Looking to move to the UK, Australia, or New Zealand. The USA's going to hell in hand basket, soon they will be requiring everyone to have an RFID Implant, all in the "fight against terrorism".

I'm starting to get seriously tired of the invasion of privacy and lack of respect for human rights. It's time to leave and take my tax money with me.

Quote from KeiichiRX7 :

Looking to move to the UK, Australia, or New Zealand. The USA's going to hell in hand basket, soon they will be requiring everyone to have an RFID Implant, all in the "fight against terrorism".

I'm starting to get seriously tired of the invasion of privacy and lack of respect for human rights. It's time to leave and take my tax money with me.

For UK, read USA Clone at the moment...If I had half a chance I would go for New Zealand.

It would probably be easier to move if you claim that you are a political refugee, and no, I am not being funny.

UK is better, but going the same way.

Personally? I'd go for Oz, but they are aparently quite stringent on letting people in - if you couldn't get in then New Zealand might be a good bet.

Definitely don't pick the UK. We Brits are also being duped into tagging along with US foreign policy (although Brown and Milliband seem a bit less keen than old Tony was on overspending to secure oil sources and defend Israel), plus we are having serious privacy issues right now.

If you're a die-hard lefty, the Netherlands still seems to be about the best choice.

Yeah, but i dont speak dutch, so that's an issue

I bet you'd learn pretty quick if you moved there. Vic would probably help with your Jedi training.

England isn't far off US standards right now, only hear they dress it up in fancy speech, it is all the same thing. They want to bring out ID cards that have biometric data about you on it, in fact EVERYTHING about you, from birth to death, plus when the idea was first put forward they wanted to put tracking chips in them so they know where you are (though I suppose if you have to use it to get around they would anyway).

Plus some guy put forward the idea of putting RFID chips in packaging so they can track who buys what items and then who throws the packaging in the streets so they can bill you for it.

Add onto that the RFID chip in dust bins so they can weight how much trash each house throws away so they can bring it a cost based on weight system. Before you know it they will want to know how often you shower, and bill you accordingly.

Other than that great country, but if I lived out side of it I would never want to live here. But because I am here, I love the place.

Quote from KeiichiRX7 :

I'm starting to get seriously tired of the invasion of privacy and lack of respect for human rights. It's time to leave and take my tax money with me.

Forget the UK then.
* You're on CCTV over 300 times a day[1] (and that stat is from 2002 - on the same page they predict a tenfold increase in CCTV cameras by 2007).
* Automated speed cameras, licence/insurance cameras, and soon "track your every road movement and charge you accordingly" cameras.
* Biometric ID cards are still being mooted, that us as citizens have to pay for.
* You can be held for 30 days without trial, and they're trying to increase it to 90 days.
* No-one will revolt or protest too loudly as we're all too afraid it'll single us out, ruin our lives, put us in jail as terrorists or people just don't care.

Oh, and for a nation that goes on about how bad the weather is, when Mother Nature blinks half the country is at a standstill.

However, on the upside, if you like a good whinge about something then we're your people.

[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1789157.stm

Well, how about Canada? Or is it too near, or don't you simply like your northern neighbors?

Tony Montana was a "polical refugee from Cuba" look at him now! Dead, unless ofcourse they bring a video game out about you and you can come back to life again

UK rules, high taxes in Oz, they pay 40% iirc to our 17.5%.

Hadn't thoguht of that one

Quote from KeiichiRX7 :

Hadn't thoguht of that one

Canada was quite nice when I went there. Toronto was a great place, Ottawa was nice but seemed far more "country" and relaxed.

Quote from Christofire :

* Automated speed cameras, licence/insurance cameras

one reason why I love living in County Durham, No speed cameras - rarely a mobile one and I mean very rarely, no licence/insurance cameras either - or I've never seen one and I'm driving to various places around the area at least once a day!

Too many places are nice for a workless break with a few hundred quid in your back pocket.

When you have to work, it become to so unenjoyable. So holiday destinations are a no-no.

Australia for example.

Quote from Christofire :

Oh, and for a nation that goes on about how bad the weather is, when Mother Nature blinks half the country is at a standstill.

That is because when people see snow they react like this. Personally I like bad weather, it is mostly city goers who get too scared to move, everyone else continues like normal.

Quote from The General Lee :

UK rules, high taxes in Oz, they pay 40% iirc to our 17.5%.

Oh don't kid yourself. Yes we've got 17.5% VAT on just about everything we buy, but I bet if you tried to count all the other taxes you pay you couldn't even do it. We're one of the most highly-taxed nations in the world.

I've always wanted to goto New Zealand, beautiful place. Except, those volcanos are ticking timebombs so I hear......

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Oh don't kid yourself. Yes we've got 17.5% VAT on just about everything we buy, but I bet if you tried to count all the other taxes you pay you couldn't even do it. We're one of the most highly-taxed nations in the world.

I can only think of council tax, income tax, road tax, petrol/diesel tax, alcohol tax, cigarette tax, Nation Insurance, and VAT. I'm sure I am missing some.

Come to Canada, it's a nice bunch here! I moved from England 8 years ago and I really enjoy it here, and wouldn't move back, although I do miss the motorsports from the UK!

is there any place in Canada that it won't snow? i dislike the snow, all white and grrrr, thinking about it gives me chills.

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

I can only think of council tax, income tax, road tax, petrol/diesel tax, alcohol tax, cigarette tax, Nation Insurance, and VAT. I'm sure I am missing some.

Well you forgot the TV license for one. But yeah just add up income tax, national insurance (for some bizarre reason not called "tax"), VAT on your average spending in a given year, council tax and see what percentage of your income all that works out at.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Well you forgot the TV license for one. But yeah just add up income tax, national insurance (for some bizarre reason not called "tax"), VAT on your average spending in a given year, council tax and see what percentage of your income all that works out at.

Damn, how could I forget that one, the govt. bangs on about it enough, they even waste tax money to give every student at Salford HUGE information packs/goodie bags to inform us about the TV Licence. Tax money well spent as from what I gathered, no one paid for one on the campus I lived in.

The trouble with England is tax is hidden so we don't notice it.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Oh don't kid yourself. Yes we've got 17.5% VAT on just about everything we buy, but I bet if you tried to count all the other taxes you pay you couldn't even do it. We're one of the most highly-taxed nations in the world.

Taxation rates alone are misleading since they don't account for other factors such as user fees, insurance premiums and other costs of living. I've lived and worked in Canada, the UK and the US and, in my experience, when you roll all the taxes, user fees, insurance premiums and other costs of living together, you spend roughly the same percentage of your income for an equivalent standard of living with equivalent levels of service.

Quote from RiGun :

is there any place in Canada that it won't snow? i dislike the snow, all white and grrrr, thinking about it gives me chills.

Nope. Unless you travel millions of years back in time; apparently when all the land was one continent Canada was a tropical zone.

Is it the snow or the cold you dislike? In Ontario we don't get much snow (right in the Toronto area, anyways) but it's effin friggid here in the winter. Out West (southern BC and Alberta) there's a hell of a lot of snow, but it's much much milder. Plus out west you get the chinooks (hot breezes of air?) which can drive the temp up to 25 degrees celcius at times, in the middle of winter. God I wish I could afford to move out there right now