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Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

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Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#161

Post by neilv »

mothballed wrote: post #114
neilv wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you moved to a place that was physically safe, would gun ownership still be a top priority?

Seems paradoxical. If I'm not allowed to have guns, then I am physically unsafe, because someone from government will use violence against me if they both discover it and have the ability to do something about it. I wouldn't feel safe anywhere violence is used for malum prohibitum 'crimes.' In fact I don't feel safe basically anywhere a government exists because they all do this; this is part the reason why I live in…

(don't know why you were downvoted for an honest-sounding response)

If I understand correctly, the reasoning is a kind of long-term best-practice thinking?

And that best-practice is a high enough priority that it would prevent you from moving someplace that was otherwise better than a place that would let you have guns?

Is it only reasoning, or it there also a psychological component, like you'd also feel unsafe without guns, maybe due to past or current threatening situation (e.g., physical danger, or economic)?

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#162

Post by neilv »

jbstack wrote: post #153
neilv wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This makes it a pretty bad place to live if you care about investing and saving for the future. What if you plan to stay permanently? Does that change your priority for accumulating more personal wealth?

I don't follow why it makes a difference? If someone wants to invest to improve their future quality of life, why would it matter how long they will live in a place for?

I was asking because, in country A, if you don't have a lot of money for retirement, you might soon be out on the street, or otherwise soon dead; but in country B, things might be more affordable, and have more social safety net, support, and sharing.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#163

Post by gruez »

showerst wrote: post #20
justmedep wrote: post #4

Coming from Switzerland to the US: I do not want to leave. Everything is better here… maybe not for the average person but for some individuals.

That's the root of it, isn't it? America is pretty great if you're in the upper 20% or so, and otherwise it's losing ground fast.

>America is pretty great if you're in the upper 20% or so, and otherwise it's losing ground fast.

The bottom 80% is also going to find it hard to move to another rich country. Countries in general want highly paid professionals, not a 50th percentile desk jockey.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#164

Post by AnimalMuppet »

phantasmish wrote: post #142
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Comey case is interesting. I can certainly see it as "the US is trying to be authoritarian" (or at least the current administration is). But the courts ruled in Comey's favor. There is no reason to think that, if the feds try again, the courts won't rule for Comey again. That's still "rule of law", no matter how hard the current administration is trying to make it otherwise. Now, sure, in an ideal world the case…

The administration can just keep coming at him as long as they're in power, and that is itself effectively a punishment. If each case takes just 90 days to play out, they can bring four or so of those per year, on the taxpayer dime (while themselves getting paid, by us, to do it, in fact!) and waste tons of Comey's money and time, while also stressing him out. The safeguard against this is supposed to be that Congres…

Well, the first case got squished pretty quickly (at the first motion, I believe), and it got squished in a way that damaged the ability of one of Trump's people to do her job.

And there's a statute of limitations here. It has already elapsed, in fact, though the administration is trying to argue that they way they're doing it allows for an exception. If that doesn't fly, then it's just over.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#165

Post by ryandrake »

Bender wrote: post #118
titanomachy wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think relatively few people choose their home based on “where can I have the most guns and least oversight on banking”. But I suspect that the people who care about these things care about them a LOT.

For me it was a factor to some degree. I am not a firearm collector. For me it was knowing that I was moving from a state that hates firearms and wants to justify law enforcement budgets by punishing anyone that defends themselves to a state that not only has very few restrictions on firearms and ammo but also actively and legally supports people defending themselves and their neighbors. That was just one of many fac…

It seems so weird to even know which states "hate firearms" and which ones support them, let alone care. It's not something that would even appear on my radar if I had to move across the country to some new town. I'm worried about things like good schools, access to amenities, commute times, access to fresh air and nature, stuff like that. How gun-friendly the place is? It wouldn't even make my top 20 or even cross my mind. Do Americans really factor this into their decision when they move somewhere?

I take it as a given that being in America in general means you could be shot randomly, with a uniform, but low probability distribution. It doesn't really matter what the state's gun laws are. So outside of notoriously "unsafe" areas, it doesn't play into my mind at all.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#166

Post by GaryNumanVevo »

jbstack wrote: post #44

I love the Netherlands and have spent a few months trying it out as a place to live. It's among my favourite places: moderate weather, friendly people, a high level of personal freedom, very high rate of English speakers, clean and modern environment, good international restaurants, lively town centres even in smaller towns, most towns have rivers / canals which make them very pleasant to walk around. I could list ma…

As a US Expat who just purchased a home in Amsterdam it's a hell of a lot better than paying $1.5 mil for a shack in Sunnyvale. We bought the apartment we were living in from our landlord (funny enough because they're going to start charging him extra tax for N+2 rental properties). It's worth it.

For one, they ruled that the wealth tax is against the EU human rights agenda. So they're scrambling to come up with a solution. Even with this tax, the projected weight isn't terrible. For reference my wife and I are CoastFIRE here with ~2mil USD in NW and the tax is marginal compared to our returns.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#167

Post by 47282847 »

mothballed wrote: post #71
ohm wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give some examples?

Guns and (relatively) freedom of speech (yes I'm aware it comes with asterisk) are the two big ones. If I left the USA it would probably be to a place with weak governance on these points in practice rather than on paper. Only Yemen, Iraq, Somaliland, parts of Pakistan, parts of Rojava and maybe KRG (Kurdistan), Idlib, and Palestine are only places I know of with looser (to me better) gun laws than America and out of…

May I ask, why you want guns? I honestly have no idea why one would want them.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#168

Post by simonsarris »

mindcrash wrote: post #155

Please, please, please go to anywhere EXCEPT the Netherlands. We beg you. We have a gigantic and near unsolvable housing problem. We have thousands of refugees/immigrants with residence permits waiting for housing already (currently stuck in hotels and bungalow parks just to give them a roof over their heads), and we don't even have enough affordable houses for our own. On behalf of everyone in the Netherlands waitin…

Can you talk a bit more about why its viewed as unsolvable?

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#169

Post by mothballed »

gls2ro wrote: post #156
mothballed wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems paradoxical. If I'm not allowed to have guns, then I am physically unsafe, because someone from government will use violence against me if they both discover it and have the ability to do something about it. I wouldn't feel safe anywhere violence is used for malum prohibitum 'crimes.' In fact I don't feel safe basically anywhere a government exists because they all do this; this is part the reason why I live in…

(coming from a country where having guns at home or seeing a civilian with a gun is very very strange and an huge emergency so maybe my question is stupid) IF the government decides to use violence against you do you really have a chance with a gun? or 10?

I'm not claiming you'd be safe even with a gun. I'm not claiming there is any real government you are safe living under given a long timespan (maybe longer than even your own lifespan, but still these skills are passed down in families so breaking the chain during 'safe' times is still harmful).

To your specific question, probably not, but the better question is whether you have more of a chance with or without a gun? If you look at the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising for example, having a gun bought those people hours to days, which is better than nothing. Of course if you look at places like Chechnya, it bought them outright years that they were able to obtain independence from the brutality of Russia (even if not from their own brutality) as a result of militia activity in the first Chechen war.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#170

Post by Freedom2 »

yeahthatguy10 wrote: post #134
wing-_-nuts wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't say every American should try to be an expat. I think we'd be better off as a society if everyone traveled abroad more. I know most can't afford that, but I'd be totally down for a state funded 'study abroad' program for bright students. Other places have ideas we can learn from (and vice versa)

The average American thinks the U.S is the best country in the world. I say that as an American. To your point if people saw how the rest of the world lives and how happy many of those 7.88 Billion people are they would start being more vocal about our endless cycle of work until you are 85 to be able to pay your property taxes.

> The average American thinks the U.S is the best country in the world.

If it wasn't, then why would the American school system teach American students that it is?

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