We are three men in our twenties who are looking to move overseas. We want
some help researching our options. We have a list of eleven countries that
we're considering. We also have a list of topics we'd like researched for
each country. Here is a link to a Google answer to a somewhat simlar
question: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=314305 . That
answer gives you a good idea of the depth of answer we're looking for,
except for a few areas which we've specifically noted in our list of topics
to be covered for each country. Note that we are offering over three times
as much money for an answer to our question as we want more depth (more
topics) and have listed more countries.
First I'll give you a bit of background about us. We are two Americans and
one Canadian living in Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC. Our sole source of
income is playing poker on the internet. Cashouts are deposited directly
into our bank accounts in U.S. dollars. Since we have the freedom to live
elsewhere and see the world and still continue our 'jobs', we'd like to. We
are looking for permanent residence, but of course would not be 'sponsored'
for immigration by any employer.
Our list of locations and list of topics follow. We'd like answers for each
topic for each location if possible.
List of locations:
Puerto Rico (major cities)
Costa Rica (San Jose)
Italy (large costal cities)
Spain (Barcelona, any suggested others)
Portugal (Lisbon, any others)
Iceland (Reykjavik)
Denmark (Copenhagen, I guess, I dont know about Denmark)
Austria (Vienna)
Czech Republic (Prague)
France (Paris, Nice)
Malta
List of Topics:
* Climate, rough description year-round
How hot do the summers get? How cold are the winters? How often is the sun
out each season, and how much precipication can we expect?
* Legality of Marijuana/legal penalties (drugs in general?)
One of us smokes a lot of marijuana, and dabbles in other drugs. How easy
are drugs to obtain, what are the penalties?
* Cost of Living (Apartment, food, etc.)
We want more specific information than what was in the example answer.
Assume that each of us lives on a gross income (pre-US tax) of $50,000 in
Seattle, WA, and that we spend it all How many US dollars would it take to
live an equivilent life in this country? Estimates are fine, but some kind
of hard number is needed. Simply 'it's cheap' or 'it's expensive' or
'housing is roughly equivilent to the US' is not enough. We earn in US
dollars, not the local currency. Specifics about rent and food would be
wonderful additions, but are not required.
* Availability of In-Home Broadband Internet
This is obviously pretty important to us. Cost, reliability,
availability...all important.
* Safe government (corrupt police, etc.)
We're law-abiding (excluding one person's drugs), friendly people.
How likely are we to end up in a bad situation with the law through no
fault of
our own? Are bribes commonly required to do normal everyday things?
Are police fair? What is the general level of personal liberty?
* Crime rate
All the obvious things, but it's also nice to know if the country/city
has a reputation for criminals targetting foreigners.
* Reputation for attractive women with a culture-wide acceptance of
nonmarital relationships
Hmm. We have no idea what kind of response we're going to get on this
topic, but it's guaranteed to be fun to read. :-).
* How hard it is to get temporary resident status and permanent
resident status for US & Canadian person without a waiting job.
This is rather important. The sample answer gave links like 'this
form might be helpful', etc... but we really want to know how hard it
is to MOVE
somewhere, permanently, without becoming citizens, and without having
an official J-O-B in that country. I'm guessing it won't even be
possible some
places. If that's the case, please include the maximum amount of time
we could stay.
* A non-overbearing religious presence
We're not religious folk. As an example, if you were discussing this
topic when reporting on the United States, you might write:
"There is no official religion and a Constitutional separation of
church and state. Nevertheless, a non-denominational God is referred
to in the pledge
of allegiance, legal tender, and in some common songs of national
pride (America the Beautiful). Non-religious folk will not feel like
outcasts in
general. The Western part of the country would be more accepting.
Parts of the Southeast, particularly in rural areas, would likely be
uncomfortable."
* Anti-US sentiment
Will we have problems with people disliking us due to citizenship? If
not citizenship, then skin color or native language? If it's a
problem, would
we be OK passing the Americans off as Canadians?
* Popular ethnic makeup
Self-explanatory. Major ethnicities, PLUS a rough estimate of the
number of american/canadian residents, if possible.
* Popularity of speaking english, local language spoken
Self-explanatory
* Public transportation
How easy it is to get around without a car? Can I walk everywhere?
Are there subways? Do i need a bicycle, or a moped?
* Are casinos legal in this country?
We'll worry about whether the casinos offer poker or not ourselves.
* Taxes
We are going to make our living by gambilng (playing poker). Gambling
income is taxable in the US, but as expats our first $80,000 of income
will
be tax free. Will our gambling income be taxed by the country we are
living in? Our understanding is that the US is unusual in taxing
gambling income.
Also, what are taxes like in general -- is there anything we should be aware of?
* How hard is it for US citizens to get bank account
Is there any problem with us setting up a local bank account as
residents, but not citizens? Will there be a significant waiting
period?
* Night life
Basically, how big the residents are on going out, how often, and what they do.
* Popularity of cigarette smoking
We don't smoke cigarettes and would rather not be in a culture where
it's the norm. Are smoke-free areas commonly available? |
