Help me. I want to leave the USA

[eduardo89]

It doesn't happen here now either. I'm going back a few years ;-). My mother was born as a British subject in Canada as Canadian citizenship didn't even exist until 1947, so ties to the Queen were much stronger way back when.

You mean the king Queen Elizabeth didn't ascend to the throne until 1952.

 

[bluesc]

Care to elaborate on that?

There are nations in the world that are better to live in than the US.

I have lived in the US, Hong Kong and the UK. My preference in order:

1) Hong Kong
2) UK
3) US

 

[Danke]

I completely agree. The royalty is to most Canadians what the Kardashians are to Americans - a novelty and mildly entertaining.

"Governor General Michaelle Jean -- the representative of Queen Elizabeth, Canada's head of state -- agreed to Harper's request to shut down Parliament until Jan 26. Parliament was reconvened just weeks ago after the October 14 election."

http://stevescomments.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/the-queen-of-england-suspends-canadian-parliment/

 

[low preference guy]

There are nations in the world that are better to live in than the US.

I have lived in the US, Hong Kong and the UK. My preference in order:

1) Hong Kong
2) UK
3) US

Don't the universal health care and gun laws bother you?

 

[Johnny Appleseed]

I'm staying here on familiar ground and using the system as a part of my environment to my advantage like in any survival situation. I am my own country now I am sworn to myself and family. Electing one person and hoping they alone will be able to save us will never work no matter what their name is. The americant sheeple could as a whole change things overnight if we wanted to.

 

[bluesc]

Don't the universal health care and gun laws bother you?

Sure. The US is heading down the same road as the UK anyway.

My preference wasn't purely based on government overreach anyway. There were many factors.

 

[steph3n]

I'm staying here on familiar ground and using the system as a part of my environment to my advantage like in any survival situation. I am my own country now I am sworn to myself and family. Electing one person and hoping they alone will be able to save us will never work no matter what their name is. The americant sheeple could as a whole change things overnight if we wanted to.

Very true electing RP would overall do little to nothing to help across the board, but it would be indicative of a desire for more liberty and less govt, and since that is not happening it is the problem.

 

[damiengwa]

Check out the free state project. You can be around over a thousand liberty loving movers, working toward liberty on the state level. No income tax, no general sales tax, open carry, beautiful weather. Electricity, heat, hot water, developed highways. Don't have to give up any of the good things.

www.freestateproject.org

 

[low preference guy]

Don't have to give up any of the good things.

without counting the sun

 

[low preference guy]

Sure. The US is heading down the same road as the UK anyway.

My preference wasn't purely based on government overreach anyway. There were many factors.

If you don't mind sharing, what are some of the good factors about Hong Kong life?

 

[bluesc]

If you don't mind sharing, what are some of the good factors about Hong Kong life?

It takes less than a day to find a job. It takes about that same amount of time to get the license to open a small business. To get a small idea of the free markets there, they had a huge market there, with stalls set up for just about anything you could imagine. It was vast and would take days to explore. All perfectly legal. I bought an iPod (extremely expensive at the time) for ~$90. With a simple teaching job, I could afford an apartment in an complex that would be reserved for the upper middle class guys in the US. It had a swimming pool on the roof, and a big hole in the middle of the building to allow the dragon that legend said lived on the huge mountain that faced it to fly through.

The culture there is awesome. The skyline is amazing. I rented an apartment facing a beach for less than I can rent a room in the UK. I also bought a samurai sword that I was allowed through airport security in my hand luggage, on the plane, and through security in the UK. The TSA would molest me for attempting that.

It's an entrepreneur's dream.

Not to mention the (major) crime rate is almost zero. Not surprising when compared to the US and UK government controlled markets.

 

[low preference guy]

^ sounds like I have to start learning.. .what is it? mandarin?

 

[bluesc]

^ sounds like I have to start learning.. .what is it? mandarin?

English . All street signs are primarily in English with mandarin in smaller letters underneath. Everyone apart from the very poor speak English. It's a destination for British and American businesses. English speaking people don't require any language training before heading over there.

 

[low preference guy]

English . All street signs are primarily in English with mandarin in smaller letters underneath. Everyone apart from the very poor speak English. It's a destination for British and American businesses. English speaking people don't require any language training before heading over there.

so you could do pretty much everything you wanted without knowing mandarin?

 

[bluesc]

so you could do pretty much everything you wanted without knowing mandarin?

That depends. If you want to travel to the poorer islands (not mandatory at all), you may need some mandarin. In my experience there, I never had any problem communicating in English. The cab drivers speak English, the guys in all of the stores spoke English. The guy who operated the carriage up the mountain spoke English. The tour boat captain spoke English. Command of the English language is pretty much mandatory for any of the locals to make it in the city.

 

[specialK]

You mean the king Queen Elizabeth didn't ascend to the throne until 1952.

By "way back when" I meant the 70's. My reference was to the singing of God of Save the Queen back in elementary school (the 70's for me). I was trying to explain that ties used to be stronger back in those days as the parents of my generation were born British subjects, not Canadian citizens in Canada, so God Save the Queen was commonly sung during those days, unlike today. Sorry for that confusion.

 

[anaconda]

I guess there is a consensus then: Build a huge electric fence around the US. No expatriating, you unpatriotic bastards!

Were the pilgrims pussies for not staying in England and making it right for themselves?

 

[specialK]

"Governor General Michaelle Jean -- the representative of Queen Elizabeth, Canada's head of state -- agreed to Harper's request to shut down Parliament until Jan 26. Parliament was reconvened just weeks ago after the October 14 election."

http://stevescomments.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/the-queen-of-england-suspends-canadian-parliment/

I am very aware of this ceremonialism, but I'm not sure what your point is. I know Alex Jones likes to pretend that the Queen is deeply involved in controlling our affairs. Sorry, but Alex is wrong on this one. Do you honestly believe the Queen gives a flying puck whether or not our politicians take a 2 month break? Harper requested to shut down Parliament in order to avoid confrontation by the Opposition in Parliament regarding our troops in Afghanistan and them allegedly sending enemies to be knowingly tortured. The Prime Minister must go to the Governor General to request this proroguing. The Governor General, a Haitian-Canadian woman, agreed to it, not the Queen directly.

The Governor General is a largely ceremonial position, the appointee being recommended by the Prime Minister. Harper ultimately recommended her replacement despite her agreeing to his request. I guess Alex failed to mention this point. The poor woman even renounced her French citizenship for that appointment due to complaints from the public.

 

[AceNZ]

New Zealand -a free country as well but the downside is that is terribly underpopulated

What do you mean by "underpopulated," and why do you think that's bad?

I moved to New Zealand about five years ago, and love it even more than I thought I would. NZ's not perfect, but even so, moving was one of the best things I've ever done for myself and my family, though also one of the most difficult. It's hard to really see the US objectively while you're living there; it looks a lot different from the outside, particularly after being free from many of the ever-encroaching controls of the State.

 

[AceNZ]

It takes less than a day to find a job. It takes about that same amount of time to get the license to open a small business. To get a small idea of the free markets there, they had a huge market there, with stalls set up for just about anything you could imagine. It was vast and would take days to explore. All perfectly legal. I bought an iPod (extremely expensive at the time) for ~$90. With a simple teaching job, I could afford an apartment in an complex that would be reserved for the upper middle class guys in the US. It had a swimming pool on the roof, and a big hole in the middle of the building to allow the dragon that legend said lived on the huge mountain that faced it to fly through.

The culture there is awesome. The skyline is amazing. I rented an apartment facing a beach for less than I can rent a room in the UK. I also bought a samurai sword that I was allowed through airport security in my hand luggage, on the plane, and through security in the UK. The TSA would molest me for attempting that.

It's an entrepreneur's dream.

Not to mention the (major) crime rate is almost zero. Not surprising when compared to the US and UK government controlled markets.

I love Hong Kong. I've spent quite a bit of time there, and have always have a great time. Personally, it was my second choice destination after NZ -- but my wife and kids hated it.

There are some odd things about HK that I didn't pick up on until I spent some time working there. One is that many people who live there are surprisingly unhappy, in spite of the relatively free environment. There was a survey a while back that showed HK residents were among the least happy in Asia. It's always busy, and there's a definite energy that anyone who likes urban environments would probably enjoy -- but it's not an energy of happiness; it's something else.

Also, as a white American, I found the culture to be basically impenetrable. If you don't speak fluent Cantonese and look Asian (many speak Mandarin, too, but it's not the everyday language for most), the level of prejudice and social marginalizing is intense. It's strongest at the street level, but the culture is embedded deeply in business there as well. The Chinese way of doing things will feel very uncomfortable to many Americans; very top-down; employee initiative and self-starting is frowned upon, etc. The level of crowding and poverty in some areas is also very intense; pretty shocking, actually, for most Westerners.

I can't see someone like me ever being even remotely treated as a local. I think I would always feel like a visitor there. Given the positive aspects of living there, that might not be a show-stopper if I was single, but I think it's pretty rough for kids.