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After a lot of research and thinking I am seriously considering becoming an Australian citizen after I graduate university. My father and I have discussed it to great extent. He lived there after his military service ended in the 70. And tends to think pretty highly of the place; always told me he wishes he had stayed there. I think pretty highly of Australia's social and economic practices, and as time goes on I worry, increasingly, about whether or not America is an ideal place to raise a family. I worry about health care, the economy, what if i were to have a homosexual child that had to grow up in a place where he/she couldn't even consider getting married. I prefer the increasing secular point of view that Australians generally have; the list could go on. Anyway, for reasons stated and many more, I am becoming more willing, as time goes on, to renounce my US citizenship in order to become an Australian. I haven't talked to many people that I know personally simply because I live in the south and saying something like this would likely warrant a 'You're stupid for ditching the beat country on earth' response. I know that many of you are also from places outside the US and would like your opinions and thoughts on this matter. Thanks.

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Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

Just make sure you cool with playing vidj'a games at a rediculously marked up price, heavily censored...and released two years after everyone else in the world gets it.

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Arts

Farts

Twarts

Quote (Narratorway @ 7th April 2010 22:16)

Just make sure you cool with playing vidj'a games at a rediculously marked up price, heavily censored...and released two years after everyone else in the world gets it.

Haha! I hadn't even considered the video game aspect yet. Where are you from, Narrator?

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Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

Easy. Just get a dual-nationality if you can, then you've got the best of both worlds. Australia is a lot better if you like rugby or cricket. I know a lot of people who've gone at different times and I've not heard one bad word about the place other than "it's too hot" and that's a pretty weak complaint to make coming from over here. The other thing I've heard is that everything is trying to kill you, the sharks, the mosquitoes, the jellyfish, the dingos, the sun, the stingrays, the insects, and so on. It sounds like you're looking into it in depth so I wouldn't worry. As long as you've put enough thought and research into it, whatever choice you make will be the right one. I'd consider dual-nationality if it's available, and maybe also think about New Zealand as a similar but different alternative.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Thanks for the input! So far as I understand, only Americans born overseas are allowed to have duel nationality, and are supposed to choose between the two once they turn 18. Unless I'm missing something, I'm fairly sure that the US doesn't allow duel nationality; I would be giving up my American citizenship in order to be an Australian.

I grew up in one of the hottest parts of Texas. When compared to the summer we had here last year, I think Australia would be a nice, cool change of weather. Most days throughout June here were around 35-40 (Celsius) with a humidity of 65-80 percent.. 'Twas miserable!

Also, I hear NZ is nice as a place to vacation or live for a temporary period, but as I understand it, incredibly over-priced. I've also heard that the NZ government is making it easy for many people to immigrate in order to keep up the population, as they seem to be having problems with so many NZers Immigrating into AU.

This post has been edited by Sephiroth on 8th April 2010 20:35

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Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

If I had the money, I'd love to live in Australia, or NZ. They look so beautiful, especially NZ (at least it did in LotR!). As for America, there are 7 states that allow civil unions or gay marriage, and there were none seven years ago, and I wouldn't worry too much about the economy and health care.

That being said, if you have the money, go. I would.

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Praise Be To Helix!

This site says you don't have to denounce citizenship U.S. citizenship unless the other country requires it but you may want to read it in detail and it could never hurt to double check. I'd also look into taxation issues just to be sure that you wouldn't have to double pay on your income.

As for if you should actually go through with it, I must say I'd advise against this course of action for at least another year. Why? Well haven't you heard? The grass is always greener on the other side. I've known people who've moved within their own countries only to regret their decision because while leaving your current life is easy, returning to how things once were is much harder. No country is without its faults and this is a fairly life changing decision. In your eyes the United States might be a bad place to be but it'd be a travesty should Australia prove to be even worse for you once you see it in person.

You'd also need time to plan out the rest of your life: Where you'll live, what you'll do, what's allowed and what's accepted. What sorts of changes would you have to make to your life-style to accommodate the new everything? If the U.S. is proving to be absolutely unbearable, what makes Australia better than the U.K? Also, have you talked this over with your girlfriend?

When you've answered those questions and hopefully many more, if you're really serious about this, you'll have to get a visa, go over and take a visit at least once for a prolonged visit. Except without getting caught up in the tourist traps. If you have one, I'd suggest renting out/sub-letting your place for the money to rent a room so you can see what what day to day life is like whilst there. You'll want to to the grocery stores, chat with the locals, keep up with the news. Also, be sure to keep yourself busy with something productive, so if you can't land a temp. job, I'd suggest taking some sort of class. I suggest this because if you keep yourself busy with responsibility, you won't spoil it by getting lulled into the sense that it's a vacation and allowing you to better simulate what the rest of your life would be like there.

Then what you'll want to do is return and give yourself a chance to settle down from the excitement. Once you're back into the daily grind, reflect upon the time you've spent there. Think about what you think of the place now. Does it seem as idealistic as you imagined? Is it worthwhile enough to warrant a big move?

Don't get me wrong now, it might be a great idea and you may even feel like you've found your place in the world because if it works out, you quite literally have. It's also a majorly life changing decision though, so it must be met with great scrutiny. I wish you great luck in coming to a satisfying decision.

This post has been edited by Tonepoet on 9th April 2010 14:05

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Role reversal at its finest.

Quote (Tonepoet @ 9th April 2010 06:00)

It's also a majorly life changing decision though, so it must be met with great scrutiny.

Tonepoet's right, it is a very big decision. If I were you, I would get dual citizenship first, find a temporary place to live there, and see if you really want to do it.

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Praise Be To Helix!

Well, I still have some time left before I finish college. I'm transferring to a new school in the fall and when I graduate there I'm going to Korea to teach English so that I can pay off my student loans (lower cost of living, higher pay, and free apartment from the school). After I pay them off I want to get my master degree. Maybe I would go to Australia to do that if I can find a school I feel is worth going to for my Linguistics MA.

I appreciate the concern you guys have. Many of the things you mentioned are extremely valid, and are things that I will have to do/look into. However, I think the one thing that you have overlooked is the fact that you have to live in a new country for an allotted amount of time before being eligible for citizenship. It's not like I can just waltz over to Australia, knowing nothing about the country, and apply for citizenship. I have to live there about four years.

It's a step that's pretty far off in the future, but it is one I've been thinking about for quite awhile.

Thanks for the link Tonepoet.

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Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

Quote (Sephiroth @ 11th April 2010 13:25)

However, I think the one thing that you have overlooked is the fact that you have to live in a new country for an allotted amount of time before being eligible for citizenship. It's not like I can just waltz over to Australia, knowing nothing about the country, and apply for citizenship. I have to live there about four years.

Yeah, I thought of that right after I posted. Well, four years is a long time, a lot can happen in that time. Wish you the best of luck though.

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Praise Be To Helix!