I am a tradesman with a lot of technical skills with some specialized skills in short supply (at least in the US) with a little less than a decade of experience. My partner is a skilled social worker with more than a decade of experience.
We cannot afford a golden visa in any country.
We are at least 3rd generation Americans, and do not have the right to claim citizenship in any other country without going through the immigration and naturalization process there.
Neither of us is very good at picking up a new language (lord how I’ve tried)
Where could we realistically look to go?
Picking up a new language is much easier if you use the Comprehensible Input method, which is fun and easy. It’s essentially learning language like a child learns. You watch videos that are 100% in the target language. In the beginning, they are super easy, with lots of props, gestures, and other context that helps convey the meaning of the words. As you pick up more and more, you watch more difficult videos. It’s amazing how fast you pick up the new language. In about 3 months I learned enough Spanish to give me around 80%+ comprehension of normal conversation, and better comprehension if the person spoke slowly and clearly. Don’t count out learning a new language, as it is a lot easier than you might think if your only experience is with traditional methods.
Most languages have zero resources for comprehensible input.
Children’s television programming geared towards young children (e.g., Bluey, Peppa Pig, etc.) can fill this gap, and are widely used as comprehensible input content by adult language learners.
Not sure I agree. I think it’s likely too much for an adult as a sole source even if it’s good for children since they get so much more input. I’ve tried and I needed a lot lot lot less and slower input. Sometimes 20-30% speed. Don’t get me wrong, I love the concept and I wish there were more high quality resources for this. But I think most adults need to start more basic than basic TV.