Here's a question for all of you!

[Mister Frodo]

Well, this question is obvious. As Davey Crockett said:

"You may all go to Hell, but I will go to Texas."

What country is the best besides America? It's easy. Texas. It's practically its own planet. Not only are we big, but there are also tons of people, so it's really, really easy to blend in. It would be the perfect place to kick back, relax, and die of dehydration from the 100-degree heat.

Plus, we actually have a cool flag, a cool motto (The Lone Star State), and high school football. Sure, it only snows like, twice a year. If you're lucky. But who needs snow? Texans don't.

So, move to Texas. Start being dehydrated... today.

[Raiden no Kishi]

Probably Hong Kong. They've got a capitalist economy, a constitution-esque document (Basic Law), and it's close to Japan. I'd like somewhere with decent gun laws, but outside the States, it's all very, very restrictive. I guess I'd just have to take up the martial arts for self-defense. I think the culture shift would be very interesting.

.rai//

[Shao Feng-Li]

All of my creepy family is in Texas.

[Kaligraphic]

I would choose my destination based on the availability of suicide bombers for my revenge against the IRS, with special attention paid to local terrorist groups, cost and availability of explosives and related equipment, and other practical factors, natch.

Then I would use Ingemar as my exploding pawn.

[Nate]

It's practically its own planet. Not only are we big

Big? Ha. If you cut Alaska in half each half would completely cover Texas. That makes Alaska more than twice as big as Texas. Sorry to burst your bubble there, chief.

[Sheenar]

Big? Ha. If you cut Alaska in half each half would completely cover Texas. That makes Alaska more than twice as big as Texas. Sorry to burst your bubble there, chief.

But Texas is still big. From where I live, the nearest state border is a 6-hour drive away. Compare that to Pennsylvania --there are 3-4 states within an hour's drive. (I noticed that when I was leaving Philadelphia...I've never seen signs like that "Delaware --->" or "Maryland <-----" on the highway. Amazing.) It just takes forever to get out of Texas.
I could get to Mexico just as fast as I could get to another state....

[Sakura15]

New Zealand all the way man. They speak English, have weird animals, and lush rainforests. Tons of movies are shot there every year, and the country is stable, with little internal strife. Taxes are pretty low too, I think. The country is like an adventure waiting to happen.

QFT! XD yeah, thats pretty much what I was going to say.

But! other than new zealand, I'd say either Australia or somewhere abouts in europe.

[Warrior4Christ]

Big? Ha. If you cut Alaska in half each half would completely cover Texas. That makes Alaska more than twice as big as Texas. Sorry to burst your bubble there, chief.

Yeah, even my state is 50% larger than Texas. Try Western Australia, which is 3.8 times the size of Texas - "the second largest subnational entity in the world". Not that you'd be able to blend into 80% of the state, because there aren't many people to blend in with.

[EricTheFred]

Of course, if we measure habitable land, W.A. and Alaska both rank somewhat closer to New Jersey... which may help explain why there's 12 times as many Texans as West Australians, and 34 times as many Texans as Alaskans... and we aren't even particularly crowded in these parts.

Texas... fifteenth largest economy in the world (on the list where the US is broken up by state rather than as a whole. California is ninth largest on the same list... ahead of #10 Russia.)

The entire nation of Australia ranks 20th on same list (it would only be the fifth largest state economy in the US if it were to join the Union.)

But I still think Aussies are cool, and that's still my destination when I jump bail.

[Nia-chan]

Maybe Germany... I've always wanted to go and hopefully I could manage with what German I can remember. If not, then Jamaica... hopefully I could connect with some family still over there.

[Nate]

[Sheenar]

XD Hilarious. As a person who has lived in Texas my whole life, that is so true.
Big trucks are definitely considered a status symbol.

Anyway, maybe I'll go to Mexico instead. It's right there. Sure, it might be dangerous, but if Billy Parham (from The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy) can make it, so can I. He had a wolf, and I have a dog. Close enough.

Wait, on second thought, I'd better not. Especially given what happens to Billy in the novel... (most depressing book I have ever read...EVER)

Maybe I should also rethink going to Korea...some people there eat dogs (they do...my friend Yire said that she accidentally ate dog once --she didn't know what it was until afterwards). I don't want to risk being fed Pebbles' kin without my knowledge.

So Australia it is.

[Gabriel 9.0]

Switzerland, given that there is a good friend of mine there, plus Swiss chocolate is awesome.

[NekoChan_C]

Hmm... I think I'll pack up Ichi and the kids and we'll move to Puerto Rico... and if the IRS ever get wise, we'll hop a boat over to Republica Dominica... we'll teach the boys to play baseball, then export them back to the US for the MLB... once they get famous, we'll pay the back taxes and not even the IRS will hold a grudge! ^_^

[Mister Frodo]

LOL WUT

That comic's pretty funny. And fairly true. Not that I'm even a true Texan, though; I don't have much of an accent, I don't like beans, and I can't stand sweet tea. Still... Texas rules.

And the comment about Alaska being bigger is absurd. Look at your map of the U.S. Alaska is usually put off to the side. And it's so small. It's like, not even as big as the Dakotas! And everybody knows that those maps are completely accurate with their size depictions!

Besides, Texas has way more people than Alaska. Plus, unlike Alaska, nobody writes depressing books about people freezing in the Texan wilderness.

[Dante]

I would declare my house an independent nation and principality of Sealand. Because God knows...

YOU JUST DON'T MESS WITH SEALAND!

But if I were to do such a thing I would likely move to Japan (I mean assuming you can go anyplace without being followed which isn't really likely the case) and... I'd max out a ton of credit cards before I went ^_^ Cha Ching $_$! (Hey if we're saying that I'm already not paying my taxes...)

But. Fortunately I have no such problems.

[Tyrel]

hrm.. it's between the U.S. and England. I think it would be England though. The U.S. is a tad closer in culture to Canada, but England is just great... along with the fact that Canadians are cooler than Americans hands down, and every difference between them pretty well makes Canada a better place, so I'd rather not live there. But it is close, lifestyle wouldn't change tremendously. England is just awesome though..


ok, it's decided. I'd choose England.


P.S. - wait, I'm Canadian, couldn't I just send the IRS on their way after showing them why they can't do anything about it?

[soul alive]

Oooh, tough. I'd probably say Italy, specifically northern Italy. I'd be able to travel throughout the country, but live in a place that wouldn't get as disgustingly hot in the summer. I speak enough Spanish that learning Italian shouldn't be too difficult, and I could drive a Vespa or hilariously tiny car, and getting a job wouldn't be a problem, as there's more than enough of a job market for historical preservation of architecture there. ^_^

Scandinavia, specifically Denmark, is my second choice, but too cold and dark in winter. Switzerland is ridiculously expensive (the cheapest burger on the BK menu is about 11 dollars). I'd consider Spain, but the politics are too volatile for my comfort. I'm sure I'd love New Zealand, but I have this strange aversion to heat...

[Fish and Chips]

"There's a safer place to go than Texas. A place called Hell." - Saito Hajime

[animewarrior]

hrm... the IRS in CANADA?!?! that would be lame. >.<

However, if I had to move anywhere my #1 Choice would be.... *drumroll* ENGLAND!!! XDD I love that place... I'll have a spot of tea with those crumpets! *goes and daydreams about England*

If England was over crowded I'd consider Austrailia...even if I HATE SNAKES! XD Japan wouldn't be option....just because it's SO CROWDED... but I want to visit there someday.

[RobinSena]

"There's a safer place to go than Texas. A place called Hell." - Saito Hajime

I would definitely move to Hell. I mean, if it would "provide safety for the rest of your life", how awesome would it be to be the only person who's safe in Hell?

[Radical Dreamer]

hrm.. it's between the U.S. and England. I think it would be England though. The U.S. is a tad closer in culture to Canada, but England is just great... along with the fact that Canadians are cooler than Americans hands down, and every difference between them pretty well makes Canada a better place, so I'd rather not live there. But it is close, lifestyle wouldn't change tremendously. England is just awesome though.

I generally prefer to keep more of my dollars from taxes but thanks. XD

<3 Generalizationnn~

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I don't like Canada. =(

To many Bears. BEARS. BEAAAAAARRRSSSSS. D:

Bears are EVIL.

[sharien chan]

[quote="ChristianKitsune (post: 1233325)"]Probably Austrailia... because it seems pretty...but baring that, I would say England... (Austrailia has crazy bugs... >_<)

Countries with free healthcare and college are soo deceiving and I would have to pay taxes that are WAY more expensive than they are here... ^^]


Actually...if you're poor you pay a lot less taxes...the rich are the ones that pay. My former roommates cousins all did that. They stayed poor and the government took care of them...

[minakichan]

._. I love Texas... but I hate tex-mex, college football, pickup trucks, and wildlife. Especially bunnies. But I do say y'all, and I love it-- why doesn't English already have a plural second person? Y'all should be adapted into the English language, maybe not formally, but informally accepted as a proper grammatically correct contraction.

*cough* moving on...

Singapore. Yes. Wow. A country that's overcrowded, overly strict, not too great on human rights, and may actually have a higher tax rate than the US (not sure on that at all, buuuuuut at least I understand that the government gives a lot back because it gets budget surpluses as a result). That stuff kind of sucks, but I like that Singapore is East Asian but still quite Westernized-- i.e. I can speak English and improve my Chinese there. All right, to tell the truth, I'd want to live in S'pore because they have manga in English AND Chinese (simplified >_> but what can you do), and it's cheaper than in the US ^_^. Well, its economy should also be high enough that standards of living wouldn't be significantly lower, I imagine.

[Mister Frodo]

._. I love Texas... but I hate tex-mex, college football, pickup trucks, and wildlife. Especially bunnies. But I do say y'all, and I love it-- why doesn't English already have a plural second person? Y'all should be adapted into the English language, maybe not formally, but informally accepted as a proper grammatically correct contraction.

O.O

How can you NOT like bunnies? What is there NOT to like about them? This, I tell you, is an outrage! This is madness!

BUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNIES...

[EricTheFred]

"There's a safer place to go than Texas. A place called Hell." - Saito Hajime

Well, Hell tends to have a better climate, anyway.

We have a nephew living with us right now. He's nearing the start of his first Texas summer. It's funny to watch the looks on my sons' faces whenever he complains about how hot it's getting. They look at him and reply ".... This is hot?"

[Raiden no Kishi]

O.O

How can you NOT like bunnies? What is there NOT to like about them? This, I tell you, is an outrage! This is madness!

THIS! IS! TEXAS! : : boot : :

.rai//

[Kaligraphic]

I do say y'all, and I love it-- why doesn't English already have a plural second person?

Just do what Bible translation scholars have done and co-opt thou for the second person singular pronoun. You/you/your/yours for plural and thou/thee/thy/thine for singular.

[EricTheFred]

Just do what Bible translation scholars have done and co-opt thou for the second person singular pronoun. You/you/your/yours for plural and thou/thee/thy/thine for singular.

It's not really coopting. In the English of James (and similarly the English of Elizabeth I that Shakespeare used), 'thou' is the informal or familiar first person singular. 'You' is both the formal first person and first person plural. The use of 'thou' in addressing Our Heavenly Father is in recognition the deeply personal relationship between Deity and Believer. In the same dialect, a royal subject would never have addressed King James as 'Thou'. At least if he intended to remain attached to his head for long.

They have a similar situation in modern German ('Sie' as opposed to 'du') and French ('Vous' as opposed to 'tu') in which the formal singular is the same word as the plural. The difference is, English has for all practical purposes lost the informal singular and gone over to using the same word for singular and plural regardless of formality.

But only certain more advanced civilizations have recognized the problem and moved to rectify the situation, introducing the more genteel 'y'all' in place of 'you' in the plural. We do feel confident that the rest of the English speaking world will eventually catch up, though.