The United States is the most hated country in the world.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

135. That's because it's really, really hard to get permission to live in a Western European country

Believe me, I looked into it during the Bush administration.

In most countries, you have to either

1) Have a parent who was born in that country. In Germany, it's OK to have a grandparent who was born there. Unfortunately, my grandmother was born two weeks after her parents arrived in the U.S. "Conceived in Germany" doesn't count.

2) Have a specific job offer from a company that has gone through considerable hassle and paperwork to hire you

3) Marry or be in a domestic partnership with a person from that country

4) Be a wealthy retiree, and that works only for some countries, not for others

5) Start out by earning a university degree in that country and getting hired as a new graduate

6) Qualify for political asylum (No, I didn't, not even during the Bush administration)

I count as "none of the above."

I also looked into going to Japan, where many American expats live happily and where I am able to function comfortably in the language. Almost all of them are married to Japanese, however. The other route is to have a considerable amount of cash in hand to start a business. Being a free-lance translator doesn't count unless you've already proved yourself by having a regular job. However, it's hard to get a regular job unless you're under 35, since age discrimination is legal, and the society as a whole thinks that you should be settled down by that age.

So you see, that's one reason why there's not more two-way traffic. I think there would have been if the immigration rules hadn't been so strict.

However, I do know people who have moved to Latin America or Southeast Asia as retirees, simply because they can't afford to live above poverty level on their Social Security income in the U.S.