People ask me this question all the time:
“Simon, I really want to leave the country, but where should I go?”
Quite literally, there is a world of possibilities out there, each full of richness and opportunity. But as you could imagine, it depends on what kind of person you are. What would be a great expat haven for some seems like a hellish nightmare to others.
Over the years I have seen thousands of expats roaming in and out of different countries around the world. In my opinion, most expats fall into seven categories… and chances are you probably fit one of the molds as well:
PIONEER: You are an opportunity-focused expatriate, and you are willing to relocate solely for the prospect of making a great deal of money and doing something interesting. You think nothing of charging in to an almost native, potentially dangerous environment and care nothing of dilapidated infrastructure, squalor.
You are willing to learn the local language and don’t care if anyone else speaks English there… you love the almost lawless, wild west persona and can literally smell the money everywhere.
EXPEDITIONER: You are a classical traveler in the mold of British merchants and explorers– you want to make the journey overseas, but you want your amenities too, complete with a triple mocha latte.
You want to storm the plains of the Serengeti… with an armed guide. You want to see India up close and personal… then go back to your five star hotel.
In short, you want the richness of the expat experience, but you want it to be easy and painless.
RETIREE: You have had a full career and are looking for a switch… it’s not about playing golf every day (though there will be plenty of that), it’s about finding a new direction in life, taking new steps, and getting energized again.
You are looking for something worthwhile to throw your time and effort into, and you want to be surrounded by like minded people who are in a similar position in life. In a way, you want to turn back the clock and find a place that reminds you of home years ago– 1950s America, for example.
NOMAD: You are a permanent traveler. You roam the globe because there are simply too many amazing places to see, and abundant opportunities in each. You perhaps have a ‘home base’ somewhere, but you don’t see it for months at a time. You know people all over the world and enjoy making new connections and trying new things.
You count air miles as an asset and talk about ‘running down to Panama for a few days’ as if you were going down the street to pick up a quart of milk at the grocery store.
HERMIT: You shun contact with most of the world because they just don’t get it. You are passionate about your beliefs and are looking for a place where you can execute an agenda– growing organic food, preparing for social chaos, etc.
You are possibly interested in setting up a small community with like-minded souls, preferably away from major civilization where you can live your life without bother or interference from governments or corrupt social institutions.
INTERNATIONALIST: You are a smart, educated, opportunistic professional that is a cross between the pioneer and expeditioner– you thrive on opportunity but need some basic structure to feel comfortable… probably because you have a family or some other obligations beyond yourself.
As long as basic needs are met– safety, schools, healthcare, etc., you are happy and can focus on building a life and a new business.
HEDONIST: You have been successful in life and simply want to enjoy the fruits of your efforts over the years– wine, women, whatever else seems interesting. You almost feel like a kid again, free to jump on a plane to follow your favorite team, see an old friend, or make new ones.
You pick a country because of its opportunities for pleasure, and are always willing to explore new ones.
… so there you have it. In all honesty, most people can find elements of several categories but are generally dominant in one.
The places that you will probably find appealing depend on which kind of expat you are. We will explore these together in future letters, and I will use these categories as a reference point from now on when I write about cities and countries.
Think about which one you are and let me know what you think. Did I miss any?
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
How about conqueror?
Young, daring, naive, Far too ambitious…
A mix of pioneer and expeditioner on steroids and acid.
7 categories pretty well covers it. Couldn’t find mine, however, but guess
I was just one of the few refugees who could’nt stand Canadian Liberalism
any longer.
I ran a couple of small aviation companies in Northern Canada for over 3
decades. I somehow wound up on a Liberal hate list and endured several
very lengthy and expensive commercial crime investigations that were
meant to destroy my business. There was no basis for any of the challenges.
I finally could tolerate it no longer and moved my family to Mexico. What
a relief. I read the news of oppression and corruption in Mexico. There
may be some of that but it’s nothing compared to life under the likes
of Trudeau and Chretien. Thanks Simon. Enjoy your keen perspective.
Daryl, Which part of Mexico are you in? We have lived in Cordoba, Ver. and before that, Puebla City since 1988.
frankania Sorry for the delay in reply..didn’t see it til now. We live in
San Felipe, on the Baja Peninsula. We think that Mexico living is great!
The Canadian and US news networks paint a very distorted picture of Mexico while the root cause of the problem is really in those two countries. I have started a Mexican corp and don’t mind providing
general information to anyone seriously considering a move here. db
Simon, these 7 categories are the most brilliant thing you have come up with to date. It is exactly what has been missing from all prior Without Borders discussions, that failed to categorize Lebanon as being well-suited to Pioneers and Expiditioners, but ill-suited to Internationalists such as myself, whose basic needs include raising my kids on soil that is *not* ripe for a revolution, nuke attack, bird flu, illegal backyard garden legislation, or whatever.
A+ : very well done.
Brilliant…………I look forward to seeing how the cities you talk about fall within these wonderfully described categories. Thank you for such great work and also for sharing this with all of us.
I would add “Free Spirit.” Not a blazing adventurer, not ready (or not inclined!) to retire, not bogged down with family & responsibilities & concerns for kids’ school systems. Just want to live a peaceful, quiet, workaholic life under the radar instead of under the gun. Seeking to live by their values, and not by rules-and-regulations; free of taxaholic, control-freak governments. But not inclined to really rough it in some Wild West fantasy.
“workaholic life (for myself) under the radar instead of under the gun”
Nice!
There might be an eight: There is a new breed of “retiree” that I recieve frequent questions from – the unintentinal retiree; laid off due to economic conditions, too old to get hired and too young to be retired. They have a small nest-egg and need to invest wisely, or they will outlive their funds (which they certainly will do if they stay in North America). The Retirement Detective
That fits me to a T as I start to look for a home base either in SE asia
or Latin America. I’m a laid off baby boomer who seeks a fresh start. I just discovered this website and need answers to my questions about good relocation sites for a single man in 2010.
Good study Simon. Most people will recognize themselves, often as a combination of these categories — I did!
Thank you.
Simon,
What a great composite of “get out of here” paragraphs. Unlike one of your bloggers that indicated diffiuculty in identifying which category fit him, I was on the complete other end of the TEETER-TOTTER. As I made my way down through the generous list of possibilities, I found myself continuing to say, AH, that’s me.
Now you have created in this high mountain desert and almost 70 year old New Mexican, a brain that is wrestling with which of the paragraphs best fits. To my chagrin, I did not note that there were any detailed instructions regarding ranking or choosing two or three for further consideration. Maybe for those of your readers that are aged challenged, you might consider developing a concise and to the point group of one thru five instructions to go along with your missive.
Cheers and keep up the good work,
VIEJOOSO
Hi Simon. You missed the “Get out of Dodge” ex-pat. Needs to leave the country in a rush once some kind of threshold has been reached (not counting the “run from the law” crowd..).
Some examples might be someone just laid off looking for a new opportunity, someone whose relationship just crashed and burned and wants an escape to start over, someone in debt who needs to get out of town, someone who is mad as hell and can’t stand living here any longer, etc.
D
I was wondering if you could speak more about the travel and airline experiences and stories. For us who travel, It would be great o get a heads up on how to travel like a true international person. ailines, Flights, ect.
Thanks for all of your information
Will
How about tired and huddled middle class businessmen/women yearning to breathe free?
How about the near-retiree who has accumulated a pretty nice nestegg and had no plans or desires to get out of the USA until the hand-writing on the wall screamed that the socialist government has plans to grab my eggs in order to redistribute to their followers.
A return to the 50’s would be welcomed.
That would be me, as well, Whit.
How about a catch-all category called “Life and Freedom Lover”. This would include just about everyone whether they’re single, married, with or without kids, old, young, daredevil, survivalist, safety-seeker, etc. . . I actually see myself in each of the seven categories. I think all of us here want freedom, and we love life too much to settle for anything less. In addition, types like us are willing to take the necessary risks and, more importantly, take the responsibility to have and keep the freedom we crave and desire–which really should be ours permanently, the day we are born, for as long as we are deserving of it (as determined by a jury of our peers). Off the top of my head, this would specifically include: freedom from big government; freedom to choose how and when (or not) we use health care; freedom to grow and eat healthy food, drink pure water and breathe clean air; freedom to educate ourselves and our children any way we see fit; freedom to express and protect ourselves; freedom to practice religion or not; freedom to start our businesses without 200 different regulations to follow; freedom to not be forcefed anything we don’t agree with; freedom to know the whole truth and not just what a small group of media people and journalists think I should know; freedom to live under a litigious-free (common-sense) rule of law; freedom to keep what we earn; freedom to not be saddled with other people’s debt for the next five generations to come; freedom to not be treated like the govts (or anyone’s) property or chattel; and the freedom to not be mistreated by power-crazed legal and quasi-legal arms of a govt gone wild. I may have missed a few, but these are the current concerns that have led me to figuring out how become an expat with my family. Bottom line, we all just want freedom.
Hello everyone:
I have one wish Simon. You could get a bunch of us together and we would buy a whole island and have a true libertarian state of our own.
It may sound far fetched but it really is not. My perspective is that you would have a long line up of people who would jump at it and fast. Our North American freedoms are disappearing rapidly and there must be something better than scattering all these freedom loving independent folks to the four winds.
Call it Atlantis the 2nd but find an island big enough Simon and count me in. Anyone else in favour say I.
Action is the answer.
If there are enough folks interested we could communicate and get this off the ground.
I second that about the private island for libertarians. I will purchase a citizenship and come along.
Mary, Caroline, “liberty island” nuts:
To get things rolling, I propose building a small Kasbah in Ubud, Bali, near the international Waldorf “Green School”. If we could get a dozen such projects off the ground, worldwide, then we could trade them, or travel from one to the next, which would first get everyone out of Dodge, and then buy them plenty of time to figure out their next move, in the comfort of a reasonably secure condo-like group residence project.
http://rauschenbach.us/node/623
Doug’s got part of what I see missing. I’m thinking of refugees as a broader category. They are getting out of Dodge, but not by choice–and maybe under real threat from others. That could be political, religious, legal (as in lawsuits or criminal law), economic disincentives (as in taxes or nationalization of their industry) or just afraid they are going to be.
I, for one, love the US. And I miss it when I’m gone. But I bailed out a decade ago, and now my home is in New Zealand, and I’m looking to establish another base in Panama. Yet the draw of family in the US is really strong now, so we’ve rented a place in Albuquerque and spend about half time here. At the same time, if things get hot, we’re out of here. No stockpiling for shortages, civil unrest, or legal terrorism.
So I suppose that makes us refuges with our own personal lifeboat tied to the stern, who keep jumping back on board a doomed Titanic, because the company and the parties are so good!
I’m an almost retiree and would love info on what countries would work.
Great Assessment! I am sure there are cross patterns but I am impressed with your wisdom at such a young age. I guess thats why you are succesfully developing a following that waits for your next treatment. Your developing a dependence that is scaring me as though Im on drugs waiting for the next e-letter. Good Living my man!
Steve
Hello Simon —
Thank you for thinking and writing as you do. As an expat with who has lived in five countries on four continents, I applaud your analysis, and I look forward to your daily messages in my email.
I am writing to suggest that three important categories are missing from the list above. Unfortunately, these categories could have serious and negative effects on other expats.
CRIMINALS ON THE RUN: These are the crooks and thugs who are one flight ahead of the law back in their own country, but they managed to get over the border just in time. They now prey on other expats in distant lands.
DRUNKS AND DRUGGIES: Many expat destinations are more liberal and forgiving toward anyone who can afford to buy liquor and drugs. The “users” know this and become expats.
FEMINAZIS: While expat living attracts mostly men, there are some females who want a better climate or cheaper cost of living. Many bring their “womens’ studies” training with them, and behave out here like they did at home. If they see a man who is obviously enjoying himself in the expat environment, they go on the attack.
The good news is that most of those three negative types are easy to spot and possible to avoid. Most but not all.
One must be alert at all times, especially when around other expats. All expats are NOT my friends. Over the years, I’ve learned to be very cautious around other expats.
My biggest surprise as an expat has been the difficulties of making new friends among other expats. Finding the right sort of friends has been a long, slow, process, but possible. I have observed that most men of the better sort of expats just disappear once they get out here. You don’t see them in daily life. Once in a while you notice a few men — decently presented and in the company of local ladies — at the nicer restaurants, but they clearly are not looking to make new friends. I suspect they are very aware of the three additional categories I mentioned above.
– Peter
writing from The Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia
.
Couldn´t agree with you more Peter. After 15 years here in my little corner of Central America my (local) wife & I only “enjoy” the company of perhaps 2 or 3 expats. My findings are the same as yours, and I enjoy the richness of my private life.
Jeff
left usa after 40years ,clowns like bush and cheney made me think there must be something better.came to thailand no U S bs,weather good, fairly inexpensive,but if you cant live with corruption to the hilt this is not the place for you.Double standards by cops AlWAYS in favour of the Thais.Close your eyes and you will enjoy the place
WOW!!!
Nice collection of individualists and free thinkers. That is
what your missives and this site illicit.
As I perused down the list, would say almost all of the
categories tickled my mind or body at least in one place.
Like many others, the uniqueness of each individual
city/region/country is what draws us to tavel, to find the
very best place for each one of us. So many wonderful
places and cultures that we sort of keep traveling looking
for the next friend to be and opportunity to do successful
business.
As was once said ” to have never traveled is like reading
only the first chapter of a book”.
As I now say “freedom is a decision, opportunity is the result”.
Our life is an occasion, so rise to it and make lemonade, vin
santo—————whatever you want.
Mary, does your island operated on a gold based monetary system? Like the idea, only problem I can see is that by banding together you become identifiable and thus a potential target, versus blending in to a host culture.
Get out of Dodge, Freedom Lovers, Refugees….all these capture some aspect of what is missing. Your Hermit is close, but some may not have an “agenda” to execute via relocating other than getting oneself to safety. I’d say protection from government thievery and thuggery is at the top of the list of why some people want to go offshore. Mobility affords a certain level of protection from predatory, parasitic governments. Maybe instead of the concept of “fleeing” something or “escaping” government interference, the idea of a Moat Builder (like around castles) is appropriate. Instead of running from something, these folks are, more accurately, putting themselves out of harm’s way and fortifying their position(s). They might even continue trying to right the wrongs, while they also do their best to avoid being a victim of the corrupt institutions.
I’m with Mary and Bron. And, to address Bron’s concern, why worry about the matter other than to say that free and sovereign individuals should be left alone to conduct their transactions with whatever medium of exchange they mutually agree upon – in other words, let the free market work its will. Absolutely no legal tender laws. With time various commodities, especially silver and gold, and private script verifiably backed by such commodidites would probably emerge as the currencies of choice. Simon, thanks for providing this interesting forum.
As I read the categories, I wondered about the “philanthropist”, the Mother Teresas, peace corps, Albert Schweitzers, that want to help the poor wretched masses without expectation of a big payoff(in this world). Seems closest to pioneer with the “do something interesting”. But no money to be made. Is there a better category for those people or additional? Or perhaps the pioneer could be not necessarily after the money?
Boquete Panama
the best possible situation as we speak is Boquete
the morning i got to my hotel the Garden Inn
wich is an amazing B&B to try
temperature is the best and many possibilite for negocio ,
many good restaurant time to buy a house there you must go visit the place
i just finish 2 year in the zoo panama city and compare to that WOW
now we are taking oportunite over there
and the reception of Panamanios is greater then the city
Sold jets, ran an international business putting wealthy people behind the wheel of exotic cars at race tracks, imported clothing from Chile in the 80’s, lived overseas off and on, traveled around the world at 13 with my grandparents- my youngest child is four years from finishing high school then I plan to live on and off a boat as a PT I would say cross between Expeditioner and Nomad- don’t need as much structure as an Internationalist anymore. Really would like to get out of the US financially and as a citizen. I recently got defined (Ha!) as an agora anarchic libertarian, think that fits, really like your newsletter.
Hi Simon,
Being a double Virgo (Earth Sign), both my Sun and my Moon are in Virgo; and with my name meaning “gardner” in Polish, but with a restless ( Rising Sign ) in Sagittarius (Fire Sign), I would
fall predominantly under the Retiree – Hermit categories, with occasional cabin fever forays into the
exciting world of the nomadic-hedonist, but only for weeks which end in a full moon! The rest of the time is for flying, fishing, golfing, reading ( whatever I like) Renaissance Lit. major at Northwestern,
growing my own salads, citrus and nuts and preparing and eating gourmet meals with local wines
(from my own vineyard and bartered for variety), and exploring the nearly uninhabited and savagely exotic terrain of N. Eastern Argentina and the area around the headlands of the Andean cordillera in my L.I. battery powered Electraflyer Trike, which qualifies as an ultralight aircraft, and
as such, requires no pilot’s license and is restricted to low density population areas and daytime flying only, which is exactly what I want to do. I’ll be doing it in stealth mode as the trike is virtually silent except for the whispering whoose of the push prop as it pushes me along at 75 to
105 k/hr. depending on wind. And with the help of abundant thermals in the upper deserts and
foothills of the cordillera, I will be able to cut the engine entirely and rise as high as the thermal will take me, just like a hang glider, only with power to land wherever I choose. And soon there will
be fabric solar collector material that will extend my range indefinitely as I cut the tether of the electric outlet for recharging the battery pack, which now gives about 2 hrs. of cruising power.
Just let your imagination fill in the next few paragraphs.
I am planning to visit Panama on my way to the grand opening festivities at La Estancia de Cafayate, where I will begin building my little hobbit hole, which will serve as home base in-
between cabin-fever excursions. While there I will be taking your advice and my old friend
Doug Casey’s advice and dropping off some of my pm assets. When are you going to have those
contacts ready? I’ll be needing them within a months time. After taking care of this important business, I will be proceeding to Salta Province via my 1998 Dodge 1/2 ton truck, which I will have
had shipped to Panama City for the journey. I will be accompanied on the “roadtrip of a lifetime”
by a very old friend of mine. This guy is a 2-time Viet Nam Marine non-com vet with a very interesting and
still compelling story behind his 3 purple heart tours of duty. The ending of the story has just recently been written, and after 40 years of perseverance and needless suffering, I am happy to
be able to report that it was a happy one. Semper Fi! I would be happy to relate the details at
another time, if you are interested. You should be! I’ll even buy the drinks!
I would be interested in your opinion about my roadtrip, as I will be driving through Medellin, Chile, Bolivia and Peru on my journey. Any advice? Warnings? Good bars along the way? We will be sleeping in the back under a camper shell covering a carpeted and foam padded truck-bed; a
mode I have been perfecting for many years. It goes pretty much like this: no tight schedules,
as opportunities to “get tight” take precedence over “getting there” on time. Getting there will
be the eventual goal, but following the call of the open road and the opportunity for adventure will not be a slave to it. Fun rules the day. This will be tempered by my belief in this little phrase I
modeled my lifestyle after, having seen it on the wall at Little Annie’s in Aspen. It said: “Excess
in Moderation”. It has served me well as a model for living my life ever since seeing it during my late twenties ’til now, in my early sixties. Luckily, my Polish constitution helped me to emerge
from my twenties more or less physically and mentally intact. It has kept me that way ever since.
Advice on shipping my truck and any contacts for such, and for stashing my pms will be appreciated and remunerated with thanks. A short reply would be appreciated. Thanks, Og
Hi,
Like your insights and style. Very much like the reports from Shanghai. Christine is on the ball!!
I am mostly nomad (30 years of backpack travel with work in between trips). A little bit of hermit(no agenda or utopian community ideas) but don’t like the idea of gov’t and regulation. I don’t need some dickhead bureaucrat or politician to tell me how to live.
Would like to get to hedonist.
Pretty good list of 7.
Keep on!!!!
You forgot a category quite of our times :The psycho-paranoid, uninformed, unexposed and provincial who thinks the U.S./Canada/the U.K. or whichever European first world country they hail from is the worst place on earth to be. That is, until they reach their utopian destination and find out there are no Walmarts on every town, no McDs on every corner, and quality consumer goods cost thrice as much. And regular homes come without washer and dryer! And central heating/AC are not the rule but a luxury!
I am one day hopping to fall into the nomad catigory but as of right now I have never left the country. I’m currently saving money to try and move but I am having a hard time figuring out where I want to go. I plan on leving with about $7,000 and looking for work where ever I end up. I prefer somewhere tropical but I am willing to go almost anywhere I think I could find work. Any suggestions would be helpful and much appreciated.
In 1988 I came to Mexico at the age of 48, taught English, built houses, bought land and planted 9000 pine trees, opened a B&B which we run here in Cordoba, Veracruz. Places away from the coasts have a great climate, cheap housing, food, and especially dental/medical care. Almost nobody here even has insurance of any kind:
health (paying cash is best),
house (mostly masonry, no fires nor termites)
automobile (mechanics and doctors are cheap) though we do carry small liability policies on our vehicles.
Hope this helps people considering expatriation!
Love this stuff!!!Libertarian lifestyle options! Thats what makes traveling and travelers, so damn interesting. Keep this stuff coming everyone. My backpack is ready and I’m ready to continue spreading the libertarian word!!!
I interview ex-pats for a living. You forgot a HUGE one. It’s honestly the biggest one: following a girlfriend or boyfriend or husband or wife. That covers about 50% of all ex-pats. It’s not as high-brow as these bold, free spirited freedom loving categories, but it’s true.
I am beyond a shadow of a doubt 100% PIONEER. I’ve lived here in Colombia 1/2 since 2006 and full time since 2008. I’m opportunity driven and while I greatly appreciate the finer things in life, I have no problem blazing a trail for others and creating a network 100% organic from the ground up.
I particularly help astute men “Find Their Own Never Never Land” by helping them answer the biggest expat question I seem to come across: ‘where to go?’.
Great insight, Simon. I like your content as well. By all means, keep up the good work.
Regards,
Fiercely Independent John Nada
Awesome… I can easily put myself in the Internationalist category.
The only time I really want to be a pioneer is when I visit Africa or Argentina! You can just tell there are so many amazing opportunities in both. But with a baby, living in either place becomes a risk that I am willing to take but one that I cannot force upon my family.
I started off as a pioneer and have now gone back to the US to get my teaching license. I couldn’t handle the chaos after three years and needed some basic structure. Guess I’ve turned into an internationalist. These categories seem right on!
For a start (for “Americans”) at least, I would recommend reading the various books by Richard Florida, such as ‘Rise of the Creative Class’.
Although US-centric, the perspective may provide a bit of a springboard to relocate WITHIN the US whilst working on getting OUT of the US.