If you could live anywhere

Quote from johnpinochet:

I didn't say it was. Read the post again.

Panama does have first world comfort available.
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I read your post carefully and from your list Panama is clearly out of place. Putting Panama in the same sentence with Switzerland is a crime.

As for Panama having first world comfort available. ALL countries have that. It is the 95% of the rest of te population that kind of spoil the picture. I have visited Panama and it is a very 3rd world country make no mistake about it.
 
Quote from johnpinochet:

Panama has beautiful weather.

90% humidity is hardly considered a beautiful weather.





Petty crime and police corruption would be a concern,




..... You think?????.....

Living behind a wall and watching you back aaalllll the time gets tired after a while. Same goes for police corruption..... I have yet to meet somebody who would want to be asked for $$$$ to make the accident look like it was the other person's fault. BTW the other side was given the same option. The cops wanted to see who can come up with a higher number and then would proceed to "fix" the accident and have the other side blamed. Yea just like in Switzerland ......


Panama is a fucking dump.... just because you like it does not make it a Switzerland.
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Quote from makloda:

I think you can get first world convenience, products, service and comfort just in about any city of the world. My impression is that in any non-1st-world city of the world there is a services industry catering to western expats. They're specialized on dealing with expats because they know expats are willing to pay good $$$ for thing they miss from back home and are hard to get locally. This opens the door for scams and rip-off schemes where the odds are stacked against the expats.

a) General services: You want your western car repaired by trained professionals? Technicians that were trained on the manufacturers site in Germany? Good, then your annual maintenance is not a dime cheaper than back home in the US/Europe. And make sure you tip the guy 10% when it's time to pay, otherwise they might install used parts next time they have to fix something while billing you for brand new ones.

b) My current Gym Membership (Eastern Europe) is more expensive than anything I ever paid in the western world. It's easy for these guys to set prices because its the only gym in the entire city of 2 million that has high class equipment and is reasonably clean.

c) Rent: I pay the same rent for my apartment that I used to pay in Germany or in Phoenix/AZ when I lived there. Yes, you can rent how the locals do. A 1920 apartment block in the ghetto where everybody else lives. It's cheap. Around 400 EUR/550 USD for 700 sqft. You want a secure garage so your car doesn't get stolen like all the others, air condition, 2 big bathrooms, modern western appliances and fixtures throughout the house, alarm system and a steel/rock solid door so you can sleep without being scared? Want to live in a safer area of town, where all the embassy and corporate folks drive up prices? I pay 1400 EUR (1850 USD) for 1200sqft. I'm not complaining, but this is not cheaper than Berlin, Munich or Stockholm (Then again, probably cheaper than London or Tokyo!). It's about the same price level, but the quality of life here is way less "high class" than those cities!

My bottom line is: Wherever you live, if you want first class service, products, security or quality of life... you can get it, but only you if you're willing to pay the proper price. There is no shortcut to "living like a king" on $10 a day. You will have to make compromises if you want to live cheap.
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Could not have said it better myself. :D :D
 
I think most of you miss a key point. That point is being in a place where you feel like its *your home* and not someone else's home.

I feel like both SoCal and NYC are my homes.

NYC feels especially like my home since I grew up around the area. I know everyone around the area to include the guys who work at the local stores to the mechanics to the bartenders to the cops to just about everyone everywhere. I have lists of names and so many friends that its difficult to keep up with them all.

There are events, parties that I attend each week. So much to do and so many people to get to know. The many drunken happy hours at Proof, the many drunken wine tastings at the Gratto. The lists of women, business cards and phone numbers.

Being a native of the area, its easy to talk my way out of situations such as a drunk driving offense that I got caught for outside of the Holland Tunnel many years back. I simply looked at the cop and kindly explained that we both come from the same neighborhood and that he shouldnt be putting his own people in jail. That was enough and he let me go.

There is this commonality, this feeling of home and closeness that cant be beat.

The only hostile New Yorkers are the ones that didnt grow up there in the first place.

As for Southern California, I spent a lot of time there and know the area like the back of my hand. I know all the sites, all the places and many people as well.

I've been to other places in the world, but in the end, it just doesnt feel like home. I dont know anyone and I feel more like a visitor then a resident. The only place where I felt like a hero was in the Philippines where Americans are worshipped. Elsewhere I felt like a scrub, a visitor and nothing more.

The key to your sanity is having friends and knowing people, knowing the area and feeling comfortable.

I wouldnt feel right living in Europe. If my neighbor next door needs my help, then who will she call if I am not there?

This is my home, this is what I shall defend. These are my people and these are the ones I shall help. That is the bar (my bar) and thats where I will go drink.

I dont need some goofy place in Europe to make myself feel important. I have all I need right here. All the women, all the liquor, all the friends, all the sites to see. Everyday and in everyway.
 
Just wanted to share this, a friend of a friend was disappointed a few years ago after he moved from Germany to the Bahamas. Maybe his expectations were too high, I guess the note about beer gives him away as a German :) :

I have been to the Bahamas and fled the country after 6 month out of sheer boredom.

I had all my papers filed and all I had to wait for the Immigration council to meet but I decided to turn back to better grounds.

It all sounds great: carribbean, nice internet connection(cable modem) and tax free but it has a lot of hidden disadvantages.

1. It is really expensive to live there. A case of beer is 40 to 50 bucks for example.
2. If you move there all your stuff you bring in is taxed by customs. I brought in my used BMW and furniture and it cost me about 10K .
3. You have to pay deposits on every utility and some of those companies. I still receive invoices of one of my phone lines even though they still have my security deposit and the line is canceled for over 2 years now. I had 2 lines and they did the same thing to the first. They gave the bill (100$) to a collection agency and they finally got the message of taking the money out of the security deposit. Therefore the company was forced to send me a check of 300 dollars which was the rest of the security deposit for that one line. Now they do the same for the second line and they owe me another 300 ;)
4. Get ready to feel some racism. As a white you are the minority and you are only tolerated for the money you have. Very hard to make any friends there because most whites are either tourists or belong to the very very rich.
5. Don't expect somebody to repair stuff right away. I lived in a 2800 square feet apartment. The rent was 3500 bucks a month plus about 1000 buck in utilities but don't think you get working AC. The people come to fix it, look at it, tell you they need a part and they will come back the next day. Well they never show up and you call again. They come again but of course without the part and guess when they want to come back? They never managed to fix it in 6 month.
Another example: You got cable TV. all of a sudden it stops working. Well tech guy comes in and it works again. Next day it stopped working again. Tech guy comes in and it works. Next day it is off again. Guess what the tech guys did? They turned my neighbor off to turn me on and vice versa. Fucking amazing.
6. Prepare for monster cockroaches even in a very clean high rent apartement. They simply are there.
7. Don't even try to get a decent doctor or dentist.
8. Don't expect your security deposit back if you move. They simply said "well sue me". You are outside the country and no Bahamian citizen so you are out of luck.

The list goes on but anyone has to get their own experiences but for me it was more expensive to move there then having payed the taxes.
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The part about AC and cable TV sounds exactly like what I described about my experience in Eastern Europe with the quality of services being way below average I am used to because simple nobody gives a rat's a** if something works or doesn't :(
 
Here is a little linkfest about countries/immigration/ideas from my bookmarks. Have fun surfing:

Escape Artist - http://www.escapeartist.com - A site listing all type of expat destinations with accounts of first hand experiences, real estate listings and details of taxation/incorporation/laws. A good start for to single out a few jurisdictions before you drill down deeper into them.

British Expats - http://britishexpats.com/ - A site dedicated to questions and first hand experiences of British emigrants - The gem here is the Discussion Forum, it has over 250,000 posts of British discussing their stories of emigrating to AU, NZ, Carribean, USA, CA etc. Great site.

International Real Estate, here are a few good sites:

http://www.primelocation.com/
http://www.luxuryrealestate.com/
http://www.engelvoelkers.de/de/index.php (Spain + South Africa)
http://www.sothebysrealty.com/
 
Quote from makloda:

The part about AC and cable TV sounds exactly like what I described about my experience in Eastern Europe with the quality of services being way below average I am used to because simple nobody gives a rat's a** if something works or doesn't :(
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makloda, just that I do not misread it - what countries do you consider "Eastern Europe"?
 
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