April 2007
At some point in your life you may want to move overseas for retirement or to start a business or buy real estate. How do most people decide on which country to move to? The average person would probably weigh factors like weather, cost of living, proximity to the US, the experiences they had while a tourist in that country, and how they generally felt while visiting that country. In other words, they had a good tourist experience in a particular country, so they want to live there as a long term resident.

While this approach has its advantages – you really have to like a place if you're going to move there – it also has some drawbacks. What about the health care system? How about corruption – say you open a small business and your local competitors complain to the local corrupt officials, who fine and harass you? Or worse, maybe your landlord likes your restaurant and decides to get rid of you and keep your restaurant. This kind of thing happens all the time, don't think it can't happen to you.

While there's no guarantee that you can avoid every problem you might run in to, at least you can try to educate yourself, to have a clear idea of what you are getting in to. There are a variety of sources available for you to gather information about any country you might consider moving to – information on corruption, development, health, crime, education, human rights, etc. It's also true that statistics can't completely portray the full nature of a country, but at least you can get a relative idea of a place – if a country is rated as having a low level of corruption, chances are that you will have an easier time getting things done without having to bribe anyone than in a country with a high level of corruption.

A World Of Statistics
One of the most interesting web sites for research is Nationmaster.com . On this site are hundreds of statistics about most countries – crime, education, health, economy, with countries ranked first to last in every category. One of the more enlightening statistics is the list of “firsts” - which categories a country ranks first in. For example, recently Uruguay ranked first for democratic transformation. It would pay someone to wander through this web site – you might find a country that you previously wouldn't have considered.

How Do You Say “I Don't Pay Bribes” In Swahili?
An organization called Transparency International publishes a number of statistics and surveys pertaining to corruption in various countries. Their Bribe Payers Index details the level of bribery going on in a country. Their Corruption Perceptions Index relates to how high a level of corruption is perceived in a country, and is ranked first-to-last. If you're a tourist, corruption generally wouldn't be a huge issue – however if you want to buy or build a house or start a business, it could become very important. Their web site is at www.Transparency.org .

My Country Is Not An Underdeveloped Backwater, It's A Developing Country
The UN Development Index is a statistic that rates the level of development in a country, based on factors such as life expectancy, economy, availability and quality of health care, and education. This index is at : http://HDR/UNDP.org/reports/global/2004/pdf/hdr04_HDI.pdf .
A few facts stand out in this report – in Latin America, the highest level of development is generally in southern South America – Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. In Asia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore rank highest – but Malaysia isn't too far behind, and it's less than half as expensive to live in Malaysia as it is in any of those other countries.

My Country Isn't Cheap, It's Just Undiscovered
The FinFacts financial web site provides an annual survey of cost of living in cities worldwide – it's at www.FinFacts.com/costofliving.htm . Keep in mind that this survey relates mostly to the cost of living of executives living in these cities, so your actual cost of living there may vary. One noteworthy fact is that the cost of living in many South American capitol cities – Buenos Aires and Montevideo in particular- is at the bottom of the scale. These are not 3rd-world backwaters with 12 hours of electricity a day – they have basically a first-world lifestyle, decent health system and so on.
So in relative terms these cities would be a great bargain, since most of the other cities in that price range are in extremely poor countries.

One of the points I would make is that moving overseas is a serious business. It's not something to be done on a lark, or because you are a little bored or have a vague idea that you might like life better somewhere else. You have to quit your job or sell your business, sell your house or move out of your apartment, deal with your mail, pets if you have them, etc, etc. It's a lot of work. 
Don't get me wrong – moving overseas could literally save your life, take you from a dull monochrome life of routine and boredom, to a life of vitality and excitement, or at least a life where you feel alive sometime apart from 5:00pm, weekends and holidays. If you're actually happy and excited about life you'll probably live longer than that zombie crowd who only lives for the next paycheck and the weekend. Or if you don't live longer at least you'll be happier while you are above ground.

It's just that you should look at things objectively and with facts in your hand. Wouldn't it be a drag to sell everything, move to a country you thought you loved, only to find out after a few months that the crime rate is off the charts? Or that the local government is made up mostly of kleptocrats? Or that to get decent health care you have to go to a neighboring country?

Bartender ! Where Can I Get Some Decent Health Care Around Here?
By the way, the US health care system is rated #37 in the world – just after Costa Rica's. Don't think that you have to always return to the US to get health care – there are actually good doctors and facilities in most parts of the world. Even in a country with a so-so health care system you can usually find private facilities that are good, and even if you pay cash it will probably cost less than your deductible in the US. The World Health Organization's rankings of health systems in the world can be found at : www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html 

In most parts of the world the doctors seem to take their time more than they do in the US (based on my experience in India, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ukraine, and Estonia). They may or may not have the latest gee-whiz atom-smasher wazoo scanner, but they probably have patient and well-trained doctors who will take their time and do a thorough diagnosis that actually takes more than 3.7 minutes. 

That's one of the advantages of living overseas – the US has the most expensive health care in the world, by far, so it will cost you less everywhere else. No exceptions. If you settle somewhere, check out the local health insurance deals. Although in some places it's so cheap that you might just decide to pay cash for everything as it comes up. Imagine not having to freak out about insurance, deductibles, co-pays.

As an aside – did you know that 50% of the people in the US who file bankruptcy do so because of health care expenses? And of those people who file because of health care expenses, 75% of them had health insurance?

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
Statistics don't tell the whole story, but it does give you a good idea of what to expect. If you settle in the country with the highest rate of violent crime in the world (South Africa) you might have to take a lot of precautions. If you settle in a country where over 30% of people get malaria each year (several countries in sub-Saharan Africa) you might need to worry about malaria prevention. If you move to the country with the highest gasoline prices (Uruguay) you'll probably have to leave your Suburban at home. 

Not Your Father's Country
In stock investing, smart investors take advantage of unpopularity, based on the fact that when people get down on a stock or a country, they stay down on it even when it's basically a great company, since once it becomes unpopular they basically forget about it. A smart investor buys when it's unpopular, and owns it until it becomes popular again, when he sells. Buy low, sell high.

The same can be said for countries to some extent. The popular countries get expensive (Europe, Anglo-Saxon countries) the unpopular countries get really cheap (Argentina and Uruguay beginning in 2002, Southeast Asia after the 1997-8 crash). 

The world changes, countries climb back into prosperity, and all of a sudden everybody now wants to go there. Except that when “everybody” wants to go there it's no bargain at all. When nobody wanted to go there it was a huge bargain. 

What Rights Do You Have As A Foreigner ?
One of the most important issues is your rights as a foreigner. 

As a tourist you don't have much in the way of rights, in most countries. Generally you can't work or own a business. If you want rights, normally you would have to apply for some sort of residency. 

Do yourself a favor and check out the residency requirements of the country you may want to relocate to. What rights do you acquire with the various forms of residency? To apply for residency many countries will require a notarized statement from your local police department, saying that you aren't a bad person. Another common requirement is a notarized birth certificate. Some (but certainly not all) countries require an AIDS test. 

You might have stars in your eyes about relocating to your new paradise, only to find out that it's almost impossible to get residency there (New Zealand, some European countries). Do your homework early and get the facts – don't live in a dopey dream world only to have a rude fact-based awakening one day. 

If your heart is set on owning a house or condo in your new home, do the smart thing and don't buy immediately. Give yourself a little time first, get to know the market, and learn the local real estate laws. Of course, before you do anything, find out the rules about foreigners owning real estate. You may be surprised to find that foreigners are restricted to buying real estate only in certain areas (like in Thailand). Remember that it's easy to buy a house overseas, but often hard to sell. 

Many countries have various sort of residency programs, depending on your situation and what you want to do. Work visa, retiree visa, investor visa, banana boat operator visa, etc.

You'll probably lose some rights in any country – voting rights, rights to a local pension, etc, but you'll gain other rights – the right not to be spied on by your government, the right to health care you can actually afford, etc. It's a trade off, hopefully you'll come out ahead if you do your homework.

Reference Books? Not Likely!
The best resources for your information search are generally on-line. Books just can't keep up with the flood of information in as timely a manner as the internet. 

However you should still check your local bookstore and/or library for travel books relating to your country of interest. The best of these books are generally updated every year or two, and are very useful for finding your way in your new home.

Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, and Let's Go all publish tourist guidebooks for dozens of countries. My preference is Lonely Planet for some countries, Rough Guide for others. The publishers that cater to higher-end tourists – Frommers, Fodors, etc, are also very useful, but I've found that Lonely Planet and Rough Guide get me in to a place a lot more deeply than the other books. Lonely Planet and Rough Guide seem to know they are dealing with experienced travelers, so they cut the baloney and tell you like it is in most cases. If you plan to live in a place for months or years you want this kind of information – you're planning to be a local, not a tourist, so the quicker you get a handle on things the better. 

I wish there were a book that listed all of the important things you would need to know for any country you might wish to move to – but even if there were it would have thousands of pages, would cost hundreds of dollars, and would be out of date within a year or two. 

So, the alternative is for you to do your homework.

Make Pen Friends
Another way to get a handle on things is to make local pen friends, particularly before you move to a place. If you are single you can find lots of members of the opposite sex on dating sites. Plentyoffish.com is a free site, and people from all over the world can be found there. If you're married, a good bet would be one of the pen-pal sites.

For years I had pen-pals in many of the former-Soviet countries – I saw lots of things a tourist would never see, and learned a huge amount about life in Ukraine and Russia. It's nice to have some ready-made friends in a country before you actually move there. With the internet it's almost too easy to make friends in other countries.

What Does A Former Witch Doctor Do For Work Around Here?
Teaching English is an old fall-back for those living in a non-English speaking country. You take speaking English for granted, but millions of people in the world are willing to pay for English lessons and practice. Whether in a classroom setting or private lessons, you can at least make some pocket money. The best jobs often require some sort of certificate (Celta, etc) but in some countries they aren't so picky.

If you decide to make some money off the books, look for something low-profile, where the locals won't resent you too much, at least not enough to complain to the authorities. If you're not competing with the local businesspeople, chances are the locals will leave you alone. 

If You Haven't Decided On A Country Yet
If you'd like to move overseas but haven't made up your mind as to where, there are some things that might help you make up your mind.

Let's say you wanted the following :

temperate climate
low level of corruption
low cost of living
easy-going lifestyle
first-world amenities 
Spanish-speaking country 
decent standard of human rights

Based on the above factors (and based on my research) I would consider Uruguay. Uruguay does have expensive gasoline, some crime (burglary mostly), is distant from the US, but satisfies the other factors.

Or, lets say you wanted other factors :

tropical climate
English-speaking country
low cost of living
proximity to other countries with tourist attractions
first-world amenities in the cities
tropical islands nearby
decent health care system
great food

Based on these requirements, I might choose Malaysia. Possibly Belize, although Malaysia is cheaper and the level of development is a lot higher in Malaysia. But Malaysia is a long way from the states.

You can do the same thing for your requirements – decide what's most important to you and research which countries offer the best fit. 

Emotion Is Good But It Doesn't Pay The Bills
I hope I've given you an idea of how to make your choice of country more methodical and a little bit less emotional. You might choose to disregard a lot of what you find out in your research if you really love a place – but do yourself a favor and at least get the facts. The worst thing would be to leave your job and home, move to a country you've fallen in love with, and over a period of time come to hate the place because you didn't do your homework and didn't really know how things really are there. 

Just The Facts
Once you decide on a country or countries, find out what kinds of residency programs they offer, how much it costs to apply, and how difficult it is to qualify and apply. In some countries (Malaysia is a notable example) private companies can assist you with the paperwork. Some countries charge a lot to file for residency – last time I checked it cost $2500 ($5000 for a couple) to apply for residency in Thailand (although that price may have changed by now). Some countries restrict where you can own real estate – again, until recently foreigners in Thailand were restricted to purchasing condos only in Bangkok and Pattaya. Maybe there are ways to get around that, but that was the law recently. 

New Zealand is a wonderful place, but it's very difficult to get year round residency unless you're a citizen of the Commonwealth already. Basically they favor the young, and those who have a lot of money (like millions). 

Some people choose to stay in a country illegally on a tourist visa on an indefinite basis. Sure you can try it, but you could risk losing your house (if you own one) as well as being deported and banned from the country if they catch you. If you like living dangerously, fine, but realize what could happen. 

There may be people who talk about all sorts of arcane ways of getting around certain laws in your country of choice, whether pertaining to real estate, residency, owning a business, etc. Some of these things may actually work, but on the other hand, if you get in trouble, will those who gave you this advice come and bail you out of jail?

If the advice comes from a reputable local attorney, maybe it's worth listening to. Otherwise, take it with a grain of salt.

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