Where will I call home?
As I pass four and a half years of travelling away from my home in London; I have been narrowing down where I will call home for at least the next 5-10 years.
Every country has its pros and cons, many of which are personal to the person rather than generic. Any decision on moving to a new country is a combination of balancing the left and right hand side of the balance sheet this type of life-changing decision brings.
London
Let's first look into the reasons why I personally left my home town of London, which is my birth place and home for the past 53 years.
Without any doubt, I still believe London to be one of the best cities in the world. I won't go into all the obvious reasons why, as most are self evident to anyone that has spent time living there.
If you are a city person like myself, there are not many other cities with the same qualities...New York, Sydney, Miami and Paris being clear examples. While other prime cities have different qualities, the sheer amalgamation of cultures in these prime cities is second to none.
London in many respects, is no longer the prime city that it used to be. The fake man made climate change agenda is in full swing. 20mph speed limits, congestion charging, rising parking fees etc. This because they claim 4,000 deaths per year attributable to bad air. The actual number (fact) is 1 person. Their narratives and lies keep growing every year while taxing those working.
Why would I continue wanting to live in such a dystopian city and country. Our once amazing Police Bobby was long ago replaced by militarised thugs. My taxes pay for continual wars and weapons killing millions....no thanks. If anyone still beLIEves that mass illegal immigration is an accident rather than planned...you have clearly not been paying attention. London, it's been a good run...but adios amigo.
The sad fact is, it's not only London, but all Western countries sharing the same narratives...if you beLIEve this is by accident or a coincidence, I assure you, it's not. In the US, which tends to have a more fluid relocation attitude, citizens are fleeing New York and California, moving to states that have less extreme laws, taxes and woke culture.
I also see the same narratives used to start World War I and II...I cannot be a part of this continual war machine. I could go on...rant over.
I hear you ask, will it be any better elsewhere? Maybe not, however some of my most important reasons will indeed be better.
While I do see myself at some point "retiring" to quieter pastures (the countryside or island life), I see this as a final destination if I manage to hit my mid 70s, I will then visit my favourite cities rather than live in one as a base. I love visiting nature and have appreciated it much more than I thought, I do however get bored after a while, whereas cities are constantly evolving.
During my last visit to London back in October 2022, I realised that I can treat my former home as a holiday destination. This somewhat surprised me, but I guess is a consequence of permanent travels and the person I have become.
My current plan is to have somewhere to call home again by the time I hit the tender age of sixty years young. I find it curious that my father chose a new country for economic reasons while in his fifties, I guess I can see what he could, history repeats itself!
Before leaving on my travels, I made a short-list of possible destinations, these included: Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Bangkok (Thailand), Cebu City (Philippines), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Mexico City (Mexico) and Medellin (Colombia).
I managed to visit all of them as planned, except Medellin due to the plannedemic. All for one reason or another, despite researching heavily prior to visiting, did not tick enough of my boxes.
Dubai
Many will be surprised, that my current top choice is Dubai, a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates. I have grouped my reasons for leaving the UK in order of my own personal importance, which conversely, are also the reasons for currently choosing Dubai.
Weather
Without a shadow of a doubt, the number one reason for leaving the UK is the weather. During one particular winter year, I counted the individual days of sunshine in a seven month period, the sunshine days added up to 30. That's not to say, that the 180 days were raining, but they were grey cloudy days.
I have come to understand the importance of sunshine in our daily lives for health benefits and natural vitamin D creation. The only way to achieve this is on a beach, wearing a pair of shorts and exposing most of your body to early morning or late afternoon sunshine. Our traditional two week holiday to the beach, is simply not enough to create long term health benefits.
During my travels I have been in the sunshine constantly and can clearly see the health benefits this has afforded me. Having said this, many countries I have visited are extremely humid, in the upper 80s and 90s all the time making you feel you need to take a shower every hour or so.
Having visited Dubai during its cooler months where the temperature for seven months of the year is mid-70s to mid-80s, without humidity, is a definite plus.
On the downside, there are five months between mid-may to mid-october, which are oven like in temperature. This means you either stay indoors with air conditioning or wait until the evening to go out, or as many people do, leave the country altogether.
Second on my list with a more reasonable weather profile, is Valencia in Spain. The weather is pretty much perfect all year round, however, there are other points which make this city less favourable. My current plan is to have a dual country living situation, with Dubai as my base and Valencia for the 5 summer months. Both of these cities have amazing beaches within walking distance of the city centre which is quite rare in the world.
We all have preconceived ideas of what the weather is like in other countries. However, until you download the historical weather averages into a spreadsheet, you don't know. I had originally planned to move to South Western France, however the weather is not that statistically different to the UK.
Food
I love good international food and I love to cook. Having access to good quality food, whether in markets or a great selection of international restaurants, is a top priority. While many European cities have a good selection of restaurants, on the whole, they are national rather than international in nature.
It's fair to say, the UK 20-30 years ago was not known for its great food. We can all remember the terrible cottage pies, backgammon, black forest gateaux or most famous of all, the ploughman's (a lump of cheese with pickles and white sliced bread). These infamous pub-grub dishes where not great at all.
Fortunately the UK adapted and has now some of the best food in the world, truly international in nature. Pubs have lost their sticky carpets and brown ceilings, and fully transitioned into gastropubs.
While the food in Italy etc., is indeed great, the majority of restaurants are variations of Italian etc. Even the biggest cities, cannot compare to London or New York in the sheer spectrum and number of diverse cuisines.
Culinary variation is extremely important to me, this I found abundant in Dubai due to its truly international nature and the fact that 85% of its residents are from over 200 countries.
Financial
Living and enjoying a decent life in London has unfortunately become only available to those with a decent level of income, which I would suggest is at least £100,000 per annum per small household. Unfortunately even at this level, the amount of take home pay after taxes is probably closer to £60,000. A recent article from the US indicated that, in the more expensive cities like NY, LA and SF. Earning $300,000, the equivalent of £241,000 felt like earning £80,000, when adjusted for the local cost of living.
While this level of income does indeed afford you the chance to take multiple holidays and city breaks every year and avail yourself to decent restaurants, theatre and concert performances. It doesn't help getting ahead in life as your wealth is roughly standing still or rising slowly every year.
Those fortunate enough to be paying higher income taxes are pretty much working for the government for around 180 days per year.
My advice to my younger self in my 20s, would have been to go to a country or take a job where your tax level is zero or extremely low, as it's currently very hard to get ahead in life in most Western countries. This situation is only going to get worse as most countries impose higher climate green fake taxes and wealth taxes aimed at destroying the middle class.
The cost of living in Dubai is by no means cheap when you look at the data, it's not that different to London. Supermarket prices for food in general, tends to be higher as everything is imported, however there are cheaper options upon further research.
Renting costs can be fairly high, so it seems a better proposition to outright purchase. Surprisingly, the cost of housing in fairly decent areas, can be cheaper than in London, however, monthly service fees are generally higher.
The tax structures in Dubai are generally very favourable to the individual with zero income or capital gains tax and corporate taxes of 9% for national entities, while offshore companies are taxed at zero.
Political
I mentioned in a previous article that when your home country, in my case the UK, shuts its doors to its own citizens, then a re-think is necessary as to what is home, for a home should always be a refuge.
This situation was not particular just to the UK, but Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United States and most Western countries during the plannedemic. Many of my favourite Asian countries were no different, clearly this was a global coordinated political strategy.
To use the word fascism to describe many of these countries is not used lightly, in that the governments have created a hidden partnership with the biggest companies in the world, where there is a revolving door between government roles and corporate ones.
The contracts awarded during the plannedemic to these private companies, making them seriously rich, will ultimately be paid by citizens via higher taxes and austerity, this is completely abhorrent to me.
Touching briefly on the woke culture that is sweeping the world. Common sense seems to have left the building, as we embrace policies designed to cancel anyone that disagrees with these minority views. Again, this is a global phenomenon, clearly planned and embraced by all governments and large corporations.
The sexual re-education of children in schools with materials not suitable to their age group is out of control. The gender reassignment of minors, not able to drink or vote, but able to legally castrate themselves without having to ask their parents, is utter madness. The destruction of women's sports with the introduction of trans athletes, casts aside the rights of women (50%) for a minority group (0.01%)...am I the one that is mad, or are the majority for not speaking out? Why would I want to send my children to these institutions of indoctrination?
It has also become quite fascinating, to watch governments change the meaning of words to suit current political narratives, this is really outrageous and an indication of where we are heading.
Sensorship Stasi...of course it should be spelt with a "C", however by using an S, we get "SS". Let there be no mistake, we are approaching 1938 Europe with the "SS" taking control of what can and cannot be said and eventually thought. If you have any doubt, you are simply incorrect, as there are policies currently in place in Europe and the US.
We live in a world where difference of opinion is no longer allowed, free speech swiftly dying and censorship becoming the norm. Rather than talking, we cancel and delete each other, strangely this often comes from those on the more "liberal" end of the political spectrum...how ironic, liberal in name only!
"Green" policies, again a global phenomena are designed to tax the normal working and middle classes out of existence, where only the rich will be able to eat steak, fly and drive their cars. The evidence is out there, 15-minute cities, charging by the mile, electric cars etc.
It's kind of ironic that I will be heading to a country that doesn't have these woke policies in place, in order to feel free once again.
Economical
It is no secret that we have entered a global economic depression the likes of which we probably haven't seen since the depression of 1929. There is also a shift in power I believe occurring from the West to the East.
Exactly what this means is hard to predict, but basically the economies of the East will be rising in power, while those in the West decline over the next few decades. This will obviously have severe economic consequences with standards of living declining.
Again, if I was my younger self, I would position myself towards Eastern countries to stand a chance of prosperity with those that have more favourable personal taxation policies compared to the ever rising Western wealth grabs that are occurring worldwide.
Legal
While the rule of law has been sacrosanct in many Western countries, we can clearly see that there are two sets of laws. One for the people and one for those in power. This two tier system is again completely abhorrent and against what a democratic country has stood for in the past.
Looking at laws abroad; South East Asian countries in particular, do not have freehold property laws for foreigners.
This was a major factor in not choosing one of the more popular countries such as Thailand or the Philippines. While some countries allow foreigners to purchase an apartment in designated blocks on a freehold basis, freehold land is generally not allowed. I suspect this is due to past colonial atrocities committed by Western countries which I completely understand.
While there are some legal structures in place to get around the laws, essentially you are leasing the land for 30 years, this is sometimes renewable for another 30, but essentially you have to hand back the land and any property you may have built upon it.
Poverty
The traditional route for many choosing a retirement country, is to choose one with a cheaper cost of living. Unfortunately many of these countries are cheap to Westerners, because the average wage is very low and therefore the poverty level high.
This can be quite difficult to see on a daily basis, as I have experienced. As a retired, seemingly rich person, I would be able to eat in nice restaurants, however, upon wandering outside, find people living on the street.
This is quite different to big cities, where the homeless generally account for a fairly small percentage of the population. In these emerging countries, many if not most, live on only a few pounds per day and so a much larger percentage of the population is poor.
This was indeed a factor in not choosing the traditional emerging countries many expats go to for, as seeing this poverty is very hard on the heart.
Hostel
My plan before starting my travels was to build a hostel. This was one of the major reasons for staying in hostels around the world to get an idea of what worked and what didn't. Unfortunately, the way I wanted to implement my vision didn't add up financially on multiple levels. While money was never meant to be a large part of the equation, businesses can only servive long-term if certain basics are in place. While I haven't given up on the idea and found a few other possible options, it is for now, on hold.
Conclusion
I hope this article may help others that are considering finding a new home in a new country. My reasons will probably differ to your own (apart from weather!); however, we are fortunate in the wealth of information available to us all...happy hunting.
