"You do not have a "spot in paradise" right now."
As human history goes, the US at this time is place/time of phenomenal opportunity. Many development tools are FREE. Many marketing tools are FREE. Tools to sell products/services way down The Long Tail that would never justify shelf space are FREE. Taxes are high, but could be worse in other developed countries and other times in 20th Century US. There's a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation. The gov't is stable at the moment, and as human institutions go, does a good job of enforcing laws and contracts without graft.

Things could we *WAY* better. In a hundred years, people will hopefully be shocked at the amount of taxes, graft, and rent seeking we tolerated. It won't happen without hard work.

Thanks for your input, Circuit Guy. I would wager that your opinion of A) is probably going to be the highest that we see. I had that opinion of the US during Reagan and would have then thought someone was nuts if he would have suggested that I would be even talking about this now. I seriously doubt that we will be able to make Atlantis into a 99 in my lifetime. That is a pretty high bar. That, of course, would be my objective, but I don't think we would reach it that soon.

Assigning numbers in this way gives me an idea for Gulchers' tolerance, or lack thereof, for infringements on liberty. Is such a person more like John Galt or like Dagny Taggart? It also gives me a quick gauge as to what stage in Atlas Shrugged we are really at.

If I remember correctly, ISank said that Lanai has an owner that could be consistent with our principles. Could he be our Midas Mulligan? I am not going to leave to the US if one or more of its states secede. If an entire state were to secede, I could go with that state. I am a native Texan, so perhaps ...?

A) I hope US keeps and expands its spirit of being "disruptive" and stays a place of post-industrial innovation. I love that if you say, he tried something his parents and their family thought was crazy, the first inclination the American has is "Good for him. Tell me more." - 95
B) It would be a vacation spot and a place to have conferences on new technologies and new ideas, even things like new-age woo if they want to have their event there. It would be a place to push the limits, doing things like controversial medical research like cloning, risky therapies, or connecting a human volunteers' brains to a computer interface. - 99
C) I reject the premise. "How amazingly good would the Gulch have to be to make me leave my wonderful home in a country with amazing opportunities for those willing to work hard?" It would have to be very nice. More likely I'd find a condo there and rent it for a few weeks a year.
I shouldn't reject the premise. Things sometimes do fall apart. I think I would probably fight to maintain the US until the bitter end, but I can never know until it happens. - 05

The water really is perfect in my pool. It's been right around 80 degrees all summer.

it is funny how we all choose different numbers for the levels. IF I did what you do (teach) I would be tempted to stay longer. the whole risk reward thing. Ultimately, many of us are deciding action based on time we can spend on the war of ideas. I would have written off Hawaii. but as long as you see your influence taking hold...that would have great value to me. db and I are roaming. we traded US opportunities for more time to focus on our fiction writing and further study. It is very difficult to be separated from family.

good point.
cmon in! the frog said...the water is perfect! ;)

I'm including the cost of regulations and devaluation of currency in my calculation. As for the EPA, it would really have to get desperate for them to come attack me on that; they are far more likely to be a problem at work than at home. After all, I deal with research chemicals every day.

the 60% includes cost of regulations and devaluation of currency. there are wonderful students all over the world. Florida is very gorgeous and warm. it is a a nice spring board...until the EPA knocks on your door regarding your pool....

Right now all levels of government are only taking about 40% of my earnings. I am not quite in the top tax bracket. Florida has no income tax, and my property taxes are very low. Florida has a homestead exemption such that your assessed value can only go up by a max of 3% per year. Consequently my house that could sell at $315 K (house next door just sold for $307 K last week) is assessed at only $220 K. I pay only $3000 in property taxes per year. If government were taking 60% as it does if one lives in California or NY, I would have left those places. I have a house that is completely paid off, with a pool and weather that is comfortable enough to play golf at least part of the day at least 300 days per year. I have a place to work where my students love me, and respectable, but not high, compensation. The only real annoyance is the political attack ad robocalls from Washington for an election for our county commissioner - five this weekend for Tuesday's primary.

If Hawaii were to leave the union, Lanai would certainly be an option.

a) a pure return to libertarian ideals in the USA, or Hawaii leaves the union and is founded on libertarian ideals. Neither likely eh? 15?

b) lanai is where I'll eventually move to and I'm already pushing a get maui cops off Lanai campaign. I'm not banking everything on that, it's just home base. I will either live in an RV or a boat and continuously roam. If Lanai were to end up as Atlantis, maybe I'd stay home more. 50

c) no level of hope, when I shrug, I will wander. 0
Edited to add #'s

You do not have a "spot in paradise" right now. You are currently in a position of the government taking 60% of all of your earnings. If you lived abroad, that could reduce significantly. If that were reduced 90%, what could you do with that money? before you determine the value of an Atlantis, you must realistically determine the value of US to you, rationally.

I have heard sender47 describe Venezuela. I would put that at about a 1 or 2 out of 100 right now. I would definitely leave if things got that bad.

This thread is an informal start at a market analysis for whether it is worth doing serious logistical game planning for Atlantis yet.

A) Probably a 30 for the US, although probably a 70 for exactly where I'm at. I have a spot in paradise.

B) Probably only a 60 for a physical Atlantis, simply because it would take long enough and be expensive enough to build Atlantis that I wouldn't have that much time to do more than retire once it is built.

C) The US would have to get down to a 10 on a scale of 0 to 100 for me to leave. At that point, even my local paradise would drop from a 70 to a 30.