Originally from China. It’s probably quite hard to explain on a short post over the internet especially since there are way too many fucked up things where I’m from, but I absolutely wanted to and have been living outside for 11 years straight now, and I’ve been mostly happy wherever I’ve been (and I’ve been in some shittier cities). Although it is more of an “anywhere but China” attitude for me…

So yeah. I don’t think I necessarily dreamed of living in any particular country, but just wanted to live anywhere else

I live in Denmark and am studying French to move either there or to Spain (I already speak Spanish) although it would mean higher living costs.

I miss people with strong, possibly contrasting opinions. And crowds, damn I miss street crowds!

I’ve lived in 5 developing countries for work, though 2 are really only developing outside of urban areas, and 5 places in the US. Spouse and I still can’t even agree on a place to want to live, but our criteria is super picky.

It’s worth also saying that to move from your home is very much a personal decision, and not everyone is into that. I value understanding a people and a place, not travel for the sake of IG posts. Without leaving the US, I got the hell out of the small town where I was raised because there were no opportunities to grow as a person. Not because I wanted to go to college in a place with a Starbucks.

Sometimes people need to step back and see if they’re just stuck thinking the grass is always greener somewhere else. Humans love to compare things.

There’s a time to appreciate where you are, a time to leave to improve yourself or your situation, and a time to fix where you are rather than leave.

Other than mine? Probably France, Italy or Portugal. They are like cousins to me, I feel I could be at home in any of them. And the languages are similar enough to what I already speak that I’m sure I’d pick it up without too much trouble.

Currently living in Russia.

Would love to explore Scandinavia more, had mostly positive memories from visiting Finland (although, folks, don’t forget smaller towns also need some colors! Imatra, for example, is depressing AF in the autumn).

China is also interesting to explore and live a bit in. An incredible mix of cultures and ways of life, all packed in unimaginable ways. Also, the nature of Far East is breathtaking.

Other than that, I’d love to settle somewhere very, very remote, away from the world’s troubles and noise. New Zealand seems to be nice, or, if I’d want to go hardcore on a small civilized spot in the middle of nowhere, St. Helena is a great pick.

Just for kicks, I looked into this years ago, pre-trump. Figured Scandinavia would be good and ultimately settled on Gothenburg, Sweden. Big city, relatively mild weather, close-ish to the rest of Europe.

Other options I’ve either daydreamed about or heard good things about over the years:

Vancouver, BC, Canada
Australia (East coast, have some extended family)
Spain
Baja California, Mexico

The Netherlands. I already understand some Dutch and I think the weather will be okay with climate change.

Maybe. I don’t know enough about what it actually is like in most other countries. I have a few ideas, but I’d have to visit them for a bit to know if I would actually want to live there permanently. Like the Netherlands or Japan. Only ever been to Mexico, Germany and Ireland. And I was only in Ireland for about 3 hours waiting for a change of planes on my way to Germany where I worked for about 2 and half weeks in Bremerhaven. I could probably live in Germany; but I sure as hell would want to be in a different city. Bremerhaven was a bit boring; not much to do there unless I was into strip clubs. They had a gnarly red light district.

yes, France. Alas they are as afraid of me as the Australian government is afraid of the French

why ? As an Australian, France has way less Australians, so that’s a huge bonus.

but more seriously, i’d be forced to learn another language and be open to exploring entire new ways of thinking and living.

As an Australian I don’t have a problem with the metric system :) and both France and myself think our ex PM ScoMo is a complete fucking asshole, so we have lots in commin :)

currently I spend 8 months a year in SE Asia and 4 months in Australia.

The only thing that would make me leave is if I could have the same quality of life I have here, but with less harsh winters. So I guess New Zealand maybe? But I have no idea. Maybe I just want an excuse to go and look at the cool endemic geckos and other animals.

I would love to live in italy. I love the people, culture, food, wine, the dolomites, music… the list goes on…

Lived in Norway most my life, and one day I woke up and decided to move to Estonia. Been living here for some years now, and life is quite similar, but with a lot of different nuances.

People are a bit more cold and generally untrusting towards strangers, but not in a bad way. People here are really warm once you befriend each other however, and they invite you to go mushrooming with them. I like mushrooms, and Estonia being a big swamp, there’s a ton of them here! (my freezer is completely full of them now as the season draws to a close)

Before I moved here I had traveled a lot, and I’ve seen many people and cultures. With how easy it is to travel the world in this modern day and age, I really recommend people to go a bit outside their comfort zone, and experience life from a different angle. It truly helps get a more open mind and wider perspective on things. The language barrier that some people here mentioned isn’t that much of a barrier anymore, since a majority of people under 40 know passable English these days, and there’s always digital translation solutions.
Also, learning a new language is considered a very healthy thing for the mind!

I’ve lived (stayed for more than a year) in six different countries. The longest I’ve lived in one country was the US, 16 years. I moved there as an adult already. Since then, I’ve been living in Ireland for the past 15 years.

I view countries like products. I move to the one that suits me best at the moment. I work, pay taxes, volunteer and otherwise contribute to society as a payment for the privilege to stay, and I live fairly comfortably, based on my stage of life. The US, for example, was great for higher education and saving up money. Ireland sucks for the young and old, but is perfect for the midfle aged middle class. Once I retire, I’ll look somewhere else again.

I have moved from the US to Spain. I have 0 regrets. I’m healthier, the people are more friendly and love life and their families. America is a shithole. Every day I get updates from my family about how awful things are, and i never regret moving.

Life feels so …normal here. I have worries but its not a constant dread hanging over my head. Most of my life I have had GAD- Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I used to get frozen in thought loops of nonsensical dangers, like someone randomly shooting my husband or a car accident or something. Those episodes have almost completely stopped now. I rarely have panic attacks anymore.

Im healthier, have no more debt, I dont fear the people around me… Its peaceful. I also visited the UK and it wasnt the same. It was too roudy, still friendlier than america by far , but very raucous.

Here in Spain its quiet, and slow. I prefer it so much.

I’m afraid to answer this because the monkey paw might curl and I’ll be in an ICE concentration camp in Eswatini.