American expats

[Member 24198]

Nice way to cherry pick only points you want to contest with. That post also has three more links that support my point and has remained 100% topical; crime rates in those countries are under-reported. But if you can't handle that don't acknowledge it I guess.

 

[Hotdog 7]

If money and language barrier wasn't an issue, I'd love to live in Belgium. It is by far my most favorite place I've ever traveled. The people were friendly, the cities were walkable, the architecture was amazing, the country has a robust train system, and the chocolate, French fries, and waffles are wonderful. I loved the more rural, French speaking, region of the country called Wallonia. Next time I visit I want to see some of the areas with a significant military history like Ypres, Dinant, and Bastogne. I think its a criminally underrated tourist destination since its flanked by the Netherlands and France.

 

[nwslopoke]

If money and language barrier wasn't an issue, I'd love to live in Belgium. It is by far my most favorite place I've ever traveled. The people were friendly, the cities were walkable, the architecture was amazing, the country has a robust train system, and the chocolate, French fries, and waffles are wonderful. I loved the more rural, French speaking, region of the country called Wallonia. Next time I visit I want to see some of the areas with a significant military history like Ypres, Dinant, and Bastogne. I think its a criminally underrated tourist destination since its flanked by the Netherlands and France.

View attachment 1990785

Going thru Belgium next week. It's been 30 yrs. The beer and the waffles I knew. Looking forward to the fries. I heard some areas near the train station were sketchy, but European sketchy. I'll wear a man purse to fit in.

 

[Hotdog 7]

Going thru Belgium next week. It's been 30 yrs. The beer and the waffles I knew. Looking forward to the fries. I heard some areas near the train station were sketchy, but European sketchy. I'll wear a man purse to fit in.

Brussels Central is far less sketchy than Brussels Midi. They're only about a 2-minute ride apart. Most recently I arrived at midi by Eurostar from London, then just hopped on an SNCB train to Brussels Central and exited the station there. You can take the metro to Merode and then walk about a half mile to Cinquantenaire park and visit the Royal Museum of the Belgium Armed Forces. Right across from that is AutoWorld, which is pretty cool to see if you like cars. If you want to walk around Brussels, if you stay within the R20 ring you're basically in the central tourist area. If you can swing it, I highly recommend taking the train to the NW part of the city to see the National Basilica. You'll be close by the Atomium (which I wasn't impressed with) but there is a cute little park called Mini-Europe to walk through.

On my most recent trip there, I visited Pairi Daiza which is apparently the biggest zoo in Europe. We caught a train from Brussels to a little town called Jurbise, then took another train to Cambron-Casteau. When you get off the train its a little sketchy because it seems like you're in the middle of nowhere, but there's signs and a walking trail to get to the zoo. I think its about a mile walk, but its a rough mile because of uneven cobblestone paths.

If you can only visit ONE place in Belgium, make it Bruges. Its about a 45 min train ride from Brussels to Bruges but its a beautiful town with a lot of history. My spouse and I did one of the little canal boat tours and it was super fun. The guy giving the tour was doing it in English, Dutch, French, and German!

**I would preface all this with that I've never visited in the winter so I don't know what its like then since thats likely an off-season for tourism. I've visited in the spring and summer.

 

[CharlesAFerg]

edit

 

[Koda]

There are pros and cons to just about every place one would consider living...even here in the US. Everything is a trade-off.

I have friends that pulled the rip cord and decided to retire 10 years earlier than planned, by moving down to Ecuador. They have a two bedroom condo in Salinas, right on the Malecon overlooking the ocean. They absolutely love it and have zero regrets about their decision. Ecuador, however, is very friendly and accommodating for American expats. And their healthcare system is very good.

But they also kept their house in San Diego and have been renting it out this whole time. In this manner they have a "Plan B" in case things didn't/don't work out in Ecuador. They may move back at the very end for healthcare reasons. They at least have the option.

Here's a picture of the view from their place.
View attachment 1990743

I have a friend who did the same. What ive learned about Ecuador is the govt is corrupt, human rights violation is a serious issue there. My hunch is crime is severely underreported (re, corrupt govt) and i doubt it would be safe for an American expat to freely travel and explore the countries interior.

Not to dig on the beautiful coast house and living, that does look nice.

 

[monkeybutler]

Nice way to cherry pick only points you want to contest with. That post also has three more links that support my point and has remained 100% topical; crime rates in those countries are under-reported. But if you can't handle that don't acknowledge it I guess.

Huh, when I search underreporting of crime US vs canada… I get this clever little Gemini AI summary… notice anything intersting?

"Both the United States and Canada have high rates of crime underreporting, with some crimes being more underreported than others:

• United States
  Most violent and property crimes in the US go unreported to police. Studies estimate that 30–40% of violent crimes and 50–60% of property crimes are not reported.
  
  
• Canada
  A 2019 General Social Survey found that 29% of violent and non-violent incidents were not reported to the police. Sexual assault is one of the most underreported violent crimes in Canada, with an estimated 5% of incidents reported to authorities."
  
  
  
  

 

[Member 55555]

This past Summer my wife and I went to Germany to visit my youngest son who met and married a German girl. He learned German from her and is teaching English to business people who travel internationally.
The country is beautiful and the people are warm and accommodating; I had no problem shopping in stores and making myself understood.
The exchange rate was reasonable and the food was amazing. Beer? Yup, everywhere!

 

[arakboss]

What about the Philippines? I heard it used to be cheap to live there, not sure about these days.

Scratch Philippines off my list.

View: https://youtu.be/0ZBVWdpnhOE?feature=shared

 

[Caveman Jim]

For my health and lifestyle (old, deaf as a stump and don't like most people) I'll just stay here in the good old USA and have a Coke.
Never had any interest in leaving American soil.

 

[arakboss]

If you are going to export yourself, you might want to consider the green areas on the map.

Map shows safest countries if there is nuclear war and famine

Some 6.7 billion people would die of starvation in the event of a nuclear war and its aftermath, a study by Nature Food has shown.

www.newsweek.com

 

[Old Dog]

What about the Philippines? I heard it used to be cheap to live there, not sure about these days.

I have a few old Navy buddies (including a couple non-Filipinos) who all own homes in the P.I. and spend roughly half the year there. I've visited many, many times, feel at home there and could definitely live there (maybe not year round), love the people, the food, the beaches... and it's still so cheap compared to anywhere in Europe or even other Asian countries.

I currently have family living in Spain, Costa Rica and Mexico. A good friend has lived in Israel (I really love that country and its people) for years. I'm comfortable in all of those countries and feel that I could adapt well to life in each..

I don't view living anywhere overseas through the filter of giving up my RKBA or worrying about crime statistics. Guess I've just aged out of that. At this point in my life -- while I'd miss my collection, miss shooting and probably miss carrying the most effective means of self-defense -- not being able to keep guns in the house or go shooting all the time is not a deal-breaker anymore. I have way more going on in my life.

Almost forgot -- I love Australia, too-- another country that we all mock because of its draconian gun laws. But what a fun place, especially Western Australia. I'd fallen in love with too many Aussie girls to even remember...

 

[lucusloc]

Huh, when I search underreporting of crime US vs canada… I get this clever little Gemini AI summary… notice anything intersting?

"Both the United States and Canada have high rates of crime underreporting, with some crimes being more underreported than others:

• United States
  Most violent and property crimes in the US go unreported to police. Studies estimate that 30–40% of violent crimes and 50–60% of property crimes are not reported.
  
  
• Canada
  A 2019 General Social Survey found that 29% of violent and non-violent incidents were not reported to the police. Sexual assault is one of the most underreported violent crimes in Canada, with an estimated 5% of incidents reported to authorities."
  

Yeah, the U.S. has a crime reporting problem too, but everyone seems to acknowledge that and factor it in. Or perhaps you also missed the Biden scandal where thy tried to take credit for massively reduced violent crime rates, only to eat crow (after the news cycle passed, of course) when it was shown those rates were actually up. I would have assumed you knew about that. Those numbers did get corrected within a few months, but not before the political grandstanding was accomplished and people like me were smeared with all kinds of names for calming crime was up under Biden, when his administration was touting it was down. Vindication so long after the fact does little to rectify "misinformation moderation events" that occurred during the height of relevancy though.

Of course now that you have admitted that these countries have a problem in the first place we can start discussing the nature of the discrepancies, because those are also hugely important. The greatest instances of under reporting violent crime in the U.S. happens in the gang infested cities, and is largely comprised of gang-on-gang violence (because why would either party report any of that to the police?). Meanwhile one of the largest categories of unreported violent crime in "social democracy" states is towards "unaffiliated" demographics, like the sexual assault crimes you point out (seriously Canada, 5% of sexual assault?!).

What all this means is that under-reporting in is not really changing perceptions on safety. Even if Chicago P.D. are not aware of 50% of the gang-on-gang violence, no one is under any delusions that gangland Chicago is safe. Whereas the chronic under reporting of sexual assault cases in places like Canada, France and the Netherlands leads many into a false sense of safety that reality probably does not support. That was my entire point with my first comment; the average citizen's exposure to violent crime in both nations is probably a lot closer than the statistics would lead you to believe.

Since you would probably be debating that point (not because that debate has any merit but because that is the behavior I expect of you) I will circle back to that sexual assault issue and compare it to the reported numbers vs. the estimated under reporting. In the U.S. the approximate reported sexual assault rate is 129 per 100k, in Canada the rate is about 89 per 100k. But the estimated under reporting rates in both are ~20% vs. ~5%, respectively, so correcting for that we get realistic rates of probably 645 per 100k in the U.S. and 1,780 per 100k in Canada. So the U.S. went from looking like it was ~30-40 percent less safe than Canada for sexual assault to nearly three times safer than Canada in that metric after closer inspection was made.

These are the types of discoveries that can be made when you stop taking the government at it's word that it is doing a great job on things. I certainly know that the people I personally know in Canada do not feel as safe as their statistics would suggest they should. Maybe instead of discounting "feelings" it might be better to start asking why people's experience of reality does not seem to match the statistics we are all given?

 

[monkeybutler]

Since you would probably be debating that point (not because that debate has any merit but because that is the behavior I expect of you) I will circle back to that sexual assault issue and compare it to the reported numbers vs. the estimated under reporting. In the U.S. the approximate reported sexual assault rate is 129 per 100k, in Canada the rate is about 89 per 100k. But the estimated under reporting rates in both are ~20% vs. ~5%, respectively, so correcting for that we get realistic rates of probably 645 per 100k in the U.S. and 1,780 per 100k in Canada. So the U.S. went from looking like it was ~30-40 percent less safe than Canada for sexual assault to nearly three times safer than Canada in that metric after closer inspection was made.

Show me citations and your math.

 

[nwslopoke]

Brussels Central is far less sketchy than Brussels Midi. They're only about a 2-minute ride apart. Most recently I arrived at midi by Eurostar from London, then just hopped on an SNCB train to Brussels Central and exited the station there. You can take the metro to Merode and then walk about a half mile to Cinquantenaire park and visit the Royal Museum of the Belgium Armed Forces. Right across from that is AutoWorld, which is pretty cool to see if you like cars. If you want to walk around Brussels, if you stay within the R20 ring you're basically in the central tourist area. If you can swing it, I highly recommend taking the train to the NW part of the city to see the National Basilica. You'll be close by the Atomium (which I wasn't impressed with) but there is a cute little park called Mini-Europe to walk through.

On my most recent trip there, I visited Pairi Daiza which is apparently the biggest zoo in Europe. We caught a train from Brussels to a little town called Jurbise, then took another train to Cambron-Casteau. When you get off the train its a little sketchy because it seems like you're in the middle of nowhere, but there's signs and a walking trail to get to the zoo. I think its about a mile walk, but its a rough mile because of uneven cobblestone paths.

If you can only visit ONE place in Belgium, make it Bruges. Its about a 45 min train ride from Brussels to Bruges but its a beautiful town with a lot of history. My spouse and I did one of the little canal boat tours and it was super fun. The guy giving the tour was doing it in English, Dutch, French, and German!

**I would preface all this with that I've never visited in the winter so I don't know what its like then since thats likely an off-season for tourism. I've visited in the spring and summer.

Thanks. It's my wife's birthday and she chases the Christmas markets. I'll drop some of those suggestions like I'm a local.

 

[lucusloc]

Show me citations and your math.

You know what? No.

If you cant look up basic info (that is literally the first result for a search like "sexual assault rate for <country>") and follow basic math - literally the most base level requirement for participating in an intelligent discussion - then you are clearly not smart enough to participate in this discussion. Seriously, the math is simple multiplication. My 9 year old works on harder problems in his workbooks.

The numbers are all there, why don't you show me you are smart enough to figure out how I got them by working them backwards and demonstrating you have a 4th grade comprehension of math. Because if you are asking me to show you the math on those numbers I have my doubts.

 

[monkeybutler]

You know what? No.

If you cant look up basic info (that is literally the first result for a search like "sexual assault rate for <country>") and follow basic math - literally the most base level requirement for participating in an intelligent discussion - then you are clearly not smart enough to participate in this discussion. Seriously, the math is simple multiplication. My 9 year old works on harder problems in his workbooks.

The numbers are all there, why don't you show me you are smart enough to figure out how I got them by working them backwards and demonstrating you have a 4th grade comprehension of math. Because if you are asking me to show you the math on those numbers I have my doubts.

That is about the response I expected. You have no idea how amusing it is to me.

If you don't understand why I am asking for what I am… there is no point in continuing this conversation.

 

[lucusloc]

That is about the response I expected. You have no idea how amusing it is to me.

If you don't understand why I am asking for what I am… there is no point in continuing this conversation.

I suddenly understand why you are so insistent on "show your sources and math." You have no idea how those statistics are compiled. Extrapolating a new number from an old one and a percentage is beyond you, so if the government didn't provide you the final answer already calculated then you have no idea how to find it yourself. Put up or shut up, my numbers are already up there.

 

[Nosferatu]

notice anything intersting?

That your entire cogitation is mechanically linked to the first 2 results of a crappy search engine?

That and you can't spell 'interesting'.

 

[Mikej]

I suddenly understand why you are so insistent on "show your sources and math." You have no idea how those statistics are compiled. Extrapolating a new number from an old one and a percentage is beyond you, so if the government didn't provide you the final answer already calculated then you have no idea how to find it yourself. Put up or shut up, my numbers are already up there.

Holy crap! I'ma thinking WTH hell bug is up your BUTT! Then, it comes to me, the monkey butt has me on ignore again. I don't know why people keep feeding the mutt. (shakes head)

carry on.