I guess a relevant omission in the opening post are the reasons to emigrate. And/or the criteria for choosing the list of suggested countries.
Well of course there are reasons but then we also get in a political discussion. But I mention weather better and faster access to medical services paying for that is no problem. A more laid back life without much of the influence of big city problems. Not looking for Utopia just a pleasant way of life. I agree with first trying for 6 months and my first choice would be Crete and langue will be no problem for us. So are there any Naim forum members living on Crete and please share you experience.
How resilient do you expect to be to very hot summers, given that heatwaves in excess of 40°C seem to be increasingly common in these countries in particular? Many people find this harder to cope with as they age.
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May I ask why youâre proposing to leave the NL, please?
The reason to emigrate from the Netherlands without getting too bogged down in politics. The cities are no longer liveable because too many people are moving to the cities. Many people who donât like it in the cities, the fringes are getting bigger and bigger. Healthcare is increasingly deteriorating and make appointments with your doctor at least 4 days in advance. The pressure of too many people coming to our country with their problems puts pressure on our health care. More languages other than Dutch are spoken in the cities and we are losing our identity. I wouldnât mind paying for visits to doctors, but that is not possible in the Netherlands. The top layer no longer encounters the bottom layer in their daily lives. Due to the privatizations, our most important suppliers of healthcare, energy and other important matters are in the hands of foreign companies. A terrible shortage of medicines and I could go on and on. I am not looking for a utopia, but a place where you can spend your years with pleasure and where neighbors are still neighbors.
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Out of curiosity, which city do you live in?
Thatâs everywhere the same, and frankly, the Netherlands is relatively modest compared to other countries.
My wife is GP - huisarts - on âthe veluweâ and at the end of the day they have cleared their entire backlog of the day. Iâve a recently immigrated colleague from the Uk and he was surprised how quick he got the recipes for his medicines compared to the nhs (sorry uk friends).
My mum recently died of heart failure. Within 3 minutes the first person doing reanimations was there and in 7 minutes ambulance. Name me a place in rural Europe where it is the same.
Come and live in our town just south of Amersfoort and youâll get your doctors appointment and medicines on the same day.
The essence of what Iâm trying to say is that I fully understand moving abroad - I have the same urge and have a need to work in an international environment - but for reasons of public services I would not do it but just look at the outer ring of the Randstad. Say Ede or Amersfoort great places with lots of facilities and top connections to eg Amsterdam.
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There is no utopia except the one you make between your own four walls or in your head.
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That is impressive.
It is. We were lucky in a way and thankful. The OP has a point though. The older generations of GPs are rapidly retiring and they used to work up top 80 hours. Their replacements are GPs which are educated to be more social and try to work less hours. Also the regulations for ambulances in allow more time in certain places in the Netherlands, but I donât have the facts here.
I do think though that it is still very good and there are sufficient places in the Netherlands where one can have a calm and safe live and people know each other.
Having said that, if I were about to retire I may well look to a nice place in France ⌠but just as a pied a terre.
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Iâd have liked to, but since the UK left the EU itâs not an option. Australia is tempting, though that is not straight forward for kiwis in terms of pensions and immigration rules. I have a British passport, so the UK is a potential option, with winter escapes to the Mediterranean. Actually, NZ and the UK have reciprocal welfare arrangements, so that is a certain benefit. Iâm not sure how transportable pensions and things like that are within the EEC and Europe. I expect things are not so rosy once you dig into the details and holidays may be more practical with the security and familiarity of home to fall back on.
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I live in the US and I find the Netherlands are far more laid back and safer than where I live. I seriously think that itâs not a bad place to retire really. Tho I do think that it depends on which city one lives in. Perhaps larger city like Rotterdam or Amsterdam things are different?
Altho as you said, immigration issues are the same everywhere. Look at our southern border! Itâs a mess. 
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Has the OP considered just moving somewhere a bit different in NL? I find that a change of scenery and a different pace of life within the same country has some massive benefits. You get some of the benefits you want from emigrating mixed with a reduced load of upheaval and no language barrier.
Weâve not retired but we left the rat race of Tokyo for another island and a different pace of life. Compared to Tokyo, Hokkaido is like living in another country entirely. One with much lower blood pressure.
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Except one. The NL canât compete with the weather in Crete or Southern France. 
I have a Dutch friend who would not go back there due to what he calls * shitty* weather. Personally I do not think itâs that bad ( certainly better than Chicago! )
I do not think I can deal with living in Tokyo either. If I were wealthy I would buy an old house in Kyoto and have it all updated inside ( like Bowie did ) then Japan might be livable.
Sounds a bit like parts of the UK, but itâs worse here! I say that as a born and bred Brit.
I lived in Switzerland for 14 years whist I was working. For me that was an excellent country - but again probably not for everyone.
Good luck anyway, wherever you end up.
While I find the idea of moving to another country attractive Iâm not sure I could do it. The South of France is a huge attraction but ultimately Iâd miss home.
I like living in Australia weâre not perfect but it has been and thankfully still is a reasonably cohesive society.
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The only way to live in Tokyo is expensive. It involves a large apartment at least 30 floors above street level away from all the chaos down below. Which describes our last property. But even that has limits. It still wonât be big enough and when you go outside in summer you will still be on a sweltering humid sweat oven. Spent the biggest portion of my life there and never got used to it.
Iâve been to NL several times and while Amsterdam is charming, I could understand it annoying me too. Rotterdam and similar are not at all idyllic or nice. But friends living and working further out in semi rural communities linked by canals lined with rushes - that was idyllic. In my experience most countries have diverse offerings and are not all the same internally. The UK certainly has places I would hate to live and other parts which are sort of charming - even magical. I can think of loads of places in the UK that are appealing. Loads of places in Japan that are awful and loads that are charming. Ditto France. Ditto Belgium. Those aspects of life that make people think âRight, thatâs it. Iâm leaving the country.â are totally relatable (I did it once) but rarely universal in all the locations. The main driver for emigration is probably reinvention.
Iâm not saying to stay put. That would be hypocritical of me. But the option to leave is best driven by a desire to go elsewhere rather than a desire to not be where you are.
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Not in my experience living in Amsterdam. My GP (which admittedly I see rarely) usually can see me the same day, maybe the next has happened once? When I needed hospital care it was also quick, good and efficient, same for when my daughter needed it.
Donât recognise this either, where I live, and thatâs only 15min cycle from the centre, I know my neighbours and we look out for each other. Some are well off, some live in social housing. You probably get less of that living on the canals itself.
Iâm not quite sure what youâre referring to? We do have private clinics performing operations etc. where you can simply pay for whatever you need/want doing without going through the âsystemâ. Same as for example in the UK.
Healthcare is increasingly deteriorating and make appointments with your doctor at least 4 days in advance.
kuma:
Amsterdam things are different?
Not in my experience living in Amsterdam. My GP (which admittedly I see rarely) usually can see me the same day, maybe the next has happened once? When I needed hospital care it was also quick, good and efficient, same for when my daughter needed it.
In Rotterdam in the center appointment with doctor takes 1 to 4 days
Cprdam:
The top layer no longer encounters the bottom layer in their daily lives.
The people who have a good home, a good job, move in the same circles. You stay in your own circle you donât meet other people, nor do you want to. A society divided by class. This used to be less in the Netherlands
Cprdam:
where neighbors are still neighbors.
I live in my building with 100 apartments for about 4 years and I know only 2 people and one is supervisor of the building.
Donât recognise this either, where I live, and thatâs only 15min cycle from the centre, I know my neighbours and we look out for each other. Some are well off, some live in social housing. You probably get less of that living on the canals itself.
Cprdam:
I wouldnât mind paying for visits to doctors, but that is not possible in the Netherlands.
Iâm not quite sure what youâre referring to? We do have private clinics performing operations etc. where you can simply pay for whatever you need/want doing without going through the âsystemâ. Same as for example in the UK.
There are no private general practitioners in the Netherlands. There are private clinics for operations .
I have given the reasons why I want to emigrate. And so it becomes a different topic that I had in mind. I am interested in others who have emigrated.