Site for moving to other countries

[play2win]

Hi,
I remember someone posted a link I should check out that linked to another board that dealt with moving to another country.  The 3 countries I am currently looking at are ecuador, costa rica & urugay.  Not sure what what the rules are here on posting links but if someone knows the link I am talking about or could pm me it, it would be appreciated.  I plan to travel to south america in june and hopefuly spend 2 months in each.  If I can eliminate 1 then 3 and 3.

If anyone here has to be all 3 or even 2 and cares to compare / contrast them for me I would appreciate it.

I am looking for
01) Safety (again does not have to super safe but cant be colombia bad & yes I realize if you put yourself in bad situations bad things will happen but I think we get my point)
02) Warmth (hopefully little to no winter)
03) Beaches (I really love the beach)
04) Things to do / nightlife
05) Misc (anything any one could suggest to me)

I was researching ecuador & costa rica today and it appears costa rica has a newer infastructure? That would be helpful since I will need broad band internet to commute to work.

Thanks!

[Jeff S]

http://escapeartist.com/

[Gavan]

01) Safety (again does not have to super safe but cant be colombia bad & yes I realize if you put yourself in bad situations bad things will happen but I think we get my point)

Peru has a LOT of crime. Muggings and robberies are VERY common. However, I have been here for almost 5 years now and nothing has happened to me. If you take precautions and avoid bad areas you should be ok.

02) Warmth (hopefully little to no winter)
The North of Peru has no real winter. Lima can get pretty cold during the winter.

03) Beaches (I really love the beach)
I replied to you in another thread with examples of beaches in Peru. The best ones are Mancora and Punta Sal.

04) Things to do / nightlife
Nightlife in Peru is fantastic, it is what I love the most about the country. Food is also great (probably the best in South America). All major cities now have several big shopping malls with modern movie theatres.

05) Misc (anything any one could suggest to me)

If you are interested in Peru visit www.expatperu.com

[robert angel]

I've heard that while Costa Rica is pretty in areas and for years they've successfully attracted a lot of foreigners to retire there, things have changed a bit.

I really can't cite concrete things, but I've heard from people who are shopping for places to live abroad that 'the bloom is off the rose' there a bit in terms of how they welcome visitors and especially those who choose to move there to live.

Now that they have a sizable amount of foreigners living there, some of the native residents are wondering if making C.R. so attractive to outsiders was such a great idea after all. I don't think it's as bad as say, if you were wealthy enough to move to France w/o command of the language and tried to 'fit in'--and  had to deal with snobbish attitudes, but I just don't think C.R. is as welcoming to new arrivals as they once were, from what I've been told.

That said, it's not just a C.R. or French 'thing'--it seems that in pretty much any country, developed or still developing, that after a while they get tired of the 'new comers'.

It might be best to get into the places less traveled early on. I wonder what places like Ecuador, Paraguay and Uraguay, to name but a few, are like now-- before they're 'discovered' by a lot more people.

Kind of brings to mind an old Jewish proverb, which I think says something like this: 'Having company in your home is like having fish--after a few days, they start to stink'...

[utopiacowboy]

I've lived in places in the US that got overrun by newcomers. It's fine as long as they don't change the essential nature of the place but once they are present in large numbers, the place starts to become more and more like the area the newcomers left behind. That's when there is widespread resentment of the newcomers by the locals. That's why I like to see a healthy amount of violence in Colombia - it guarantees the place will stay off limits to all but the intrepid travelers. As for Uruguay, it needs to just stay off the radar completely.

[play2win]

I will, unfortunately not be able to move for 5 - 7 years because of work.  I am looking at Costa Rica & possibly Panama will start a thread about Panama so it is all in one place

[robert angel]

I will, unfortunately not be able to move for 5 - 7 years because of work.  I am looking at Costa Rica & possibly Panama will start a thread about Panama so it is all in one place

Timewise, I'm in the same boat as to being able to think about relocating in a different country.

I try not to assume that the political, social and economic situation will be the same, better or worse that far down the line, because a lot of stuff can change in a very short time. And that goes for all countries, including the USA.

 Not so long ago, the thought of the Australian or Canadian dollar being worth more than the US dollar would have seemed laughable. Now they're laughing at the US dollar's buying power--or more precisely, the lack thereof.

[play2win]

Timewise, I'm in the same boat as to being able to think about relocating in a different country.

I try not to assume that the political, social and economic situation will be the same, better or worse that far down the line, because a lot of stuff can change in a very short time. And that goes for all countries, including the USA.

 Not so long ago, the thought of the Australian or Canadian dollar being worth more than the US dollar would have seemed laughable. Now they're laughing at the US dollar's buying power--or more precisely, the lack thereof.

The us housing market is recovering but it wont be fully back for a long time.  What country are you thinking about?  I am trying to come up with a list of possible countries so I can spend 1.5 months in each and settle in one.  The best one for me is costa rica it appears but that is apparently expensive (from multiple sources).  I am exploring Panama now but I know it is not exactly the safest.  I have also been suggested Ecuador & Uruguay.

I need beaches & safety so that eliminates a fair amount of central & south american countires

[Bob_S]

I need beaches & safety so that eliminates a fair amount of central & south american countires

One word for you:  Okinawa

[Jeff S]

Or even better yet Amami Oshima (wait - that's two words.....)

[okiemike]

Hell yea.......thats what im talking about!!!

[Alabamaboy!]

A great resource is: "International Living"   www.internationalliving.com

They have a monthly magazine and their website is great. They are currently having more and more stories of Colombia.

[okiemike]

Yea, I was gonna say www.internationalliving.com
 
Very informative.....right now the top few countries for expats are Ecuador-Panama-Costa Rica-Uruguay...according to them anyway....They figure in health care, taxes,climate, and cost of living of course. I was looking at Salinas, Ecuador which is on the southern coast but a Venezuelan coworker of mine said Ecuador will be like  Venezuela in a few years. Im looking at about 13 yrs from now so who knows which will be the best place by then. Asia would be nice but to far from home...this is all assuming im still single and have no kids.