Posted on 05/21/2017 4:12:38 PM PDT by ThankYouFreeRepublic
As the founder of Best Places in the World to Retire, I’ve spoken with more than a thousand expats, many of whom have told me of instances where they were told that because they lived outside the US, they were no longer entitled to be called “an American,” that they were unpatriotic, or in extreme cases, that they were traitors.
Not only do I reject these charges, but I believe that those making them don’t understand what it means to be “an American.”
There is no better statement of what it means to be an American than...
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Oh come on, there's lots of reasons one might be living outside of the country... like military deployment, being a ship-captain, being an oil-worker, being a deep-sea fisherman, teaching abroad (from what I hear Japan really likes native English teachers), missionary work, etc. (and those are just off the top of my head.)
So after these 4 denials I gave up and moved to Thailand, and have been really enjoying it. Especially since my TW gifted me with a daughter.
However, in hindsight I am thankful to the US GVT as otherwise I would still be working in my high stress long hour job.
But I continue to pay taxes and vote. And as a US Army Retired Veteran I should be given the benefit of any doubt on Patriotism.
So I am here more because the USA rejected me. And I know a lot of US Citizens that are here because they cannot get even tourist visa for their GF or Spouse.
My cousin and his wife moved to Italy in 1973 to pastor a church. Last year they were back home for a family reunion and were vocal about America, patriotism, and extremely pro-Trump. They, I believe, are “good Americans”.
Their kids, however, all were born in Italy and are not quite as patriotic. I guess it makes sense. It would be confusing.
afterall, they're pulling in their fat govt/military pensions so what do they care....
what I do object to is expats coming on blogs/msgboards/etc expressing their views as if they had skin in the game..
.once you've left this country for greener/cheaper pastures, your opinion does not count for anything....
Why should they, they did their time.
I hear people say "I wish I were 25 again" and my response is, I put up with 35 years of bullshit with my past employer, I don't want to have to go thru it again...I'm happy being old.
And for what it's worth, had things not gone sour in Honduras, I'd be living down there in my retirement years, happy as a bug in a rug........
I reckon too many people worry about things that really don’t matter one bit.
American is a set of ideas and feelings. Many US citizens are not American even though they live here.
I don’t support expat retirement, however. We made our beds here over the decades. We did it and not leave a mess for the kids.
Different word, different root.
Because my brother and I were there, I can think of more than a few cases why they bought American rather than from some other country.
LOL, roger that.
Many do.
Vanuatu is a great place, and the national bank doesn’t provide the IRS with any info. Of course this was last time I checked about 2-yrs ago or so.
One country with a large number of expats is our neighbor Mexico. Half of these expats are of Mexican ancestry. Half are not. My wife’s home town up in the remote mountains far from civilization has both kinds. They have above average investments and passive income that they receive in their global bank accounts more often than wired to them.
Very well said.
There are many reasons unrelated to patriotism to live outside the USA. Family and business being the most common.
You can’t put a blanket over this question and cover everyone.
My brother lived in Brussels (yuck) for two years. It was a job, with an American company. Then he lived in Milan for a year for the same reason, same company. Now he’s back in the States. He could have done that for 30 years, so what?
And if you DON’T love America, it doesn’t matter that you live in it. If you DO love it, it doesn’t matter that you live outside it. Physical location is meaningless, especially these days.
I have never had the slightest desire to live anywhere else. This is home. It goes beyond my bank account or standard of living or who is running the government. The most recent of my ancestors came here 150 years ago. My oldest line goes back to Jamestown. My family was among the earliest American settlers of Illinois. This is my land, my people, my culture, my history. This is home.
But to each his own.
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I’ve had some discussion with people about this. And some of what I’ve heard on this subject is as follows:
1. expatriots tend to be retired, and they are rejecting America in favor of some other country in their retirement. The country which was good enough for them in their working life is not good enough in their golden years?”
What a crock; the fact is the majority of expats are not retired. The vast majority are employed by American corporations, are young to middle aged and pay their U.S. Taxes. I know because my family and I were expats for two years in China, lived in Shanghai but traveled all over China and Asia. And, most of these folks are conservative. Get your facts straight bub..
HI, Dilbert San Diego. All your comments were good. Here’ what I think:
1. Many times the country which was good enough for them in their working life is not good enough in their golden years. Many times, this has to do with cost of living and / or lifestyle. Health care costs for equivalent care is many times 80% less, and the overall cost of living can be 60% - 70% less. They just can’t afford to live in the US and have a good standard of living, no matter how much they want to.
2. Whatever fixing the solution means can usually be done abroad just as easily.
3. By moving to a place with a lower cost of living, expats are not supporting the corrupt status quo. Most of the time, they help to change it.
4. Expats don’t abandon America by living abroad. Also, many times they are physically closer geographically to their families if they move someplace like Mexico or even in some cases to Panama.
You’re right about very few expats renouncing their citizenship. Virtually zero do.
I was an expate for 17 years total, and I missed the States all the time. We used to drive to the US Embassies just to see the flag flying above the place. Our kids grew up learning Spanish, Portuguese and French and they also learned that they were solid American citizens and still are.
Hi, cherry. Did you read the article? What in the article or the Declaration of Independence do you object to?
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