If X happens, I'll move to another country...

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
I can't narrow it down to one country off the top of my head but for the sake of furthering the discussion I would consider a flat tax structure and a populace valuing freedom as important criteria. Countries recently under the Soviet boot heel, say Georgia, come to mind. Being that close to Putin would have to be carefully weighed, of course.

Czech Republic or Poland perhaps?

Originally posted by FMF
The premise is that you do move to another country and not that you start a new one. It would be interesting to hear you tell us about which one it would be.

My sentiment can be best be sumed up by the song "Imagine"

Imagine there is no nanny state
Its hard if you try
No bureaucrat to dictate to us
How we should live and why
Imagine all the people, with hope for the future and not just today

Imagine there are actually soveriegn countries
It's even harder to do
There are actually things to die for
Like liberty that our souls long for and decry
Imagine all the people, not sacrificing liberty for peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
And with the media and demogoguary, however
I may now be the only one.
But I hope someday you will join me
And the world will not be forced to live as one.

Originally posted by whodey
My sentiment can be best be sumed up by the song "Imagine"
...[changed song lyrics]...

Something in the spirit of the OP would be more interesting, whodey.

Originally posted by FMF
Czech Republic or Poland perhaps?

If they have flat income tax rates that's a plus (don't want an additional VAT though). Where can a guy go to get a flat income tax rate, a small govt that will not waste my money on corruption and other boondoggles, where by law I can keep and bear firearms for hunting and personal protection, and where the locals won't hate me for being an ugly American who doesn't know their language?

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
If they have flat income tax rates that's a plus (don't want an additional VAT though). Where can a guy go to get a flat income tax rate, a small govt that will not waste my money on corruption and other boondoggles, where by law I can keep and bear firearms for hunting and personal protection, and where the locals won't hate me for being an ugly American who doesn't know their language?

I feel a P.J.O'Rourke-inspired song coming on - where's my pen!!

spruce112358 might have an idea about the tax regimes in the region you've mentioned.

There is some gun ownership data here:

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

Looking down the top 20 or so on that list, I'm not sure I see a country for you... or?

Originally posted by Sleepyguy
If they have flat income tax rates that's a plus (don't want an additional VAT though). Where can a guy go to get a flat income tax rate, a small govt that will not waste my money on corruption and other boondoggles, where by law I can keep and bear firearms for hunting and personal protection, and where the locals won't hate me for being an ugly American who doesn't know their language?

Antarctica.

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
Antarctica.

And where would you go PsychoPawn, if the last straw were to land on your back?

Originally posted by FMF
I feel a P.J.O'Rourke-inspired song coming on - where's my pen!!

spruce112358 might have an idea about the tax regimes in the region you've mentioned.

There is some gun ownership data here:

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

Looking down the top 20 or so on that list, I'm not sure I see a country for you... or?

Hm. Maybe a cross reference of that list with the economic freedom index would yield a list of options to explore. Maybe New Zealand as they speak English there? Anyway, can't do it right now and my battery is about to die on this device, but that's something other than snark for your thread. You're welcome 🙂

Originally posted by FMF
I will set this poser for you and then count myself out as I already did this myself over 20 years ago, after a fashion, anyway.

Assuming you're now in the country where you feel you belong, and something dreadful happened - politically - the "X" in the thread title - something you simply could not stand for [doesn't matter what it is, chuntering on about wh ...[text shortened]... to offer that country?

And what would you expect to be the problems you'd face there?

My wife and I just participated in a one-day mapping of our travel around town, logging every origin and destination location and arrival time, purpose of trip, mode of travel, who drove, etc. This was for regional transportation planning purposes. Things like bus routes can be adjusted. They offered a small percentage of the participants a GPS tracker, to help. We weren't offered that, so it was all by hand, adding a couple of minutes to each leg of our day's travel. We each had to keep a log, because our travels might diverge later in the day; which they did.

At one point along the way, I thought, a totalitarian government could demand that all residents keep such a log, up to date to the minute, and be prepared for it to be examined by police, any time they wanted. Checkpoints could be set up. All vehicles could have GPS devices. Or everyone's identity card could have one. Being in public without the ID card could be a crime; or being in an unapproved place could be, depending on your "civilian record."

This is the kind of situation I would flee, if I could. And some radio commentator type could say I am obviously the guilty type, why would law abiding citizens object to this?

Such a regime would obviously have other controls in place -- automatic wiretaps, etc. etc. I also do not think it is that far-fetched that somewhere, someday, this could happen. But I'm not paranoid -- It will not happen where I live, anytime soon.

Obviously, I would go somewhere that offers more freedom, where I would get along culturally. It's not important to name the country, in this what-if scenario.

Originally posted by FMF
I will set this poser for you and then count myself out as I already did this myself over 20 years ago, after a fashion, anyway.

Assuming you're now in the country where you feel you belong, and something dreadful happened - politically - the "X" in the thread title - something you simply could not stand for [doesn't matter what it is, chuntering on about wh ...[text shortened]... to offer that country?

And what would you expect to be the problems you'd face there?

Where: I'd go to Canada. Windsor, Canada, to be specific.
Why: It's right across the river. I wouldn't be that far from my family.
Offer: We'd be model Canadians. Honest. My wife lived in Canada for several years as a child. Looking forward to voting for the NDP.
Problems: I don't like hockey.

Originally posted by JS357
Obviously, I would go somewhere that offers more freedom, where I would get along culturally.

Interesting. I didn't "go somewhere that offers more freedom". I moved to a less free country and completely rethought what challenges I wanted to face. I ended up doing relatively tiny but tangible things, safely, in a less free country (Indonesia) that has been moving in the right direction, rather than fidgeting and fuming powerlessly and riding the hamster's wheel safely in a freer country (Britain) whose direction I could no longer fathom.

Originally posted by JS357
It's not important to name the country, in this what-if scenario.

It would be interesting to hear what actual countries you might think fit your criteria.

Originally posted by FMF
And where would you go PsychoPawn, if the last straw were to land on your back?

Probably Canada.

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
Antarctica.

Nope, the polar bears are all left winged environmentalists thanks to Coca Cola.

Mars anyone? Then again, it is know as being the "Red Planet". That can't be good. 😞