What process would I have to go through to become a resident of another country?

Question

I' am a service member in the US Navy who is planning on moving out of the country when I separate. I have choosen to move out because I' am sick of so many people in this country not showing any appreciation for what the people who defend this country do. I' am sick and tired of the way that Hollywood continues to wipe our society clean of any good morals or values and tells people what's cool and not cool. I' am also sick of the way that this society is so sexed up (especially in Southern Califronia; where I currently live), becoming a place where everyone is in a competition to show the most "skin" and where intellectualism and kindness are looked down upon, while arrogance, shallowness, selfishness, and materialism are exhaulted. In our society, for instance, being an arrogant "badass" who has no respect for woman and cheats on his wife and or girlfriend and is a complete rebel, is ok, but having respect for others and doing some good for the community and the world is "lame." Also, in our society, it seems to be the norm for young women to do things like making out with other girls, and for young men to watch pornographic films. Our society also seems h**l bent on making life one big party, sending out the message to many (especially younger people) that getting drunk, and acting stupid is supposedly "living life to the fullest." Because of all of this, my ambition is to move to a country where people still have good morals and values, where I can feel like my service to that country is appreciated and that all of the hardships that I encountered while in that service, are worth it. I want live in a place where I feel that I can be myself (a caring and kind individual) and not have to worry about being looked down upon by my peers for it. I also desire to be in a place that is far from Hollywood's negative influences. Anyway, I' am willing to surrender my citizenship to live in another country (whether it be a place like Spain, Greece, Italy, the UAE, Bahrain, the Azores, Saudi Arabia, Japan, a remote Pacific Island Country, ect.). So besides giving up my citizenship, what else would I have to do?

Answer 1

First of all, I would suggest you go to the country you're thinking of moving to for a long visit first.  Most countries where you have equivalent services (health care, running water, etc.) also have at least some American media.  From my own experiences, people like to get drunk and act stupid in lots of places.  Basically, count Europe out if you're offended by partying and open sexuality.  They're a lot less prudish about a lot of things.  To avoid these things it is not necessary to move country, but rather to change the people you spend time around and the media that you consume.  American media is everywhere, so all of those people from Hollywood that you seem to despise will be on your telly no matter where you go.  Really.  They'll just have dubbed voices/subtitles too!

I would suggest trying to study somewhere first.  See if you can do a visiting semester at a university or get work as a guest teacher of english (TOEFL) before you commit to spending the rest of your life there.  See if it gives you the escape you're seeking.  

Once you get in to a country, its relatively easy to stay there.  You can marry a citizen and get residence in most places (although not all since you're male) or if you can get a job - which as a native speaker of english, you should be able to do - you can usually get your permit.  Remember to be nice to these people at immigration though, because they can make life hard for you or they can make life easy.  

Good luck.

Answer 2

You need a visa that either allows for immigration or employment and residence.  Without a college degree and highly marketable skills you'll find it impossible to move to any place worth moving to.

Answer 3

Maybe you should just move out of California. I have never lived there, and never want to, but it does seem to me that everyone is shallow, unintelligent and criminals. You shouldn't gve up your citizenship after all you have done for our country. Also, once you move away you may regret it. Seriously, you need to leave Cali and come to the east coast.

Answer 4

Well firstly your US citizenship will be useful when you live in other countries.

Many countries don't allow many people to become citizens. For example, if you become a resident in Japan you won't be a citizen of Japan.

Other countries like China don't let you even become a permanent resident (normally you have to reapply every year, and be offerred a local job to get it).

Europe, Australia, NewZealand will allow you to move there and become a citizen (but so many people want to immigrate these days that it is not common).

The biggest problem is that the US doesn't allow dual citizenship, so if you become a citizen of another country you will stop being an American. But you could become a resident of Australia and live there for the rest of your life, without becoming a citizen.

I would suggest that it is worth working abroad for a while before a decision about where you want to live.