I have a fun question for all y'all international types (that's American for 'people who don't live in the U.S.'):

My girlfriend and I are planning on moving in a little under two years to another location. Our preference is to move to another country, as we're relatively young, childless and doing well enough financially to take a few years off from the rat race. She wants to go to grad school, and I'll... do whatever. I may go to school, teach skydiving, drive a truck, 'do computers', that sort of thing.

We're now considering our options, and we'd like to make a decision in the next 9 months on where we want to go (to give us time to get applications in). English-speaking countries are good, though we're not adverse to learning another language. Political stability is a plus. A major universrity is required, and it should be *interesting*. We're leaving our careers to expand our minds and have fun, not plug away a few more years in a drab industrial town.

So the question is: is your country/city a good one? Does it meet the criteria above? Any input would be great, all we have to work off of is propoganda and word-of-mouth otherwise.

And for those who didn't glean this from his profile, he's from the USA, so no need to justify the US to him.

And cripes, if you're looking for a change of scenery, just getting out of Minnesota should be plenty.

ROFL I hear you, but I've been all over the US in my life, not just beautiful Minnesota. I guess I shouldn't exclude the US -- there are all sorts of cities I've never been to. But it would be a hard sell, as we're looking for something more exotic than hearing "would you like fries with that?" in a southern drawl.

I live in Pittsburgh, so that's not helpful, but I found Stockholm, Sweden, to be a very enjoyable and interesting place, and I do intend to end up back there for a sabbatical at some point...

As a California resident, I can't offer you too much advice on actually living anywhere, but out of all the places I've visited, Australia is definitly the place I'd actualy chose to live.

It's exotic, with amazing wildlife that you'll never see in the US, but the people are what really make it. Everyone we ran into was genuinly friendly, and not just in a "welcome to happy burger, have a nice day" kind of way. It's got big cities like sydney and melbourne, tropical climates with some of the best scuba diving in the world at the great barrier reef, extreem climates in the interior, and moderate climates in the south... And, for what it's worth, it still has a frontier - the feature that arguably shaped the US into whatever it is today. When we went on a family vacation, everyone expected it to be a checkmark on the list of continents to visit once in our lives, but by the time we left, everyone was trying to figure out when to go back.

Just my 2 cents worth...

Matthew

The Netherlands. I don't have to say much, you said it yourself. Try it and see.

However, I will say one thing: 4th Empeg Owners Meet, June 2003 !!!!!!!

I've heard excellent things about New Zealand.

Calvin

Yes, New Zealand would be a definate to check out.
[I'm biased I live here].
You could also consider Australia, but its harder to get into Australia.

You should find it relatively easy to get a work permit - If you simply arrive here you get a 3 months visitor visa, you can look for work and if you are suitably quialified and get a written job offer from a New Zealand employer you can apply for a work permit while in the country - if you have Information Technology skills you should find it relatively easy to get a job.

There are a couple of IT related website that list jobs on the net - try JobUniverse or Seek IT

However, you may be limited to a maximum stay of 30 months depending on the exact criteria/category you apply under.

You should also find it a interesting place to visit and to work in - ask Mark Lord, he came here about 10 months ago now for climbing etc.

We speak English, we are pretty stable politics wise, no-one carries firearms - [they are not legal to own unless you have a permit and police clearance and you cannot carry/use firearms for self-defense like you can in the US

You would a choice of 4 major cities with Universities to chose from if you wanted to study:
.
listed from North (warmer) to south (colder).

Auckland, Wellington [The capital city], Christchurch and Dunedin

Auckland is you best bet for work as its the largest city - Especially if you're into water sports.

If you are into Winter Sports, like Skiing etc then Christchurch would be a better bet as many good ski-fields are about 1.5 hours drive from there.

Biggest issue you'd face coming from the US is that we drive on the left - like the Brits do, so getting a job as a vehicle driver would not be as simple as turning up and taking a test.
Most paying driving jobs would require you to hold a (local?) driving license for 2 years or more. Not sure you'd want to make a living driving around as the roads are not as good as they should be.

you and your partner could attend a university and given the NZ dollar is worth about 47 cents $US right now you could live well on a modest $US income and/or savings.

However, we have income tax of about 33 cents in the dollar, plus a sales tax of 12.5% on everything [usually included in the price though so you don't notice it].

To find out more about living/working in NZ and the requirements etc visit New Zealand Government Online, Immigration Service website.

One Other thing to note is that we are 220 volt power supply, so none of your US electronics will work here without a step-down to 110 volt transformer.

As we are south of the equator, our seasons are reversed compared to you - i.e. Christmas/New Year happen in summer.

I think Hong Kong and Singapore both meet your requirements, and they are fun places to live, though getting a job in either can be very tough. Correction - getting a job paying enough to support you in a partially Western environment (for instance, eating food that you vaguely recognise) can be tough. But the obvious answer to your question is...the UK! Particularly that sun-caressed jewel of the North, Manchester. (Let the North / South flames begin).

Just think of the UK's advantages: more than 250 years of history. Proper beer. Driving on the correct side of the road in cars with suspensions rather than cushions. People who speak American. Mars Bars that are Mars Bars and not Milky Ways. And the widespread availability of many other rather super British inventions, such as McDonalds, Starbucks, and CNN.

You could also consider Australia, but its harder to get into Australia.

He could do like a friend of our family recently did, and marry into it.

I'm told she's quite happy with her new husband, living down under...

St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Relatively low cost of living.
Low crime (most crimes would probably be the odd B & E)
Small City, but has pretty much everything you could want.
Friendly People (who speak english (sort of ))
Wonderful hospitality (anyone who saw the 9/11 1 year rememberance will have probably noticed that the Canadian dedications were held in Gander, Newfoundland)
Beautiful scenery
It's in Newfoundland!
Only 3 empegs here in Newfoundland (I own 2 and my friend owns 1)
Decent weather. (I was out on my jet-ski the other evening until dark with only a t-[censored], PFD, and shorts on... in the Atlantic Ocean!!)
Canadian dollar is worth about $0.65 US
People don't carry guns, unless it is hunting season... which starts next week. (Watch your speed on those lonely highways... you may rear end some stupid hunter driving down the road at 20 km/h looking for an animal. Air horns can be a lot of fun in those cases though!)
It's in Newfoundland!!!
Lot's of interesting historical places to visit.

www.stjohns.ca

Newfoundland is a great place and if you like city life at all then St. John's is tops! Don't forget George Street. 30+ clubs on a short street that is closed to vehicles after 10 pm. (www.stjohns.ca/guide/page37.htm)

As for a major University - we have MUN, Memorial University of Newfoundland, with it's main campus located in St. John's. www.mun.ca for all the info or www.mun.ca/2001report/index.php?includefile=menu/home.php&sec=1&includefile1=content/home/about_mun.html for more detailed info without you having to look.

You also have Targa Newfoundland every fall (www.targanewfoundland.com) if you are into cars and racing.

Then there are the wonderful winters and the Northern Lights that you occasionally get to see.

I have all kinds of newfoundland pictures if you would like me to email them to you. If I could move from where I am now, St. John's would be the place I would choose to live.

www.gov.nf.ca

René

anyone who saw the 9/11 1 year rememberance will have probably noticed that the Canadian dedications were held in Gander, Newfoundland

OT- My Aunt was the woman who kept contact with ABC Primetime to do a story on Gander. She was in a plane that landed there on 9/11 and thought the generosity of the town was newsworthy. They interviewed her for the first story (I watched) and the second story a month or two ago (I didn't watch). See this online story with pic that ran in a NJ newspaper before the Primetime segment. That's her "special friend" on the right... as if you couldn't tell.

I spent almost a week in Manchester some time ago, found it to be a deceptively exciting city. From the outside it looks like a staid old British city. On the inside... let's just say it was the most entertaining city in our month-long hike in the UK. I've always wanted to go back to that place that sold 3 quid pizzas all night, too.

Major university, however?

Wow, thanks for the info. NZ is our first choice right now. And that is in no way biased by The Fellowship of the Ring scenery.

How about Tasmania? pca seems to like it.

Hey no bother.

Whether you come to visit for a few days, or stay for a while you'll enjoy it.
there is so much to do, and if you don't like a place, drive down the road a bit and there will be a totally different place within 1 hours drive.

You can drive from the "surf" to the mountains in about 1 hour in most places, and from "east coast" to "west coast" in less than a day.
[North to South takes longer].

Its similar in climate and scenery to Tasmania. I'm sure Patrick (pca) would like it here also.

I forgot to mention we have nothing poisonous/dangerous here in the country, no snakes, no box-jellyfish, scorpions or anything like that. The most dangerous/poisonous animal is the Australian Redback spider which imported itself some time ago but no-one has been bitten by one I know of.

Some folks would say the most dangerous animal in the country is humans but thats a different argument. So you can go hiking in the "woods" without worrying about meeting a bear or other large animal.
So if you have a pathological dislike of dangerous creatures but like communing with nature then there isn't a lot of choice - its either New Zealand or Ireland I guess.
[or some Pacific islands, e.g. the Cook Islands].

RE: Lord of the Rings Scenery.

I'm told that scenery to come in the Two Towers: Lord of the Rings episode 2, released this Christmas is even better than the first episode scenery, which was pretty good.

But you know what the really sad thing is about the LOTR locations:

Many of the places/locations used to film the LOTR trilogy were filmed on private land, and the land owners all signed contracts with the movie studio so that there is no public access to the sites of the film sets. [in some cases the sets are still there, in many cases not]. Scenes that were filmed on National or Regional Parks (and quite a few were) had to completely remove all scenery/constructions once the shooting ended last year so there is no sign they were ever there.

New Line [the movie studio that bankrolled LOTR] has said that after the 3rd film releases in late 2003 they will look at doing something official with the film set sites but no promises are made.

So, if you want to visit Hobbiton or anywhere else like that, you can buy a map that show the film sets locations [all throughout New Zealand], but for the most part you have to imagine the way the set looks from the closest public road and nothing else. Some places [like the town closest to Hobbiton - a place called Matamata, have put up signs like "Welcome to Hobbiton" but its a little bit misleading as the actual set is some distance away on private land.

Still if you come here in 1-2 years you may find you have better access to the LOTR sites than now.
I'm sure in the future there will be a recognised LOTR film trail - for now you have to try and guess for yourself which scenerey appeared in the films.

But you know what the really sad thing is about the LOTR locations: Many of the places/locations used to film the LOTR trilogy were filmed on private land, and the land owners all signed contracts with the movie studio so that there is no public access to the sites of the film sets.

What's sad about that?

I couldn't imagine anything worse than having that beautiful countryside spoiled by over-tourism. I hope they carefully remove the sets and put it all back the way it was, even the private lands.

In reply to:

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I couldn't imagine anything worse than having that beautiful countryside spoiled by over-tourism. I hope they carefully remove the sets and put it all back the way it was, even the private lands.

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Well, for public parks etc you are right - the land should be returned to the way it was [and it has been in general, as filming finished about 1 year ago now for all 3 movies].

For some sets [e.g. Hobbiton] there is a lot of interest from visitors already in seeing the site.

Having seen the actual "site" in its raw form [on TV rather than in person], the actual Hobbit holes and Hobbiton in general is quite small - only a small child would fit in the holes, so it would be a bit like visiting that world of minatures place up on the Canadian side of the border near Niagara [I visited there about 11 years ago].

I think longer term there will be a ongoing demand for visitors to follow some kind of LOTR film set trail throughout the country - and if you don't manage this properly [starting real soon now], then the unfettered public access to where people believe the LOTR sites were/are [whether te actual sites or not] will be more detrimental to the environment longer term than properly planned and managed film sets/locations.

This may be what New Line plan to do - I certianly hope they DO NOT buld ME-Land like a Middle Earth kind of DisneyLand - that would be crass.

And if they do, I hope its not built here

http://www.thankstogander.de