No. of Recommendations: 7
Actually, I specifically omitted real estate for a reason. Yes, all things being equal, there have been real estate opportunities that I passed on that would exceeded any profit that I've made in the stock/bond market (like turning down buying a commercial property for $350K in 1984 which sold for $250M in 2005, etc.). La vie, they say.
While there is "generational wealth" which can be accumulated in home ownership, I have traded the accompanying inconvenience of a home for a rent-stabilized apartment for the past five decades, so instead of my money growing in a house, I pay a ridiculously low rent and let it accumulate elsewhere.
The other reason I have psychologically avoided home ownership is that I have a distrust in things always going well. That has been a driving force in my initial bouts of currency trading and then ended up with that money invested abroad.
So, avoiding all mention of politics, it is safe to say that the geopolitical/socioeconomic climate of the US has taken some dramatic turns recently and, being an amateur student of history, the (in the clutches of post-COVID manic emotions) world is beginning to rhyme with that of the (post-WWI/Spanish flu manic emotions) 1920's as it moved into the grimmer 1930's.
So, Said's quandary becomes very germane. If the US is no longer a friendly place to spend my dotage, that opens the world to careful examination. Based on recent events in Ukraine, combined with the US no longer being an unimpeachable ally (not to mention a potentially hostile agent if it decides to annex Greenland), as well as the more frequent rise of right wing politics there, let's cross Europe off the map.
Canada is a possibility (I would opt for Vancouver, rather than Toronto as, even though it rains too much, at least it doesn't tend to get cold), but again, the US has expressed a desire to absorb it.
Other than Botswana (and that's too insular for my tastes), despite my enjoying travel in Africa, there is nowhere I would feel safe enough to permanently move to. In South America, I would say that maybe Uruguay might be safe enough, but that's also a bit of a stretch.
In Asia, Singapore is certainly a possibility. I love Japan, but living there would be like living on Mars, likewise India.
That brings us to Australia and New Zealand. NZ is peopled by the nicest folks on earth. It is also at the far end of the earth and an oxymoron for someone who likes to travel. Australia is a bit easier to reach, but still a stretch and, in the absence of the US appreciating its allies, could experience problems from China. We're heading to both Anzac countries at the beginning of the year and will be keeping our eyes open.
At least, to move, all we have to do is turn over the key to the apartment, kiss our rent security goodbye and get on a plane.
Jeff
