Ask Alec Baldwin.
Ask Alec Baldwin.
Nope. America is #1 why would you want to go anywhere ELSE, especially since everyone else is trying to get here?
I threatened to leave, but did not mean it.
next time you go, go when you're sick. seriously. go to a dentist. have some major surgery done. then tell us your experiences with Mexican physicians vs. Americans. And Mexican hospitals vs. American hospitals.
if you still like it after all that, then go ahead and move. if not, no sweat. you'll appreciate atleast 1 thing in America.
outlaw wrote:
next time you go, go when you're sick. seriously. go to a dentist. have some major surgery done. then tell us your experiences with Mexican physicians vs. Americans. And Mexican hospitals vs. American hospitals.
if you still like it after all that, then go ahead and move. if not, no sweat. you'll appreciate atleast 1 thing in America.
Go to Korea or Thailand. Take an ambulance. Go to a dentist. Get lasik surgery. Look at your bill. See if you ever wanna go back to America.
There are plenty of places you can go where you can have a better, freer life than in the U.S., but the most important thing to understand first and to come to grips with is that pretty much anywhere you go you will experience some level of discrimination as an outsider. If you go in expecting the kind of privilege you automatically have in the U.S. then you will have an unpleasant experience. Make your peace with the fact that you will be a minority and treated like one and you can have a very good life most places.
No man, I did this trip on my own. I planned it really well though. I knew where I wanted to go, booked all my hotels ahead of time and bought my plane tickets all ahead of time. If you go to expedia.com you can find really good deals with hotels specially in the summer season when things are cheaper. My hotel in Mexico City was only $35 (hotel fontan) a night and it was very good quality, it has everything you need. My hotel in Puerto Vallarta was an incredible $41 per night (hotel la siesta) and the location was amazing. The views of the bay and the city are awesome and it has a great restaurant on top where you can enjoy the most incredible sunsets during dinner time. In Aguascalientes we have some relatives so I was able to stay with them for free, but things in Aguascalientes are very affordable, so a hotel would probably be cheaper than in PV or Mexico City.
I used public transportation the entire time. In Mexico City the Metro system is very efficient,safe, clean, and oh so cheap (30 cents). I took a bus from Aguascalientes to Puerto Vallarta for about $100 round trip, but the bus was first class, very comfortable, clean, with a TV, bathrooms, everything you need. I just kinda made a list of all the places I wanted to go in Mexico City (museums, Aztec ruins, monuments, restaurants, ect.) and used the metro system to get there. In Aguascalientes I used the "combi" to get around. It's a shuttle that everyone uses, there is one that leaves every 30 minutes from the small towns to the bigger towns. It's about $1. A bus to the capital city (also called Aguascalientes is only about $3)
In Puerto Vallarta I did not have an idea of what to expect. I just wanted to see the beach, but I was pleasantly surprised with how awesome that town is. The nightlife is incredible Monday-Sunday and there is so much to do. I went parasailing ($30), snorkling in the ocean ($35 for the entire day's trip) zip line through the same jungle where "The Predator" was filmed at ($50), the food is PV is top of the line. Just about every restaurant you go to has fantastic food and it's also very cheap. You can have a top of the line meal by the beach for about $10. Restaurants that are not on the beach are way cheaper. $5 will get you a more than satisfying meal. Of course there are people selling tamales, tacos, and other things for cents on the street.
I've traveled with companies before. I went to Costa Rica, France, and Germany with a company, but you have so much more flexibility If you do things your way. Just make sure you plan right and know where you want to go. Make an itinerary for yourself, have a budget and give yourself enough time to visit each place. Don't rush through your trip, and enjoy!!
It sounds like the only opportunities working overseas is as an expat who is sent abroad by their company. But how about as an American going overseas seeking employment much like an immigrant would come to the US to seek a better life? Over here in the east coast, for instance, being a cab driver is popular among new immigrants. Is there a similar comparison that can be made for say an american that goes to a foreign country?
I already live in Tokyo and Los Angeles. I'm 4th generation Japanese-American born in San Jose. I have permanent residency in Japan.
Germany in a heart beat
Already did to New Zealand. Couldn't stand the ghetto rap culture in the USA anymore.
things that make ya say hmmm wrote:
Over here in the east coast, for instance, being a cab driver is popular among new immigrants. Is there a similar comparison that can be made for say an american that goes to a foreign country?
Teaching English in Asia.
Lived in Greater China for the past 17yrs
Lose the USAUSA! attitude and you will be fine. A lot of amuricuns cannot do this, and have problems.
This being said, you also have to realize that in most countries outside of Europe, the standard of living, while seemingly modern, is actually quite sub-standard, based on US consumer preferences.
Japan is good example. Seemingly "modern", but service can be terrible (never rude, just very bad), and you get poor value for money. It is unseemly to complain. What if you miss a flight in Japan. You buy another ticket. Try to reschedule and you be very politely told to get bent. Property is still very expensive, and substandard.
if you move to Japan and plan on working - first you need to speak japanese really well, don't even think about only working 40 hours a week.
**********
i know ruling class mexicans who don't want to be in mexico because they are afraid that the drug cartels are about to take over the country.
*********
if you plan on "teaching english" be prepared to starve - my brother in law taught english in japan for 2 years, the pay was low, everything was expensive and his studio apartment was about 150 square feet.
an acquaintance who specializes in business english / accent reduction left korea because of the social isolation.
things that make ya say hmmm wrote:
Anyone had it with living in the US and seriously considered moving to another country to make a living? Not talking about retiring to a third world country but actually making a fresh start somewhere else. What would you do?
if palin and the crazy war-mongering church freaks ever take the reigns, we'regoing to nz. i know a guy who did it during the bush years and he says it is heaven on earth.
Off the Grid wrote:
Lived in Greater China for the past 17yrs
Japan is good example. Seemingly "modern", but service can be terrible (never rude, just very bad)
Living in China for 17 years gives you great insight into life in Japan, does it? Service can be terrible? That's news to me after 10 years here. The baseline level of service you can automatically expect in any service industry is much higher than anything you can hope for most places in North America. Go into any restaurant or shop and you can see it for yourself.
Yes, there are rules and you cannot expect to have them bent for you just because you didn't follow them, but accepting that is part of giving up your American privilege. I take it from your example that you were late for an impeccably on-time flight while here, expected to be let off the hook, and then extrapolated the experience out to the entire country as a whole when they would not be flexible for the American. People like that don't last very long here or end up bitter wrecks.
Great China includes Taiwan and HK. Never lived in China.
Japanese firms (and their apologists) use the idea of, "this is Japan" and shaming foreigners for their "cultural hubris". This is a means of rationalizing substandard services and market practices. Lined up against world class services in North America and Europe, Japan sucks. Thats a fact.
Expecting a global level of service and flexibility is not an American expectation. It is a top tier serious professionals expectation when spending good money.
A standard setting bank? Consulting firm? Legal practice? Software developer? None of these come from Japan. And yet they expect people to pay through the nose for these services without any recourse. Its scam, and doomed to failure.
a map wrote:
Where to? Somewhere of similar culture and language- Australia or Canada, for example? Maybe England?
Americans can fit in very well in Kenya.
If an American were to marry a Kenyan (or get married to a Kenyan for that matter), and decided to move over to Kenya, depending on what he/she does for a living, life would be tenable.
Of course there'd be no McDonalds at every turn in the countryside, no 911 (in our case 999) prompt service at the press of a button, no first class infrastructure in some parts of the country, no jogging at night in any place you want to e.t.c.
That said, life is very easy down there if you have something to do. THere is quality life for those with a decent means of livelihood. Just talk to any UN worker, diplomat or tourist who has lived there for a while. I'd say that an overwhelming majority of them love Kenya. After all human beings adapt anyway.
Benfica é merda wrote:
I would never ever go to Brazil. Those guys are phony.
Have you ever been to Brazil? The people are no more "phony" than anywhere else. I found the people to be extremely friendly and eager to talk about what life is like in the United States.
You can't just up and move to NZ...it doesn't work that way. Your friend must have had an "in"....Kiwi wife most likely. Also, you would have to compete with the educated locals for THE few decent paying jobs. Upper middle class there = lower middle class here.
Also, how can you teach English if you don't know Korean?