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

#1

Post by isoadventure »

I'm sick of the US. Politics gone mad, an economy driven by greed, police state evidence all around - I'm ready for a change.

1) Are there any countries where I can emigrate and start a company? If so, what are some startup hubs around the world?

2) What about any countries that are simply looking for high-tech web workers?

3) As someone who speaks English and only passable Spanish, how easy would it be to get a job in a non-English-speaking country like Japan? Is English typically spoken in the workplace?

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

#2

Post by byrneseyeview »

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.

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

#4

Post by tomh »

If you need to pick a country right now, sight unseen, I say Ireland or Scotland. Probably hard to break in without an EU work permit, but if you are talented enough or can telecommute, then you might not have such a problem.

I add Scotland because Dundee seems to attract a lot of IT types, we had dealings with folks in Dundee and they were all whip-smart individuals.

If you want to do a little research before you go, you can pick something a little neater, like Estonia. Estonia would be choice #1 for me, just because it's actually a not-bad economy, good ties to the rest of Scandinavia, orderly/not corrupt, and definitely part of the startup world (Skype and Kazaa, hello?).

And then you could visit Russia and Ukraine and say hello to a real police state...

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

#5

Post by gaius »

Sweden or Iceland would get my vote. New Zealand is a popular option for Brits. Ireland I'm not so sure about; their massive economy growth was funded by EU grants, and now the EU is turning its attention to the former Warsaw Pact countries. Romania or Estonia would be a good bet. A lot of Western companies are buying their IT services there now, where you can fly in for a lunchtime meeting, rather than India. They're stable and everyone speaks English for business.

The big risk to the Scottish economy is that the SNP finally win Scottish independence and Westminster cancels the GBP 45Bn (approx USD 100Bn) subsidy from English taxes. At that point, unless the EU steps in, the Scottish economy will plummet like a rock.

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

#6

Post by brk »

The "economy driven by greed" is, in essence, what also makes the US the best place in the world to start and operate a for-profit business.

Good luck finding another country that is hospitable to a non-citizen starting a business, presents a ready market (all the Web2.0 stuff aside, it is still helpful to be close to the majority of your initial user base), has a legal system that affords you some protection, and lastly - has a tax system that allows you to actually keep a fair percentage of the money you earn.

I don't really care if you mod me down or not, but your post sounds childish and naive. You want to "start a company", but you don't even know where in the world to go, or where English is spoken? Have you done any research at all on this topic (and I wouldn't count posting a question here and expecting people to do your homework 'research')?

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

#7

Post by gaius »

tomh wrote: post #4

If you need to pick a country right now, sight unseen, I say Ireland or Scotland. Probably hard to break in without an EU work permit, but if you are talented enough or can telecommute, then you might not have such a problem. I add Scotland because Dundee seems to attract a lot of IT types, we had dealings with folks in Dundee and they were all whip-smart individuals. If you want to do a little research before you go…

Scotland's fairly lenient; I've a Canadian friend whose (IIRC) great-grandfather was Scottish and he got in with no problems. Not long after that I signed his citizenship papers.

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

#9

Post by rit »

gaius wrote: post #5

Sweden or Iceland would get my vote. New Zealand is a popular option for Brits. Ireland I'm not so sure about; their massive economy growth was funded by EU grants, and now the EU is turning its attention to the former Warsaw Pact countries. Romania or Estonia would be a good bet. A lot of Western companies are buying their IT services there now, where you can fly in for a lunchtime meeting, rather than India. They'r…

Of course, it's also possible that they can replace those with EU grants as well.

However, looking like continued devolution is much more likely than independence in the near future. I believe the polls show only about 1 in 3 adults supporting full independence, but most support continued freedom [e.g. continuing in the vein of having a parliament again].

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