Should I Stay or Should I Go Now

Awhile back (I am using some stuff I wrote awhile back to cover vacation time;) I saw a post by Claire Wolfe over at her excellent blog about leaving the United States and going expat. It was well worth reading and as usual, interesting and entertaining. Anyway it is as good of a topic as any for me to write about.

Some folks are ridiculously tied to a certain area for whatever reason. I find this at best foolish and at worst utterly stupid. If something bad is happening often the smartest thing to do is to just go somewhere else, if only till things blow over.

As Commander Zero says “the first rule of disaster survival is to be somewhere else”. It could be storms, ecological disasters, war, terrorism or totalitarian governments or whatever but if something really bad is coming then you best get the heck out of the way. Some reasons are regional like hurricanes. If you live near the coast and a hurricane is coming then you had better leave. Other times it is more about individual situation. If you are part of a cultural group that it looks like is about to get the bad end of it where you are then the smart thing to do is to leave. If you are part of some sort of a group that maybe functions in a questionable legal area and it looks like the hammer is about to come down then you had better leave.

Just like any other bug out there is the question of where to go. In extreme cases it doesn’t matter and you just leave. If you were a Jew in the early 30’s in Europe going anywhere west or off the continent was a good decision as staying probably meant death. If a monster hurricane is coming then you drive inland and worry about where to lay your head after a few hundred miles. However most situations where one would seek to better their circumstances are based on economics or freedom and are less dire.

This is the case for most folks who are thinking of going Ex Pat. They aren’t happy with the direction our country is headed in and think they would be better off elsewhere. I would do a lot of research into the countries laws, its economy and history, particularly it’s political and economic stability or lack their in recent times. Out of ignorance or idealism folks could end up in corrupt, dangerous, unstable countries where it is very difficult to make a living. Somebody in the comments section of Claire Wolfe’s post said “when America gets the flu everyone else gets cancer” which is worth considering. More to the point many of the criticisms that could be applied to the contemporary USA could definitely be applied to numerous South and Central American countries. I fear a lot of folks would really just be jumping out of the kettle and into a smaller hotter pot.

I am really hesitant to give specific advice on this one because its viability is so dependent on the country you plan to go to and your personal situation. The two most basic factors are probably economics and language. Do your business or job skills readily translate to the place you plan to go? Can you speak the language enough to really get along? Being able to order drinks and dinner and ask where the bathroom is works for a week on the beach but not for conducting business or earning a living.

I would say that these two questions go a long way towards answering the question of whether a potential move is a good choice for you. If the answer to both is yes then it may well be a viable option. You speak the language and can earn a living and thus can probably make it. If the answer to either one is no that is a problem. If the answer to both is no, unless you are facing likely death or detention, you would be well advised to find another destination or stay at home.

Other questions like immigration status are important. However if you can make money and speak the language it will, especially in a country that has fairly lax enforcement policies figure itself out eventually. Culture is important also and to be happy you need to not hate where you are. Do you share some traditions and religion with the locals? What is their view of random Americans? What is the security situation like? The last thing you want in a dangerous place is to be the supposedly rich white person everybody hates and targets that can’t afford good private security in a country where it is hard to get a gun.

Personally I would not hesitate to move to another region or country if it would drastically improve my family’s situation. However I would have to be pretty sure it would actually be an improvement. I can’t think of another country that, on the overall balance would be an improvement over the good ole USA and we are not particularly good candidates for that sort of transition anyway. There is a lot to be said for the devil you know.

Edited to include:
I stumbled onto FerFal being interviewed on Jack Spiro's Survival Podcast. I listened to most of it while making brunch yesterday morning. It is worthwhile to hit on some background. FerFal is a native of Argentina. He has been trying to get the heck out of South America for awhile and recently moved to Northern Ireland. Let's think about that. He speaks the language and is part of the culture and also has family and business connections. So his situation for moving to one of the various Central/ South American countries that folks speak about is vastly better than pretty much anybody living in the US who is considering moving to someplace in Central/ South America. He did not go to any of the places folks talk about online. Furthermore he mentions that many, if not all, of the people suggesting movining down there either have some sort of interest in the whole thing or are living stateside and while well intentioned, are totally clueless.

It is also worth noting that his goal was to move to America but he couldn't pull it off legally, despite trying for years. Yes a guy who has experienced an economic collapse and is a native of South America really tried to move to the US. Read that again and let it sink in for awhile.

He suggested that folks in the US first consider moving to another state that is more in line with their beliefs on gun rights, taxes, economic freedom, etc all.  While circumstances vary widely that is probably really good advice. States in the US vary widely in a lot of ways. For all practical purposes California and Wyoming (just to name a totalitarian dump and a pretty free place) could be different countries entirely.

Sort of on this topic Claire Wolfe linked to a site where you can supposedly (no reason to say it isn't on the up and up but I cannot verify it) get citizenship and a passport from the Dominican Republic for about 13 G's. That is nothing to sneeze at but it is an amount that a fairly average person could pull offwith some prioritization and planning.