Convince Me to Move to Your Country

[Drummodino]

Hi there Escapists. I am interested in immigrating to another country once I finish my university studies. Your task, should you accept it, is to convince me to move to yours. I'd like to know why you enjoy living where you live and what makes it unique.

I currently live in Australia. I'm a 3rd year environmental engineering student. I only speak English and am of European descent. I'm non-religious and politically left-leaning.

The reason I'm seriously considering leaving this country is because of the new government we have here. I do not approve of many of their policies. In the short time since they've been elected, they have:

- Announced plans to cut university funding

- Begun shutting down most of our climate change institutions

- Are promising to axe mining and carbon taxes

- Replaced the former government's National Broadband Network plan with a far inferior alternative (I just learned today that my residence may not be receiving FTTP, instead we may be stuck with FTTN and relying on the old copper cable network to connect to the node)

- Cut foreign aid payments

- Stopped the publication of news related to asylum seekers, as well as seeking to turn asylum seeker vessels around offshore

Basically I'm sick of them, and as much as I love my country I'm seriously considering living elsewhere (at least for a while). So I ask you; where should I go?

Many thanks in advance.

EDIT: I am open to learning a new language.

 

[Drummodino]

come to Scotland.

need i say any more ?..

ok er...the government pays university tuition fees (our cultural belief in betterment though education is near fundamentally religious...) and we are aiming for (and will probably exceed) 50% of our power from "renewables" by 2015...in fact there may be a lot of demand for someone of your education...although tbh we're also a bit behind with fiberoptic rollout

I hadn't actually considered Scotland... interesting. What you said sounds pretty good, and I am a scotch drinker

I don't know how I'd handle the cold and rain though.

 

[Drummodino]

come to Scotland.

need i say any more ?..

ok er...the government pays university tuition fees (our cultural belief in betterment though education is near fundamentally religious...) and we are aiming for (and will probably exceed) 50% of our power from "renewables" by 2015...in fact there may be a lot of demand for someone of your education...although tbh we're also a bit behind with fiberoptic rollout

I hadn't actually considered Scotland... interesting. What you said sounds pretty good, and I am a scotch drinker

I don't know how I'd handle the cold and rain though.

i think it's fair to say almost anywhere you go English speaking is probably going to be moister than Australia...but ye you'd have to learn to live with "real weather" ...but if you want "environment", English speaking and "left leaning politics" i don't see there's much better...i should note (and edited to the effect that) only Scots get their tuition fees paid btw

"Real weather" eh? I'd like to see a Scotsman handle one of our 44 degree days and say that

Seriously though thanks for the suggestion! I'll certainly consider it.

 

[IndomitableSam]

I'd say come to Canada... er, I mean Harperstan... but no one should come here with the crap currently going on. Escpecially if you're an enviromental engineer - they'd probably arrest you and sew your lips shut.

The only way out would be if you started working for the Oil Sands and the only words you could ever speak would be "Oil Sands. Good for Canada. Good for the Environment."

You think I'm kidding, don't you? I'm not.

 

[Drummodino]

"Real weather" eh? I'd like to see a Scotsman handle one of our 44 degree days and say that

hey i have red hair...heat like that might as well be a trip to the surface of the sun :s

Haha fair point. I'm freckly and fair skinned, I get burnt all the time

 

[Barbas]

Spoiler

I'd like to know why you enjoy living where you live and what makes it unique.

come to Scotland.

need i say any more ?..

ok er...virtually all our politics is (supposedly) "left-leaning", our government pays our university tuition fees (our cultural belief in betterment though education is near fundamentally religious...) and we are aiming for (and will probably exceed) 50% of our power from "renewables" by 2015...in fact there may be a lot of demand for someone of your education...although tbh we're also a bit behind with fiberoptic rollout

but come anyway...if only for a while...maybe for Hogmanay...

Well, I can't say I've ever seen that side of Scotland. Thanks for the smashing and colourful vistas, though, we're really being pissed on over here and it's shit. I've been surprised by how much BT has done to get pretty decent broadband speeds out to us people, though. I wonder how long it will be until we start to see li-fi rolled out here. Maybe that'll actually be cheaper for them to provide.

OP: Avoid the west coast of Scotland if you don't like wet weather and midges (tiny mosquitoes that swarm into your eyes, ears and hair and are attracted to body heat like piss-heads to a curry house).

 

[Drummodino]

I'd say come to Canada... er, I mean Harperstan... but no one should come here with the crap currently going on. Escpecially if you're an enviromental engineer - they'd probably arrest you and sew your lips shut.

The only way out would be if you started working for the Oil Sands and the only words you could ever speak would be "Oil Sands. Good for Canada. Good for the Environment."

You think I'm kidding, don't you? I'm not.

Damn, Canada was on my short list.

 

[Weaver]

come to Scotland.

need i say any more ?..

ok er...the government pays university tuition fees (our cultural belief in betterment though education is near fundamentally religious...) and we are aiming for (and will probably exceed) 50% of our power from "renewables" by 2015...in fact there may be a lot of demand for someone of your education...although tbh we're also a bit behind with fiberoptic rollout

I hadn't actually considered Scotland... interesting. What you said sounds pretty good, and I am a scotch drinker

I don't know how I'd handle the cold and rain though.

i think it's fair to say almost anywhere you go English speaking is probably going to be moister than Australia...but ye you'd have to learn to live with "real weather" ...but if you want "environment", English speaking (nominally ) and "left leaning politics" i don't see there's much better...maybe NZ ?...Canada has swung to the (American like) right recently so...

i should note (and edited to the effect that) only resident Scots get their tuition fees paid btw so that wouldn't actually be applied to you...but its still indicative of how Scots view eduction and it could always apply to your own kids someday...

I'd say Canada's right is still left of the American left.
Not that I agree with Führer Harper's policies.

 

[IndomitableSam]

I'd say come to Canada... er, I mean Harperstan... but no one should come here with the crap currently going on. Escpecially if you're an enviromental engineer - they'd probably arrest you and sew your lips shut.

The only way out would be if you started working for the Oil Sands and the only words you could ever speak would be "Oil Sands. Good for Canada. Good for the Environment."

You think I'm kidding, don't you? I'm not.

Damn, Canada was on my short list.

Not to say we don't have our good side. But we're in the middle of some pretty terrible political controversy right now, that I can only hope brings down the current government. We've had a Conservative in Power for 2 terms now and he's slowly changed laws and subverted the country - it's becoming totalitarian. We'll always be a very progressive country, but our PM is... well... kinda like yours, right now. As things stand right now, they probably will not win the next election, though that's not until October 2015. They're throwing people under the bus left and right, but that bus is down a hole that's quickly becoming bottomless... and getting wider, too. Hopefully something comes of it.

As for Canada being on your shortlist, well, you do need to weigh the options of all the different provinces. Considering how big we are, our climates differ incredible. Political and regular weather. You'll have to research climate, cost of living and the job market in each province (and maritime) individually, because while a house costs $120,000 in PEI, it costs $2Million in Toronto or Vancouver. And there are places with tons of jobs (Alberta, Saskatchewan) and places with next to none(the maritimes).

I have close family in Brisbane, though, so I do know what you're coming from. They were just here this summer and come visit often, so I do know the general climate of Australia and the costs involved there, compared to here. When they were here a few years ago they seriously considered buying a car here and shipping it to the US and then changing it over to Australian standards... because it would be cheaper.

Captcha says Skynet is watching... Has CSEC developed Skynet already? Harper is a douche. Please pass that along to him.

 

[Drummodino]

I'd say come to Canada... er, I mean Harperstan... but no one should come here with the crap currently going on. Escpecially if you're an enviromental engineer - they'd probably arrest you and sew your lips shut.

The only way out would be if you started working for the Oil Sands and the only words you could ever speak would be "Oil Sands. Good for Canada. Good for the Environment."

You think I'm kidding, don't you? I'm not.

Damn, Canada was on my short list.

Not to say we don't have our good side. But we're in the middle of some pretty terrible political controversy right now, that I can only hope brings down the current government. We've had a Conservative in Power for 2 terms now and he's slowly changed laws and subverted the country - it's becoming totalitarian. We'll always be a very progressive country, but our PM is... well... kinda like yours, right now. As things stand right now, they probably will not win the next election, though that's not until October 2015. They're throwing people under the bus left and right, but that bus is down a hole that's quickly becoming bottomless... and getting wider, too. Hopefully something comes of it.

As for Canada being on your shortlist, well, you do need to weigh the options of all the different provinces. Considering how big we are, our climates differ incredible. Political and regular weather. You'll have to research climate, cost of living and the job market in each province (and maritime) individually, because while a house costs $120,000 in PEI, it costs $2Million in Toronto or Vancouver. And there are places with tons of jobs (Alberta, Saskatchewan) and places with next to none(the maritimes).

I have close family in Brisbane, though, so I do know what you're coming from. They were just here this summer and come visit often, so I do know the general climate of Australia and the costs involved there, compared to here. When they were here a few years ago they seriously considered buying a car here and shipping it to the US and then changing it over to Australian standards... because it would be cheaper.

Captcha says Skynet is watching... Has CSEC developed Skynet already? Harper is a douche. Please pass that along to him.

Oh I would definitely be researching the different regions of wherever I eventually decide to move to. I won't be finished with my studies until the end of 2015 most likely, so I still have plenty of time. Hopefully by that stage your government has changed for the better. Economic downturns seem to scare people into voting conservatives into power for some reason.

Sadly that's not the first time I've heard of people importing cars here because it would be cheaper. I mostly import all of my books, because even with the shipping rates, it is significantly cheaper. I sometimes import games for the same reason.

I really do want to visit Canada, even if it was just for a holiday. I want to see the snow and go snowboarding.

 

[Weaver]

I'd say come to Canada... er, I mean Harperstan... but no one should come here with the crap currently going on. Escpecially if you're an enviromental engineer - they'd probably arrest you and sew your lips shut.

The only way out would be if you started working for the Oil Sands and the only words you could ever speak would be "Oil Sands. Good for Canada. Good for the Environment."

You think I'm kidding, don't you? I'm not.

Damn, Canada was on my short list.

Not to say we don't have our good side. But we're in the middle of some pretty terrible political controversy right now, that I can only hope brings down the current government. We've had a Conservative in Power for 2 terms now and he's slowly changed laws and subverted the country - it's becoming totalitarian. We'll always be a very progressive country, but our PM is... well... kinda like yours, right now. As things stand right now, they probably will not win the next election, though that's not until October 2015. They're throwing people under the bus left and right, but that bus is down a hole that's quickly becoming bottomless... and getting wider, too. Hopefully something comes of it.

As for Canada being on your shortlist, well, you do need to weigh the options of all the different provinces. Considering how big we are, our climates differ incredible. Political and regular weather. You'll have to research climate, cost of living and the job market in each province (and maritime) individually, because while a house costs $120,000 in PEI, it costs $2Million in Toronto or Vancouver. And there are places with tons of jobs (Alberta, Saskatchewan) and places with next to none(the maritimes).

I have close family in Brisbane, though, so I do know what you're coming from. They were just here this summer and come visit often, so I do know the general climate of Australia and the costs involved there, compared to here. When they were here a few years ago they seriously considered buying a car here and shipping it to the US and then changing it over to Australian standards... because it would be cheaper.

Captcha says Skynet is watching... Has CSEC developed Skynet already? Harper is a douche. Please pass that along to him.

Oh I would definitely be researching the different regions of wherever I eventually decide to move to. I won't be finished with my studies until the end of 2015 most likely, so I still have plenty of time. Hopefully by that stage your government has changed for the better. Economic downturns seem to scare people into voting conservatives into power for some reason.

Sadly that's not the first time I've heard of people importing cars here because it would be cheaper. I mostly import all of my books, because even with the shipping rates, it is significantly cheaper. I sometimes import games for the same reason.

I really do want to visit Canada, even if it was just for a holiday. I want to see the snow and go snowboarding.

The Australian thing to do is go live in Whistler. I swear like half of the people there are Australian

 

[The Madman]

it's becoming totalitarian.

Oh get off it. Yeah yeah, you don't like Harper, but pretending he's some sort of Hitler in the making is just ridiculous to the extreme. The worst sort of political hyperbole which makes it difficult for anyone to do anything when you've reduced sides to extreme caricatures of themselves. This is what's wrong with American politics these days; everything is reduced to an us vs. them mentality. I hate seeing it happen in Canada.

Yes, Harper has made a lot of decisions I disagree with. But he's far from the worst, not even close really. And while he's made some decisions I'd call poor he's made others which I agree with, that's the nature of politics. As an Albertan in it's current state I don't think I'd vote for either the Liberal parties crippling incompetence or the NDP's leaderless indecision, which leaves either voting for a smaller party or voting Conservative. I'm definitely not voting for the Wild Rose party, that's for sure.

Canada is a beautiful, gorgeous county. Even having traveled quite a bit there's nowhere else I would rather live right now. Does it have its problems? Sure. But you're portraying it as some Mad Max style dystopian hellscape in the making with your political hyperbole. Please stop.

 

[Soviet Steve]

snip

Don't move to my country.

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