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Ask YC: Where's the escape hatch? I'd like to leave the US, but to where?

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Re: Ask YC: Where's the escape hatch? I'd like to leave the US, but to where?

#51

Post by tjpick »

ideas101 wrote: post #47
uuilly wrote: post #17

Stop reading reddit. Wait a month. See how you feel.

And if you're addicted to reddit and cant help it then following are your choices: Americas: Canada (English speaking, diversified society, encouraging entrepreneurship etc.) Asia: Singapore, India, Indonesia, Philippines (all countries are english speaking for business) Europe: any eastern Europe that has good weather and encouraging environment for start-ups. Far East: Australia/ NewZealand (they have immigration p…

I'm in Christchurch, NZ. I just biked to work and "fantastic weather" is not the way I'd describe it. But then we are also not the "Far East". Other material in OP may or may not be true.

Re: Ask YC: Where's the escape hatch? I'd like to leave the US, but to where?

#52

Post by davidw »

nraynaud wrote: post #33
dan-kruchinin wrote: post #27

Very naive. Do you know anything about immigration policy in different countries? Do you really think that foreign governments are waiting you with open arms? For them you're just useless foreigner if they can't get profit from you. You may be profitable if 1) Foreign country need high qualified specialists. If you one of them you could get work permit. 2) You have enough money to open your own business there. (actua…

I think since he is coming from a rich country he won't have too much immigration problem.

You are, unfortunately, wrong, though. In many places it's not easy, no matter where you're from.

Re: Ask YC: Where's the escape hatch? I'd like to leave the US, but to where?

#53

Post by [deleted] »

nraynaud wrote: post #33
dan-kruchinin wrote: post #27

Very naive. Do you know anything about immigration policy in different countries? Do you really think that foreign governments are waiting you with open arms? For them you're just useless foreigner if they can't get profit from you. You may be profitable if 1) Foreign country need high qualified specialists. If you one of them you could get work permit. 2) You have enough money to open your own business there. (actua…

I think since he is coming from a rich country he won't have too much immigration problem.

[deleted]

Re: Ask YC: Where's the escape hatch? I'd like to leave the US, but to where?

#54

Post by davidw »

__ wrote: post #50

I'm not sure your strategy is sound. Nonetheless, if you're determined to work in another country (assuming you're not a citizen), you will quickly run into legal trouble: in most countries, you need to have some sort of work permit, which can be difficult or impossible to get. If any of your ancestors are from Europe, you may be able to claim citizenship in their country of origin. This is the legal principle of jus…

Yeah, once you're in the EU, you can go anywhere. I'm married to an Italian woman (a strategy I can't recommend highly enough:-), and we can move anywhere within the EU - for instance we're in Austria right now. We're thinking of going back to the US though, as there are more and better opportunities there, especially for her.

Re: Ask YC: Where's the escape hatch? I'd like to leave the US, but to where?

#56

Post by mindslight »

If you aren't really bothered by the _present_ effects but instead the long term conditions, then I would suggest moving some assets overseas (foreign bank accounts or gold), so that you've got resources to flee should the need arise, but otherwise staying put and pursuing what you'd like.

I see most of what is happening in the US (militarized police/information privacy/corporate rule) as a greater worldwide trend. Running away from the leading edge is only going to buy you a little time.

Re: Ask YC: Where's the escape hatch? I'd like to leave the US, but to where?

#58

Post by byrneseyeview »

briansmith wrote: post #41
byrneseyeview wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Punishable by torture' is ridiculous. Caning is rarely used, and I would probably prefer it to a prison sentence. But again, this is a matter of preference. If you love being an antisocial asshole, Singapore will be hell for you until they kick you out (if they let you in). If you're a responsible adult, you won't notice the laws because they won't apply to you -- the penalty for vandalism or heroin use or spitting…

Exactly. If you share that attitude then you will be able to tolerate Singaporean society. Still, it isn't an improvement over American society.

It is a serious improvement for the law to reflect the culture. The US has a schizophrenic attitude towards many vices -- the Puritans write the laws, but the sinners write the TV shows. Singapore is much more united, so you're not guaranteed to feel out of place.

A scriptwriter in LA feels like he's living in someone else's country when his friend gets busted, or when he can't marry his partner -- a gas station owner in Nebraska feels similarly alienated whenever he watches a sitcom or a big-budget comedy. This doesn't have to be a problem (though it probably doesn't scale past a city-state).

Re: Ask YC: Where's the escape hatch? I'd like to leave the US, but to where?

#60

Post by rms »

briansmith wrote: post #32
byrneseyeview wrote: post #2

Singapore. Orderly, English-speaking, low taxes, tax breaks for startups (your corporate income tax on your first $100K/year for your first three years is zero). Although if you're worried that the US is a police state, you might not like it there. It seems to be a country where you're free to do whatever a sensible adult would do, and you really shouldn't deviate from that norm.

"Although if you're worried that the US is a police state, you might not like it there." That is putting it mildly. It is illegal to possess chewing gum there. Vandalism is punishable by torture.

The US gum lobbyists actually won. You can buy medicinal chewing gum (the sugar free kind commonly marketed as "white" here) from an approved healthcare professional, such as a dentist or a pharmacist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewing_gum_ban_in_Singapore

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