Reasons to emigrate

[Mich the Tester]

And you never know, you might meet kind Uncle Adolph in his cafe & bar.

You don’t need to travel far to meet a few unreformed Nazis. In Spain, Italy and Austria you can casually enter a village café hoping for a friendly reception and see pictures of Franco, Mussolini or Hitler on the walls.

A little disconcerting.

[RichardCranium]

pictures of Franco, Mussolini or Hitler on the walls.

Nobody complained when they were in charge...

[Mich the Tester]

Nobody complained when they were in charge...

The trains all ran on time!

Generally, the Spaniards will tell you that Franco ‘united the country at a time of discord’ (whatever did the Basques have to complain about?), Italians will tell you ‘Il Duce was misunderstood’ and Austrians will tell you ‘you foreign bastard get back in the cellar Sieg Heil!’

[Lockhouse]

I know it's got a reputation as a canoeing destination but Panama is a great place to retire to apparently.

[Tarquin Farquhar]

I know it's got a reputation as a canoeing destination but Panama is a great place to retire to apparently.

Full of Americans, retired there to spin out their money. I'm not looking for a place to "retire" to where the big advantage is that I can live on little money while I sink into the rocking chair and get covered in cobwebs, till I die.

Actually, if anything, having had a good life contracting and spending money and enjoying that, I'm now looking for neither a rich life nor a frugal life, but one where money is not the biggest thing about it.

[lilelvis2000]

Isn't there some statistic around that 50% of Brits that emigrate to NZ return to the UK? They can't even manage to hang around long enough to get citizenship and then move to Oz.

[Tarquin Farquhar]

Isn't there some statistic around that 50% of Brits that emigrate to NZ return to the UK? They can't even manage to hang around long enough to get citizenship and then move to Oz.

Some people do that. Some people escaped from East Germany, and then went back because they preferred it.

Some people emigrate to NZ, come back for a visit, and immediately remember why they left. That would be me.

[sasguru]

Actually, if anything, having had a good life contracting and spending money and enjoying that, I'm now looking for neither a rich life nor a frugal life, but one where money is not the biggest thing about it.

If your mortgage is paid off, you can do that here and now.
Most peoples biggest payment is their mortgage/rent.

Get rid of your housing costs and you can have a much more creative life.
Ironically having paid off my mortgage, I'm now earning an obscene amount of cash for doing nothing much. But money has never been my main motivator.

[Tarquin Farquhar]

If your mortgage is paid off, you can do that here and now.

It is hell and gone from being paid off. As are the credit cards.

[lilelvis2000]

Some people do that. Some people escaped from East Germany, and then went back because they preferred it.

Some people emigrate to NZ, come back for a visit, and immediately remember why they left. That would be me.

I thought about NZ even went halfway through the process - I had agents phoning me from there as well. But I nixed the plans because at least here I can fly to Canada in six hours and visit my folks and europe is on my doorstep. The wideopen spaces appeal to me...but then I'd move back to Canada for that...far simpler.

How's the "arse cream" down there anyway?