Best Places To Live?

[asiaboy]

I spend most of my time in Thailand and it is nice enough but .... sometimes I wonder if the grass is greener elsewhere? So, except the United States (been there, done that), what do you guys thinks are the best places to live in the world for the gay webmaster? A nice climate, good connectivity, and plenty gay life is what I am looking for... :icon_smile:

[nickbaer]

I'm going to the UK.

I want to bounce around Europe. With the Internet, who needs to be based in any one city/state/country?.

Speaking of Asia - Do Asian consumers prefer on-line payment methods instead of/in addition to Visa/MasterCard? CCBill offers a certain payment option for EU customers called EU Debit, but is there something like that in Asia/Malaysia?

[jeremyroddick]

I've traveled a lot but never end up living for a long time abroad. But I'm always happy to come back home in Canada/Montreal. If you can handle the snow, the business is good, the boys are hot and I don't feel that I have to do business hidden in my basement. The gay community is vibrant too.

[HunkyLuke]

I live in Panama, its an easy place to move to as its closely tied to the USA and is stable thanks to the canal and being on the US$. Its got warm temps all year long, but if you are looking for gay nightlife, this is not the place for you.

I used to live in Florianopolis, Brazil (south of Sao Paulo), that was a fantastic place. It is a smaller city (ie, not like Rio's 6 million or Sao Paulo's 20 million), but it has a very active gay life and the people are very open and accepting. I had to leave there after having some long-term visa issues and then getting burgled. The biggest issues in Brazil are bureaucracy, high taxes and its still a bit dangerous with burglaries and such.

Buenos Aires, Argentina has a great gay life and is quite affordable to live there. I have visited a number of times and have always had a very fun time, but I wouldn't live there personally as its a bit too cold in the winter for my liking (I like tropical all year round). Lee from MiamiBoyz has been living there for quite a few years now, hopefully he will stop in to give you more info.

I really encourage people to go live abroad, it give you a real different sense of the world and helps you put your priorities in live in order. I say go for it, move to another country and try it out. After all, the worse that can happen is that you end up back home after having a great adventure!!!

[asiaboy]

nickbaer, I do get plenty of debit card payments from Asian customers. Some, mostly Germans, use the EU debit option. Epoch has something called "Ideal" for Netherlands customers. This is what virtually 100% of people in the Netherlands would use if given the chance. But Epoch hide it so well on the signup form that nobody has ever used it once. I asked them to improve on that, but they totally do not get how to implement it properly.

Luke, Panama sounds like an interesting option. Is it easy for EUrotrash like me to get long term visas there? For Thailand I get a 1 year visa at the Amsterdam consulate simply because I am 50+. Just have to do a visa run every 3 months, but that is easy from Bangkok.

Has anybody tried the Canary islands? I have never been there but they seem to have plenty of gay life and nice weather year round.

[pocoloco]

Hello fellow Dutchy

Me and my partner are currently looking for another place to live and so far Spain is our number 1 choice.

The Caribbean and South America looks interesting as well, but we think it's better to give it a try in Europe first.

There is plenty of gay life on the Canary Islands, the weather is great and they seem to have good internet connections. I have been there a few times and I can see myself living on Gran Canaria. It's a great island.

[asiaboy]

Hoi pocoloco! :-)

I don't think I'd ever move to the Carribean. Homophobic and all that, is all I hear about it? But maybe things have changed there, who knows... :-)

[HunkyLuke]

Luke, Panama sounds like an interesting option. Is it easy for EUrotrash like me to get long term visas there? For Thailand I get a 1 year visa at the Amsterdam consulate simply because I am 50+. Just have to do a visa run every 3 months, but that is easy from Bangkok.

Its easy to get a visitor visa, those are good for 3 months at a time and there are plenty of nearby countries to visit for those visa runs! As for a long term visa, the rules have changed since I got mine, but I believe you can get a permanent retirement visa with proof of $1K/mo income (pension or such). If you are seriously interested in moving here, come visit and I will introduce you to my lawyer.

[asiaboy]

Its easy to get a visitor visa, those are good for 3 months at a time

Thanks for the info. Seems it is very similar to Thailand in that respect. Now I am weighing my options ... ;-)

[zBUCKzDanny]

I've been to the Canary Islands, but given the option, think that Sitges is far better. in Sitges you have the beautiful beaches, tons of gay life, and just a short 20 minutes train ride from Barcelona.

But hey, why not stay in Thailand but just get out of Bangkok? I've always thought it would be a lot better living here if I moved to Chang Mai, or one of the islands like Samui or Phuket...at the very least it would be more relaxing!

[asiaboy]

Oh Danny! Any where outside Bangkok is just too provincial, is it not? All the cute guys live in Bangkok and they leave their grandparents to tend the farm! :rotfl:

[Tony]

I thought that prohibit all types of pornography. Production, distribution were criminalized in Thailand

[asiaboy]

Yes, it is a very narrow-minded country, despite its reputation.

[zBUCKzDanny]

I thought that prohibit all types of pornography. Production, distribution were criminalized in Thailand

You can buy pornography in Thailand everywhere, whether on the street or in shopping malls, and it is often being sold by underage kids. Nevermind that the porn they are selling is pirated DVDs being sold for about $3.00 and you can find everything imaginable from Bel Ami to Corbin Fischer. So why is it perfectly fine to sell pirated porn but illegal to sell legal adult films?

The police get a cut of this business, often own them, and want to make money from all ends (production and distribution). Most of the people who I have read about that have been caught filming in Thailand get off with a 200,000 Baht ($7000 US) fine to avoid jail time. Amazing Thailand indeed!

Unfortunately this kind of arcane system is in place in most of southeast Asia, one of the big reasons why we don't make money from this region of the world!

[zBUCKzDanny]

Oh Danny! Any where outside Bangkok is just too provincial, is it not? All the cute guys live in Bangkok and they leave their grandparents to tend the farm!

Well a few of the cute ones have to stay behind to tend the buffalos, don't you know! And Thai country boys are a lot more sweet and wholesome.