>>This may seem dramatic but I am seriously thinking of leaving the country when Emily leaves for college a year from now. I don't like what the U.S. has turned into. It's an ugly country full of hatred. Our better days are behind us and we are on the downslope of empire. I'm not sure who will replace us as a world power -- things pretty much suck all over -- but we are not what we were. I am thinking of Vancouver, Toronto, New Zealand, and Scandinavia. Can you get by speaking English in Scandinavia or would I have to learn long unpronounceable words? ;-)
>
>Vancouver is a very nice city, and you can get by even without speaking English, I know it by experience! <g>

Correction:
When it isn't pouring rain, Vancouver is a very nice city, and you can get by even without speaking English, I know it by experience! <g>