old age. The baby bonus here is 400 euro for the first kid per month until 18 and university is free!

The only worthwhile place to live..I mean LIVE, not visit in South America is Chile..everywhere else, either too much poverty or you're in the middle of nowhere.

Peru - Lima is a dump - Cusco is nice but really only for tourists
Bolivia - only cool thing are the salt flats
Chile - Really nice Mountains
Argentinia - unbelievably snooty people for the amount of money they don't have (Buenos Aires) - Patagonia..I don't think they have real good connectivity there but great view (ie bole Loce sp?).
Venezuela - great Vegetation (scenery)...but the politics
Columbia - LOTS of expats are there...women are smoking especially in a city called Cali. If you like that life..meh..it's not for me..can't do much road travelling i fear you might get kidnapped.

South Africa Capetown is the only viable place, but again, you're kinda stuck..if you want to go anywhere you have to fly or travel through nothingness. (excuse my ignorance)

I have also lived in Miami for a year...no offence, but Miami is a dump..lauderdale is too old. and really ...no where else worth living except expensive Miami Beach and I know..I used to live at 71st and Collins. I've driven through and or stayed in 37 states as well, so I am not just pulling this outta my butt. from experience, the actual city of Miami is a hole.

Central Europe is the best and if you want to get a good price, Czech republic is still like where I am and cheaper. The prices there are still going up and prague is hot hot hot. If you want cheap cheap real estate than try Hungary...but I think romania's cost of living will go up faster. Don't go too east or you just aren't gonna get what you are looking for...a little different lifestyle with some remainder of culture back home.

As far as Asia is concerned..the whole continent...Hong Kong is your best bet because of it's connectivity...thailand id great..my sister shot a movie there, but connectivity is slow. Japan is xenophobic as a culture, but they are top tip when it comes to technology, but prices are insane. Korea and Mongolia are not of interest for me other than just visiting.

Australia is cool and so is new Zealand and Fiji, but you're "stuck"...where you gonna go? It's gonna cost a fortune just to visit family visit anywhere else.

Well, that was my $5 worth

[dcristo]

I would move to the east coast of Australia (it's the only place I know, lol) Either Melbourne or Sydney. Guess it depends on what lifestyle you want.

[SDX]

CALIFORNIA OF COURSE!!!