American Emigration

[phillygwm]

I know this is an inherently political issue but please let's try to put that aside for purposes of this discussion.

I'm not seriously considering anything at the moment but there are increasing discussions about people (i.e. American citizens) leaving the country for political reasons.  I know people also move because of the cheaper cost of living in certain places but that's not my primary concern; I'll just increase my standard of living to match my budget. 🙂

Primary concerns are:

• Being able to legally live somewhere.  I know Spain, Portugal, and other places offer what are essentially retirement visas.  Other countries have higher barriers to long term residency
• The ability to communicate primarily in English; I'd try to pick up the native language but old dog, new tricks, etc.
• Safety/Standard of Living -- This encompasses both gay friendly but also are the streets safe, reasonably clean, etc.
• Affordability -- This ties back to point 2.  There are a lot of affordable places but English may not be widely spoken outside the big cities, which are usually more expensive.
• Reasonably close to the US -- I don't expect that I'd never return so Asia/Australia is too far.  Europe is probably the farthest I'd want to go.

Any thoughts or experiences??

Thanks!