Joined: Jun 26, 2007 Posts: 1126 Location: The Canada of America
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:53 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
KingM wrote:
If times get tough, there are few people more resourceful than the Dutch, so you're better of staying where you are.
Barring that, you might consider Canada (if you don't believe there will be a return to the ice ages) or New Zealand (if you do).
The good news is, when the PO(o) hits the fan, we'll be annexing Vermont.
Joined: Jun 26, 2007 Posts: 1126 Location: The Canada of America
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 8:00 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
Plantagenet wrote:
I really enjoyed Switzerland when I was living in Europe. If I was going to return to Europe to live, Switzerland is the spot I would pick.
--Everyone is armed.
--Crime is low
This immediately becomes a disadvantage, however, if lots of people from the US show up with their attitudes about those combined points.
Plantagenet wrote:
--A long tradition of democracy and freedom
Unless you happen to be a woman, yeah...
Plantagenet wrote:
--A strong people who weren't conquered in WWII
Hey, the Germans needed somewhere to safely stash all that stolen artwork and the gold they took out of teeth in Auschwitz, no questions asked...
Plantagenet wrote:
--A wealthy society
See previous point.
Plantagenet wrote:
--Not in the EU so they can control their own immigration policy
and close their borders if they choose to do so.
--Great rail network.
--Good access to the rest of Europe
Points two and three here kind of put the lie to your first point when push comes to shove... like in, say, a Peak Oil crisis, for instance.
Joined: Jun 26, 2007 Posts: 1126 Location: The Canada of America
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 8:04 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
Frankly, fellahs, it's starting to look to me like the place to be in Europe with declining oil futures is Russia. Who'd'a thunk it? Maybe we shouldn't have treated them like a doormat for the past 20 years. They seem to kind of resent it now.
Joined: Jun 26, 2007 Posts: 1126 Location: The Canada of America
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 8:05 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
nocar wrote:
Quote:
--Not in the EU so they can control their own immigration policy and close their borders if they choose to do so.
Exactly. So how certain can Plantagenet be that Switzerland admits him?
Oh, he'll bring his gun. Y'know... "Switzerland, Switzerland, let me in!""Nicht by die hairen on unser chinny-chin-chinnen!""Then I'll root, and I'll toot, and I'll shoot your door in!" Yay, Second Amendment, yayyyyy...
Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 6:49 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
nocar wrote:
Bas & Steinar, you should note that Norway is not part of the EU and Bas might not be able to just move to Norway. However, being Dutch, Bas can easily move to Denmark, Finland or Sweden, live there for the required time to obtain citizenship and thereafter move to Norway. The Scandinavian countries have had a common labor market (and passport union) for their citizens since the 1950s.
nocar
An EU citizen can freely go/move to Norway at any time, no questions asked (and vice versa). This is due to the extensive EEA agreements between Norway/Lichtenstein/Iceland and the EU (particulartly the Schengen agreement). The extent of these agreements means that Norway is basically an EU member, minus the right to vote.
Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 7:29 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
auscanman wrote:
The worst countries in central/western Europe IMO: England (overcrowded, with a swelling dangerous, resentful underclass known as 'chavs'), and Belgium (serious underlying tensions between the two ethnic groups, combined with overcrowding)
So - putting several comments together - I appear to live in the worst part of the UK (England, we couldn't even feed ourselves) in one of the worst countries in Europe (UK), in one of the worst continents (Europe, over crowded and under resourced).
I can't see the European Union being of much help; national interests are too strong. Just as well Gordon ordered a couple more aircraft carriers this week! Mine's a double.
Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2584 Location: third from the sun
Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 7:35 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
energycity wrote:
I can't see the European Union being of much help; national interests are too strong. Just as well Gordon ordered a couple more aircraft carriers this week! Mine's a double.
Actually the EU could benefit England in many ways especially regarding food. Hint: the food is in the East. _________________ only the paranoid survive
Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 10:55 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
Quote:
'An EU citizen can freely go/move to Norway at any time, no questions asked (and vice versa). This is due to the extensive EEA agreements between Norway/Lichtenstein/Iceland and the EU (particulartly the Schengen agreement). The extent of these agreements means that Norway is basically an EU member, minus the right to vote.
I might be wrong, but I think there is a difference between being allowed to enter and obtaining a work permit, or employment permit. If you are independently rich, perhaps a work permit is no problem anyway.
Joined: Jun 26, 2007 Posts: 1126 Location: The Canada of America
Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 12:34 pm Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
nocar wrote:
I might be wrong, but I think there is a difference between being allowed to enter and obtaining a work permit, or employment permit. If you are independently rich, perhaps a work permit is no problem anyway.
nocar
EU and EEA member countries all have reciprocal rights as to movement, employment, and even voting. Except in a few cases (like national security), people in most of Europe now are pretty much free to move where they want and do whatever job is offered to them. _________________ I can has cheezburger?
Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 5:23 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
Thank you, good to be updated about the rules. In respect to Norway being part of Schengen, I know that the EU-people initially did not want Norway to be part of it. The Swedes of course said that was not practical (i.e. to make passport checking compulsory at the Swe-Nor border), and finally having seen the border between Sweden and Norway, the EU-people gave in.
Of course Britain is not part of Schengen - or has that changed? I remember getting into a horrendous queue when changing trains in Belgium a few years ago, because there were trains coming from Britain at that station.
Joined: Feb 02, 2006 Posts: 291 Location: Denver, USA
Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 6:02 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
Any thoughts about northwest Germany, around Munster or Rheine? I'm considering moving to that region for work with an international company. Seems like an agricultural area, which I like. _________________ "It is certain that free societies would have no easy time in a future dark age. The rapid return to universal penury will be accomplished by violence and cruelties of a kind now forgotten." - Roberto Vacca, The Coming Dark Age
Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 8:05 am Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
btu2012 wrote:
Actually the EU could benefit England in many ways especially regarding food. Hint: the food is in the East.
In good times the EU might function quite well; but in extreme times I expect to see resource nationalism. If you barely have enough food to feed your population are you really going to spare food for a fellow EU country that has even less?
Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 3:08 pm Post subject: Re: Best place to be/emigrate to within Europe
Energycity wrote:
In good times the EU might function quite well; but in extreme times I expect to see resource nationalism. If you barely have enough food to feed your population are you really going to spare food for a fellow EU country that has even less?
The EU will collapse, it's an artificial construct that has not got the history to survive very long in the dark times ahead. I think that even nation states will struggle to stay together if things get really really tough.
As for food you are obviously right. If a country is struggling to feed itself it's hardly likely to export food to its neighbours, EU or no EU. That's just simple survival common sense.
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