Would you leave your country and why?

  On 8/3/2020 at 6:19 PM, goDel said:

  On 8/3/2020 at 11:17 AM, dingformung said:

Dutch people are really bad at riding bikes. There are no hills and the bike lanes are very good so no biking skill is required. If you are bad at riding a bike it's the perfect place for you.

Dude, that's an insult! ;D

Netherlands is biking country numero uno! We have the best bikers!

No intention to move, btw. No reason. As of yet.

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I've been to amsterdam more times than any other city

since 1999

I always say I will bike while there but

I've yet to ride the lanes

coffee's too good

would love to but im bad at math. 

  On 8/3/2020 at 1:41 PM, diatoms said:

My wife and I decided to leave the usa in 2010 to live in Ireland where she is from

green's more my style

may the wind always be at your back :~)

  On 8/3/2020 at 6:35 PM, bendish said:

I did. Some great things some not. An approximation of imagined ideal life. Choice / loss. 

I'm american by birth but lived in Dublin from '07-09, which after a bit of a bungled start ended up being 1 year of work and 1 year to get a postgrad degree from Trinity.  There are definitely many aspects of life that I preferred there vs. here in the US and vice versa, and on the whole I'm nostalgic to go back and perhaps move my family there someday (my kids and I have citizenship through foreign births).  Of course it wouldn't be easy starting life all over somewhere else, from what I understand property prices are still pretty insane and it's still a net-emigration country, so I imagine finding work would be challenging even though I'm pretty competent and work in a relatively essential field (civil engineering).

  On 8/3/2020 at 7:10 PM, J3FF3R00 said:

Yes. I would 100% leave the USA.
Why? If it isn’t completely obvious by now, I’m sure you can infer.

Yeah, this.  I think our family is doing okay during the pandemic (wife and I still have our jobs), but it's clear as fucking day that we're part of the shrinking middle class here in the USA that is getting sucked down the ever widening wealth gap.  The costs of health care and higher education here are insane and unsustainable, and no one even talks about it, never mind tries to do anything about it, because these things work just fine as they are for the scumbags at the top (where the wealth is getting siphoned up to), as health care and tuition are drops in a bucket for these fucks.  I literally have no idea how my kids get a decent education without leaving us dead broke and them saddled with nefarious debt. <-- tho, if anyone has tangible, good ideas, or pro tips, I'm all ears

Plus yeah the economy and social fabric are collapsing around us so there's that too

Yes, would definitely leave this hell hole called France. 

I love France. For a holiday. In fact, I’d love to Be there right now but, no, Corona. Sigh.

Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful country, some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, lots and lots of culture and history but the social and political situation is getting worse day by day (since 20 years or so ? ) Should have moved to Switzerland in the early 2000s, not perfect but still better than France...

I wouldn't leave Sweden, best country in the world!

  On 8/3/2020 at 8:01 PM, BobDobalina said:

Yeah, this.  I think our family is doing okay during the pandemic (wife and I still have our jobs), but it's clear as fucking day that we're part of the shrinking middle class here in the USA that is getting sucked down the ever widening wealth gap.  The costs of health care and higher education here are insane and unsustainable, and no one even talks about it, never mind tries to do anything about it, because these things work just fine as they are for the scumbags at the top (where the wealth is getting siphoned up to), as health care and tuition are drops in a bucket for these fucks.  I literally have no idea how my kids get a decent education without leaving us dead broke and them saddled with nefarious debt. <-- tho, if anyone has tangible, good ideas, or pro tips, I'm all ears

Plus yeah the economy and social fabric are collapsing around us so there's that too

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Firstly, glad to hear youre at least getting through these times okay.  I can relate to a lot to what you say- I grew up watching my parents do well as middle class in the US.  But my girlfriend and I were both seeing very few opportunities to build any real wealth after we left school..  Frankly it factored into our decision to move to mexico, because we were just treading water financially in the US, while here, at least we live well in the prime time of our lives and healthcare is essentially free etc.  But we do plan to move back someday (especially if we decide to have kids) and I would have the same concerns about being able to provide for them..  So.. no solutions here, except to vote out the fucks protecting monied interests and preventing equitable change in the US

  On 8/3/2020 at 6:35 PM, goDel said:

Seeing how few people outside the Netherlands ride bikes regularly, the Dutch -on average - are frigging bike masters

We might be few but it requires a lot of skill and attention not to get killed riding a bike here in post-Soviet East Germany. Few bike lanes, mostly you have to alternate between car lane and sidewalk constantly, lots of hills, too, and drivers are nuts. Cyclists are on the lowest end of the food chain. Totally backwards city planning. Partly it makes sense in narrow medieval old towns not to add a bike lane because historic shit would have to be removed but people here are too car focused and politics are stupid. Why not kick cars out of city centres? They are just noisy and annoying. Fuck cars. They are even worse than these ugly scooters that you can rent with a phone app (do people have no self-esteem at all?):

  On 8/3/2020 at 7:39 PM, diatoms said:

I've been to amsterdam more times than any other city

since 1999

I always say I will bike while there but

I've yet to ride the lanes

coffee's too good

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Dude, there is nothing more relaxing than riding a bike completely stoned. It's not safe, antisocial and probably illegal but you deserve to enjoy the Karen ways from time to time. I feel my biking skills only get better that way. Rotterdam is perfect for that, even better than Amsterdam, where traffic can be crazy and not enjoyable at all. But Rotterdam is nice and mellow. It's not that much focused on weed tourists, it's calmer and has a nice vibe to it. Some say it's ugly but I disagree. Looking at all this weird experimental Architecture that was built as a result of the old town being completely destroyed by Nazis is fun. There is actually some nice Surinamese food, which you don't really find elsewhere in Europe (but also lots of bad Surinamese food). I think weed tourists who are willing to shovel down overpriced shit after smoking too much Kush really gentrified the shit out of take-away food in Holland. It mostly sucks ass and costs too many €€€ for what it is. And those burger/frikandel automats, ooof, wtf is this shit?

  On 8/3/2020 at 8:01 PM, BobDobalina said:

I literally have no idea how my kids get a decent education without leaving us dead broke and them saddled with nefarious debt. <-- tho, if anyone has tangible, good ideas, or pro tips, I'm all ears

Send them to Germany for studying. There are courses that are fully in English and it's near to free even for non-EU citizens. https://www.studying-in-germany.org/

  On 8/3/2020 at 8:03 PM, d-a-m-o said:

Yes, would definitely leave this hell hole called France. 

Is France really a hell hole, though? lol

I mean Macron is an ass sucker, obviously, but France is one of the better places to live in if you compare it globally, no?

  On 8/3/2020 at 8:16 PM, MIXL2 said:

I wouldn't leave Sweden, best country in the world!

It’s frozen solid for half of the year. The other half it’s full of mosquitoes. So, no,

One thing by that's holding me back is the beauty of my country compared to NL lol

And weather obvs

I keep leaving Finland and then coming back. Since I last replied in this thread in 2013 I've been out of Finland maybe 2.5-3 years. Currently I'm back mostly because of the pandemic. Hopefully I can go winter somewhere a bit warmer. I guess Finland is ok, except for the weather for 9 months a year. How I mostly feel it's very easy to live in here. Don't need to worry much about anything. But also a bit boring.

To be honest, I haven't really found a place where I would like to settle permanently. I just like traveling from place to place "like a rootless gipsy" like my friend's girlfriend recently described my lifestyle.

I've heard the term "digital nomad" tossed around by an American woman that I met in Skopje, who lived that way. But she also thought Germany is a socialist country so there is that, lol. 

  On 8/3/2020 at 9:30 PM, thumbass said:

One thing by that's holding me back is the beauty of my country compared to NL lol

And weather obvs

How is the safety situation is South Africa in your experience? I've never been there but people who are from that place have told me that they are constantly worried to get robbed when in certain areas

Yes, I probably will when my son is old enough to don't care. Probably somewhere in Scandinavia because it's easy. If my workplace extends my home office I could honestly be anywhere, so maybe a bigger change of scenery would be nice. Yeah.  

  On 8/3/2020 at 9:48 PM, Gocab said:

Yes, I probably will when my son is old enough to don't care. Probably somewhere in Scandinavia because it's easy. If my workplace extends my home office I could honestly be anywhere, so maybe a bigger change of scenery would be nice. Yeah.  

I think that when your son grows older he will have more friends Wich will prob make him want to leave less. If I were you I would have done it if he were young, I wouldn't want to take his friends away from him

  On 8/3/2020 at 9:41 PM, dingformung said:

I've heard the term "digital nomad" tossed around by an American woman that I met in Skopje, who lived that way. But she also thought Germany is a socialist country so there is that, lol. 

How is the safety situation is South Africa in your experience? I've never been there but people who are from that place have told me that they are constantly worried to get robbed when in certain areas

Never been robbed myself but I always have to watch out, it's a common problem, from the cities to the suburbs and villages. There's a very high overall crime rate. 

I'm an old fart, my son is approaching adulthood 

  On 8/3/2020 at 10:18 PM, Gocab said:

I'm an old fart, my son is approaching adulthood 

sry mate

I'm only 18 maybe I shouldn't think about moving yet. Think I'm gonna focus on my study first

  On 10/25/2013 at 6:26 PM, Npoess said:

:

 

 

'

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Look at that social distancing!!

  On 8/3/2020 at 9:41 PM, dingformung said:

I've heard the term "digital nomad" tossed around by an American woman that I met in Skopje, who lived that way. But she also thought Germany is a socialist country so there is that, lol. 

Yeah, there is this kind of culture building up, or was until the pandemic hit. For example Thailand and Indonesia allow working with a tourist visa as long as you don't provide services or products to locals. Estonia has some kind of digital nomad visa system also. Then there are co-work spaces aimed at digital nomads in places like Chiang Mai in Thailand. The kind of modern nomad has of course been around for decades now, usually working odd service jobs and teaching positions but the rise of remote work has given it a new boost.

Of course there is a ton of bullshit going around with the whole thing and people banking money on blogging and writing about their nomad lifestyles. But basically the whole thing just boils down to finding a way to finance it in some stable manner and having no obligations like family that require you to stay still. The rest is just small practicalities. I doubt that there are many full-time permanent digital nomads that have no fixed residence anywhere, but I've met at least one who has been traveling for decades already.

It would be very tempting to leave if shit-for-brains gets re-elected. But there's something to be said for the natural beauty and relatively sparse population that keep me in this particular region.

I guess it's smart to live somewhere where living costs are low and quality of life is high if you can work remotely, as your money is worth more in these places, such as in Thailand.   Hotel costs there might be lower than living in an alright apartment in a Western city.

  On 8/3/2020 at 11:20 PM, zkom said:

people banking money on blogging and writing about their nomad lifestyles

Bloggers and Vloggers are a pest. They manage to make everything look extremely idiotic.

How much are the living costs in NL?

Here in SA it's pretty cheap but I am lucky to come from a good place

Up and moving to a new country like Mexico or more affordable countries like that unless you are some anthropologist type fluent in the culture and language is typically for the middle to upper middle class isn't it? You need good credit, You need a good job usually. If you want the things you weren't getting in the country you are native to.. I know people who move abroad but they usually have family money, a coding job, or have a boyfriend who makes good money and is established.  I mean you can live rough anywhere. 

Im in America, I choose not to have kids, and Im on Medicaide which is free health care. Got it through being a bit mental. Each state is different. To me, moving to Europe feels impossible. Bad credit, no decent CV

  On 10/28/2013 at 7:11 AM, timbre monke said:

Of course, it's obvious that leadership in the US government leaves much to be desired too.

little did we know at the time what lay ahead...

2013 leadership vs 2020 leadership is like mother theresa/MLK/Gandhi all wrapped into one leadership vs. KKK toddlers run amok leadership 

  On 8/4/2020 at 12:09 AM, zero said:

little did we know at the time what lay ahead...

2013 leadership vs 2020 leadership is like mother theresa/MLK/Gandhi all wrapped into one leadership vs. KKK toddlers run amok leadership 

One key politician remains a constant throughout these two points in time though: Mitch McConnell.