India, China, Dubai? Where is the next "happening" place?

We hear about incredible economic growth in many places and how some economies might “overtake” the US.

I usually wrote it off as: Okay, so even if I could make 3x in another country, would I want to live there? Would my life overall be as good as it is in the United States? Would it be worth the upheaval? Would I really be that much better off and happier?

And, then I also think of things like: Would the air be as clean? Would I be able to drive on roads like these? Would basic services (e.g. power, water, gas) be as reliable? Isn’t that why I came to the US and love it here? Would the society generally be law-abiding? Would I feel scared or reassured when I see a police officer? Would I worry about the police (and the gov’t in general) harass me and ask for bribes? (btw, I stated those hypothetical questions just to make a point—I don’t mean any disrespect to any particular place. Just trying to capture all the thoughts that run through my mind.)

Recently, a Korean friend of mine told me he started taking Arabic classes. He was born and raised in California and wants to work in Dubai for a few years and plans to return to California when he has set some money aside. This would be a completely unsurprising thing to do if he were from India, Pakistan, or any other country in the area—in fact its a very common thing for people to do that in the region. But, it shocked me to hear it coming from someone who has lived their entire life in the US.

So, I thought I would pose the question to you: If you could go anywhere in the world and do anything, where would you go and what would you do? How long would stay there? Would you live there forever? Would you come back to the US (or wherever you live right now?).