We have thought about Spain, but again, the actual taxes would be brutal. My wife's EU passport still hasn't been approved, so that throws a wrench into things. It was submitted under an older regulatory framework, which had no limit on the duration of the examination. Incredible. I am pursuing it closely, and the tribunal has now gone silent. I may have to institute a court action for the equivalent of a declaratory ruling, and I have already been in touch with some foreign lawyers who have variously not been that helpful.
In fact, I have been making the lawyer circuit for a while, investigating various tax regimes, and have discovered that more than a few "highly reputable" shops in Europe are just straight-up bs'ers, who just want a new client. They initially claim to understand everything and be able to provide reasoned opinions if not definitive answers, but a few pointed interrogatories throws them off-balance quickly. The whole process has been like bringing along a bunch of 10th-graders (who know everything) in introductory calculus.
The most experienced tend to be absolute cynics, and are incredulous that I would want to reside in certain places in Europe. Their expert advice often amounts to no more than "give it a good shot, then just keep your head down and hope nobody asks any questions". Not good enough for me, but unfortunately in some civil law jurisdictions, that may be the best that it gets. It may prove best to keep our financial situs in the US.
The good thing about Cayman is that you don't actually have to spend any time there. The bad thing is that it is more expensive than other places.
Talk about a wealth tax, IIRC Norway has a 1 or 1.1% wealth tax, starting at...around $310,000! I think. My memory could be wrong on this, though. I think it rises by 0.1% after something like 1.3M, but that the assessment then begins at around 800k. Something like that. Anyway, that's flat-out ridiculous. I thought about Norway until I actually ran into a Norwegian expat (rich guy) across the lake in Switzerland. He LEFT Norway because of that wealth tax. Since none of our $ were made in Norway or involve Norway in any way, I would consider such a tax morally objectionable and confiscatory. Plus we're not rich, we really can't afford that kid of ridiculousness. It seems not too bad, until it is.
I have a friend who decided to forego the Portugese golden visa, in favor of just staying in the Algarve for 3 months of the year, in a rented house. Beautiful place, he stays Jan-Mar, and the rent is absurdly low. As euro citizens we would have no problems with time of stay, as we would not be on visas; we would just have to make sure to maintain somewhere else as the center of our activities and business/financial affairs.
Since I like being on lakes, Europe is tough. We have the place on the lake already, but another place I have considered is around Lake Balaton in Hungary. Prices have crept northward as Germans have begun buying things, but they are still reasonable. The Hungarians are being priced out, and are now apparently snapping up "investment property" in Spain, which is more affordable. The lake is beautiful, the summers good and hot, and the crime extremely low, but it's getting close to the front, and there is the friction with the US with which to contend (the US recently unilaterally canceled its tax treaty with Hungary, making matters more difficult).
Liechtenstein is beautiful, stable, and safe, but boring. Andorra offers flexibility, but is isolated and, according to my wife, just plain fugly. YMMV. I actually considered Switzerland until I met with a banker who told me he was retiring to Mallorca because Switzerland was just too damn expensive! lol! The small place we have on the lake would cost many millions in Schweiz, which again represents a lot of cash flow.
Sounds like nice problems to have, but the more I think about it, the less time we have left--and for sure, the less GOOD time we have left, where there's nothing wrong. Who knows what lurks around the corner.
The French wealth tax is predicated on the value of only real estate holdings, but there are other issues. I was left researching various countries' debt:gdp levels, per capita public debt, and who holds that debt. Denmark fares well on certain scores, but to me is boring as all heck (I have spent much time in and around Copenhagen), and it comes with its host of nightmare scenarios after a 2-year honeymoon period. I had also considered Panama, Vietnam, Uruguay, Mauritius, Seychelles, Bahamas, and Thailand (even Singapore), but my wife absolutely refuses to live anywhere substantially warm. Greece is now on the radar, but she swears she would only spend winters there. The Amalfi coast in Croatia is also a possibility.