Come to Canada, the weed is legal
this post was submitted on 03 May 2025
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Asklemmy
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Canada is certainly tempting if only on the basis that I would be closer to my family, and my family closer to me. And the recent election results were very relieving. Weed is legal here too though, haha.
Yeah we're far from perfect, but for better or worse we would be to smallest culture shock (it would kinda feel like moving to a new state).
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Consider your education and professional background and how well you'll integrate in the workforce of whatever countries you're looking at. Look into general unemployment rates as well as for your specific area of expertise. Can you work remotely?
It's important to consider trends and trajectories, while countries like Ireland and whatnot may appear to satisfy a lot of these, they are also struggling with the same decaying Capitalist system and are being dragged down by US decay as well. Countries like China that are improving rapidly might be more worth considering.
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afghanistan
Privacy, food safety and environmental regulation basically mean Europe, but then Europe has crazy anti-migrant sentiment at this point. So, maybe one of the Scandinavian countries that's still relatively welcoming? Portugal might also track, if you don't mind a country that's economically moribund.
Toronto and Vancouver are expensive but you definitely get what you pay for
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Spain is kind of nice, based on your list. I've been considering it.
Same here. UK is done for.
Thanks, for some reason Spain has never been near the top of my consideration. I suppose that's because it's not one of those classic "top ten" type of countries that seem to always be at the top of lists of good things. But it seems the margins of improvement are slim between top 30 and top 10, so I'll have to look more into that.
I often recommend Spain for US emigrants, quality of life and cultural norms are similar, and Spanish is easier to pick up when you've heard it as much as you do from US media.
Netherlands and Scandies have a great reputation, but there's significant culture shock and you risk feeling more alienated for longer.
Was personally worked from Spain for half a year last winter and in my experience it is nice, but I found it harder to mingle with the Spanish at times. Their English was not amazing and it seems they have a tight knit community, with which I mean if you are not family it's hard to get in.
I personally would consider Portugal more. I have a few very nice Portuguese colleagues which maybe helps because they show us around when we're there, but in general I found it easier to connect to people there. And apart from the climate (Portugal can be very wet and a little bit cooler because of the ocean), they have all the good things Spain has (food, drink, a more laid back way of celebrating live). And they have pasteis de nata, which is a reason to live there in itself.
Just be careful with eating francesinha during lunch.
Spain vs Portugal is a tough one... Spain has better protections on paper but the people can be more vocal when opposing something they donΒ΄t like. Portuguese, in general, are far more amicable and genuine, specially outside the too touristic areas, but prospective for jobs to foreigners is slim outside the two main cities. Yes, Portuguese are far more amicable than Spaniards, but, like I mentioned in other post, the test is put when circumstance change, with the flock of foreigners buying property in Lisbon an Porto, they are far less welcoming there now too. For the long term, Spain, has a better track record, if you ask me.
Ireland ticks most of your boxes. If any of your grandparents are Irish you can get dual citizenship. English speaking and lots of cultural crossover etc.
Closer for trips back too. Think it's only a 5 hour flight to New York for example.
Just maybe don't practice your Cockney accent while there.... The locals seem to hate that accent, for some reason.
I'm in a similar boat and was considering moving to Ireland or Chile. In the end, I couldn't overcome the immigration requirements, so I decided to just move to a better state within the US. Not sure if it's the best option, but maybe that could also improve things for you.