Do you sometimes entertain the idea of renouncing the US citizenship?
No. Sure, I could do more with my money outside of the U.S. if I wasn't under the IRS's panopticon watch list, making me a financial leper everywhere else. But the returns and breadth of options in the U.S are still way better. Give me shady Robinhood over eToro anyday.
The main reason to renounce would be taxes. Portugal and the US has a no-double-taxation Lite agreement... the US still gets you over a certain amount. But I barely get there, and it helps that I qualify for non-habitual residency here. Which means my tax rate in this socialist country is less than half that in California.
Another reason would be if I had a ton of crypto assets, as Portugal doesn't charge cap gains. But those are too speculative at my age to take very seriously as anything other than a Hail Mary pass.
I’ll plan my visit once your new place is ready
You and your lovely better half are more than welcome!
Truth be told, the most aggressive homeless people I've ever encountered in the entire world were in Hartford, CT. Those people would walk up to you and start grabbing your arms and taking the clothes off your back. Insane. And I've been in the townships of South Africa.
I'm part wondering if this so-called exploding bear population is just a lot of scary Hartford homeless lacking a shave and a shower.