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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Ever think of leaving the United States...

permanently?

The news is so bleak today that I'm not even going to discuss it - but do take a look at Carolyn Baker's newsletter. She does yeoman's work on a daily basis. Today it's so filled with businesses going under, real estate plunging (I'm thinking of my son and family who will never be able to move), crooked politicians, global economic crises, that you can do that yourself if you have the guts.

Back to leaving the good old USA. I've thought about it. When I told my friend Sue about it the other night (from past posts you may remember she and her husband farm in Missouri), she was pretty shocked. "May! Are you kidding? You would leave your country? How could you do that? It's your country!"

Yes I would. If I could gather up the pets (the eight dogs and two cats) move a few books, my computer, pictures - you know - the really precious stuff and get it to another place, I would. I subscribe to International Living online. I also get their "postcards". And there are many ex-pat sites to visit if you look.

I don't speak Spanish, but there are places in South America and in Mexico I would run to where English, or even Spanglish is spoken. If you think the standard of living is terribly poor, that's a matter of perspective. There are residences that rival anything we have here, with more innovations and better design. That doesn't bother me. I would prefer another path. I saw a farm in either Belize or Costa Rica - actually, I think it was a butterfly farm - I would have purchased had I had the available cash. I would go to Italy, Portugal, Scotland, Ireland or Spain. Argentina is beautiful and so is Ecuador and Brazil has a real pull for me. But it takes more than money to make the move. It entails a lot of research, including trips to these places. Is it safe? Is there an ex-pat community nearby? Is the government stable? Can you purchase a residence as you would in the US. And language is important as well. I would take the chance.

Would I go? In a minute.

Check International Living out. If nothing else, it will give you ideas for a vacation and it's always nice to see how the other half lives.





If I could get

1 comment:

Todd said...

Yes, as a matter of fact that's what we're planning to do as soon as we have enough money.