Ever Considered Expating?

[LockheedFix]

I think I would choose Creech over Cambodia. Have you ever been there?

My nav and crew chiefs both nearly died after eating at the Lucky Burger there. We should have known if was a bad idea to eat there when it was literally around the corner from a river of raw sewage. Good ice crea, though.

[Gravedigger]

What? Cambodia is awesome! Not nearly as nice as Thailand but your dollar goes farther, literally, they accept and use US currency over their own. I've got friends that live in Siem Reap, which oddly enough has some of the best Mexican restaurants outside of Mexico.

I wouldn't live there permanently, but if AFPC were offering a 3-year assignment to Creech or Cambodia, I'd take Cambodia. If I had the cash, I'd have homes in Thailand and Colorado and split my time between the two.

I would also very seriously consider expating in Dubai. Had some friends go there after college for a 1 year deal and ended up staying 5. They loved living there. My dad and grandparents were expats in Iran and they really liked it there...until they were threatened and forced to evacuate in 79.

There are tons of great places outside the US to live for a while. You can travel, experience new cultures and come back whenever you want. I've always though expating would be something I would like to do. I'll just have to wait until I'm done with my clearances.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Gravedigger

[Ram]

...but if AFPC were offering a 3-year assignment to Creech or Cambodia, I'd take Cambodia.

What a great endorsement.

[Prozac]

I'd NEVER consider giving up US citizenship. That said, there are lots of places in Central/South America, SE Asia, the Pacific, and Eastern Europe that I'd consider spending the majority of my time in.

[HerkFE]

Went to Costa Rica a couple years ago. The wife and I went there on a vacation but we were kinda looking at it to see if we would want to move there one day. Maybe I just saw the wrong half of the country but was still a third world $h!thole to me.

Edited October 10, 2013 by HerkFE

[morenoj135]

Having lived in or spent time in just about every country in Latin America, I wouldn't spend too much time in any of them, they are more screwed up than the US is becoming and you have no rights. The island of Crete would be nice but the Greeks do have some extremely anti-foreigner laws and policies - they like you to visit just not stay. Alaska is also an option if you don't mind the cold and like to hunt and fish.

[schokie]

Alaska is also an option if you don't mind the cold and like to hunt and fish.

Isn't Alaska part of the United States of America?

[Tonka]

Isn't Alaska part of the United States of America?

No it's an island off by Hawaii, at least that is where I've seen it on the map.

[Spoo]

Moreno was referring to the territory of Alaska, which we annexed from the Dutch via the Louisiana Purchase after defeating the French in the Mexican-American war of 1812...at least that's what he told me.

[Learjetter]

Moreno was referring to the territory of Alaska, which we annexed from the Dutch via the Louisiana Purchase after defeating the French in the Mexican-American war of 1812...at least that's what he told me.

That was just before the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor, right?

Edit: spellin' buffoonery

Edited October 11, 2013 by Learjetter

[Masshole]

What? Cambodia is awesome! Not nearly as nice as Thailand but your dollar goes farther, literally, they accept and use US currency over their own. I've got friends that live in Siem Reap, which oddly enough has some of the best Mexican restaurants outside of Mexico.

I wouldn't live there permanently, but if AFPC were offering a 3-year assignment to Creech or Cambodia, I'd take Cambodia. If I had the cash, I'd have homes in Thailand and Colorado and split my time between the two.

I would also very seriously consider expating in Dubai. Had some friends go there after college for a 1 year deal and ended up staying 5. They loved living there. My dad and grandparents were expats in Iran and they really liked it there...until they were threatened and forced to evacuate in 79.

There are tons of great places outside the US to live for a while. You can travel, experience new cultures and come back whenever you want. I've always though expating would be something I would like to do. I'll just have to wait until I'm done with my clearances.

Cambodia is a pile of shit, and this is coming from someone who grew up in Nepal/South China. Having come to the United States I would never go anywhere else. There is no reason to give up this citizenship.

[Gravedigger]

Have you spent much time in SEA? I would never give up my US citizenship, but I can still appreciate other countries. Pol Pot gave Cambodia a bad rep. The people are really great, the food is bueno, there's a lot to explore (Angkor), and you can live comfortably for very little money. How does that equate to pile of shit? I wouldn't live there year-round, and like I said, Thailand is better, but I really don't get all of this Cambodia hatred. Just go to TripAdvisor and read hotel reviews for SiemReap, pretty damn positive all around.

[FallingOsh]

I'm not serving 22+ years to turn my back on the greatest nation on Earth. The only one born of the love of Liberty, the one whose Constitution I've sworn to protect and defend. My loyalties run deeper than my irritation at our current Congress, Administration, and Court.

That said, I may get a Condo in Costa Rica, just for fun and to stretch my retirement $$.

I'd NEVER consider giving up US citizenship.

I think you guys are overreacting to the term expat.

"An expatriate (sometimes shortened to expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex ("out of") and patria ("country, fatherland")."

Being an expat doesn't necessarily mean giving up your citizenship or turning your back on your country. I'd gladly move to some diving haven like Belize for a few years.

[SurelySerious]

You get a lot more for your money in Bolivia, I checked on it.

[afnav]

I'm an expat in Saudi Arabia right now. I still carry my US passport, but I am tax-free up to $90k or so. We are supposed to get residency papers, but we've been told that we will not lose our passports.

It beats the hell out of my oh-so-unreliable GS job.

[deaddebate]

Can't I just go to Calgary? It's warm(ish), good economy, low crime, decent exchange rate, days' drive to Butte, and a good health system (so they say).

Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk

[Masshole]

Have you spent much time in SEA? I would never give up my US citizenship, but I can still appreciate other countries. Pol Pot gave Cambodia a bad rep. The people are really great, the food is bueno, there's a lot to explore (Angkor), and you can live comfortably for very little money. How does that equate to pile of shit? I wouldn't live there year-round, and like I said, Thailand is better, but I really don't get all of this Cambodia hatred. Just go to TripAdvisor and read hotel reviews for SiemReap, pretty damn positive all around.

I have spent much time in Southeast Asia, mostly in Thailand. I never have a good experience in Cambodia. The people are rude and it is disgusting outside the tourist areas. Maybe you have a much better experience being a tourist of a different demographic, I do not know. I do know that there are many other countries I would rather go than Cambodia, and that you should never travel North in Cambodia.

[HeloDude]

I'm more interested in hearing why someone would want to expat. To experience different culture? A belief that there are more/better opportunities elsewhere? Financial reasons? Or rather than being drawn elsewhere, do you feel you feel you are being pushed away by a feeling of disenfranchisement with America?

Whatever the definition is...after the military, I'd be more than happy to leave the US to permanently live in another country if: I had the same amount of Liberty/Freedoms/Rights as I do here in the US, that the other country was at least as stable economically as here, that taxes weren't any worse than here, that healthcare was as good/adequate as here, that I would have enough other like-minded folks close to me compared to living here, and that I believed the security of the country (against invading forces, against a potential coup, etc) was as adequate as here. I know those are quite a few serious demands, but this is what is important to me and for my family.

IMO, the reason these other countries people are mentioning are starting to look as a better choice is not as much because they're improving so much, but rather because the US is in such a decline. Right now, even if I was retired/able to leave, I'd still stick with the US because I don't see another country that meets my demands. I have heard, and also read up, of people who are considering relocating to Panama...but that country's not too distant history of dangerous government does not calm my fears. I've now picked the area of the US I want to be when I'm done with the AF...we'll see how that bet pans out.

So when it comes to retirement, I'll stick with the US until there's a better option...right now she wins by default, which is pretty sad. And by the time it gets so bad here that there's a better option elsewhere (ie meeting my above demands), I think we'll already be in such a horrible situation, and it will be more about where you are in the US (ie which State, which community of people you've surrounded yourself with, etc) vs trying to get out and live somewhere better.

[Chida]

I'm more interested in hearing why someone would want to expat. To experience different culture? A belief that there are more/better opportunities elsewhere? Financial reasons? Or rather than being drawn elsewhere, do you feel you feel you are being pushed away by a feeling of disenfranchisement with America?

I'd like to expat to be closer to my wife's family. Japan is about the same as the US in the freedom dept. I have a chance to have a better quality of life and good starting pay (and beyond) at a Japanese airline vs. a US airline because there's only one base. Also I've lived there before and I like it fine. I'm familiar with the cost of living. So the question becomes "why stay in the US?" "what's keeping me here?" At present I don't meet the mins for my desired employer, also I'm in the reserve and would like to get 9 more drill years before I quit the Selres. Politics and taxes don't really have much to do with my desire to expat. (note: I'd keep my US citizenship for those wondering)

Edited October 14, 2013 by Chida

[HeloDude]

Japan is about the same as the US in the freedom dept.

You must be joking here...

[afnav]

I'm more interested in hearing why someone would want to expat. To experience different culture? A belief that there are more/better opportunities elsewhere? Financial reasons? Or rather than being drawn elsewhere, do you feel you feel you are being pushed away by a feeling of disenfranchisement with America?

No. Yes. Big yes. Yes.

[Chida]

You must be joking here...

What is it with you? It seems all the posts you respond to have a snide/disrespectful tone. To answer your question: I am not joking. There is nothing in my post to suggest I am joking. I lived there for 3 years in two separate assignments. That is my perspective. What's yours?

[The Texan]

Gearpig's questions: Short answer = 2 with afnav's perspective.

After I give 20-30yrs active duty, all I want to do is open up a beach bar & grill, dive shop, or something of the like. My dollar will go further, and the bureaucracy will be considerably less. The places I'll spend time between are a different standard of living than here, the codes and regulations aren't as stringent in regards to infrastructure and enterprise, but I'm willing to trade that for simplicity and not having 69 hands in my pot. For my purposes, it's a no-brainer.

[pitts2112]

I stayed in the UK for 15 years because it met almost all of HeloDude's requirements (which were mine also), the beer is better, and the US doesn't have pubs.

Everything's a trade-off. UK taxes are higher but then there are no healthcare costs so, all-in, I was actually better off. I came back because it was getting more expensive for everything and then the economy tanked, which hit the UK much worse than it did the US.

Oh, yeah. And the climate. Not the weather; the climate. It never gets too hot or too cold. The downside is it'll drizzle on your sorry ass for a month at a time and some years summer doesn't show up at all, but 85 degrees was unusually hot and I only saw snow about 5 days in 15 years.

edit: climatology.

Edited October 14, 2013 by pitts2112

[billy pilgrim]

......you must be new around here.

I'll give you a hint: HeloDude, freedom......think gun laws.

I agree, but for how much longer.

break break

Leave it to the A-10 pilot to bring up gun laws... valid...