Best Countries to immigrate to for webmasters

[vik_c]

I'm thinking, one should immigrate to a country with

(not in any particular order)

good infrastructure

scenic beauty

low cost of living

pleasant weather (no extreme climates)

low or average taxes

fast internet access

political stability (no dictators and preferably non-nuclear)

easy entry for immigrants

friendly people (no racism)

a stable currency

little or no red tape

business friendly atmosphere

access to free or low-cost healthcare

Any ideas?

[aspdaddy]

I lived in the Waikato area of NZ, it was one of the best places I have lived, Auckland, Corramandel and Tauaranga all within a short drive and good base for working the whole north Island. Its very easy to build a business when you are an immigrant in a new country as you usually have no other choice!

[rogerd]

One aspect of life for a "work at home" Web entrepreneur is the ability to hang out with people in the same business. Online interaction is great, but it's nice to chat over a beer, too.

I just moved within the US, from northern Indiana (horrible winters, though nothing like most of Canada, upstate NY, Minneapolis, etc.) to Austin, TX. Hot summers, very mild winters.

One of the best parts of the move has been the large population of tech and professional folks here. Meetups that would have drawn three people in my old city draw 200 here.

In short, "Community" wasn't on the list, but I'd keep that in mind. It's a plus to be able to hang out with people who actually understand what you do.

In US locations, one key consideration are state and local taxes. In some states, these can amount to more than 10%, with New York and California being some of the worst. Texas, Tennessee, and Florida are among the small number of states which don't have an income tax - that's a big difference. Housing in those states tends to be a lot cheaper, too, though costs vary by locality.

I spent a year in Mexico a long time ago, and would have recommended it as a possibility on most of the requirements. At this point, though, I'd wait to see if the drug violence abates, or find an area that seems more or less immune.

[Azimuth]

I'll add a few to the list:

Azores Islands in Portugal. The weather is great, the topography is interesting, they sit on top of some of the major underseas communication cables. They are also politically stable and nuclear-free.

Another area to consider is the Crimea and Odessa in the Ukraine. I'm not sure about how well-connected the Crimea is but Odessa has good internet connectivity. Within the Crimea itself there are a few small cities that are nice places - Yalta, Sebastopol, Kerch. The beaches and weather are great, but the Ukraine is obviously not nuclear-free.

Another area would be the Black Sea coasts of Bulgaria and Romania. There are a few possible cities here - Burgas, Constanta, Varna. Like the rest of Ukraine, it can be a bit industrial and sad depending on where you go, but the beaches and weather are amazing and lots of folks speak English.

If you're really keen to learn a foreign language then Macedonia, Croatia, Sardinia and Southern Italy/Sicily are all possibilities but their infrastructure is less developed and you would have to be careful about internet connectivity.

In the Pacific, Okinawa would definitely meet your criteria. Its a stunningly beautiful place, with all of the creature comforts found in mainland Japan. Its not as cheap as the other options I've mentioned so far, but not like Tokyo either.

In South America there are lots of good choices. My favourite country there is Ecuador - Amazing volcanoes, a couple great little cities and a beautiful coast. There are also a bunch of smaller coastal cities in Peru that are beautiful places. The biggest problems with South America are internet connectivity and earthquakes, but learning Spanish is pretty easy and the cost of living is low.

Another option that may sound strange is the Himalayas. There are some amazing little places such as Darjeeling that would be a blast to live in. They usually have good internet connections and English is widely spoken. The climate may scare you, but its amazing in summer and you could always use winter to visit family, etc. The Himalayas are very different from the rest of India, but they aren't nuclear-free either, and they don't meet you health-care criteria.

[fearlessrick]

@ wheel. To people in other countries, Rochester, NY is a foreign place. Capice?

The main reason I mentioned it was because of the taxes. Just wondering if people thought $3000 a year for property taxes on a $100,000 home was high, low or just right? Or do most people rent?

Any responses on that particular topic would be appreciated.

[BillyS]

>>The main reason I mentioned it was because of the taxes. Just wondering if people thought $3000 a year for property taxes on a $100,000 home was high, low or just right? Or do most people rent?

For a home with a market value of $100,000 (not assessed value, which is meaningless), $3,000 / year seems about right to me.

Here in New Jersey, where home prices are relatively high, a $1,000,000 USD home would pay around $30,000 USD in property taxes. :(

[McMohan]

I have been living in Bangalore, India, for last 13 years, and I don't see major reasons not to like it

# good infrastructure - Currently its a chaos, but huge investment is being made to improve it, specially road and rail network. Should be good in 2-3 years.
# scenic beauty - Called a garden city and within 2-3 hours drive, there are many scenic places to visit.
# low cost of living - Real estate is relatively costly, but you can rent a decent 3 bedroom apartment for $400.
# pleasant weather (no extreme climates) - Bangalore scores the highest on this count.
# low or average taxes - In recent years, tax rates have dropped.
# fast internet access - Bandwidth options run up to 20mbps.
# political stability (no dictators and preferably non-nuclear) - It is nuclear, but as someone said earlier, fearing that is like fearing asteroid strike. Stable democratic government.
# easy entry for immigrants - Quite easy, except from a few countries
# friendly people (no racism) - Ask for a route, more than one person will come forward to guide you.
# a stable currency - Has been pretty stable.
# little or no red tape - If the investment is high, bureaucrats and politicians will want a piece of action. For individual webmasters, things should be pretty simple.
# business friendly atmosphere - Almost every multinational IT company has an office here.
# access to free or low-cost healthcare - After the IT boom, it is the low cost and high quality healthcare services that is making headlines now.

Mysore, which is just about 2-3 hours drive from Bangalore, is a good alternative, without the traffic and crowd. It is rated as the 2nd best city in India to live in.

[onepointone]

$3000 property tax on a 100K home? #*$!?
Mine is worth about 2 1/2 times that, I'm often heard complaining about my tax of $2200. CO.

[old_expat]

I'm from the US Southwest and live in Thailand, up country .. and will probably stay until I die. The biggest negative for webmasters might be fast broadband access. The larger cities have good BB (4-10 meg .. sometimes), but it's not up to Korean or western standards. Also, being a loner, I tend to avoid tourist areas.

There is a fair amount of red tape for establishing and operating a business, but easier for "under the radar" on Non Immigrant "O" Visas .. (one year at a time with multiple entries) .. "B" visas might be better.

Beaches and mountain scenery is great. Food is outstanding. Outside the tourist areas, people are terrific. (repeat: avoid most major tourist areas). Language can be a problem, but people are extremely helpful if you make an effort.

A nice 2 BR condo in Cha am at the beach (2 hr south of BKK) can be had for about Bt 5 mil (about 150K US), no property taxes.

Oddly, not a good place for freelance coders .. expensive and like to work for companies .. social.

WARNING: Thailand seduces and destroys lives .. proceed with caution.

If I ever decide to leave, my options would be:

Chile (Arica or La Serena)
Colombia
Austin, Texas

[freakyjas]

id suggest nz but only because i live here and im a bit biased but it seems to tick all the boxes. having said that i dont have any oseas clients (the only one i had were trouble) so in terms of the lower cost of living vs earning offshore dollars, i cant really comment on that. if you google cheap websites in nz youll find me near the top *PogoStick*

ive always been keen to head over to mexico even if just short term like 12 months, stay somewhere like puerto escondido. anyone done that?

[Mike_Feury]

Ireland ... business friendly with low corporate taxes and they especially like businesses with a slant toward publishing. ... Anyone have first hand experience?

Born and lived there for a few decades. What you say was true up to the recent Wall St crash, where Ireland was the second-worst casualty, after Iceland. If I were you, I'd let the dust settle for a few years and see what emerges.

By the "publishing" thing, you probably mean the tax-exempt status for artists? That ended sometime last decade. Business friendly is true, and should generally suit webmasters as high-tech and info-tech were major growth areas--Ireland was the world's largest software exporter in some years.

High cost of living, infra and health is good, dunno offhand about Internet access but should be okay. Mild climate, but very rainy. Spectacular scenery of all varieties within reach--you're never more than two hours from the coast. If music, dance or literature are your thing, Ireland is one of the richest environments. Unique national sport too. Imo Ireland's big draw is culture, rather than climate or business.

As I said, give it a few years now though, the place is in traction.

[vik_c]

I have been living in Bangalore, India, for last 13 years, and I don't see major reasons not to like it

# good infrastructure - Currently its a chaos, but huge investment is being made to improve it, specially road and rail network. Should be good in 2-3 years.
# scenic beauty - Called a garden city and within 2-3 hours drive, there are many scenic places to visit.
# low cost of living - Real estate is relatively costly, but you can rent a decent 3 bedroom apartment for $400.
# pleasant weather (no extreme climates) - Bangalore scores the highest on this count.
# low or average taxes - In recent years, tax rates have dropped.
# fast internet access - Bandwidth options run up to 20mbps.
# political stability (no dictators and preferably non-nuclear) - It is nuclear, but as someone said earlier, fearing that is like fearing asteroid strike. Stable democratic government.
# easy entry for immigrants - Quite easy, except from a few countries
# friendly people (no racism) - Ask for a route, more than one person will come forward to guide you.
# a stable currency - Has been pretty stable.
# little or no red tape - If the investment is high, bureaucrats and politicians will want a piece of action. For individual webmasters, things should be pretty simple.
# business friendly atmosphere - Almost every multinational IT company has an office here.
# access to free or low-cost healthcare - After the IT boom, it is the low cost and high quality healthcare services that is making headlines now.

Mysore, which is just about 2-3 hours drive from Bangalore, is a good alternative, without the traffic and crowd. It is rated as the 2nd best city in India to live in.

Bangalore has poor infrastructure. Indian infrastructure projects invariably have time and cost over-runs. They're never built with foresight. By the time something is completed it's too small to meet requirements. Consider what the British built in India over a century ago..railways, water systems..everything meets requirements to this day with barely any upgrade(!). Indians are heavily taxed and cost of living in cities is very high when you consider purchasing power parity. Stable governments are rare. Red tape is an inseparable part of Indian business. Living permanently in India is impossible for a foreigner because India doesn't grant permanent residence. A lot of Indians *are* racist. Think caste politics, think obsession with fair skin. India doesn't have low cost health care. The ratio of doctors to population is abysmally low. Health care is inexpensive only for foreigners who bring dollars. There are long queues in government hospitals with a waiting period of months being the norm for surgeries.

[creative craig]

I have heard the following are easy to immigrate to:
Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

I have heard that Australia is a difficult place to immigrate to as they are very tough on applicants!

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Anywhere but California

[filbiz]

I'm thinking, one should immigrate to a country with

(not in any particular order)

# good infrastructure
# scenic beauty
# low cost of living
# pleasant weather (no extreme climates)
# low or average taxes
# fast internet access
# political stability (no dictators and preferably non-nuclear)
# easy entry for immigrants
# friendly people (no racism)
# a stable currency
# little or no red tape
# business friendly atmosphere
# access to free or low-cost healthcare

Any ideas?

Wny not try the Philippines? you are very welcome here. Just try to take a vacation and see for yourself. There are many Indians here already and many of them have businesses here.

[tangor]

Barsoom works for me but sadly optic fiber, or even Hubble telescope as relay, won't make it work. And I'm getting a bit long in the tooth to chase about like John Carter to rescue an otherworldly Dejah Thoris...

Countries I like:
Won't Tax me to Death
Weather Won't Kill me
Neighbors Like Me Enough not to Kill Me
Income possibilities are sufficient.

[johnnie]

I'm considering Australia. The beer is expensive and Immigration rules are tough, but after two years of skilled employment I can be eligible for permanent residency :) means I'll have to 'set up shop' a bit alter, but hey.. I'm sure it'll be worth it!

[edited by: johnnie at 11:24 am (utc) on Aug 26, 2010]

[heisje]

Netherlands!

Same qualities like in Canada, but in the Old World (as a bonus!)
Great place to w*rk, entrepreneurial, multicultural, great place to raise kids.

Once you've been there, there's no way you'll forget!

.

[johnnie]

Netherlands!

Same qualities like in Canada, but in the Old World (as a bonus!)
Great place to w*rk, entrepreneurial, multicultural, great place to raise kids.

Once you've been there, there's no way you'll forget!

As a Dutch resident, I'll unfortunately have to disagree. The multicultural aspect has become more of a curse than a blessing, as cities like Rotterdam and Amsterdam are flooded with poorly skilled immigrants from north African descent. I find that many of these people have been so spoilt with government grants that they have little morale and respect. Especially the youngsters are a problem; they have little identity and tend to cause a motherload of trouble. Our tradition of soft policing is not helping this matter much.

Also, I would definitely not consider the Netherlands as being apolitical. Despite our small size, we have an amazingly large profile (and yes, that includes forward-deployed NATO nukes). We're one of the US's closest allies and that brings along some political controversy every now and then. Also, the weather is piss-poor, there is next to no wildlife and the people in my opinion are too concerned with material wealth and other more trivial things.

One thing you are right about is business; this is one hell of an entrepreneurial nation. Hell, we invented capitalism itself. You will however have to be wary of high tax rates and a web of rules and regulations. If you navigate these waters well though, you can definitely breed success here. Infrastructure is top-notch in all aspects, internet adoption is sky-high and people are well-educated to the point where you no longer need to learn Dutch to live here. Make sure however that you plan carefully as commutes can be fiercely frustrating due to traffic congestion.

[yaix2]

I don't mind so much about taxes, if the services you get in return are good.

However, currently I prefer intersting places, now living in China. Maybe another year or two, and I will be able to read the newspaper here, and then its time to move on, possibly to Africa.

In case I feel old one day or get tired of crazy things happening on a daily bases, I'll probably move back to northern Europe or to Australia. To me, more important than low taxes is social capital, so there are people around you that you can trust and work with.

[glitterball]

How about some opinions on Ireland and Canary Islands. I vacationed in Ireland once and loved the place and I understand they are business friendly with low corporate taxes and they especially like businesses with a slant toward publishing. This is just the impression I have from reading about the place. Anyone have first hand experience?

Don't know a lot about the Canary Islands either except the weather is supposed to beautiful all year round and a great place to holiday.

I'm from Ireland, but have been living in the Canary Islands for several years.
The biggest disadvantage to Ireland is the climate - which is the reason that I left.

The Canary Islands do have a fantastic climate and I think that it's a great place to live. You can rent a small villa with a pool for as little as €800 - €1000 per month (rental prices have halved since I moved here).
With taxes you pay at least €250 per month in Social Security contributions plus income tax (percentage of your worldwide income).

Alcohol, Tobacco and Petrol are very cheap, fresh fruit and veg are expensive and eating out is relatively good value.

There is a lot of bureaucracy (as elsewhere in Spain), but if your business is all outside Spain, there shouldn't be too many problems. One problem is that, since the Canary Islands lie outside the EU VAT agreement, you will have to add the local sales tax (IGIC @ 5%) to your services - no matter where the client/customer is.

[iThink]

Singapore is a good country to move to but I can't imagine what advantage anyone moving from India will gain while being in online business.

Canada takes self employed people only if they're accomplished or recognized at the national level in art and culture. Beats me why! If you're an entrepreneur you need to have $1 million before they'll even look at you.

Canada had an International Immigrant Investor Program, where someone having a networth of CDN$800,000 can get permanent resident status. Out of this CDN$400,000 is to be put in an interest free deposit with the Canadian government for 5 years. That used to be the easiest way to move to Canada and the one I seriously considered for myself as well in the past. I'm also from India. Now they are planning to raise this networth requirement to CDN$1.6 million and minimum investment requirement to CDN$800,000. So the bar has gone up a lot for those who are interested.

Some banks like CIBC and Desjardins in Canada provide loan for the amount that is to be deposited with the Canadian government. You (investors) have to pay interest on that amount for 5 years in advance to the bank. Desjardins is charging CDN$120,000 as interest [immigrantinvestor.com] on CDN$400,000 for 5 years. With the minimum deposit taken by government doubling, I guess the interest will also double to CDN$240,000.

This is the cleanest and easiest way for someone having deep pockets planning to move to Canada in search of better business opportunities. As far as I know, there is no restriction on where an investor has to live in Canada. One may live in the bigger cities like Vancouver like I was looking to do.

If you're making lots of money and can get the immigration papers, the SF Bay Area in the US is by far, hands down, the best place to immigrate :)

Can't agree more with that.

[Ujang]

No offense to the person that suggested it but you need to strike Malaysia from the list. Along with Indonesia, Dubai and the likes.

No problem, couldn't agree more. Every country have their specific law / regulations to obey so that one could have a so-called 'prefect' leaving. But if one enters just to broke/play with that particular law - then go somewhere else... say Mars 8=D

[edited by: Ujang at 2:31 pm (utc) on Aug 26, 2010]

[ponyboy96]

Yeah, I was going to say Thailand or Philippines. Mexico is also an option. I've thought about it a few times myself, but I have a wife and kids and I doubt they would go along with it.

[Cirilo007]

Dominican Republic !

Performing my job from here since 10 years wearing shorts, no shoes and no shirt. Like everywhere, it has pros and cons, depends what you are looking for. Anyone interested in migrating here or willing to know more, feel free to PM !

[bwnbwn]

At one time Mexico would have been at the top of my list but since the country is almost in a civil war with the drug cartel I have struck it off my list until something positive happens there.
I don't think if the country has nuclear weapons should play a role in were I would want to relocate to because of the fact does it really matter. If these weapons are used it won't matter were you live the weapons will wipe out the communications anyway. That said one of the hottest hubs for tech is becoming Dallas Texas. This is a big city with many areas around dallas still very cheap to live in with excellent infrasturcture.

[julinho]

Sorry for the sexist tone, but, now that someone talked about beer...

...if you are a single male, I think that a list of the perfect country should include, as one top requirement, "friendly beautiful women".

And by such measure, Brazil (which is also peaceful, stable, cheap, sunny - the public infrastructure is awful, though) is hard to beat.
Just imagine the diversity of beautiful women you find in USA, but with much more friendliness.

The World Cup is coming in 2014, everyone will learn more.

[Rugles]

Just wondering if people thought $3000 a year for property taxes on a $100,000 home was high, low or just right?

I am just north of the border from Rochester NY, we are paying $3300 in property taxes on a house worth between 300 and 400 k.

----------------

Amazingly wide demographic here at WebmasterWorld. Very interesting places. Costa Rica certainly sounds interesting as does the Canary Islands. I have been to Austin Texas a couple times, really love that town. I can understand the appeal.

[vik_c]

...if you are a single male, I think that a list of the perfect country should include, as one top requirement, "friendly beautiful women".

True but it is hardly difficult to find friendly beautiful women in any country. Besides, how many does one need anyway? :)

[vik_c]

Amazingly wide demographic here at WebmasterWorld. Very interesting places.

Yeah! Some countries that I just wasn't considering have been mentioned. I think this is the longest thread of all time on Foo.

[LifeinAsia]

Besides, how many does one need anyway? :)

Who said anything about NEEDs? I thought the whole thread was about WANTs. :)