Trump

What would be your option #2 anyway?

Implied in my reply was that it was the USA. I know people there, tons of good quality of living, not perfect… but nothing is.

Strikes me as a bit of a police state though…

Yeah… It is likely the last place Id consider to run too. Far too restrictive imo. Not sure either where Id go though. I like my country…

For all its problems, South Africa is one of the freest places on the planet. Furthermore, a lot of the problems seem to be mostly the problem of a specific demographic, to which most of us here do not belong. Zuma’s shenanigans are mostly harming his own supporters. As the government slowly melts down, its services are being taken over by the private sector. And which demographic is it that is now mostly taking over (and making a fortune out of) these services?

It’s true that the jury is really still out on whether we’re going to make it in the longer run. But then, not too long ago Syria was supposedly one of the most stable countries in the Middle East, and western Europe looked like one of the more tolerant places on earth. America had a healthy democracy. Now Syria has gone up in flames, the Europeans are practicing petty apartheid and America is about to elect one of two loony war mongers as president (almost overnight, their democracy has become a joke compared even to ours, considering the success of our recent municipal elections).

One cannot really predict the future. If Nassim Taleb’s ideas have any validity, South Africa is actually far more stable than it appears on the surface.

Daar het nog niks dramaties genoeg gebeur om regtig 'n massa uittog te regverdig nie. Miskien word ons padda stelselmatig gekook.

Ja, mens wonder maar altyd of jy dalk besig is om jouself te bedrieg. Maar in my geval is die hele ding in elk geval akademies: ek is te oud en te ongekwalifiseerd om te kan emigreer. Geen land wat by sy verstand is sal my daar toelaat nie. :slight_smile:

Yes. Mostly because of incompetence, but most of us do get to run around doing mostly whatever we want. We have a strong court system and a very progressive constitution (I’d argue too liberal, but damn good). Everyone seems mystified by my choice of the USA, so I’ll elaborate:

  1. Freedom: Forget about most of Europe and Eastern Europe, the middle east, Australia, China. No nanny states for me thanks.
  2. Security: Forget about most of Africa and South America.
  3. Opportunity: It’s called the land of opportunity because it is.
  4. Quality of Living: You could argue the likes of France, Sweden, Iceland or Denmark beat the USA. But see #1.

IMHO The states is not perfect on any one thing, but is the most perfect conglomeration of a lot of very good things.

Unemployment is a rarity in the states, even today. Law enforcement, if anything, is a bit too zealous. Their economy, although regulation creeps forward as it does everywhere, is mostly a huge free-for-all unhampered by overbearing Labour legislation. If not the best, then amongst the best educational facilities in the world.

IMHO If you are at all in the least way capable of making it ANYWHERE in life, you will do so in the USA, and you’ll do so autonomously and mostly on your own terms whilst living in safety and not wanting for any basic necessities.

Also, the USA’s name is a clue: It is a number of states, from which you can pick-and-choose any climate, economic condition, lifestyle, and world outlook you desire. You can go live in the bible belt and sing to jesus or you can go live in LA and be a godless sodomite. It’s all up to you.

Finally … I deal with American companies all the time, their levels of service are stratospheric. The competition present and the fickle nature of their clientele means they pull out all the stops all the time. When I have to deal with an American operation one moment and an SA one the next the difference is … there are no words: In the USA shit works, 24/7. In SA shit stops breaking at 5pm and continues to break at 8am.