Ack, I meant to say Spain’s unemployment has been HIGH. Of course, 20% is NOT low! And it’s HIGHER in Andalusia!
@miamidap << "Italy…If I could, I’d have a second home there. "
- Some homes in Italy were going for $1 relatively recently. Check it out.>>>
Really? lol …where? Naples? There’s a lot of crime there… Somewhere else?
My brother has a second home in Paris, so if I could get one in Italy (somewhere between Rome and Florence), we’d be set. lol
^^ In Sicily. They’re begging people to move there to take over empty houses.
those “1$” homes are in small empty towns in the south. Frequently damaged from earthquakes. Those little towns are desperate to get their population back. You buy the house with a promise to rebuild it. They are essentially unlivable. and take thousands of Euros to rehab. Kind of like buying a wrecked house in downtown Detroit for $100.
@HRSMom you and I are the only ones listing Mexico. I must say, though, that reading ‘Mexico City’ surprised me. I still have an image of it as crime-ridden. Tell me why you’d live there - maybe my image is skewed?
I’m eligible for UK citizenship, so I will probably go that route once I retire. Will I actually live there? Probably not, but I’d like the passport to allow for some longer stays and travels on the continent.
Those 1 dollar homes are likely to be the kinds of total tear down and renovate examples one might see in HGTV’s House Hunters International when they go to places like Italy and Croatia. When they walk into some of those structures, my mouth often falls open involuntarily. @-)
DDs and I are Swiss dual citizens. Will visit again next summer. Too much culture/language barrier for H. Never know what the future will hold. Yes even 3 generation of guest workers cannot get Swiss citizenship. Retained citizenship by filling out a one page form when married H. He checked out OK. I am first generation US. Some of siblings didn’t bother with the form when they married…
Mexico City is very rich in culture, history and $. It is modeled after Paris, and does look somewhat european. It is a very educated city.
It does have crime, but not like Tiajuana or anything.
Ireland. It’s just beautiful. I love the people, the music, the literature and the land. I’m not Irish, but my H is (not close enough in generations to get citizenship unfortunately.) But i’ve been there a number of times, and just felt happy there.
@HRSMom – Nice to hear your measured opinion of Mexico City. I’ve been there a few times, but it’s been more than 15 years since my last visit. I like Mexico in general, and love big cities, so at the time, I thought it was a terrific place. Clearly time to go back!
In spain, the inheritance taxes on property are confiscatory when u die. Non-spaniard europeans who retire in Spain, usually sell and move back to their home country to die.
Re Scandinavians and happiness: The polls always say that the Danes or other Scandinavians are the happiest people on Earth. I think the truth is probably that they are the least likely to be open and honest about their feelings of unhappiness when polled by random strangers.
If the literature, film and other art of the Scandinavian nations is any guide, the collective temperament would seem to be among the bleakest in all the world! (I’m currently engrossed in Knausgard, which is a perfect example of the bleak and obsessive temperament.)
I agree, @nottelling! Show me one example of joyful Nordic literature! (Astrid Lindgren doesn’t count.)
Victoria, BC - it’s in the rain shadow so it get less rain than Vancouver. Australia - either Adelaide or Perth. Singapore.
Canada, New Zealand are obvious places. My husband wouldn’t move to France, but I spent a summer there and would return in a heartbeat. If I could work at the sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica I would move tomorrow.
iceland, france, new zealand, but I’m not done exploring yet- will get back to you.
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Ack, I meant to say Spain’s unemployment has been HIGH. Of course, 20% is NOT low! And it’s HIGHER in Andalusia!
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ahh…Andalusia. I always think of the book, Driving over Lemons," by Chris Stewart…there was a lot of drinking going on…I think they were drinking pastis most of the day.
I was there the five years just before the wall came down. My friend were mostly my age, my boss was a former hippie who had camped on the beach with the Jefferson Airplane. Dh’s boss was young during the war. I was always surprised that no one seemed to have the least idea that Dh’s name was obviously Jewish.
For those of you who want to live in Spain: http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/mar/10/for-sale-spanish-village-free-right-owner