Yep I am 12 yrs old (several times over) no am naive , have lived in many countries around the world & in my experience if you mind your own business & do not offend people & try to fit in with the locals you will be fine wherever you go. however being an expat is not for the faint hearted so if you have a nervous disposition best stay put imho. & of course if you insist in doing politics / drugs / someones sister ..... you will likely reap what you sow in spades & yes taxes do matter lots but if you choose to pay for wars & waste - thats your prerogative
Regarding taxes, if you are a US Citizen, regardless of which country you trade from, don't you still have to file and pay US income taxes?
I think hong kong is the best. I'm studying here right now and this place has so much to offer. No capital gains tax, very modern city with great infrastructure, best inner city transit system in the world, more friendly people than other big cities (IMO), girls are crazy about white guys, excellent nightlife (check out LKK on youtube), average food is cheap but you can still have the option of going out to tons of great/higher end places. Its a huge finance center and if you in finance here your basically the equivalent of being an MD in the US, status wise. There's also more of a businesses oriented mindset here as in there's not so much political debate. Also for vacations, lots of amazing countries to visit are right at your fingertips and very affordable. To be fair I will mention the downsides to. Real estate is very expensive, but I expect the bubble to pop hear when US raises interest rates. The culture is very different from US, so you might get more homesick here than you would comparatively going abroad somewhere else. Also, everyone speaks english but locals prefer to use their native cantonese, so when you hanging out with locals you really need to be aggressive in staying involved in the conversation, or they will just switch back to cantonese and you'll be excluded. Lastly, I've been here four about 4 months and I don't think I've gone a single day without hearing Lady Gaga playing at some restaurant, shop, or mall, and its starting to get really really old.
Hong Kong is too crowded and too many aggressive mainland Chinese for my taste. What does anyone think of sunny San Diego in South Cal by the Mexican boarder?
It depends. Are we talking Chula Vista or La Jolla? North County was nice. Used visit Encinitas and yes Cardiff is quite nice.
Home sweet home from one's own favourite armchair None of that foreign crap to eat, biting insects, rodents and poisonous everything.