Quote from: Tills on March 20, 2026, 11:24:09 PMMeanwhile, the annual Happiest Countries on Earth poll has just been published.
For the ninth year in a row Finland is No.1 then it goes Iceland, Denmark, Costa Rica, Sweden, and Norway.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/18/travel/worlds-happiest-countries-2026-wellness 🔗
Iceland and Norway are also at the top of the list of countries that have the best laws and public opinion for trans people, according to
equaldex.com. When we considered moving to Iceland, we pulled up a map that showed volcano locations and risk. We heard that volcanoes are so active there that lava flows destroy towns, and shut down greenhouses (essential for the food supply) and electricity distribution. Even the main city of Reykjavik is at higher risk than we're comfortable with. Also, we couldn't find a way to fit their cost of living into our budget.
When we considered Norway, I couldn't find a way for us to stay longer than 90 days. I wrote to them asking about this. I was thrilled to get a response! But it confirmed that we were only welcome to stay for 90 days. We could only visit as tourists. They would not allow us to become permanent residents or citizens.
When we considered Costa Rica, we were concerned about the crime reports, and the restriction of the tourist visa without a clear path to permanent residency.
Denmark intrigued us for a while. The asylum, long-term visa, and permanent residency processes sounded relatively doable... except the non-asylum processes had to be initiated at least 3 months before leaving the U.S. and we weren't willing to wait that long. Also, appointments for starting these processes weren't available at the embassy where we had to go. We were concerned about public opinion apparently falling below the levels of the trans-supportive laws. We were especially concerned about the report:
https://lgbt.dk/lgbt-politisk-topmoede-her-er-hovedpointerne/ 🔗 LGBT + Political Summit: Here are the main points
October 29, 2025
Gender Equality Minister Magnus Heunicke (S) was in charge of opening speech, where he initially emphasized how far we have come in the fight for gender equality and sexuality – but also about the resistance that has gained new strength also within the EU and in the Danish Folketing. And he stressed that the LGBT + movement has a freedom message for the entire population...
Canada was the first country that we considered, but the angst about the outcome of their election for prime minister gave us caution. We still pursued it, though, because it was so geographically accessible, appealing, and familiar. We connected with people who were enthused about helping us seek asylum there. However, we decided against that path when our mental health suffered from the process of collecting data daily to support our case. We could not commit to continuing to do so for years as we waited for a stranger to decide our fate. The only alternative that we saw to seeking asylum for us was to enter as students, pursue advanced degrees, and establish ourselves as employees who would be essential to the country, as its government indicated that it was adding restrictions to immigration. We feel too old and desperate to take that kind of path.
We applied for permanent residency in Uruguay from the comfort and convenience of our home without having to fly back and forth. Here in Uruguay, a couple days ago, our highly-reputable immigration consultant assured us that our persistent difficulties obtaining required identity documents from the U.S. will not cause Uruguay to make us leave. She confirmed the stories that we are familiar with: Uruguay welcomes everyone, knows of the difficulties we are all experiencing, and is accommodating people like us, whether we seek asylum or not.
QuoteIt's also interesting that some of the happiest countries on earth are also the most trans friendly.
Yes. We found youtube videos about trans people immigrating to various countries to be very inspiring.
