Leaving Australia (again)

[wayneL]

So, missus recorded the second coming of the gracious and noble God Emperor from last night.

Having partially grown up in 'Murica, I know the lyrics to The Battle Hymn of the Republic off by heart and started singing along in my best baritone.

It made her cry... at the end she says, "Get rich and get us into America" lol.

 

[mullokintyre]

So, missus recorded the second coming of the gracious and noble God Emperor from last night.

Having partially grown up in 'Murica, I know the lyrics to The Battle Hymn of the Republic off by heart and started singing along in my best baritone.

It made her cry... at the end she says, "Get rich and get us into America" lol.

Get half rich and just send her.
Mick

 

[wayneL]

Get half rich and just send her.
Mick

Nah, she's a keeper

 

[dyna]

Found this 15 minute You Tube Vid just out , one day ago : " The harsh reality of living in Germany # 1 "
Pommie guy living in what looks to me like my home town , Frankfurt . Grey skies , pale faces .God what a hole , but that's just me . I get sick even looking at the joint . Ann Frank 's house is still standing. Doctor Mengele 's also survived the war . Not sure if it's still there now , but the big hospital across the road where he served his time , sure is .

 

[wayneL]

Found this 15 minute You Tube Vid just out , one day ago : " The harsh reality of living in Germany # 1 "
Pommie guy living in what looks to me like my home town , Frankfurt . Grey skies , pale faces .God what a hole , but that's just me . I get sick even looking at the joint . Ann Frank 's house is still standing. Doctor Mengele 's also survived the war . Not sure if it's still there now , but the big hospital across the road where he served his time , sure is .

I have never been to Frankfurt, but my impression is that it's a pretty brutalist industrial city like many of the sh7thole cities in the UK.

But did spend a few weeks in Munich/Bavaria messing around with horses. It was in the spring and the massive strawberries were in season, as was the doppelbock/eisbock (deadly).

I thought it was great, if a bit over formal compared to us. It was spring though, the nicest time of year.

The only faux pas was a misunderstanding of what the hell a "tischfaulen" was for.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Nah, she's a keeper

plays cricket, too?

 

[wayneL]

plays cricket, too?

Well, whenever I bowl a googley, it puts me on a sticky wicket

 

[Smurf1976]

I have never been to Frankfurt, but my impression is that it's a pretty brutalist industrial city like many of the sh7thole cities in the UK.

I've been there briefly.

Wouldn't say it was a particularly exciting place. I recall going on a boat on the river and going up some tall building as a lookout point. Also recall seeing some rather expensive looking car parked on the street with people posing next to it.

I got the impression it's the kind of city people move to for a reason, because they got a job there in finance, banking or whatever, not because of the city itself.

But did spend a few weeks in Munich

A much more interesting place at least I thought it was.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

I have never been to Frankfurt, but my impression is that it's a pretty brutalist industrial city like many of the sh7thole cities in the UK.

pretty fair comparison... Frankfurt has the stock exchange (Europe's largest) and intercontinental airport . Many professionals live outside in dormitory villages /towns . Good autobahn and rail connections. Downturn was anodyne, modernist , full of smack addicts and Turks, at least on my visit in 1994

 

[qldfrog]

pretty fair comparison... Frankfurt has the stock exchange (Europe's largest) and intercontinental airport . Many professionals live outside in dormitory villages /towns . Good autobahn and rail connections. Downturn was anodyne, modernist , full of smack addicts and Turks, at least on my visit in 1994

And a good airport.. utilitarian....

 

[Dona Ferentes]

And a good airport.. utilitarian....

good German girls ... flew in from Asia, at Terminal C and needed to get to Terminal A for a shorthaul KLM flight.. even worked which gate ; A10

Enquiries : "where is gate A10?"
"Zere iz no gate eighteen "
"A10?", in desperation. jet-lagged, tired , two kids in tow.
"Zere iz no gate eighteen "

Eventually, with intervention,
"Aha, you mean gate Ah tzen"

We found it, just in time.
It's that Aussie accent!!

 

[Knobby22]

I was in Frankfurt 18 months ago.
It's in the doldrums. Empty office buildings due to some failure of the financial district. Run down sections of the city with Islamic immigrants.
The hotel I stayed at was half empty as was every other hotel.
The German architect I met there who was driving a taxi said things were bad.

We did the tourists things including the rebuilt old town, the restored museum where democracy began with pretty good history elements, An OK beer area. The boat trip was very interesting to get a sense of its history.

Basically though, Frankfurt was destroyed in WW2.
I reckon it would be a bit depressing to live there full time, good for a 3 day tourist visit though.
Would not retire there. Maybe if you lived in a country town nearby instead.

 

[dyna]

Something for the mad Francophiles , here : google today's ( Lundi 3 rd Feb 2025 ) France 2 JT 20 heures ( 51 minutes Brexit Special )

At 47 min. mark " Those Brits who have chosen France " ....basically it's " bring lots a' money , Guv ! "

Also worth a look : At 43 min : " The scandal ( Maggie Thatcher's 1989 privatisation of Water ) that's poisoned England's rivers ).......It's pretty gross .

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Don’t like Trump’s $8m ‘gold card’ visa? Try Europe for $413,000​

Hans van Leeuwen

London | Does the $US5 million ($7.9 million) price tag on one of US President Donald Trump’s gold card visas sound a bit high? Well, good news: across the Atlantic, you can buy your way into European residency for as little as €250,000 ($413,000).

You don’t even have to put up with Northern Europe’s grim and endless winters: the “golden visa” schemes, often requiring no more than the purchase of a cheap flat, are largely proffered in the balmy Mediterranean. The welcome mat is still out in Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Portugal.

Greece is the cheapest, although the government has just pushed up the price a bit. This seems to have triggered a surge in applications last year, particularly from Americans, to beat the increase.
“Looking ahead to 2025, we believe that demand for Greek golden visas will remain robust despite the recent changes made,” said Alena Lesina from the investment immigration firm Astons. “This is because it is still possible to purchase real estate and obtain a residency permit for as little as €250,000, even in the very heart of Athens, provided that the property in question is converted from commercial use to residential.”

In most of the more desirable parts of Greece – the islands, Athens, Thessaloniki – the residency permit requires a minimum property investment of €800,000. In the country’s less compelling regions, this drops to €400,000. And if the property has been converted from commercial to residential, it is only €250,000.
“We’re seeing a lot of developers now buying old hotels and office buildings and transforming them into modern residential complexes,” Lesina said.

Cyprus is also a bargain, offering residency in exchange for a €300,000 property purchase and proof of an annual income above €50,000. It reputedly used to be popular among Russians because, after eight years, citizenship is on offer. But unlike the other golden visa countries, the Cypriot passport does not offer free movement within the European Union’s Schengen Area. The other drawback is that the application process is relatively slow.

In Malta, the price tag of the golden visa is a €300,000 property purchase, and proof that the applicant has a further half a million euros of capital assets, of which at least €150,000 must be “financial” rather than in real estate.

The Maltese option also includes some chunky fees: €40,000 for the main applicant, €10,000 for every dependant, a €28,000 “government contribution”, and a €2000 donation to a Maltese charity or NGO. Malta is in the Schengen zone, and for those who actually plan to spend time in their new country of residence, a big advantage is that pretty much everyone speaks good English.

Tighter rules​

In Italy, Spain and Portugal, the path to permanent residency no longer winds through the property market. The Portuguese initially dished out golden visas to people buying a property for as little as €350,000.

The scheme was perhaps a bit too successful, with Chinese investors particularly keen, and Americans piling in behind them. An overheating property market prompted the government to limit golden visas to investors sinking €500,000 or more into investment funds or businesses.

Spain last month followed suit. Amid a political outcry over soaring property prices, the left-wing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, which had already moved to end the golden visa scheme from this April, announced a 100 per cent tax on non-EU, non-resident buyers of Spanish real estate.

About 15,000 people had obtained a golden visa in the decade to 2023, the government said, mostly from China, Russia, Britain, the US, Ukraine, Iran, Venezuela and Mexico. Unsurprisingly, buzzing Barcelona had been the biggest drawcard: house purchases connected to golden visas in that city made up more than 5 per cent of annual residential sales.

But there’s still a back door into Spain: the digital nomad visa. This allows a foreigner to live in Spain, as long as he or she works remotely for a business based outside the country. If the nomad is self-employed, no more than 20 per cent of his or her work should involve Spanish companies.

The qualification is a degree and three years’ work experience. Family members can come too. But although it offers a route to permanent residency, it also paves the way to tax residency as well – perhaps a less attractive proposition.

The priciest golden ticket in Europe is Italy, where foreigners have to spend either €2 million on government bonds, €500,000 on Italian shares, or €1 million in donations to good causes or research.

For those of comfortable means, it is also possible to take up “elective residence” in Italy, which requires an Italian address and proof of a stable, independent income – because no work is permitted. But if you’re intending to live La Dolce Vita, that’s probably part of the plan.

 

[wayneL]

A consideration as an ethnic Englishman.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

A consideration as an ethnic Englishman.

Britain includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as England

 

[mullokintyre]

A consideration as an ethnic Englishman.

How many of those 76% were descendants of convicts?
Mick

 

[wayneL]

How many of those 76% were descendants of convicts?
Mick

Dunno, but a lot are obviously descendants of the jailers.