Countries to move to beyond western Europe

Many hopeful emigrants focus on western Europe. There’s already a ton of information about that region. Instead, here’s a list of other places that might be more welcoming and just as interesting.

You can use it to create a short list of countries to check for visa requirements.

These aren’t recommendations

The list is just meant to show you where English-speaking foreigners tend to go. You might even want to avoid these places if you want to avoid other English speakers.

I’ve included some places where I wouldn’t live or that have been criticized for social issues. You can decide for yourself what you’ll accept.

Of course, all information is subject to change or could be wrong, though I’ve tried my best.

The order in each section is from north to south. No ranking is implied.

Latin America

It’s best if you have an online income or pension.

• Mexico: Popular places include Mexico City, Guadalajara and suburbs, Mérida, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen, San Miguel de Allende, and places in Baja California. Prices and visa requirements are rising.
  
  

  

• Belize: English speaking, has a digital nomad visa
• Guatemala: Safety has improved, though crime is still an issue
• El Salvador: Newly popular due to increased security, use of Bitcoin, and incentives for entrepreneurs and highly skilled foreigners
• Nicaragua: Granada, León, and San Juan del Sur; no tax on foreign-sourced income or retirement benefits. Check the political situation.
• Costa Rica: Prices aren’t so low anymore but they don’t tax retirement benefits
• Panama: Panama City, Boquete, Bocas del Toro, Santa Fé, Coronado; foreign-sourced income isn’t taxed and the pensionado visa is for life
• Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Salvador, Pipa, Belo Horizonte, Balneário Camboriú
• Peru: Cusco, Arequipa, Trujillo; you can apply for citizenship after 2 years
• Paraguay: Asunción, Encarnación, and rural communities established by immigrants; low taxes
  
  

  

• Uruguay: Montevideo, Punta del Este, and Colonia; stable government, no tax on foreign sourced income for several years
• Argentina: Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Salta, Córdoba, Rosario, and Bariloche. Check the political and economic situation.
  
  

  

• Chile: Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, La Serena, Valdivia, some neighborhoods of Santiago. Has a visa for startups.

These places have slid in popularity due to an increase in crime:

• Colombia: Many foreigners like Medellín, but crime has increased
• Ecuador: Cuenca reportedly isn’t affected by the new unrest; Ecuador doesn’t tax foreign-sourced income or retirement benefits

Caribbean

• Turks & Caicos: High costs but no income tax
• Cayman Islands: No income or property tax
• Dominican Republic: Santiago, Santo Domingo
• Puerto Rico: US citizens don’t need a visa and get tax breaks; Medicare is accepted
• US Virgin Islands: US citizens don’t need a visa; Medicare is accepted. Crime is an issue.
• Aruba: Not a tax haven; low crime; English is widely spoken

Non-trendy parts of Europe

You can get a European lifestyle and easy access to the rest of the continent in the following countries. Most of them have lower costs and some will also tax you less than the trendier countries. It’s best to be self-supported with an online business or pension, though some people start local businesses or get jobs.

• Estonia: Talinn and spa towns. Offers a visa for people with a passive income.
• Latvia: Offers citizenship by descent
• Lithuania: Offers citizenship by descent and has low taxes for businesses
  
  

  

• Poland: Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, and Gdansk; offers citizenship by descent
  
  

  

• Czech Republic: Prague and Brno; have a digital nomad visa for IT workers from certain countries; offer citizenship by descent
• Slovakia: Bratislava and Košice; offers citizenship by descent
• Hungary: Budapest and Debrecen; offers citizenship by descent
• Slovenia: Ljubljana, Koper, Maribor, Bled
  
  

  

• Croatia: Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik; offers citizenship by descent
• Montenegro: Kotor and the surrounding region
• Serbia: Novi Sad and Belgrade; offers residency to people who purchase inexpensive real estate and can support themselves
• Romania: Bucharest, Brasov, Timisoara, and Cluj Napoca. The language is Latin based; taxes can be low and don’t apply to retirement income; internet is fast; they offer citizenship by descent
  
  

  

• Bulgaria: Sofia, Plovdiv, Bansko, Varna, and the area around Veliko Tarnovo; taxes are low and don’t apply to pensions; internet is fast; they offer a retirement visa and citizenship by descent
  

  

• North Macedonia: Ohrid; has relatively low taxes
• Albania: Tirana, Sarande, and Durres. US citizens automatically get a one-year tourist visa.
• Greece: Thessaloniki, Chania, and Athens; offers citizenship by descent
• Cyprus: Offers relatively low taxes
• Gibraltar: Relatively low taxes; English is an official language

These Americans have been hanging out in non-trendy Europe for years, spending less than $3,000/month for a comfortable life. In this video, they explain why it works for them and how they overcame misconceptions about some countries.

Africa

If you’re gay, check local laws and public opinion.

• Morocco: Rabat, Marrakech, Tangier, Fez, Casablanca
• Tunisia: Tunis, Sousse, Sfax
• Ghana: Accra; English is the main language; offers easier residency to members of the African diaspora
• Kenya: Nairobi area, Mombasa, Malindi; English is an official language; offers retirement visa to ages 35 and over
• Tanzania: Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Dodoma, Zanzibar City
• Namibia: Windhoek; English is the official language; offers a visa for digital nomads
• Mauritius: Offers a retirement visa with relatively low financial requirements; English is an official language
• South Africa: Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg; crime and infrastructure can be issues

Caucasus

• Georgia: For a US citizen, the tourist visa lasts a year. Most foreigners live in Tbilisi. Housing costs have risen due to people leaving Russia.
• Armenia: Offers citizenship by descent to ethnic Armenians

Middle East

If you’re gay, check local laws.

• Turkey: Antalya, Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Fethiye, and Bodrum
• Bahrain: Doesn’t tax income or capital gains
• Qatar: Doha
• United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi and Dubai; has no income tax

Southeast Asia

This region is popular with westerners because it can offer a good standard of living for low cost. It’s best to have an online income or pension, though some people get jobs, such as teaching English.

• Vietnam: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hoi An
• Philippines: Dumaguete, Makati, Davao, and Cebu
• Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samui, and Hua Hin
• Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Melaka. It has fallen in popularity because the government increased visa requirements, but the standard of living is high and English is widely spoken.
  
  

  

• Singapore: High standard of living with high costs; English widely spoken. Some people who have jobs in Singapore live in cheaper Malaysia and commute.
• Indonesia: usually Bali, which is increasingly crowded with life coaches. You might check Java instead, such as Bandung, Solo, and Yogyakarta.

East Asia

Many foreigners who move here have jobs or teach English.

• Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, and Osaka
• South Korea: Seoul, Busan, Jeju City, and Daegu
• China: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen
• Taiwan: Taipei and Kaohsiung; offers a visa for freelancers and remote workers
  
  

  

• Hong Kong: High costs, changing culture. Check the political situation.

Oceania

• Australia: Overall challenging visa requirements, but a short-term working holiday visa is available to some under 35 years old.
• New Zealand: Challenging visa requirements; short-term working holiday visa for some under 35.

Find a country that agrees with you

If you’re leaving your home country because you disagree with its politics and culture, you might be looking for a place that shares your values.

Here are some extremely broad suggestions compiled in early 2024. All of them are subject to change as the citizens change their governments. The ranking is also extremely broad and sort of goes from “probably” to “maybe.”

Progressive

If you feel your country is moving too far to the right, you might be happier in these places. They also tend to have higher taxes and larger public debt.

• England, Ireland, Scotland
• Canada
• Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland
• US states that have a Democratic majority
• Germany
• Spain
• Australia and New Zealand
  
• Netherlands, Denmark
• France and Portugal (both might be changing)
• Slovenia
• Malta
• Swiss cities
• Belgian cities
• Greek and Italian cities
• Mexican cities
• Peru
• Bolivia (might be changing)
• Chile
• Argentina (might be changing)

Classical liberal or conservative

Like a small government or traditional values? Consider these places. They also tend to have lower taxes and less national debt.

• Asia, basically all of it except tourist areas of Bali

• Countries that were recently socialist, including Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the former Yugoslavia (except Slovenia and maybe Croatia), Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia
  

• Towns or rural areas in much of Europe

• Smaller cities or rural areas in most of Latin America

• Paraguay

• El Salvador has a new emphasis on security, Bitcoin, and entrepreneurship

• Culturally Muslim countries like Turkey, Tunisia, Malaysia, and most of Indonesia

Look at deeper values

Government policies can change quickly, while cultural values tend to last.

Geert Hofstede and his associates established one popular way to measure cultural differences. Some organizations have created tools that show the measures graphically.

The measures have been criticized as being outdated or too broad, but in my experience they’ve highlighted real-world differences.

There are several ways to use the measures. This country comparison tool has useful explanations. Here’s how they compare Mexico and Spain.

You can determine your own cultural scores using the official questionnaire from Hofstede’s site or this test that has an unfortunate number of double-negative questions.

Image at the top: Near Sibiu, Romania