Wanting to Retire and move out of Florida

[tobethebest]

What state, country, island, whatever place that you feel is somewhere you would like to retire to and live happily ever after. I have been looking into Costa Rica and the more I read the less I like. I like the temperatures, though I don't speak a word of Spanish. I like the area we selected because it is full of religous cathedrals and places my wife would like to be a part of. Shipping is ridiculous, residency is ridiculous. Paying to have my own car shipped only gives me ninety days before I have to acquire permission to drive it another ninety days. Housing isn't as affordable as I thought, anywhere from $500,000 to as low as $50,000. The streets are bad, but the temperatures are unmatched.

Please, does anyone know an area of the world where temperatures stay in the seventies year round and moving doesn't take the life out of me to get it done? NO FREEZING TEMPERATURES, thank you. Been there, done that.

Florida is in the nineties almost six months out of the year. It is getting unbearable for folks my age. I don't like this present administration and I think things are going to get worse before they get better. Gun laws, medication laws, immigration laws, etc. We are now, as I saw recently number fourteen on the list of countries most desirable to live in.

 

[Faulty]

I know many favor New Zealand.

 

[Biblicist]

As this is supposed to be the Charismatic Non-Word of Faith forum, I think that I can safely prod my Pentecostal Kiwi neighbours by saying – You must be kidding, it’s way too cold down there.

He might want to try upper New South Wales or maybe South East Queensland here in Australia though SE Queensland can be a bit humid in summer. Where I live in Melbourne, we have supposedly been voted the most liveable city in the world a couple of times over recent years (not sure by who) but our weather can be both a bit chilly and unpredictable; though we thankfully don’t have any floods, hurricanes etc. On the hot side, we did reach 50 degrees (122 Fahrenheit) a couple of years ago but as it was so hot I don't think that our senses were working much past the 45 degree mark.

Of course any change to an overseas location means that you will need to fork out for some good health insurance.

 

[Biblicist]

If you want a good reason to avoid New Zealand for the time being then take note that their so called Conservative Party has just passed a Law permitting same-sex 'marriage'; it was passed by a 77-44 majority and this was by the Conservatives and not just a looney-left party.

Thankfully the current Australian Labor government has rejected same-sex 'marriage'.

 

[WithLoveFromAlyssa]

Arizona?

 

[Faulty]

If you want a good reason to avoid New Zealand for the time being then take note that their so called Conservative Party has just passed a Law permitting same-sex 'marriage'; it was passed by a 77-44 majority and this was by the Conservatives and not just a looney-left party.

Thankfully the current Australian Labor government has rejected same-sex 'marriage'.

That's also the law where I live, and becoming more common all the time.

 

[Biblicist]

That's also the law where I live, and becoming more common all the time.

Of course . . . I had forgotten that there are a number of US states that have allowed this to happen. I remember about ten years ago when our Prime Minister stated something along the lines of "The next thing you know, they will be wanting to allow men and women to marry cats and dogs" or something similar to this.

Undoubtedly this form of wickedness will eventually enter into our country as well. With regard to New Zealand, as this country does not have a great moral reputation with the Christians in my country their decision to walk down this dark path will come as no real surprise to many of us.

 

[FreedByte]

.

 

[Biblicist]

If you are interested in freedom in each state on a number of different levels, I recommend this site: Freedom in the 50 States 2013 | Overall Freedom | Mercatus Center

That web site looked rather interesting until I came across the following statement on same-sex “marriages”:

“Almost all the weight of the marriage freedom category is tied to the availability of same-sex partnerships, both civil unions and marriage. The remainder is tied to waiting periods and blood test requirements. States that prohibit same-sex couples from entering private contracts that provide the benefits of marriage (whether termed “marriages” or “civil unions”) take away an important contract right from these couples.”
​

So it seems that it might be possible to reverse the list and say that the states with the so-termed worst scores could maybe be the best states to live in – at least maybe from a Christian perspective, but then again, I’m an Australian so my opinion counts for naught and I certainly haven't weighed through all the material . . . though the attack on marriage is certainly not all that encouraging.

 

[Faulty]

Of course . . . I had forgotten that there are a number of US states that have allowed this to happen. I remember about ten years ago when our Prime Minister stated something along the lines of "The next thing you know, they will be wanting to allow men and women to marry cats and dogs" or something similar to this.

Undoubtedly this form of wickedness will eventually enter into our country as well. With regard to New Zealand, as this country does not have a great moral reputation with the Christians in my country their decision to walk down this dark path will come as no real surprise to many of us.

Ok. Well, I admit to not knowing the moral leanings of that area. I just know many people in my sphere of influence think of it as a good place to go to minimize the coming economic collapse and police state.

 

[FreedByte]

That web site looked rather interesting until I came across the following statement on same-sex “marriages”:

“Almost all the weight of the marriage freedom category is tied to the availability of same-sex partnerships, both civil unions and marriage. The remainder is tied to waiting periods and blood test requirements. States that prohibit same-sex couples from entering private contracts that provide the benefits of marriage (whether termed “marriages” or “civil unions&#8221 take away an important contract right from these couples.”
​

So it seems that it might be possible to reverse the list and say that the states with the so-termed worst scores could maybe be the best states to live in – at least maybe from a Christian perspective, but then again, I’m an Australian so my opinion counts for naught and I certainly haven't weighed through all the material . . . though the attack on marriage is certainly not all that encouraging.

I agree with you on the same-sex marriage thing; my personal opinion is that marriage isn't a government issue and therefore should be left to the Church. By creating the "marriage license" concept, we have given the government, rather than the Church, the authority to decide who is and isn't married, which lets the government say that same-sex couples are married. The problem, then, is the marriage license, which should be eliminated altogether, but I digress.

So it seems that it might be possible to reverse the list and say that the states with the so-termed worst scores could maybe be the best states to live in – at least maybe from a Christian perspective

This statement was particularly striking to me. If you want to live in an area with less poverty, less gang violence, and less drug use, choose one with economic freedom, low government regulation, few gun restrictions, and opposition to the war on drugs.


Also, you'll notice that North Dakota won 1st in terms of overall freedom despite coming 20th in terms of personal freedom, which includes same-sex marriage, drug laws, etc. This is because of how free its regulatory and fiscal policy is.

 

[Biblicist]

This statement was particularly striking to me. If you want to live in an area with less poverty, less gang violence, and less drug use, choose one with economic freedom, low government regulation, few gun restrictions, and opposition to the war on drugs.

Admittedly I was being a bit flippant with my statement but undoubtedly from an Australian and a Christian perspective I suspect that that I would strongly disagree with many of the points on that list.

As an Australian I find this discussion to be quite interesting and while my wife and I were in the US last October through to November I was able to ask a number of Americans what their opinions were regarding gun control, immigration and of course, your President.

One major concern that many Australians have with the US (and we loved our time there), is with that of the rather evil and corrupt corporate system which has just about brought the US to its financial knees. Here in Australia our banking system is highly regulated and I doubt if there could ever be too many regulations as far as we are concerned. When we watched the very sad developments several years ago where countless thousands of American families lost their homes due to the almost fully deregulated and uncontrolled financial system, we were more than thankful that our government has established strict guidelines whereby the banks must make sure that all home repayments can be satisfactorily repaid.

While you guys were going through this horrid drawn out period we remained relatively unscathed to the point where our dollar is worth more than your own, something which my wife and I understandably appreciated last year.

From an Australian perspective, we would view any system that does not maintain a tight leash on the so-called “corporate-dogs” that they will eventually be undone by the financial devilry that besets most banking systems. From a Christian perspective I feel that unless governments put in place regulations to restrain these corporate entities from sucking the very life from its citizens, then any failure to do so will make their society a less than desirable place to live.

The problem, then, is the marriage license, which should be eliminated altogether, but I digress.

I have absolutely no doubt that if this were to occur we would see polygamy being restored (probably starting with Utah) and in some odd regions that they would end up allowing people to marry cats and dogs.

Again, this is a fascinating topic.

 

[FreedByte]

One major concern that many Australians have with the US (and we loved our time there), is with that of the rather evil and corrupt corporate system which has just about brought the US to its financial knees. Here in Australia our banking system is highly regulated and I doubt if there could ever be too many regulations as far as we are concerned. When we watched the very sad developments several years ago where countless thousands of American families lost their homes due to the almost fully deregulated and uncontrolled financial system, we were more than thankful that our government has established strict guidelines whereby the banks must make sure that all home repayments can be satisfactorily repaid.

While you guys were going through this horrid drawn out period we remained relatively unscathed to the point where our dollar is worth more than your own, something which my wife and I understandably appreciated last year.

From an Australian perspective, we would view any system that does not maintain a tight leash on the so-called “corporate-dogs” that they will eventually be undone by the financial devilry that besets most banking systems. From a Christian perspective I feel that unless governments put in place regulations to restrain these corporate entities from sucking the very life from its citizens, then any failure to do so will make their society a less than desirable place to live.

The collapse occurred because of corruption, yes. What you are incorrect about is the source of the corruption. The big banks were making high-risk loans because they knew they were considered "too big to fail" and would be bailed out if they did. Thus, the government (which itself is filled with corporate lobbyists), by socializing losses, has created a system where big banks can reap in all of the profits while their losses are subsidized by American taxpayers. Regulation is treating the symptoms; if we want to treat the disease we have to end the corporate bailouts. If a bank fails, you need to let it fail. If you don't, it will lead to malinvestment and inevitable collapse.


Our system is nothing close to "fully deregulated and uncontrolled"; if it were, we wouldn't need the government to create "strict guidelines whereby the banks must make sure that all home repayments can be satisfactorily repaid" because it would be in the banks' own interests to enforce those guidelines on themselves to maximize profit.

I have absolutely no doubt that if this were to occur we would see polygamy being restored (probably starting with Utah) and in some odd regions that they would end up allowing people to marry cats and dogs.

I am not advocating for an end to anti-polygamy laws, but you're missing my point. You mention that some "odd regions would end up allowing people to marry cats and dogs". This is missing the entire point because there would be no "allow" or "prevent", the government would not be involved. If someone wants to call themselves married to their cat or dog that is their 1st amendment right. It is simultaneously my 1st amendment right to call them not married to their cat or dog. That is the beauty of the 1st amendment.

 

[Blackwater Babe]

Queensland?

 

[Biblicist]

Our system is nothing close to "fully deregulated and uncontrolled"; if it were, we wouldn't need the government to create "strict guidelines whereby the banks must make sure that all home repayments can be satisfactorily repaid" because it would be in the banks' own interests to enforce those guidelines on themselves to maximize profit.

I must admit that it would be impossible for any country to have a fully deregulated fiscal system; when we compared your system to ours during the housing and monetary crisis, we could be forgiven for thinking that there didn't seem to be much effective legislation in place that was designed to protect the average US citizen from the corporate heavy-weights.

I am not advocating for an end to anti-polygamy laws, but you're missing my point. You mention that some "odd regions would end up allowing people to marry cats and dogs". This is missing the entire point because there would be no "allow" or "prevent", the government would not be involved. If someone wants to call themselves married to their cat or dog that is their 1st amendment right. It is simultaneously my 1st amendment right to call them not married to their cat or dog. That is the beauty of the 1st amendment.

I can see your position as it relates in my view to a theoretical environment, but when this principle is applied to a real-world environment what would you do if you were on a school board where some father was wanting to join the board who was married to another male or to take it to an odd extreme with say to a cat or a dog.

If you were to complain that he was an unsuitable individual to hold such an office, would he be able to have your States Legislature prosecute you under some wacky piece of “Hate Crime” legislation as I gather that this would negate any 1st Amendment rights.

We almost had this situation here in my State about five years ago when our State Government (Left leaning) tried to restrain Christians from informing people about the practices of Muslims in other countries – thankfully our countries High Court threw out that zany piece of legislation.

Another problem with removing marriage as being only between a man and a woman is that it would allow our children to presume, well, if our politicians don’t think that it’s an issue then same-sex ‘marriage’ and even ‘marriage’ to an animal must be OK.

1st Amendment rights
Now that I think about it, considering how the 1st Amendment has been unjustifiably used to restrain the Gospel and the free expression of Christians in the US, would you be better off by maybe abolishing your Constitution? Of course this is being said somewhat tongue-in-cheek but the liberals and atheists certainly seem to be abusing your Constitution so that they can achieve their agendas.

 

[Biblicist]

Queensland?

That's the big blob of land that's just West of Hawaii, or if you like, have you heard of Steve Irwin?

 

[Biblicist]

Queensland?

Hey, I just saw your superb signature:
"You really shouldn't attempt sarcasm if you haven't mastered irony first".

Sadly, how so few have any idea of the connection between sarcasm and irony. The silly thing is that the same people rarely understand that they use sarcasm probably every day of their lives.

 

[Blackwater Babe]

That's the big blob of land that's just West of Hawaii, or if you like, have you heard of Steve Irwin?

Its where I grew up. I was offering it as an answer to the op, not asking what it is. But thanks for answering what you thought was my question, and sorry I wasn't clearer.

 

[Biblicist]

Its where I grew up. I was offering it as an answer to the op, not asking what it is. But thanks for answering what you thought was my question, and sorry I wasn't clearer.

Hi, I was somewhat thrown by the question mark. Did you live in Australia for long?

 

[Blackwater Babe]

Hi, I was somewhat thrown by the question mark. Did you live in Australia for long?

Until my 30s.