Moving to the 1st world

[3930dave]

Z - you may find this interesting reading......

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/301721-what-earth-does-electricity-cost.html

Within the USA, there are tremendous variations in electric-grid costs. Some areas are still very low, with some painfully high.

Incompetence, deliberate mismanagement, and corruption are not confined to SA, but the trajectory of what you describe makes moving understandable. That said, Can. $1 Billion scandals are fairly routine here, and I'm just talking about my province, Ontario. If I were to move from here, it would probably be to either Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Manitoba in terms of Ag provinces.

I plan to be off-grid in my retirement property. In general, if I was settling down in Australia, the American SW, or any other location with strong annual sun exposure, even w/o my personal interest in alternative energy sources, I'd be taking a serious look at solar PV panel systems.

Obviously, there are many more factors to consider in a major move, but most of us do not want to live w/o electricity !

Rgds, D.

 

[ArlyA]

A few years ago, maybe 10. My brother-in-law's farm crew had a majority that was from south African. They reside in a very small town of just a few hundred people and funny story was, you could occasionally go to the only bar there and find the majority in it, had that heavy south African accent.

Wow, so many amazing responses, Thank you everybody.

Living is Africa is not for sissies, More corruption scandals are coming out every day, Just imagine if that money was used for the public good - Mind you from what Ive read the corruption is everywhere, just disguised better.
Owning firearms, doesn't really worry me much, I used to hunt a huge amount as a youngster, but ended up getting involved in culling due to a drought which put me off, not if I shoot its to eat. Owning guns here is very difficult, its probably easier to buy an illegal one than get a license to own one.

Interesting about the "American Dream", I think I'm probably 50 years too late for that, but hopefully its still there somewhere, a place where hard work gets rewarded, the Govt leaves you alone as much as possible and you can have a beer in the evening.

Big decisions to make, the family doesn't want to leave, Africa is home, I can trace my roots back to about the 3rd boatload of settlers in 1688. People move all the time, its just getting the balls to take the first step.

 

[Wagtail]

Wow, so many amazing responses, Thank you everybody.

Living is Africa is not for sissies, More corruption scandals are coming out every day, Just imagine if that money was used for the public good - Mind you from what Ive read the corruption is everywhere, just disguised better.
Owning firearms, doesn't really worry me much, I used to hunt a huge amount as a youngster, but ended up getting involved in culling due to a drought which put me off, not if I shoot its to eat. Owning guns here is very difficult, its probably easier to buy an illegal one than get a license to own one.

Interesting about the "American Dream", I think I'm probably 50 years too late for that, but hopefully its still there somewhere, a place where hard work gets rewarded, the Govt leaves you alone as much as possible and you can have a beer in the evening.

Big decisions to make, the family doesn't want to leave, Africa is home, I can trace my roots back to about the 3rd boatload of settlers in 1688. People move all the time, its just getting the balls to take the first step.

zimbo, Mate. Re-read this entire post of yours. Now re-read your post #40.

You've already made the decision to move. You pretty much have to AND you need to take that 'first step' whilst the decision is still yours to make.

Your 'first step' is to make enquiries at the High Commissions of Canada, Australia & New Zealand... these three countries are the closest (familiarity-wise) to South Africa. In other words, you and your family would 'transition' easier to these Commonwealth countries.

By all means enquire at the US Embassy too.

Take that little, tiny, first step. The rest will follow soon enough.

[Oh, and just so you know that I'm not talking out of my arse... I moved here to Australia from Canada 21 years ago. I well know what it's like to leave everything that you're familiar with.]

[[Don't tell the others on TBN this, though. They all think I'm a dinky-di, ridgey-didge, true blue Aussie]]

[[[Which I am... I just wasn't born here. :thumbsup:]]]

 

[9973720wb19]

USA Maryland - trees, farms, great private schools and universities, horse breeding, winter, spring, summer, fall, ocean, bay, City, can be expensive in some area...check it out.

 

[dmccarty]

...
Living is Africa is not for sissies, ...

Interesting about the "American Dream", I think I'm probably 50 years too late for that, but hopefully its still there somewhere, a place where hard work gets rewarded, the Govt leaves you alone as much as possible and you can have a beer in the evening.

Big decisions to make, the family doesn't want to leave, Africa is home, I can trace my roots back to about the 3rd boatload of settlers in 1688. People move all the time, its just getting the balls to take the first step.

Moving from one country to another is not for sissies either, it takes the balls to do it or one has no real choice...

We have been to Ireland and are really infatuated with the place so much so my wife has been looking at houses for sale! :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Now, we are not going to move to Ireland, unless it is on a boat, so this is just playing around on her part. Even though I read history by the book shelf full, one thing I did not realize about Ireland was its population loss during the famine and emigration. Ireland population before the famine was 8.5 million people which shrunk to a low point of a bit more than 4 million in the early 20th century. The population on the island of Ireland is now about 6.5 million so well over a century and a half after the famine, the population still has not recovered. While we have only seen a bit of Ireland, I know of at least to famine ship museums. One of which circled off of a for a time while we waited to dock that boat we were on across the river. What happened a so many years ago still impacts Ireland today.

The point of that piece of Irish history is that sometimes you HAVE to leave because to stay means death. Not really much choice at that point. Course, it is better to move on one's own terms before it gets really bad like the Irish or what has occurred in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia. I know or have met at least three families who have left South Africa. Two within the last year or so. One lady was scared witless of being a crime victim because of how she had to live in SA. What she described to me was unreal.

I keep telling my wife that one reason she is so infatuated with Ireland is because she does NOT know the local politics. The politics in my county is a horror show and makes what goes on at a national level look like childs play. Learning about local politics is very important and key to moving somewhere. I have been reading an Irish paper, along with numerous UK papers for years, and the tensions between the groups in Northern Ireland still simmer. The fire has been put out but the problems and issues remain waiting for a spark. The Garda in Dublin just arrested two guys with about 15 pounds of newly made plastic explosives. One of the guys is a known member of the New IRA but they don't know if this is a gang related or sectarian.

Flip side is that I see the same crimes and events as I do in the US. They had an elderly lady attacked and killed by dogs in Ireland this week. I thought that crap only happened in the US. A guy was shot and killed in a supermarket parking lot in front of his three year old kid last week too. That was in Northern Ireland not one of the local cities near me...

It is not too late to get the American dream. The US is big enough that one can find what they want somewhere. I think one big misunderstanding people have in the US vs people in the EU is the hugeness of the US and the smallness of EU countries. In 4-5 hours we could get across Ireland, but from our home basically in the center of NC, the same drive time would get us to the beach or the mountains yet we would still be in NC. It takes us about two hours to drive north or south out of the state. The US is huge. There is a place with the climate for one choosing. There are different people and cultures in the US to pick. If anything, there are too many choices. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Your family needs to consider future generations and what would be best for them. Tis a hard decision that is for sure.

Later,
Dan

 

[Sigarms]

Owning firearms, doesn't really worry me much, I used to hunt a huge amount as a youngster, but ended up getting involved in culling due to a drought which put me off, not if I shoot its to eat.

If owning a gun isn't important to you, I'm an American, and my vote would go to New Zealand in a heartbeat.

 

[buickanddeere]

Forget Toronto unless you're bringing a huge whack of money with you. The average house price is now risen to $1.5 million.

We got out of the GTA 14 years ago after being stuck there for for 18 years. Wouldn't go back if you paid me 1.5 million dollars.

 

[airbiscuit]

Not sure it meets all your criteria, but I'd add Canada to your list.

 

[dragoneggs]

Not sure it meets all your criteria, but I'd add Canada to your list.

I wouldn't... love to visit Canada and do quite often, but wouldn't want to live there based on what I know/heard about taxes and healthcare. Tried doing some importing to Canada and that didn't go well. Cost and availability of goods is very high compared to US.

 

[airbiscuit]

The Canadians are a kinder, gentler, more tolerant version of the US, and they aren't so callous as to leave millions of their citizens without health insurance.