# Exile



## Unkotare (Dec 28, 2012)

If you HAD to pick up and leave your home country forever, where would you relocate? You can only pick one city/town/village in one country, and once there you can never leave that place again (no vacations, no nothin' but you can order goods from wherever shipped to you). Bear in mind you will have to support yourself there somehow. Oh, and it cannot be a country where English is the majority language (just to make it interesting). 

Where?

Why?

How?


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## Pogo (Jan 5, 2013)

Unkotare said:


> If you HAD to pick up and leave your home country forever, where would you relocate? You can only pick one city/town/village in one country, and once there you can never leave that place again (no vacations, no nothin' but you can order goods from wherever shipped to you). Bear in mind you will have to support yourself there somehow. Oh, and it cannot be a country where English is the majority language (just to make it interesting).
> 
> Where?
> 
> ...




Interesting question.  No responses?

Can I go to Québec as a _province _where English is not majority?  I like Québec.

Failing that I guess I'd go to France.  Because I speak the language and I've done it before.  And if I'm in Brittany I can get an alternate culture/music along with it.

Second  choice: Germany, because I partially speak that language, and good beer.  And _nobody _bakes cookies like the Germans.  And they're logical.  Much more than France in fact; hmmm...

Not sure what the "How" part refers to... but hey, since I'm the only respondent, did I win the trip?  I have my passport right here.


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## Mad Scientist (Jan 5, 2013)

Okinawa. They have the best beaches on Earth and great weather all year round!


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## Pogo (Jan 5, 2013)

Mad Scientist said:


> Okinawa. They have the best beaches on Earth and great weather all year round!



If by "great" you mean "subtropical".... I wouldn't care for a place with no seasons.  Been there done that in New Orleans.

Here however is something I did not know, via Wiki:

"The island's population is known as the longest-lived people in the world; there are 34 centenarians per 100,000 people, which is more than three times the rate in the United States."


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## freedombecki (Jan 5, 2013)

Unkotare said:


> If you HAD to pick up and leave your home country forever, where would you relocate? You can only pick one city/town/village in one country, and once there you can never leave that place again (no vacations, no nothin' but you can order goods from wherever shipped to you). Bear in mind you will have to support yourself there somehow. Oh, and it cannot be a country where English is the majority language (just to make it interesting).
> 
> Where?
> 
> ...


I'd pick the rain forests of Eastern Australia, where I would grow Macadamia nuts, figs, bing cherries, pineapples, bananas, and citrus or whatever prospered there the best.There would be flowers everywhere and an aviary of exotic birds for guests to enjoy and a heliport with daily flights to the Great Barrier Reef where guests would glide o'er the shallows of exotic and beautifully-colored fish and corals.


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## Connery (Jan 5, 2013)

This is easy. Australia. I have been there many times and plan to go back. I would be there right now if my son were a bit older. The people are great, the laws sensible and there seems to be balance within the society there.


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## AquaAthena (Jan 5, 2013)

Connery said:


> This is easy. Australia. I have been there many times and plan to go back. I would be there right now if my son were a bit older. The people are great, the laws sensible and there seems to be balance within the society there.



Well, I was going to say the same thing. Australia. It is business and tax friendly, compared to other countries. Take your money and fly to "down under.'

I find New Zealand appealing also. Love the people I have met from there and love the beauty and spaciousness of the country. Nature at her finest.


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## Connery (Jan 5, 2013)

AquaAthena said:


> Connery said:
> 
> 
> > This is easy. Australia. I have been there many times and plan to go back. I would be there right now if my son were a bit older. The people are great, the laws sensible and there seems to be balance within the society there.
> ...



The world somehow makes sense there. By now I am a familiar face and people are used to me and open up. Just a easy flow and without a bunch of pretense. What you see is what you get.  Generally people seem to be more fit and have a brighter outlook. A very beautiful woman took the picture in my avatar turns out she was a model and I just have never  forgotten her.


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## Pogo (Jan 5, 2013)

Not to rainforest on Becki's parade, but don't they speak English in Australia and NZ?


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## waltky (Jan 5, 2013)

Yea...

... dey were a great local 60's band...

... dey did Church Street Soul Revival.


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## sfcalifornia (Jan 6, 2013)

Despite of the fact that it's overrun with tourists, it's hugely expensive, and it's slowly sinking into the sea and won't be around much longer, I would live in Venice.  

I'd make a living either catering to the tourist industry in some way or just teach English to the Italians.

If I was exiled to Venice and it did disappear one day, would I have to disappear with it?  Or could I then move to my next favorite non-English speaking place:  Rio de Janeiro?


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## Esmeralda (Mar 25, 2013)

Unkotare said:


> If you HAD to pick up and leave your home country forever, where would you relocate? *You can only pick one city/town/village in one country, and once there you can never leave that place again (no vacations, no nothin' *....Bear in mind you will have to support yourself there somehow. Oh, and it cannot be a country where English is the majority language (just to make it interesting).
> 
> Where?
> 
> ...



Interesting question, but this is the part that really stumps me:  "You can only pick one city/town/village in one country, and once there you can never leave that place again (no vacations, no nothin'"  That sounds  like absolute torture wherever you are.  

I'll say Barcelona.  It's a beautiful city.  They have the kind of weather I like, have beaches/seaside, art, culture, great food, Spanish people are wonderful.....

I guess if I could never leave a place, that would be bearable.  I love to travel, so staying always in one place, no matter how nice,  it just seems like torture.  Of all the languages on Earth for me, and I am not good at learning languages, Spanish is the easiest.  I would teach English and edit papers for Spanish academics (and those from other countries) writing papers in English. Once, when I lived in another European country, I was close to an American philosophy professor who got me a lot of work editing philosophy papers by visiting professors from various countries who wanted to write and publish in English.  I probably could do a lot of other editing jobs too.


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## Esmeralda (Mar 25, 2013)

Pogo said:


> Not to rainforest on Becki's parade, but don't they speak English in Australia and NZ?



ha, ha.......good point...


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## Pogo (Mar 25, 2013)

Esmeralda said:


> Pogo said:
> 
> 
> > Not to rainforest on Becki's parade, but don't they speak English in Australia and NZ?
> ...



Well maybe not-- in Australia they speak Strine.


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## SayMyName (Jul 2, 2013)

Unkotare said:


> If you HAD to pick up and leave your home country forever, where would you relocate? You can only pick one city/town/village in one country, and once there you can never leave that place again (no vacations, no nothin' but you can order goods from wherever shipped to you). Bear in mind you will have to support yourself there somehow. Oh, and it cannot be a country where English is the majority language (just to make it interesting).
> 
> Where?
> 
> ...



Chile...it is diverse, stable, and developing quickly. Besides, the retirement dollar goes a    long way there. So, thinking mainly for retirement expiates. It is already on my list.

Thailand...The dollar goes a long way, and again I am thinking from the retiree perspective. Besides, it is somewhat stable, friendly, and warm the year round.

Spain...it is European, stable, and on the market. Again, from the retiree perspective, Spain has property going for pennies since the bubble crash. I can't talk for someone looking to work there. 

Been a lot of places in the last year, and these are the three that I believe are best. In regards to low crime, stretch of the dollar, temperate or warm climate, stability and beauty. Sure, some places have a more of one or the other, but these are my choices, because, I don't plan on coming back. I love the expat life.


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## westwall (Jul 2, 2013)

Christchurch New Zealand.  Great beer, wonderful people, a great University.  What more do you need?


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## Esmeralda (Jul 2, 2013)

Pogo said:


> Mad Scientist said:
> 
> 
> > Okinawa. They have the best beaches on Earth and great weather all year round!
> ...


Hmmm...wonder what it is? Diet? Lifestyle?  Both?


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## Pogo (Jul 3, 2013)

Esmeralda said:


> Pogo said:
> 
> 
> > Mad Scientist said:
> ...



Here's a good documentary on the same phenomenon in a different area:
>> In a cluster of quiet mountain villages in Sardinia, Italy, something unusual is happening. A remarkable number of people are living into their hundreds. And in this global hotspot for longevity, there are nearly as many male as female centenarians. <<

The Longevity Puzzle
Audio link (pops up)

Without a similar analysis on Okinawa I wouldn't be surprised if the theoretical causes are similar.


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