01/09

I've spoken to some who are very, very happy with I think it's Argentina.  Very little regulation and taxes wherever it is.  I just wouldn't go to surinam with anything but revolutionary intentions.

I will say that having to ask for permission is demeaning, and already violates the idea of a right of defense.  Even if it is granted pretty much 100% of the time.  It's ironic, though, that there's less infringement of it in a place where it's considered a privilege than in a place that considers it a born right.  Some of the original laws in the US infringing the right to keep and bear arms, by the way, were actually enacted against freed blacks.  Because the powers that be were scared of armed revolt.  I guess since we're all slaves, that scares the power brokers even more that the general public might go armed.

I want to see this whole thing set free.  If there were an action that required total sacrifice of everything I have had up until now that would make for me and anyone else who wants it a place where we can be free, I would walk away from my life up until now and not look back.  But even fellow ancaps seem to believe there'd be no point to fighting at this time.  And there's nowhere, really, left to run to for real freedom.

I've spoken to some who are very, very happy with I think it's Argentina.  Very little regulation and taxes wherever it is.  I just wouldn't go to surinam with anything but revolutionary intentions.

I doubt it was Argentina. Uruguay or Chile would be my first two choices. Plus there are interesting niche situations in Paraguay and Colombia. St. Martin and some other Caribbean countries are interesting for one reason or another.

I will say that having to ask for permission is demeaning...

But no more so in Panama than in the Land of the Free.

I want to see this whole thing set free.  If there were an action that required total sacrifice of everything I have had up until now that would make for me and anyone else who wants it a place where we can be free, I would walk away from my life up until now and not look back.  But even fellow ancaps seem to believe there'd be no point to fighting at this time.  And there's nowhere, really, left to run to for real freedom.

I'm not sure what "real" freedom is, but freedom, like charity, begins at home. To paraphrase the Rev. Ike, "If you want to help the enslaved, don't be one of them." I am personally freer than anyone I know in the States and that was true when I lived in Costa Rica and Singapore. Yes, Singapore. Anyone can be freer if they want. You just have to figure out how to game the system to your benefit. There are exactly zero free countries in the world. So pick one that best matches, your tastes, keep a low profile and mostly do what you damned well please.

You make being free sound like visiting a porno theatre...  I mean making a place where there isn't some ruthless tyrant ready to swing an axe at your neck should it notice your existence.  Right now, wherever you are you're only free insofar as the current slavemaster doesn't know you exist.  Doing anything outside of its framework feels like you're being hunted the whole time.  Hell, at this point just driving on the roads feels like you're halfway in prison.

Leviathan:  Sandy's saying just what I've been saying to you.  That there is no true "free country" on the face of the earth, but they're are countries where you don't have to put up with as much nonsense as you do here in the states.  I've been doing research on several countries like Dominican Republic, Panama, New Zealand and Uruguay in particular.  Did you know that in addition to the better gun laws that prostitution (not that I'm going to be doing that kind of thing) is legal there?  That they have strict banking secrecy laws there and that makes it just about impossible, unless your running drugs for example, for someone say in the states to successfully sue you if you structure it right or the government to grab it out of your account.  That sure isn't true if your here.   You can be sued by anyone and if you lose a judge can order your life savings taken from you.  Go to escapeartist.com and look at what is out there.  I won't go into detail because there are litterly hundreds if not thousands of articles about every country you can imagine, well maybe not say Somalia or some hellhole like that.

You make being free sound like visiting a porno theatre...  I mean making a place where there isn't some ruthless tyrant ready to swing an axe at your neck should it notice your existence.  Right now, wherever you are you're only free insofar as the current slavemaster doesn't know you exist.  Doing anything outside of its framework feels like you're being hunted the whole time.  Hell, at this point just driving on the roads feels like you're halfway in prison.

Leviathan, I understand where you are coming from, your purple prose not withstanding, but you miss the point. No place is free in any idyllic sense. So you pick the national framework like you pick your shoes--so they don't pinch.

If you think freedom is being able to smoke pot 'til you drop, Holland is a very free country. If you don't write graffiti, litter or urinate in elevators, you can do just about whatever else you want in Singapore (see my article in Wired http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/sandfort.html and Bill Gibson's accompanying article http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/gibson.html  for some of the flavor of Singapore).

The object of the game is for you to personally be as free as possible.  And trust me, most countries treat expats better than they do their own citizens and beyond that, their is mostly benign neglect. If you have lived in (not just visited) a foreign country and your experience is otherwise, please tell us about it.

One country many people mention "escaping" to is Belize. Great tax system for retirees/ex-pats, relatively low cost of living, an "easy country life" especially if you like beach living (the interior is more challenging and less inviting), but... they are far harsher on gun laws than any of their Central neighbors, maybe worse than Mexico, certainly no better than Brazil, and definitely worse than SA countries other than Brazil.

I have read, but do not know for certain, that Belizean drug laws are similar to their gun laws. You can smoke pot and probably get away with it (like most recreational U.S. users), but growing and distributing are treated harshly. I welcome better information if anyone has any.

For the most part, I believe Belize lives up to its former name: British Honduras. 'Nuff said.

All that said, I sure wouldn't mind a relaxing week or two on Jerry Jeff's "long boat dock" at Casa Gonzo on Ambergris Caye. I just wouldn't want to live there. (Actually, that's the only non-mountain place I'd like to live, just not under their current laws.)

One country many people mention "escaping" to is Belize. Great tax system for retirees/ex-pats, relatively low cost of living, an "easy country life" especially if you like beach living (the interior is more challenging and less inviting), but... they are far harsher on gun laws than any of their Central neighbors, maybe worse than Mexico, certainly no better than Brazil, and definitely worse than SA countries other than Brazil.

I haven't been there, but it wouldn't work for me from what I know through friends and acquaintances. It is way too backward. Also, it was where Bob White (of "Duck Book" fame) was shot dead in a robbery. Bob ALWAYS carried a gun in the States, but was persuaded it wasn't legal nor necessary in Belize. I have one rocketeer I know who seems to like living in the countryside--at least I haven't heard any complaints. A former roommate and her ex are from there and were apparently more than happy to leave. If anyone has a big interest in Belize, let me know and I'll follow up with my contacts.

I sure wouldn't mind a relaxing week or two on Jerry Jeff's "long boat dock" at Casa Gonzo on Ambergris Caye. I just wouldn't want to live there. (Actually, that's the only non-mountain place I'd like to live, just not under their current laws.)

I'm not a beach guy either. If you like perfect mountain living, check out Panama or Costa Rica.

I remember Bob White of the "Duck book" well.  He was trying at the time to convince everyone that would listen that Belize was a wonderful place, with great weather, friendly people and a low crime rate and they needed to move there and create a expat community.  Then some punk tried to rob him and killed him in the process.  Bob was a multi-millionaire who made his money if I remember correctly by inventing a machine that would take the rubber off of runways and sold them to every major airport in the country.  I think I've still got a copy of his last little booklet that he sent me promoting Belize down in the barn in one of my boxes there.  Decent guy who didn't deserve it. 

Nobody deserves to be the victim of a free-victim zone.  Anybody who believes they don't need a gun somewhere because it's just that friendly and inviting needs to remember cases like this one.  Remember, criminals don't fear police.  They fear your ability to defend yourself.

Nobody deserves to be the victim of a free-victim zone.  Anybody who believes they don't need a gun somewhere because it's just that friendly and inviting needs to remember cases like this one.  Remember, criminals don't fear police.  They fear your ability to defend yourself.

You and I are in total agreement on this one.