After “Super Tuesday” was deemed a success for Donald Trump, it was reported that searches for “how to move to Canada” spiked. We support tennis here at MyTennisLessons, not political parties, but reactions to this presidential race have been comical bordering on farcical. So if you’re one of those people who has been searching such things online but are worried about leaving your tennis community behind for the next four years or for new citizenship, we’ve got you covered.
Australia
If you want to live somewhere where you can see the best players play, enjoy warm weather for playing and be around other English speaking tennis fanatics, then Australia is the place for you. Obviously, you could attend the Australian Open without having to travel 20 hours by plane, but more importantly tennis is one of the most played sports in the country. Tennis’ history in Australia dates back all the way to the 1870’s and thrives today in places such as Sydney, Brisbane and of course, Melbourne. You also only need to reside in Australia for 4 years (shorter than any country in the EU) to then apply for citizenship, which is a pretty good deal. The Aussies know how to have fun and that translates to the tennis court as well.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic probably wasn’t on your radar when you were thinking about bailing on the homeland but it has its perks. As far as citizenship goes, it’s one of the easiest in the EU to get and you can roll with dual citizen if you ever want to come back home. There are a surprising number of tennis playing and coaching options in Prague alone (you’d want to live in Prague because it is dope), there is a WTA tournament for fan consumption and it’s a country that produces some of the best professional tennis talent. They’ve won the Davis Cup in 2012, 2013 and produced a Fed Cup winner in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. If you’re looking for something completely off of the rest of the sheeples radars, check out the Czech Republic.
Argentina
Are you looking for some South American flair, a high-income economy and a vibrant tennis scene? Looks like Argentina might be the country for you. The Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, otherwise known as the “Cathedral of Argentinian Tennis”, is home to the Argentinian Open so you can get your pro tennis fix. More importantly, ever since Guillermo Villa’s success on the pro tour in the 70’s tennis has been a hugely popular sport in Argentina and there are now tennis courts littered across the country. Maybe the biggest draw for someone moving from the United States is the fact that Argentina will naturalize you in only two years if you’re willing to call it your home for that amount of time. That’s far and away the quickest country to get dual-citizenship.
England
It would be nice to go somewhere that is an English speaking country, has an incredible amount of public or private tennis courts and is in general tennis crazy. England, and specifically London, is one of the only places in the world that has the history as well as current draw for fans, casual players and professionals. How about Wimbledon, ever heard of it? It wouldn’t be bad to jump on a train and spend a fortnight at the All-England Club. You think Agassi and Sampras represent rich tennis tradition, Henry VIII, the freaking King of England, popularized tennis as we know it today for goodness sake. London also represents a plethora of job opportunities so if you can cop a work visa for say, I dunno, four years, you won’t even need to worry about citizenship. If you want to go back to your tennis routes England is the only place to do that.
Antigua and Barbuda
Tennis has notoriously been seen as a “rich person’s” sport so if you live what may be considered a more lavish lifestyle, you may want to consider Antigua and Barbuda for your future country of residence. All you have to do is fork over a measy $400,000 for a real estate investment and $200,000 as a charity donation and you have just bought yourself some new citizenship. Both Curtain Bluff Resort and Carlisle Bay are on just about every list for top tennis resorts in the Caribbean which bodes well for your tennis game. At the end of the day, who wouldn’t want to play tennis in paradise for the rest of their life.
The United States
Let’s be honest, the United States is the greatest country in the world. Whether you live in sunny Florida or snowy Minnesota, you probably lead a pretty damn good life, especially if there is a MyTennisLessons coach near you. So take a closer look at all the good stuff going on in your city, neighborhood and tennis community and put the passport away.
