I'm quite lucky in that i have the right to live and work in America, Australia, New Zealand, UK and the EU. I've also thought about this a lot as i near retirement (working in tech in the USA atm, it's been a fun ride but definitely time to think about options).

Australians don't like to acknowledge it, i guess to avoid being flooded since house prices are high, but it's the easiest pick by far. A western nation which rises as China rises due to sheer resource wealth and stable government.

Currently it's already >3x the median wealth per capita of the USA. Slightly lower on average but medians the real way to judge for the typical (non-0.01%) person.

Exports more than it imports.

Government revenues have been far ahead of spending for the past few years. Can you believe that?! A western government not just going into ever increasing government debt!

An extraordinary rollout of solar and batteries (dwarfing China's attempts at solar on a per capita basis) to the point where you can sign up to plans where power is free during peak daylight hours and the government will pay you $3k to install a home battery to store that free power.

Basically no tariffs so you can buy an electric car for USD$15k. Which goes well with the above point.

I look at the USA, UK and EU and people seem to have given up trying to vote in a better government? They don't seem to care about importing more than exporting or government spending exceeding revenue as election issues worth voting on?

As someone who lived in China for 5 years pre-pandemic, it's fine to visit China, enjoy the cuisine, enjoy the culture. Learn the language, all good.

But living full time in China and competing with Chinese in China as a non Chinese person- that's not something you want to do.

That's the problem right. Learning Chinese wont help you, China is a closed shop, no immigrants, no sharing work with anyone outside the country, no employing people outside China, no cooperation with any other country really; just keep buying their stuff.

I get the intention, but I feel it may be a particularly extreme comparison, since the US being what it was to the 20th century involved two world wars, decolonization, the cold war, and decades of reconstruction.

Currently, even if China pulls ahead, it doesn't have to mean things getting worse in the US. Contrary to what the current government seems to believe, growth is not necessarily zero sum. Despite Americans' perception of Europe, they too remain competitive in various domains of research. Similarly with, say, Japan.

The UK was still doing quite well after the Suez crisis, but the oil shock and thatcherism was when deindustrialization really hit. Try to prevent that.

Chinese and Spanish…

Move there, not sure taking language classes would help if you're still staying here.

Move to a cabin in the woodlands and teach them how to work on engines, and animal husbandry.

Neither. Align yourself with the AI that will be running the show and hope it adequately feeds you.