@jasensmith said:

I'm thinking of relocating to South America myself.  I studied Spanish in Buenos Aires when I was younger and I tell you I had the best time of my life down there.  Great food, great music great atmosphere.

Actually, I'm seriously considering buying some property in Ecuador and relocating.  It really doesn't matter how things are going down there.  The standard of living is so much lower you can live like a king for relatively pretty cheap.  It really wouldn't be too much of a culture shock either because I speak the language and I'm familiar with the customs (my wife is Peruvian). 

And since this is a music forum...  I must say that Andean Folk music is one of the most emotionally moving styles of music I've ever heard.  check out Los Kjarkas or any of the other music groups from that genre.  I don't suppose VSL has any plans to sample Quenas or Panpipes. 

So it's not that great anywhere these days is it, for non household-name artists? Myself, I'm not looking for a lower standard of living (I agree it would be great to be able to buy more with less), as much as I'm looking for a higher artistic standard; that is, people with whom to collaborate that share some of the same sensibilities, whose product is highly professional, and with access to professional funding! These conditions I feel can only be satisfied in certain milieux of the "expensive" nations of this world.