Looking Abroad
I am not without some grief as my husband and I consider leaving the United States. But even if I could stomach the racism and misogyny from the one third of the population who voted for that malignant narcissist, and the indifference and apathy from those who didn’t vote at all, I am facing a very real issue - the possible demise of the Affordable Care Act.
Without the ACA, health insurers will once again be free to deny healthcare insurance to anyone with preexisting conditions. I’m 61 years old, and yes, I do have some pre-existing conditions. So I’m screwed. Nor could I afford the $1,200 per month premium even if I was accepted. Right now, the ACA subsidizes my premium as well.
There are 24 million people receiving health insurance through the ACA. So I’m not alone. If it is killed, it’s going to hurt a lot of people.
During tRump’s last presidency, he put the ACA on the chopping block. It was saved by John McCain who cast the deciding vote. I’m not confident that it will be saved a second time. And despite tRump’s assurances that he has “a concept of a plan” that will be better than the ACA, I’m not holding my breath.
Time for A Look Abroad
So what are the criteria for possible destinations? In no particular order:
Has inexpensive healthcare (unsurprisingly)
Has weather we can tolerate (like no hurricanes)
Has a populace who can at least tolerate Americans
Has a path to residency for which we qualify
Has a lower cost of living than the U.S.
Is relatively safe
Initial Locations on Our List to Research
Costa Rica
Panama
Portugal
Spain
While New Zealand and Australia would seem to be obvious contenders (although their cost of living is mostly on par with the United States), I already know from giving them a cursory look in 2016 that you need to have the skills they are looking for - like being a doctor for example - or have a lot of money. We don’t qualify.
Now to figure out which locations fit our requirements and are amenable to allowing us to emigrate.
