The external forces attempting to purchase my loyalty continue to offer bribes, although it is unlikely anyone can meet the stated price. My basic requirements have never changed: health care for myself and my offspring, and legal permanent residency in a nation that provides basic services to all citizens.
Cash is nice but irrelevant – no amount of money in my pocket will suffice to convince me to live in a place where other people suffer for lack of food, shelter, and medical care.
If I sound like a pious idealist, that is fine. Remember: I have the wherewithal to act on principle. I left my homeland for a reason.
Though I am also by nature strictly freelance, so I am willing to listen to competitive bids. Where will I live? Wherever I get the best offer, within other stated parameters.
So: a place with excellent public infrastructures, reasonable fiscal policies, decent educational systems. To protect my sensitive skin, weather on the “gray to gloomy” scale. Pandering to a strange new fascination with houses: enough money to acquire a home. And couch. In a city with arts theatres, interesting museums, live music, literary intrigue, and good coffee.
See? I’m easy. There are at least three, maybe four options in the whole wide world that match my list!
Today I spent a significant amount of the day in a first class airport lounge reading Tatler. My destination was secret. Though you might be able to guess.
