Where Would You Move Out of the USA?

[ShortCutie7]

11 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

.

I'd also go to Canada, as I think their standard of living and general culture is very enjoyable.

Same here!  I have traveled to Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, and would be happy to live in any of those cities.

Staying in the USA, I wanted to move to Las Vegas when I was a child- I haven’t been in 20 years but would imagine it’s not so different.

As for places I’ve never been, I have always wanted to live in England and Italy, but would obviously have to travel there first and spend some time in a few cities before making a decision.

[+ Lucky]

8 hours ago, ShortCutie7 said:

Staying in the USA, I wanted to move to Las Vegas when I was a child- I haven’t been in 20 years but would imagine it’s not so different.

 

Boy, have you got a surprise when you finally visit Vegas!

[ShortCutie7]

1 hour ago, Lucky said:

Boy, have you got a surprise when you finally visit Vegas!

Is there a major difference from 20 years ago that should be obvious other than new hotels and Covid stuff that impacted everywhere in the world?

[+ ApexNomad]

25 minutes ago, ShortCutie7 said:

Is there a major difference from 20 years ago that should be obvious other than new hotels and Covid stuff that impacted everywhere in the world?

A lot can change in 20 years. If you haven’t been somewhere for that long, the vibe and culture can feel completely different. And even if some things haven’t changed, you have—so your experience of the place will, too.

[soloyo215]

On 3/11/2025 at 5:03 PM, Lucky said:

Yes, I know that everyone here is not a US resident, so this thread is not for them. But I read today that Rosie O'Donnell has moved to Ireland and Elaine DeGeneris has moved to England. Of course, I wondered why. It gets too darn cold in those places.

Recently I was reading the Uruguay thread and it seemed like a nice place to live, except then @TrutthBtold said they didn't have the best medical care that old folks need.

So, maybe there is something wrong with every place. I love Bangkok...in early January. Otherwise it is too hot ad humid. Plus, I don't speak Thai. I could go to Rio but I don't speak Portuguese. Do I have to move to an English-speaking country?

Not that I am moving anyway, but I do love to fantasize about it. If I had to pick only one place, it would be Manhattan. And that's in the US! But I don't have the money for that. Say, does this forum have a GoFundMe section? 😊

We (husband and I) are actually working on making a move out of the USA. We both speak several languages, are well traveled and understand (and respect) cultures of the people where we are and visit. That opens many possibilities for us since  we know plenty of places in the world that are great to live in and where we feel welcome.

We have talked about several South American countries, A few in Europe and some in Asia. However, we are still in the decision process. We are leaving the USA, that we are very clear about.

Also, if you find a GoFundMe in this forum, please send the link 😁

[ShortCutie7]

11 minutes ago, ApexNomad said:

A lot can change in 20 years. If you haven’t been somewhere for that long, the vibe and culture can feel completely different. And even if some things haven’t changed, you have—so your experience of the place will, too.

Ahh, of course; the last time I was there, I wasn’t even old enough to gamble!  I thought you were referring to something specific that I was missing.

[TonyDown]

I should check that other thread, but I'll ask anyway. 

Does anyone have experience living in Hong Kong?  What about mainland China?

I'm mostly curious how it is now, recent experience.   Not really interested in guesses or hunches.  In the meantime I'll do some research.

Someone I know in Hong Kong mentioned an opportunity  is available to move there, if financially qualified.  

[+ José Soplanucas]

Those interested in SE Asia and Asia perhaps should check the info at gay guides.

[+ nycman]

On 3/12/2025 at 2:15 AM, mike carey said:

Or washed away in a flood, had their house burned down in a bushfire, or demolished in a cyclone. Truly horrible place.

I thought they all got eaten by Dingos. Is that not a thing?

[+ nycman]

6 hours ago, TonyDown said:

Does anyone have experience living in Hong Kong? 

Hong Kong’s glory days are long gone. Now its nothing more than a large city in a communist dictatorship. I’d suggest you look elsewhere comrade. 

[+ Lucky]

I've already forgotten which media today has an article on what happens to most who move abroad. Loneliness! It seems essential that you at least speak the local language.

[+ Gar1eth]

Ok so I'm on the outskirts of my family. I mean I love them, and they love me. But my life being gay is so different from theirs --being or having been married, having children, and now having grandchildren -when I've only had one even semi-semi-semi-serious relationship in my life and don't date much. But I don't want to leave them. And to tell you the truth, if I were straight, but everything else in my life were the same-I'd probably still be on the periphery as I'm kind of a quirky guy -I know y'all are all saying-"No, Not you Gman!!"  But I have to admit I am. 
 

In addition I don't make friends easily. 
 

But if I could move and could live well, I think I'd choose London. After all-and I don't know if it's just me or not. But  I've often thought  to myself-and you can quote me on this, " When you're  tired of London, you're tired of life"

Edited March 13 by Gar1eth

[Stormy]

I’d probably move to British Columbia. The west coast of Canada is spectacular

[seattlebottom]

Despite being a naturalized citizen for 34 years, that doesn't seem to mean much in today's America.  If I'm to be deported back to Chile I'd be more than happy to go back.  I'd pick either Vina del Mar or Santiago or Antofogasta.

[hornyfrog]

Several years ago, I relocated to Brazil from the USA. I received a temporary residency from investment but I could have also qualified for a retirement visa using my pension and investment income. A few years later, my residency was officially made permanent by the Brazilian government (equivalent of a green card in the USA). I’m a natural-born US citizen with Western European ancestry. Although I moved to Brazil for an early retirement of sorts (I still like to work and be productive), I fell in love with this country years ago and didn’t want to wait until full retirement to enjoy living here. In retrospect, seeing what’s now going on in the USA, my timing couldn’t have been any more perfect. Brazil is a major cultural and bureaucratic adjustment and especially challenging if you don’t speak and understand Portuguese. It’s definitely not for beginners! Living here is different from visiting / being a tourist. But there hasn’t been a day in these years that I have regretted my move here. I live in Rio de Janeiro.

[Rod Hagen]

Though I dislike the food, I would say Japan so I could snowboard powder every winter day.  But What is most important about finding another country to live in is supportive healthcare, and I have no idea how supportive Japan is of ExPats when it comes to healthcare.

[+ Charlie]

If you don't speak the local language, it is important not to move someplace where you don't already have friends or contacts through whom you will meet and be accepted by local inhabitants.That is especially important if you are already elderly. I have mentioned here before an English friend of mine who retired to Portugal because he had visited as a tourist and enjoyed himself, and thought it would be cheaper to live there than in England. He would call me from there, and I could tell that he was almost weeping because he felt so lonely and isolated in a culture with which he had no natural connection. When I went to live in London as a young man, I had no problem because I was fluent in the language and culture, and could easily make new friends. When I went to live in the Czech Republic in middle age, I already had a job arranged there teaching English, so I knew I would be welcomed and would have a built-in social structure, even though I didn't speak much Czech.

Rod's point about researching local medical care is also important, especially if you have existing medical issues. When I worked in the CR, I had a number of students who were medical professionals, and discovered that the government had much more control of all medical care than we are accustomed to in the US.

 

[MscleLovr]

On 3/13/2025 at 8:02 PM, Gar1eth said:

you can quote me on this,

No. They would be quoting Samuel Johnson. 
 

London, however, is a good choice if you live centrally and have a sizeable income. Then there is a huge range of cuisines in the restaurants as well as top-quality theatre and classical music. 

[shinj518]

My top 3 choices would be Vancouver, London, and Tokyo. 

Vancouver is a cool city with lots of great food and nature and plenty of hot guys. 

London is of course London, just a bit more expensive and a bit gritty in my opinion, and I'm not sure about the health care system. 

Tokyo is amazing and I speak the language so no problem there. Great healthcare and food and men, but my problem would be it's not as easy to be openly gay there as it is in other places.

[+ José Soplanucas]

I am months or just a couple of years from retirement, and I am getting the hell out of the US. I am planning for slow traveling for as long as I am healthy, and then settling down probably in Buenos Aires. Besides Buenos Aires, other cities where I would love to live:

Rio de Janeiro - Salvador - Florianopolis - Córdoba (Arg) - Corrientes (Arg) - Mendoza (Arg) - Salta (Arg) - Mar del Plata (Arg) - Montevideo - Colonia del Sacramento - Medellín - Bogotá - Ciudad de México.- Madrid - Barcelona 

Those are all cities I have visited and I know I like as a fact. I am sure the list will grow longer.

 

[BSR]

After just 2+ weeks in Madrid, I’ve heard from both of my teachers and a few fellow students that Barcelona has changed a lot lately, much for the worse unfortunately.  The school I attend has a branch in Barcelona, and the Madrid staff has heard way too many ugly accounts from their peers in Ciudad Condal.  One of my fellow students visited Barcelona 3 times and was robbed all 3 visits (most recently in October).  She’s a Brazilian who grew up in São Paulo and currently lives in NYC, comes off as pretty street-smart, and has never been robbed in Brazil or the US.

Of course, I still plan on visiting because I can’t imagine being in Spain for 3 whole months without going to Barcelona.  Plus I have to make my bucket-list trip to Sauna Thermas!  But I will definitely have my antenna up, a bit more than the normal caution one exercises in any big city.

I’m also curious to see if barceloneses have indeed gotten too carried away with the whole Catalan thing.  They can’t expect an Asian foreigner to speak Catalan, can they?  Well, I guess I’ll find out.  Any glares will be met with the world’s biggest eyeroll.  A friend who grew up partly in Andorra insists that when in Barcelona I should ask first if it’s OK to speak Spanish.  My response to her advice was the world’s biggest eyeroll.

As for the original topic, I can totally see living the rest of my life in Madrid.  The city has everything:  history, architecture, nightlife, museums, performing arts, amazing food from cheap eats to Michelin 3-stars, and it rivals any place on earth for gay-friendliness.  My only reservation is I have no family here, or anywhere near.  Closest family would be ~8 hours to New York or Florida or a whopping 18+ hours to Manila, yikes!

[+ Gar1eth]

On 3/13/2025 at 3:02 PM, Gar1eth said:

Ok so I'm on the outskirts of my family. I mean I love them, and they love me. But my life being gay is so different from theirs --being or having been married, having children, and now having grandchildren -when I've only had one even semi-semi-semi-serious relationship in my life and don't date much. But I don't want to leave them. And to tell you the truth, if I were straight, but everything else in my life were the same-I'd probably still be on the periphery as I'm kind of a quirky guy -I know y'all are all saying-"No, Not you Gman!!"  But I have to admit I am. 
 

In addition I don't make friends easily. 
 

But if I could move and could live well, I think I'd choose London. After all-and I don't know if it's just me or not. But  I've often thought  to myself-and you can quote me on this, " When you're  tired of London, you're tired of life"

 

4 hours ago, MscleLovr said:

No. They would be quoting Samuel Johnson. 
 

London, however, is a good choice if you live centrally and have a sizeable income. Then there is a huge range of cuisines in the restaurants as well as top-quality theatre and classical music. 

I'm sure Samuel must have heard it from me. 😎😎

[+ José Soplanucas]

1 hour ago, BSR said:

After just 2+ weeks in Madrid, I’ve heard from both of my teachers and a few fellow students that Barcelona has changed a lot lately, much for the worse unfortunately.  The school I attend has a branch in Barcelona, and the Madrid staff has heard way too many ugly accounts from their peers in Ciudad Condal.  One of my fellow students visited Barcelona 3 times and was robbed all 3 visits (most recently in October).  She’s a Brazilian who grew up in São Paulo and currently lives in NYC, comes off as pretty street-smart, and has never been robbed in Brazil or the US.

Of course, I still plan on visiting because I can’t imagine being in Spain for 3 whole months without going to Barcelona.  Plus I have to make my bucket-list trip to Sauna Thermas!  But I will definitely have my antenna up, a bit more than the normal caution one exercises in any big city.

I’m also curious to see if barceloneses have indeed gotten too carried away with the whole Catalan thing.  They can’t expect an Asian foreigner to speak Catalan, can they?  Well, I guess I’ll find out.  Any glares will be met with the world’s biggest eyeroll.  A friend who grew up partly in Andorra insists that when in Barcelona I should ask first if it’s OK to speak Spanish.  My response to her advice was the world’s biggest eyeroll.

As for the original topic, I can totally see living the rest of my life in Madrid.  The city has everything:  history, architecture, nightlife, museums, performing arts, amazing food from cheap eats to Michelin 3-stars, and it rivals any place on earth for gay-friendliness.  My only reservation is I have no family here, or anywhere near.  Closest family would be ~8 hours to New York or Florida or a whopping 18+ hours to Manila, yikes!

Madrid is amazing. Now, let me make you roll your eyes.

I would not ask for permission to speak in Spanish. However, I think you should give to the barceloneses the same treatment I think you would give to other peoples. Learn a few words and phrases in Catalan. I am sure it is interesting for you, as a Spanish learner, to see the differences and similarities between the languages.

Do not forget, you are a traveler and want to make the best out of your experience. The issues between Catalunha and the rest of Spain are not your business. Rather than starting your interaction with people in Barcelona in a confrontative way (specially considering that your friends have influenced your mindset), try to start seducing them in a friendly way. Little phrases like "Disculpa'm, però mai no he après Català. Si es rebaixa a parlar en espanyol amb mi, els ho agrairé." could open you a few hearts, and I am sure you can figure out better ones.

[+ azdr0710]

off-topic a bit and expanding on @José Soplanucas 's post........Catalan pride at BCN!.......English before Spanish!

[BSR]

4 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

Madrid is amazing. Now, let me make you roll your eyes.

I would not ask for permission to speak in Spanish. However, I think you should give to the barceloneses the same treatment I think you would give to other peoples. Learn a few words and phrases in Catalan. I am sure it is interesting for you, as a Spanish learner, to see the differences and similarities between the languages.

Do not forget, you are a traveler and want to make the best out of your experience. The issues between Catalunha and the rest of Spain are not your business. Rather than starting your interaction with people in Barcelona in a confrontative way (specially considering that your friends have influenced your mindset), try to start seducing them in a friendly way. Little phrases like "Disculpa'm, però mai no he après Català. Si es rebaixa a parlar en espanyol amb mi, els ho agrairé." could open you a few hearts, and I am sure you can figure out better ones.

What other people?  There is no apples-to-apples comparison between the Catalans and any other language group, specifically, that Catalans all speak and understand Spanish with the comfort level that comes only from immersion or at least semi-immersion in the language during the critical years between 3-8yo.

I would never go to Quebec and assume any random Quebecois speaks English because I know many don’t.  Even the Quebecois whose English is excellent obviously speak it as a second language.  When I was in Manila recently, I always told people that I don’t speak Tagalog but understand it well.  90% of Filipinos continued to speak to me in only English, but some security guards and cab drivers took me up on the offer and spoke to me in Tagalog.  By the way, excellent English is a requirement in the Philippines for all jobs that deal with the public.  Just to be a Starbucks barista, they require a university degree in Hospitality & Hotel Management.

I am not asking Catalans to address the UN General Assembly or to defend a doctoral dissertation in Spanish.  I am asking them to take my order in a bar/restaurant, to check me into a hotel, or to assist me in a retail store — things that I feel comfortable doing as a Spanish-as-a-2nd-language speaker with a C1 level, plus I didn’t know a word of Spanish until my early 20s.  As for the conflict between Catalans and the rest of Spain, I see it quite differently:  Catalans are wrong to impose their nationalist psychodrama on foreign tourists, especially since Catalan is not taught anywhere outside of Spain & Andorra.  As you once said in another thread, all Catalans speak and understand Spanish, although a few like to pretend they don’t.  If I run into a Catalan who likes to pretend he doesn’t, bye Felicia.

Back on topic, Barcelona as a place to move permanently:  housing costs have skyrocketed, the humidity can be sweltering in the summer, sexual assaults have increased 125% since 2013.  When I went to Barcelona almost 40 years ago, everyone warned me about pickpockets but it was all petty theft BS.  Now people are warning about violent crime and for female visitors sexual violence. Maybe it’s not that bad.  I’ll find out for myself because Barcelona is too good to pass up, as a visitor.  But as a place to move to permanently?  Hell no.

PS:  @azdr0710, you think that’s bad??  The biggest Karen in Catalunya actually called 112 (Spain’s 911) to report, get this, that a hamburger joint did not post their menu in Catalan.

Edited March 18 by BSR
Added PS