Leaving America - Where Would You Go?

[Just the facts]

Now for a little fun... If you decided to move out of the US where would you go and why would you pick that location? Try to be specific on the location if you are picking a city like Paris but can't afford to live in the 7th district. Include pictures of the part of town you would like to live in if possible. It doesn't have to be a place you have been to before - just some place you think would be a good fit for you.

As a first choice I would pick Cork, Ireland. It is a small city on the southeast coast of Ireland. City population is 120,000 and an urban area around 400,000. It is the 3rd largest city in Ireland. I would pick this city because it large enough to provide the amenities of urban city life but not so large that you can't make the whole city your own. It is pretty dense at only 14 sq miles so a bicycle could take me everywhere in the city. It is also connected to the rest of Ireland by rail and ferry service to Wales, England, and France. The airport also provide low cost non-stop service to cities all over Western Europe. It is located along the scenic Irish Sea and has a healthy shipping industry.

Cost of living wise it seems to be pretty reasonable with many housing option near the city center in our price range, but we will definitely need to give sq footage (which is fine with me - less to clean and I would plan to spend most of my time in a sidewalk café anyhow). They have a great public market called the English Market (reminds me a scaled down and cleaner version if Reading Terminal Market in Philly).

Another big plus is that it is an English speaking country so adjusting to life outside the US would be just that much easier. On the downside the days are very long in the summer and short in the winter due to its northern location (as far north as parts of Alaska). Despite long summer days and long winter nights temps above 75 and below 32 are very rare. A light jacket and I would be fine 90% of the time.

[Stew]

Bettenfeld Germany. Absolutely loved living there.

[Just the facts]

Bettenfeld Germany. Absolutely loved living there.

That is a pretty small and remote village - but I love the way it looks. What would you do there; own a small shop, farm, watch the stock market from afar?

[OKCisOK4me]

Find the family roots. So start off in one of three cities in Sweden...Uppsala, Stockholm or Gothenburg.

[ctchandler]

Just the Facts,
They may speak English, but Irish is the national and first official language, English is second. Also, I have driven in areas of the Republic of Ireland where the signs are only in Irish. I think a lot of the old timers would like it to be an Irish only country, they hate the English. But WOW, they really drink a lot there! I was in a city when their team won the national "Hurling" championship. There were drunks everywhere.
C. T.

Another big plus is that it is an English speaking country so adjusting to life outside the US would be just that much easier.

[ctchandler]

I would move to Carshalton, Surrey, U. K., a suburb of London. I have spent almost a year in trips (two months at a time) and have driven over 15,000 miles on the "wrong" side of the road. I have a widow friend that lives in a gated community there and there are 11 pubs within a mile of her home, or "flat" as she calls it. She owns it, I think of a flat as a rented apartment. And, when the weather is bad, one pub is about 1/4th of a mile. I can't find any pictures of the city, but her back yard with a little river is really nice.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

I'm not sure why the pictures ended up in a row like that. I will have to figure out how to load them properly. Just click on each one and you see a nice sized picture.
C. T.

[Dubya61]

Southern Spain, Near Sevilla or Cadiz. It was one of the first places I lived on my own (in the military) and really liked the laid-back lifestyle. Cost of living is cheap, but jobs are hard to have, so it would have to be a retirement situation.

[Bill Robertson]

Australia. No real, good reason. I like the accents. And they have a huge following for sprint car racing of which I'm a big fan.

[Just the facts]

Australia. No real, good reason. I like the accents. And they have a huge following for sprint car racing of which I'm a big fan.

Australia is a big place - can you be more specific? Do you ever watch Australian Supercars?

[CaptDave]

Australia is a big place - can you be more specific? Do you ever watch Australian Supercars?

Love the V8 Supercars - what Bubbacar should be! Did anyone see Darrell Waltrip scream like a little girl during a Supercar ride at Bathurst?

(Sorry for the slight detour.)

But where would I want to live? New Zealand is on the list even though I have never been there. I love Italy but cost of living scares me - but I think Sorrento would be great. Or Rome. Shannon, Ireland or any number of places in Ireland are appealing as well.

[Bill Robertson]

Australia is a big place - can you be more specific? Do you ever watch Australian Supercars?

Melbourne or Perth. Both are coastal. Yes I do like the supercars but I love dirt.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Melbourne.

[bradh]

Love Supercars as well!

Great topic JTF, but can I cheat and choose Alaska, since it's so far removed from the lower 48?

[Just the facts]

Love Supercars as well!

Great topic JTF, but can I cheat and choose Alaska, since it's so far removed from the lower 48?

Only if you can see Russia from your porch.

Where in Alaska?

[bradh]

Only if you can see Russia from your porch.

Where in Alaska?

Probably Homer, wife and I were up there in 2009.

Soonerguru...you could get some cheap housing in Madrid in all those ghost towns along that abandonded rail line

[poe]

As much as I would love to say I would relocate to Italy and live the "Under the Tuscan Sun" lifestyle, I would probably play it safe and stick with Canada or the UK. As screwy as the US can be, it is my home, and I wouldn't want to stray far.

[soonerguru]

Madrid. Very cosmopolitan city with friendly people, amazing public transportation, very diverse cultural offerings, and some of the finest food in the world.

[andrew3077]

Madrid. Very cosmopolitan city with friendly people, amazing public transportation, very diverse cultural offerings, and some of the finest food in the world.

Lived in Madrid for 4 months and I can't agree more. I'd go back anytime for the incredible nightlife open until 6AM and the variety of different neighborhoods with different characters. So many great things to do, sports, food, arts, culture in such a beautiful and dense inner city.

[bradh]

That's awesome Sid. We re-did our honeymoon there in 2009 (thanks to Hurricane Dean chasing us off St. Lucia two years prior).

There is actually a lady who used to work for the Chamber who opened a bakery with her mom on the boardwalk in Homer, great little place.

But back on topic, I'd probably choose the Swiss Alps or the Chilean Andes...strictly for the skiing.

[MsProudSooner]

Bayeaux, France, so that I could thoroughly investigate the D-Day sites in the area:

[bchris02]

I honestly would like to live in London or Paris if I was relocating to another country. Bordeaux France always seemed interesting to me as well.

[Mel]

Amsterdam.

[Celebrator]

Montreal.

[ljbab728]

Montreal.

Interesting that you should mention Montreal. I'm going to be there for a few days at the end of the month. I haven't been there for 45 years and I'm really looking forward to it.