I came over to Asia in August of 1998 to teach for the University of Maryland's Asian division. They sent me to Korea for two terms. In January of 1999, they moved me to Tokyo. I got promoted a couple of times and since this is our headquarters, I have been here ever since. Teaching for UMUC - Asia has been a great experience. It gives me the best of all worlds. I live in Tokyo, work from home unless I am teaching a class or having a meeting, and hold a military ID, which allows me to shop on base. Our purpose is to teach the American military at the many bases in Asia. As buying anything in Japan is very expensive, it is great to be able to shop at the bases (which are like little Americas). I only buy things like milk, bread, and eggs off base. To give you an idea of the price difference, a package of spaghetti costs around 79 cents on base and around 660 yen ($6.00) off base.

My Japanese boyfriend and I live together. We met a bit over two years ago and things are good. Of course, he is not the typical Japanese man. He actually cleans the house, does all of the dishes, and will even do laundry without being asked to. The typical Japanese man does no housework - that is for women :-)

I like Bali the best of all of the countries I have been to over here so far because the Balinese people are genuinely friendly and Bali is so beautiful. I go there quite a bit and have made friends with a number of Balinese. Unlike other 3rd world countries, Bali seems to have a middle class. Of all of the Asian countries, it is Bali and Japan in which I feel the safest (as a woman). I do have to say that Japan is the safest though. Here, I can walk down a street at 3 in the morning if I wish to without any problems. There are areas of Bali in which I would hesitate to do that. Bali would be the absolutely best place in the entire world if it was only not so close to Jakarta. The owner of the Hard Rock and I were talking one night (he is a great guy!) and his place got robbed. They were there in bed and the robbers who came up from Jakarta held him at knife point. Very scary! When I do go there, I rent a house and have a security guard. I know that this all sounds very expensive, but I only have to compare it to living in Tokyo, the most expensive city in the world and things go into perspective.

I've not heard what it is like to live in Spain or Brazil, but just knowing the little I do know, Brazil is not a safe place. I would think that there are places in Spain that are good. I have only been to Europe as a tourist (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), so I don't know a whole lot. We do have a European division and many of our faculty members have lived in Europe. One place that keeps coming up in conversation as wonderful is Turkey, but right now, I wouldn't recommend it.

Tokyo is wholeheartedly into Latin music. There are a lot of clubs here. If you do choose to come through, I would be happy to show you around.

Benefits of living in Japan:

• You can choose to live in the city or the mountains or the rice paddy villages, depending on your work.
• Tokyo is one of the best cites in the world. It is about the size of NYC with Manhattan and the boroughs - huge!
• It has areas and neighborhoods like NY. Each is different.
• Japan is the safest place in the world for a woman.
• The Japanese people are very friendly, shy, but friendly.
• Many, many Japanese speak English, especially if they work for a large international company.
• The food is good and if you are in a city, varied as to nationality. I can get Korean, Thai, French, Italian, German, etc.
• The Japanese love green things so there are parks every where.
• You don't need to own a car as the trains will bring you every where you want to go.
• There is a huge expat community in the large cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Yokohama.

• It is expensive.
• It is difficult to get a job here unless you speak Japanese or come in with a foreign company.

I went to Beirut for 10 days in April and I loved it there.  I would like to live there if the knuckle-head would quit shooting up the country.  And it is a beautiful place!  My choice would be Broumana, Lebanon.  It is about 2500 feet above Beirut, it is cooler and dryer, and has fabulous views "everywhere".

The people were 'fabulous' and very friendly to me even though we have the Bush bull-shit going on in the Middle East.  They 'love' Americans!  I felt honored and respected.  The environment, the people, the food, the Mediterranean, the snow-capped mountains (which are one hour away from the sea) are just lovely.  For me, it is the perfect spot on this earth. . . except for the damn fighting!!!

I saw a large 3 bedroom apartment (built of lovely cut stone!) with two very large balconies (one has a view of the Mediterranean Sea and Beirut) for $650 a month and I really wanted to sign a lease on the spot  (hahaha).  Anyway that's my story...

Leno

I came to Brazil in order to sell my house in Rio because my mother has decided she is too old to live here alone.  So, now I need to fly to another state to buy a house in Natal-Rio Grande do Norte.  I am not sure if you know that part of Brazil.  My mother is from there and she wants to get back!

Natal is gorgeous. It began its huge developmental growth a few years ago because of the Europeans.  Natal receives the largest amount of Germans, Italians, and French people of all the cities of Brazil.  Needless to say most Germans use our young poor Brazilian girls and have the euro to purchase huge houses in front of the ocean.  It is sad!  

I love Natal and wish that these Germans would have a bit more of consideration towards children.  Natal is also poorer than Rio because have less job opportunities and most people have no education.  However, they are at least as happy as they are poor.  People from Natal are even more  friendly than people from Rio. You would love that part of Brazil for sure.

Whenever you decide to purchase a house in Brazil you need to consider location and social class.  Unfortunately this is true all over Brazil.  For example, I am going to Natal tomorrow, and am looking to purchase a house close to a mall, beach and public transportation because my dear mother is an old timer and here in the olden days women didn't drive.

I have found several two bedroom apartments near the best beach for R$ 100,000 reais and if I take the time to look, I will be able to find one even cheaper.  If you come with CASH you will be in a position to make SERIOUS real deals.  This is what I am going to do now with $65,000 in cash. 

Natal is absolutely gorgeous - very different in nature from Rio.  Warmer and rustic in many ways. People there are simple but you can find snobby people anywhere in Brazil.  

If you are serious about purchasing something in Natal I may be able to help you.  Never mention you are from the US and always ask for a discount. A true Brazilian always gets a discount into everything they buy.  Even when my mother goes to buy bananas she still requests a discount.

I am leaving Rio today and am going on a one week house hunting adventure.  I am very excited but a little sad to abandon Rio de Janeiro.  Although Rio has become more dangerous than ever I still love it.  

Right now our house maid is cooking in the kitchen singing her ass out loud and all the dogs barking outside, meanwhile my mother yells at the phone.  It is so hard even to read in the morning. The only quiet time I find is when I go to the beach and ignore what everyone is saying and fall asleep.  I have lived in the US for the past 10 years and believe it or not, I have forgotten some of our traditions and how loud Brazilians can be.  I am happy to be here and to re-discover myself.  Life in Brazil is definitely different than any other place I’ve been.  Like Romans we love to be loved and to show our love and it is wonderful to be able to live life this way! 
 
My husband and I are planning to come back in one year to purchase our house in Natal, they have lots of virgin beach still and I want to built a house with an open roof so I can make love in the full moon --- heheheeh!  The pleasures of being Brasilian.
 
tchau-tchau!  Mari

I like Brazil more than Europe. Have you considered living in Sao Paulo? What are the qualities you look for in a country? I am originally from India. I live in the States, but am preparing to move to another country in one year. I am looking closely at both Sao Paulo, Brazil and Mexico City. So where are you? - Charles

Dear Charles,

I am in Istanbul and like it very much. 

Your comments on aging population demographics were very interesting and have me thinking...I myself am aging (aren't we all?), so to belong to a community that does not value its elders does not appeal to me. And conversely, perhaps that is what I like about places that seem more "sophisticated" such as Buenos Aires.  

That said, I did notice about Brazil that there is little ageism - that you can find as many old people out living it up as young.

There's another aspect of place which plays a big part in whether I am attracted to a place or not, and that is its architecture. Being around beautifully designed buildings makes me happy. In Brazil I found both furnishings and buildings to be uninspiring. The houses seemed to be mostly colonial boxlike structures with small windows. Perhaps to guard against the heat - and at one time, pirates? - Editor
 

Dear Editor,
I think there are some countries that have relatively old populations such as Japan and most of Western Europe but this not necessarily an indication that seniors are treated well. Brazil and most Asian countries have relatively young populations but seniors are less isolated than in the US. 

Then again, the notion of extended families living under one roof is something that most Americans do not necessarily want.  

Yes, Brazilians do make fewer distinctions between age groups, races, and gender orientations than do Americans. I think this is partly because identity group politics is a much bigger deal in the US and affects the way we identify ourselves and others. I suppose you could argue that class-based divisions are the more important driving/dividing force in Latin America.

I actually believe that there are some American characteristics that work against our adjusting well to living abroad.  The main thing could be the incredible affluence and related waste that we take for granted in the US. The other thing is the fact that many Americans do not feel comfortable with foreign languages. The American sense of exceptionalism and the value we place on privacy and both physical and emotional space also gets us into trouble when we are abroad. I find myself adjusting my sense of privacy and space when I am overseas. I actually think that Europeans adjust better overseas because for them traveling to other countries has never been a big deal given the size of Europe, and also because many European countries have a long colonial tradition.

My take on Brazilian architecture is a bit different than yours. Most Brazilians in large cities live in flats rather than houses.  Americans, except for those in NYC, love their big houses in the suburbs.  I have never lived in a suburb myself so I fail to see the attraction. Colonial architecture reflects the climate with thick walls and small windows because glass and heating were very expensive at the time.

Preserved colonial towns like Ouro Preto are quite beautiful because you have the sense that people are still living very traditional lives and there is very little motorized traffic. In contrast, the modern apartments of my Brazilian friends are much nicer and sleeker than any of the overpriced junk I see in SF.  For example, in Salvador I lived in a four bedroom apartment with two balconies, high ceilings, hardwood floors, marble kitchens and baths, and indoor parking. I had modern furniture, art, etc that I had also purchased in Brazil. 

Rio and Sao Paulo have spectacular modern houses and apartments, even though they are only bargains in comparison to prices in the SF Bay Area.  Both Oscar Niemeyer in the 1990's and Paulo Mendes de Rocha in 2006 won the Pritzker Prize in architecture which is sort of the Nobel Prize in that profession. Most of my architect friends in SF complain constantly about the local resistance to modern architecture and design. I am amazed at the number faux Victorians still being put up in SF.  Give me a modern apartment with a glass-bottomed indoor pool cantilevered over the living room such as I once saw in Rio.

I think the real choice for Americans wanting to live abroad without external support is choosing between places that are great to visit(Paris, Istanbul, Rome, Vienna, etc) and those places where it is actually possible to live reasonably and make a living. 
 
A place you may not have considered is Tangiers.  At one time it had 50K expats, mainly French and such American luminaries as the author Paul Bowles.  Upscale tourism seems to be booming in Morocco and I cannot pick up a design magazine without seeing another foreigner fixing up a spectacular house in Marrakech. A friend of mine had spent time in Tangiers in the 1960's and returned there recently for a visit and found the prices reasonable. - Charles

Dear Charles,
As for Brazil, I've spent a lot of time there and have come to the conclusion that yes, I could live in Brazil quite happily - if only it had just a tad more intellectual weight. My favorite thing in the world is books...does anyone in Brazil read? Maybe, maybe not, but my second favorite thing is music, and Brazil is definitely about music.

There are a couple other things that give me pause about Brazil -  the gender thing for one. I happen to love the way that women are women in Brazil, but I also happen to hate the way that so many Brazilian women are on the block for 1st world Western men. 

I believe that Brazil is a rising economic power, and rightly so. But the crime (which makes living in a freestanding house, not to mention walking alone late at night, a scary prospect), along with the lack of folks who like to read, learn, discover the world, and number three (and believe me I have way higher numbers of things I like about Brazil) the huge disparity between the rich and poor...has made me pull away from Brazil as the ideal place to call home. But to each his own. And to all a good night. Have you been to Salvador? 
 
Everyone I know who has lived in Sao Paulo speaks well of it, and so I know that there is a there there. During my short pitstops in Sao Paulo, I was unable to sense the soul of Sao Paulo from the back seat of a cab.

-Editor

Dear Editor,
Good to get a conversation going even though we may not always agree. Yes, I was in Salvador from 1983-85.  I share many of your concerns about Brazil and I appreciate that things can be dicier for female travelers.
 
Latin America, including Brazil, has a larger publishing industry than the US by some measures but of course almost none of it is in English. Yes, people do read but it is a narrow segment of society. Brazil is more about music, photography, architecture and visual arts. The best example of an American expat who was also a literary figure is the late poet Elizabeth Bishop who lived in Brazil (Rio) with her lesbian partner for 25 years starting I believe in the 1950's.  A new book of her notes and unfinished poems is just out. She is truly one of the great American poets of the post-war period.
 
If your desire is to live in a free standing house in a safe country with low income disparity between classes, then you are setting a pretty high bar that will eliminate most countries. Most Latin American countries, including Argentina, have wide income disparities.

Uruguay and Chile probably score best on this measure but they are minor players in the larger scheme of things.  I think you might be describing countries that suffer from what is called in economics the "Venice" problem-i.e. aging populations, declining birthrates, stagnant economies, low income disparity, and big social welfare nets.  Venice has a declining population even though it is still a beautiful place and suffers from all the characteristics that I have mentioned.  In fact, both Japan and Italy would easily meet your criteria but just try making a living in either country. Same thing for Sweden.
  
I disagree with you about Brazilian women. Status and mobility for many Brazilian women may be tied to being connected to the right man, even an expat, but this is true in many countries.  In fact, the ability for large numbers of women to live independent lives both financially and socially is largely limited to the US and perhaps part of Europe, even though female participation rates in the professions is higher in the US than almost anywhere else. Try to read Caetano Veloso's bio that is available in English translation.  A great song writer but also an original intellectual.
  
Regards,
Charles