Suggest a Country for Me That I Can Live? Pretty Please?

[lemuria]

OK... I've had enough with being surrounded by religious bozos! I can't do this, I can't do that, I can't even quit my own religion, for heaven's sake! Or else I'll lose my head. Literally.
You need to do this and do that, because you are in this religion. "wait! I wanna quit!". No you can't, you are destined by God to be in this religion.
"Oh yeah?! Well, God made me an atheist! Who are YOU to question His wisdom?"

So, my main problem is the lack of freedom... secular freedom. I can't even show some of my books to my friends (I've been hiding my "the God's Delusion" for months now)

America seem to be a Christian country though... I dunno how Steve survived. Probably depending on the state your living.
I've read from a book in my local library that Japan residents have a loose view toward regions... e.g. they'll practice some Shinto, Buddhists, and even celebrate Christmas. I don't know if these are true... haven't been there.

My target for now is Japan, though it's still extremely vague. I look like your typical far eastern guy. But, I'll accept any country that bring me freedom... even if I need to face the culture shock! And the costs... and the lack of cute far eastern girls ...
Oh, I'm from Malaysia... Sure the Sharia isn't strong here, but who knows...
And... please note that I can't speak English fluently! At least, not as fluent as my Chinese.

[newsbone]

Try Kenya !freedom of worship practiced there! You can even choose to worship yourself for all they care. It is rated as a Christian country, but very few practicing Christians there, who don’t mind divergent views as long as you don’t interfere with there freedom to worship their God.

[spirit4711]

Thailand! It's got the most laid back, friendly, easy going culture I've ever seen (not that I've seen everywhere LOL).

They are Buddhists mainly, which means that they are pretty accepting towards everything in life, and as long as you respect their values, you can do whatever you like. Even become a hard core fundie . Buddhists aren't trying to convert you either.

[Brutha]

In European country religion doesn't play much role in the public. However I don't know how easy it would be for you to immigrate.

As you speak Chinese you might also think about going to China. The leadership of China tried to reduce the influence of religion over decades.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by lemuria

America seem to be a Christian country though... I dunno how Steve survived. Probably depending on the state your living.

America is a Christian country in the sense that it's the predominant religion in the aggregate and there are some areas that are heavily religious. However, America is the land of extreme, and there are plenty of areas that are quite non-religious, or where religion is very private.

[Angela Leeds]

Originally Posted by lemuria

OK... I've had enough with being surrounded by religious bozos! I can't do this, I can't do that, I can't even quit my own religion, for heaven's sake! Or else I'll lose my head. Literally.
You need to do this and do that, because you are in this religion. "wait! I wanna quit!". No you can't, you are destined by God to be in this religion.
"Oh yeah?! Well, God made me an atheist! Who are YOU to question His wisdom?"

So, my main problem is the lack of freedom... secular freedom. I can't even show some of my books to my friends (I've been hiding my "the God's Delusion" for months now)

America seem to be a Christian country though... I dunno how Steve survived. Probably depending on the state your living.
I've read from a book in my local library that Japan residents have a loose view toward regions... e.g. they'll practice some Shinto, Buddhists, and even celebrate Christmas. I don't know if these are true... haven't been there.

My target for now is Japan, though it's still extremely vague. I look like your typical far eastern guy. But, I'll accept any country that bring me freedom... even if I need to face the culture shock! And the costs... and the lack of cute far eastern girls ...
Oh, I'm from Malaysia... Sure the Sharia isn't strong here, but who knows...
And... please note that I can't speak English fluently! At least, not as fluent as my Chinese.

Japan has a culture that requires more uniform conformity than the US. You could happily live an atheist's life in the US...provided you believe in your beliefs and choose to surround yourself with people supporting who you are as a person.

Course, you could come here and surround yourself with religious bozos... they exist everywhere on the planet.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Angela Leeds

You could happily live an atheist's life in the US...provided you believe in your beliefs and choose to surround yourself with people supporting who you are as a person.

That's a good point. I lived as an atheist in a heavily religious part of the U.S and they didn't really bother me.

[Pequod]

@OP I second Bruta's remark about Europe. The same is true for Australia.

The fact that you speak Chinese is a *huge* asset in these countries. I'm from Western Europe and it is very difficult for us to learn to speak Chinese, while there is a lot of business going on between China and Western Europe. So many companies would love to hire someone who speaks Chinese.

If you have already basic knowledge of English, it is not very hard to pick it up (if you know the structure of the language) and many people are willing to help you master the skill.

Your biggest challenge will be to get a work-visum. You'll have to check out the requirements with the ambassies of the countries you fancy. Other challenges will be culture shock (you will probably have a hard time making friends) and the lousy weather in most of Western Europe.

[lemuria]

I don't think I'm ready to move to another country unless I've visited that place. Yeah, I really don't know how I can live in Japan or in the US.
This is a BIG decision, obviously.

As for religious bozos... well, come to think of it... they are everywhere around the world *damn*... it's not that I hate them so much, it's just that they think they are in control opf my life and I think that's very wrong...
Well, maybe this is the punishment I received for trying to convince everyone Islam was the right one in the past

Just for your information... I'm not a Chinese nor am I a Malay...
I'm actually... a native... Much like the Native American in the US. We have our own spoken language, just spoken, no written. I don't really consider that a language because it's not popular, just around 350,000 know it... But I'll teach it to my children anyway, I don't want them to disappear.
There's probably some reason as to why Malaysia and US have almost the same flag...
It's our land!!! You foreign invaders!!

[ns123]

"The mind can make a heaven out of hell and a hell out of heaven." I don't remember who said that though.

Instead of moving, you could try shifting your perspective.

[sirkinm]

Japan is kinda tough on non-Japanese Asians -- they look down on them a bit, especially if they don't speak Japanese (sad to say, I know).

How about Taiwan -- they speak Mandarin there, and there are plenty of cute E. Asian women. Or Singapore? I know Singapore is supposed to be strict with government regulations (is gum chewing in public still illegal?), but they speak Mandarin too, and 14% of population is Malay.

You express yourself really well in English, Lemuria.

[Dan.Linehan]

1. Bay Area, CA.
2. Portugal.



Good luck...

[SimonaRich]

Malta
UK (London)
Portugal - I agree with the previous comment, Portugal is a very beautiful and clean country