Bonus point if you’ve moved to a different country. Totally asking for a friend…
I realized the right is going to win the next elections. Poland was already very conservative. Religion was everywhere, no same sex marriage or civil unions, widespread homophobia, limited access to abortion, complicated divorce process, no living will laws and so on. And from the polls it was clear that not only nothing will change but it will get worse. I moved to one of the most progressive countries in EU (Spain) and for the next 10 years things in Poland did get worse so I was 100% right about that.
Overall I think relocating is complicated. Your values and perspective change over time, places change over time. The grass is always greener on the other side kind of thing. On one hand it’s definitely nice to live in a country I’m not disgusted by. My governments is one of the most vocal supporters of Palestine, progressive policies are passed all the time. Not to mention I prefer the weather, nature, culture and general vibe of the place. The “but” is that future looks pretty bleak everywhere so who knows what will happen in the next 10-20 years. But I guess I can always move back if necessary and having more options is also a good thing.
I knew I felt completely done with the town I grew up in at the point where I graduated high school. Through some funny circumstances, I then spent an additional 3 years there attending University.
Then I moved to the biggest city in our country in search of better job prospects. It was mostly about the availability of jobs at that point, I didn’t have a specific desire to move to this particular city for any other reasons, as I didn’t really know how it would be to live in a different city. I figured I could always move back - or to another place - if things didn’t work out.
I have never looked back, as I learned that I really enjoy living in larger cities over smaller more car-dependent ones. I miss nothing from my old city, except maybe vicinity to my parents, which was never something I valued particularly highly anyway.
I grew up in the Boston area and absolutely hated the cold weather. I moved out when I was 18 to go to college in the Southwest. I literally only applied to warm weather colleges.
Hahaha. When I was in college I visited the Boston area and fell in love with it. It took me a couple of jobs but I eventually made it and would never turn back
- love the history
- love the academics, more youthful society
- love the politics, quality of life issues
- I’m in tech so I love the job opportunities
…. And yes I love the mild weather while still having seasons. While this is essentially the same latitude I grew up at, being on the coast moderates it a lot. It never really gets cold (relatively), never has much snow, and the snow melts quickly. Although I don’t like the humidity
My relocation story isn’t nearly so dramatic as others. I only moved two counties across. But I did it for love. I met someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and I moved to live with her. I work retail for a supermarket chain, my job exists pretty much everywhere, I was even able to get an internal transfer. Her job only exists in one place. So, living closer to her work was pretty much a no-brainer.
When my country first elected a rapist con man president, I started looking. I was born and raised in (and never left) New England, and so I also wanted a place that’s warm year round. It took me four years to tentatively settle on Belize, in late 2019. I made my first visit in Jan 2021, as the pandemic messed up my 2020 plans. By October, I had sold EVERYTHING and moved with two cats.
Reasons (or things I didn’t even know I wanted):
-No DST messing up my sleep schedule.
-No more days with 17+hrs of darkness.
-CARIBBEAN!!!
-Every Belizean I met (exception: gov’t employees and police) is friendly and warm. In N.E., people avoid making eye contact and answer greetings in a way to stop further conversation, but in Belize, the people genuinely want to know how you’re doing and remember everything you tell them.
-No car required
-Culture with proud participation from the public; holidays with vibrant parades, and entire village ecstatically engaged in all aspects.
-Tarantulas walking in the street (my partner and I love them!)
-Path to citizenship without $0.25M investment
-Citizenship there comes with a CARICOM passport, meaning can live and work in most Caribbean nations.
-Food! Fish caught 30 minutes before it hits my plate.Things that pushed me away from the USA:
-Truck nuts
-Nazi and/or Confederate flags on trucks everywhere
-Cost of housing doubled from 2017 to 2021
-Consumerism -Embarrassed to be a US citizenhow’d you go about getting citizenship there
I haven’t yet. Actually, the corrupt bureaucracy has withheld residency status so far without bribes. That said, here was the path I thought I was on when I moved.
The idea is to have been in the country for most of the year (no less than 14 days out of country), at which time you can apply for residency. Once you have residency, you must maintain it for 5yrs.
Citizenship for Permanent Residence Holders
- You have been a holder of Permanent Residence for a minimum of 5 years.
- You have been resident continuously in Belize, this means that upon being granted Permanent Residency you have not resided outside Belize for periods that exceed thirty consecutive days or accumulate to a total of three months in any twelve month period.
I didn’t want to muddy the waters with the reality of what happened once I moved, as the OP was about motivating factors. Power corrupts. And ultranationalism is infectious to other countries.
Edit: If I could do it over, I would form an offshore company or similar and get a work permit. Two attorneys have recommended this, even though on paper it costs more; there’s less headache running to renew visitor status every 28 days (they claim 30-120 days, but no immigration office will renew you for more than that unless you bribe or are over 70 years old). It’s been humbling (scary) going through this process legally and being afraid on several occasions that an angry official will wave their hand and deport me. I can only imagine being deported because of my skin color or where I shop would be even more scary.
For me it was the money. I couldn’t make enough to get ahead in my hometown so i moved to a smaller city. My living costs went down and my wage went up. It really sucked leaving my friends and family behind but in less than 3 years i went from almost nothing to purchasing a small house.
I met my wife here and that’s when I decided to stay.
When my previous relationship ended, it just instantly called to me. Knowing that I suddenly didn’t have anyone keeping me where I was, it wasn’t even a day before I knew I wanted to move.
I spent 3 years saving and preparing and making sure it was the right place to go, but never doubted it for a second. Made the right move, too. Happier and more confident than I’ve ever been before.
For out country to country move it was my dad landing a good job and them sponsoring us to move.
For my move from Ontario to BC, Canada it just took a single visit. The scenery and climate in BC was so much better than Ontario. More People had awareness of the environment being important, bikes were everywhere. Social programs made more sense. It just felt like a more civilized society than Ontario cities.
Moved from small city flat with a 50km commute each way to a large semi-detached in a small town within walking distance to the job. No regrets at all.
