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My Emigration

A story of international relocation

I am Zyra, and I run a website www.zyra.org.uk which has done quite well over the years. A while ago when I was living in the UK, I decided that I would prefer it if the UK government did not grab 40% of the money which my website made. Well, how would you feel in a similar situation? It might look like a big sensation, but it's commonsense.

To continue running the prosperous business but to avoid paying 40% tax, the best solution was obviously to leave the country. Also, there are other reasons for leaving the UK. There are many good and bad things about the UK, and it's generally known that if you gain the freedom to escape (for example by winning the Lottery or the football pools), then you'll probably escape to somewhere better, somewhere with more personal freedom, and where the weather is better. It does get awfully cold in the winter in the UK, and it can be quite grim. In contrast, images of Bounty Bar ads tend to come to mind, with tropical palm trees, and the idea of a living in a Tax Haven, a paraismo fiscal.

Another thing about the UK is that there are some people who try to put you down for being a success. There's a culture of envy, as in What have they got against Fortnum and Mason?

In addition to importance of freedom in life, there's also the fact that I want to be frozen when I die. The system in the UK is a bit stuffy about that sort of thing. They seem to want you to fade away in a nursing home. Well no thanks, I'd rather talk about emigration!

In practice, an emigration requires considerable thought and good planning. It requires making an informed decision on where to move to, and then the actual upping-sticks, an international house-moving operation, setting up the new home, and also some important financial things which have to be got right.

The first thing to do is to get around visiting different Tax Havens. I first visited the Dominican Republic on a 2 week all-inclusive holiday with Olympic Holidays. A bit later I visited Sri Lanka , and then later, Costa Rica and Belize. I quite liked the look of Belize. My tax adviser Terry O'Halloran said "You can't move to a country without living there three months". So, I went to Belize to live there three months to make sure it was for me. Unfortunately it turned out there is a major sticking-point with Belize. It's not just that I was set upon by masked robbers (Strangled in Belize), but it's worse than that. It's Police Corruption in Belize. If you can't trust the police, it's no good.

People who were escaping from Belize were moving to Panama. I booked a flight to Panama and I explored. This was a success, and so I then booked a three-month stay at Las Delicias. At the end of the three months I started the procedure for my immigration into Panama, and I bought a house. I didn't buy the biggest house, or the cheapest house. I bought the biggest house that was a sensible price.

Having decided to emigrate to Panama (see choosing which country to live in) I then began the actual emigration. There are various aspects to this:

* Packing.

* Moving the business.

* International house-moving.

* Things to do with buildings.

* Legal paperwork.

* Setting up home in the new country.

I'm going to explain these things in some detail, but some of this will have to wait for another issue of the website. However, here a few brief notes:

* Packing.

I am a hoarder, and I had a vast amount of stuff to pack. If you'd like to see the method of cramming 38 tonnes of personal effects into two 40ft high-cube shipping containers, a good place to start is the page about hoarding

* Moving the business.

If the business had been a fish and chip shop, it would have been quite tricky to move, because of the customer-base. But as it's a website, www.zyra.org.uk , moving the business was considerably easier. I also moved the phone using Vonage (see Vonage Testimonial) and the TV using Slingbox.

* International house-moving.

This was a BIG job. I suppose I could frame the nice letter I got from Pickfords saying "in this case we would prefer not to do it, and we decline to quote". However, Fletcher and Newhouse (International movers) bravely took on the job. There's a big story to this. I'll write this up on another page and link it from here. There were ten loads by furniture van, and five loads with a friend's van. At the Panama end of the job, the containers arrived on lorries and the whole lot was coped with by Panama International Packers. I intend to write another page about the logistics of this epic house-moving event.

* Things to do with buildings.

My solution isn't everyone's cup'o'tea because of the cash-flow aspect. But I consider houses are a good investment. So I bought the house in the destination country, and I sold the old house to my trust fund which my tax adviser had set up. The old house was quite big, but the new house had to be bigger to get the vast collection of stuff in.

* Legal paperwork.

With emigration, it's important to get the paperwork right, in particular making sure that the destination country is happy that the immigrant is going to pay their way rather than being a burden on the state. In Panama this is relatively straightforward, and buying a house for cash helps. It's also important to be of independent means.

* Setting up home in the new country.

I am again fortunate in the fact that I am welcomed by my friendly neighbours. Foreigners are considered very positively in Panama, as they are good for the economy.

The house I'd bought needed considerable work doing on it, and that will also require a big write-up, which will also have to wait.

If you are considering emigration, good luck! The first part is choosing which country to live in, and then you move on to the 3 month trip, and then it's the actual relocation. Whe-hey!

This page could do with being on DIGG.