I'll admit it!  I have TERRIBLE credit - many unpaid utility bills
from a plethora of moves, repossessed car, closed bank accounts, and
the list goes on.  The only thing I've always paid off are my taxes. 
Fortunately for me, I'm 23 and have lots of time to get it worked out.
 However, I don't know if I'll ever have the energy or the resources. 
As of late, I've been working a lot on moving out of the United
States, most likely never to return.  In the event that I move
international, what is the likelihood that collection agencies and
bills will follow me across the world?  If I'm no longer a U.S.
citizen, will I still be held liable for debt?  Currently, I have no
bank account.  I have one secured credit card that I had to make a
HUGE downpayment on just to get approved, and my credit limit is
exactly the $1000 that I gave them.  If I'm leaving the country, will
I have to worry about my bad credit in the USA for the rest of my
life?  Thank you in advance.

Dear Shameless Instigator, 

I am not a lawyer (and if you look at the bottom of the page, you
could see that "Answers and comments provided on Google Answers are
general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed
professional [...] legal [...]advice".

However, your current debts are the result of your legal (through
contracts) obligation to pay them. Therefore, unless you could prove
that you did not sign your contracts (to have and use these credit
cards) on a sound mind, they might be also binding if you relocate
(read the fine print).

Unlike these contracts, any future contracts you will sign abroad,
will depend on the credit and legal system in that country. Outside
the United States, there are many countries, which have different
credit laws (in many countries, the usage of credit cards is not as
common), and in any case, in many countries, the American
"institution" of "credit history" is less central regarding private
clients.

Have you considered bankruptcy?

This is the accepted method of wiping the slate clean.

I can tell you that US Credit has NOTHING to do with Credit anywhere
else. I know this personally as I have great credit in Canada--but
found it VERY hard to get credit in the US as I had "no" credit. My
Canadian and US bureau's were not linked in any way whatsoever.

Legolas-ga