WHERE TO FLEE
Last update: May 15, 2022
THIS WEB SITE COMPILES INFORMATION FROM ACROSS THE INTERNET AND BOOKS ABOUT THE BEST (and worst) PLACES TO MOVE TO.
"Here’s How the World’s Longest Living People Avoid Heart Disease" – MSN News
But what is even more shocking than these statistics is the fact that there are places in the world where heart disease is almost non-existent! These regions are known as the world's Blue Zones, which are five areas containing the highest concentrations of centenarians across the globe. In Ikaria in Greece, Sardinia in Italy, Nicoya in Costa Rica, Loma Linda in California, and Okinawa in Japan, people are living long, healthy lives devoid of many of the diseases wreaking havoc in the US.
Californians flee to Portugal for coastal living where rent costs "a fraction of what it costs in California" – Yahoo News
Why Indians are investing into Portugal Golden Visas – Times of India
More on Portugal
Brit expats "shocked at Australia housing costs" – UK Express
Global turmoil is sending some expats home – Yahoo Finance
Whether it’s because of tight Covid restrictions, separation from family or the frustration of closed borders, a growing number of people living abroad have made the choice to move closer to home. In the process, they’re facing the reality of inflation and pandemic-related transportation snags, not to mention the possibility of lower-paying jobs and higher taxes in their new location.
Tech workers exiting Russia en masse – Techcrunch
On March 8, more than a week after the war broke out, a programmer who flew from Moscow to Tbilisi noted that “everyone is allowed through the border, but if guards hear the word ‘IT,’ then people are taken away for questioning.”
Another programmer recalled a scene at the airport in the southern Russian city of Mineralnye Vody on March 9: “There were six of us flying out, but when two of us uttered the phrases ‘software tester’ and ‘online platform’ while talking with the border guards, they were immediately sent to some room.” A system administrator flying from Russia to Bahrain on March 12 said that airport employees in plain clothes pressed him for the names of the services for which he works and also checked his phone, looking for “protest,” “Ukraine,” “Putin,” and “war” in his chat and browser history.
Related, how tech companies relocating: giant Yandex company getting out of Russia to try and retain talent – UK Express
Greece (and Turkey) listed on ranking for "worst health care" based upon number of beds and nurses available for care
Story at UK Express
International travel insurance for seniors, 2022
Ratings and list at Forbes
Black American expat living in the tropics – Yahoo News
Experiences in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and Costa Rica
"365 days of sun is surreal" – UK Express
Expat charity work in Vietnam – Tuoitre News
New international travel rules prevail for Greece, Malta, France, Spain, Portugal and Turkey
Story at MSN Travel
Pandemic rules are subsiding as tourist season heats up.
Rents across Europe go up average of 16%
Housing costs up 42% since 2010
Story at Uni India
Expat wages high in Switzerland, low in Turkey – UK Express
Checklist of things to watch out for as an Expat going abroad – Silicon India
The Crime, chaos and charisma in Naples – The Australian
The United Nations "World Happiness Report"
UN Webpage for the report 2022
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Luxembourg
- Sweden
- Norway
- Israel
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Australia
- Ireland
- Germany
- Canada
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Czechia
- Belgium
- France
Derivative story: "Happiest places" for expats – UK Express
EU Commission recommends all member states to abolish "Golden Visa" programs
Story at Financial Post
The Commission urged an immediate end to existing national programs for the sale of passports. Currently only Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria have such schemes and they have all committed to ending them. Cyprus’ parliament has just voted to end its program
The shock of size difference: American expats in the UK – UK Express
Pandemic part of huge boost in expat ambitions to live abroad – International Investment
2022 Denmark: the safest place in the world?
Some rankings of countries, Iceland came in second. Derived from a study of expats – UK Express
Where Ukrainian refugees are going
Story at Protothema [English]
Rents across Europe that are under £450 ($600 USD) – Story at UK Express
From the article, some of the samples: Sarajevo from £224.86 a month, Montenegro Capitol from £276.40, Athens from £362.62.
Where will Hong Kong expats go next? – Bloomberg
New Economist rating of countries around the world for Democratic Freedoms, see declines due to pandemic restrictions – Economist
Nertherlands again ranks high as a expat destination – iamexpat
For the second year in a row, the Netherlands has managed to nab a top 10 spot in a ranking assessing the quality of life for expats in different countries around the world, coming in eighth place and beating the likes of Singapore, Sweden, and Germany.
Expats and locals writing about Hong Kong – Washington Post
“Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: What China’s Crackdown Reveals About Its Plans to End Freedom Everywhere,” by Mark L. Clifford, is the more polemical of the two. Clifford, an American former journalist, spent almost three decades in Hong Kong, first for the now-defunct Far Eastern Economic Review magazine and later as editor in chief of two of the city’s surviving English-language newspapers, the Standard and the South China Morning Post. His is a journalistic book in the traditional sense, offering readers a rapid-fire recounting of the key events from the Occupy movement to the arrests of prominent politicians and journalists in 2020 and 2021. He also takes time to delve into the history of the handover negotiations between Britain and China, as well as the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989, which plunged Hong Kong into crisis and prompted a wave of emigration...
Karen Cheung’s “The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir” is a more personal work, detailing her search for identity, struggles with depression and political awakening, which came about around the time of the most recent protests. The unrest serves primarily as a backdrop to her biography as a young Chinese woman who came of age in the post-colonial years when Hong Kong was under China’s sovereignty; initially little changed, and there was general optimism that the territory would be allowed to maintain its separate, autonomous system unimpeded for 50 years, as China had pledged in the handover...
Retired travelling without needing "a million" – UK Express
Norm and Tina have been posting videos on their YouTube channel This Is Our Retirement since 2019, discussing their travel and their retirement. The expats try to dispell the myths of retirement, including the idea you need a million to retire in comfort. They explained how they have financed their post-work lifestyles...
Why do UK Expats go to Dubai in increasing numbers? – UK Express
Ten countries to retire to and their costs – Businesstech
Article ranks locations (Panama is #1) by this criteria:
- Housing
- Benefits and Discounts
- Visas and Residence
- Cost of Living
- Fitting In/Entertainment
- Healthcare
- Development
- Climate
- Opportunity
- Governance
Country corruption rankings
USA is #27, right after Taiwan (#25), Chile (#27) and before Barbados (#28)
Denmark is #1 (meaning "least corrupt.")
South Sudan is ranked last (meaning, "most corrupt.")
Ranking info for 180 countries at Transperancy.org
Spain
Tips on expatting to Spain
Article at UK Express
Ghana
The Black expat community in Ghana – MSN News
Romania
in Romania – MSN News
...he decided to move to Bucharest about two and a half years ago, where he started a new life and a new business.
He finds Romanians to be very helpful and polite people, and he also likes the local cuisine and the countryside, which he says "is one of the most diverse in Europe." Plus, he told Romania-insider.com that Romania has brought him "a sense of purpose, security, happiness and prosperity."
On the other hand, Michael McNeir needed some time to get used to the traffic in Bucharest and believes illegal logging and human trafficking are some of Romania’s biggest issues.
Working in the USA: The Four Best Cities
Glassdoor ranks the top cities for work in the United States – arrticle at CNBC
For the report, Glassdoor scoured millions of employee reviews and insights about companies submitted between October 2020 and October 2021. Researchers focused on companies with at least 1,000 employees and 75 reviews, rating each organization on a 5-point scale for career opportunities, compensation, culture and other factors.
“A lot of these metros are places where tech companies have performed really well,” Christian Sutherland-Wong, CEO of Glassdoor, tells CNBC Make It. “Tech companies have been leaders in providing employees with flexible work arrangements, and have seen hyper-growth in their business because we’ve relied on technology more during the coronavirus pandemic … this all benefits employees.”
Related: One Hundred Best Places to Work 2022 – Glassdoor [behind registration page]
Government trust: in what countries is it highest (and lowest)
January 21, 2022: Story at Protothema
The findings come from Edelman Research’s latest Trust Barometer which polled 36,000 people in 28 countries about their trust in various institutions in November 2021. The U.S. figure is far lower than many other countries, with trust in government in Canada and Australia standing at 53 percent and 52 percent, respectively. It is also slightly lower than the UK ...
Some of the highest levels of trust in government were seen in Asia where 91 percent of Chinese respondents said they had trust, along with 82 percent of people polled in Saudi Arabia and 74 percent in India. The lowest rating was found in Argentina...
The "Covid-Expats" who travelled and worked during the pandemic – MSN News
Best Mexican locations for American expats – MSN Travel
Expats asked how to better attract talented foreign workers – Shanghai.gov
"Fawning over America" and the pandemic effect – Irish Times
Spain: "don't get ripped off" – UK Express
Nick Anders said he moved to Spain to start a new life and lived in the Costa del Sol town of Nerja. Popular with British expats and tourists, Nerja is a pretty town on the coast... Nick said that Spain’s customer service was one of the reasons he couldn’t wait to get back to the UK.
Do British expats act "entitled" in Spain – UK Express
Despite VISA changes, Spain and Portugal continue to seek out EXPATS – Big News
December 15, 2021
Saving money on health insurance for expats in 2022 – I Am Expat
USA CDC Moves Spain onto "highest risk level" for travel list
Other countries are: Chad, Lebanon, Gibraltar, San Marino and Finland, Caribbean isle of Bonaire and Monaco – Story at MSN News
USA CDC international travel warnings for Dec 2021
COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination
Expat list of "cultural differences" to be aware of for living in Australia – UK Daily Mail
South Africa "exit tax" – Finglobal
The Top Ten Expat locations for careers
Here's the top five:
- Switzerland
- Australia
- New Zealand
- UAE
- Guernsey
December 23, 2021: story at International Investment
Based on the HSB British multinational investment bank Annual Expat survey - Expat Explorer
Kuala Lumpar ranked as the best city in the world for expats
But, what are the challenges of this Malaysian city?
One expat in Malaysia said: "Learn about local customs to avoid social faux pas.
"What name to use when referring to local people, not shaking hands with Muslim women, dos and don’t during fasting month, what gifts not to give to Chinese clients etc."
Story at UK Express
AMAZON: The Expert Expat: Your Guide to Successful Relocation Abroad