What country? (1 Viewer)

Let's say when you awoke tomorrow the USA did not exist any more, and you had to choose a new country where you would want to live. What country would you pick, and briefly, why?

(Please don't say you wouldn't want to live anywhere else, I know you're a good American and love your country ... this is just to get an idea of what others think about other countries.)

i'd move to the UK, for the beautiful cars and women

CJ

Well, to be fair not everyone on the HTF is an American, but I am soooo........

*Most of the 'freedoms' I enjoy in the US are now almost universally shared by most developed nations. Off the top of my head only handgun ownership is enjoyed almost exclusivly by the US. Of coourse I don't have, or really want a handgun..so that wouldn't be a problem.
*Thanks to trans-global supercorporations I can be assured to find a friendly Coca-Cola machine, Nike realtor, SONY DVD player, or Wendy's hamburger no matter where I go.
*Also I enjoy urban populations. Most everywhere has big cities (which all tend to resemble each other to some degree).

The biggest issue I would face is language. I only speak English fluently. I do have several years of Spanish class I could probably survive with long enough to become more proficient, and only a smattering of French, German, and Japanese (And a whopping two words in Mandarin )

Therefore my choices would be, in order.....

Australia, Canada, England, Japan, China, Spain, Jamaica, Germany, France, Hungary.... and possibly Sweden or Norway (I'm not terribly familiar with either.)

For me it would be Thailand. I have lived in both Malaysia and Thailand for about a year each and enjoy the Indochina penisula. My significant other and I own a house in Chiang Mai and I hope to retire there someday (although retirement is a long ways off).

Other countries I have been in that I think would be okay to live in would be:

Ireland (I am sure I would hate the winter but I enjoyed my time in Dublin)

Philippines (not always the safest or cleanest but I enjoyed Manila)

Singapore (definitely one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Asia; a bit of a Nanny-state but still clean and safe with great food)

Japan (I have been in Tokyo and Kyoto and love Japan. The downside with Japan living is the cost of everything)

Cheers,

Kenneth

Iceland. Most homogenous society on earth (94% can trace their ancestry back to the founding Norse and/or Celts), very beautiful women, heavy Norse history and mythology and since I'm blond and blue-eyed, I'd fit right in (well, I was born blond, I've since darkened and will soon start to go gray:frowning: ). Plus they are a technologically advanced country with recent development in the software industry, so I'd have a job. Plus, I love the sea and the volcanic hot springs sound really cool.

(pictures self in natural volcanic hot tub with tall, blond norse goddess, cold quality vodka and a laptop)

Yup, Iceland it is!

BTW, my desire for a homogenous society has nothing to do with my lack of desire for adversity. I love adversity, but just wonder what it would be like to live in a non-diverse country, especially as an outsider. Call it a curious anthropological study. Yeah, that's it...

Australia, most likely. Always looks beautiful in movies, I speak the language, a more temperate climate than I'm used to in New England.

If I were somehow magically able to speak the language of any country I moved to, I think I could really enjoy Japan.

I have always wanted to live in Italy and buy a Tuscan villa like Diane Lane. Plus, the food ain't bad either.

New Zealand or Australia.

If I had to move to Europe, it'd probably be Germany.

In my travels I find the Irish and Scotts to be the friendliest people but the French and Italian Riviera's had better food, beaches, and eye candy.

More realistically, I'd move to Vancouver, BC in a minute if emigation were easy.

Europe: Monaco If I could afford to live there. MIght as well live in the Riviera with the rich
If not, Italy.

Otherwise my first choice is Australia.

If I was someone that Jay Leno encountered while Jay-Walking my answer might be Minnesota.

But since I’m not, I’d pick Canada. When I was in the Air Force my AWACS buddies and I always loved going to different bases in Canada, except the one where the natives shot arrows at us (How did we know they were only 16?).

Since half my family is Canadian I'll exclude that country as too easy of a pick. I would have to say Norway. I'm a winter person so Scandinavia would be nice. Plus, they have a strong economy, a great history, and a nice progressive political and social system. Finland would be a close second but there's no way I would ever be able to master that convoluted language.

Taiwan (parents were born there), Japan (love the Japanese language and people), or Italy (language and scenery).

Most likely back to Okinawa where it all began...(I was born there and half Japanese).

Well I'm going to play out this scenario in real life next April or May. I'm going to migrate to Stockholm, Sweden. I prefer cooler environments, although I'll have to see how I'll do against the frigid temps there. I had the chance to visit London, Paris and Stockholm earlier this year and I felt the most comfortable in Stockholm. It's also a very beautiful city. The great exchange rate doesn't hurt either!

what? have you BEEN to the UK?

I'd go to NZ.

LOL yeah the UK isn't exactly the place I think of when it comes to beautiful women(or cars for that matter either). Hahahaa sorry.. haa

Are you kidding me? British women are the most unattractive women in the world! Pasty, doughy, chain-smoking, snaggletooths. They are easy, though. You can find much better looking women at the Mall of America. Plus it rains 99% of the time.

1. Australia [hands down]
2. Canada
3. NZ
4. Somewhere in the Carribean
5. Spain [haven't been there - just an idea]

New Zealand sounds nice. Maybe Australia. Perhaps my native Hong Kong.

No, I will be in Canada.

I'll admit that in that scenario I'd be frightened of the language barrier as well. The structure of our language is in many respects fundamentally different from English. However, you'd find that English would be enough for almost all your needs here.