Admittedly that's one of the reasons to go abroad. It might not meet your expectations but you wouldn't have known that had you not gone. I think that's valuable in and of itself.Originally posted by ddomin4360
Admittedly that's one of the reasons to go abroad. It might not meet your expectations but you wouldn't have known that had you not gone. I think that's valuable in and of itself.
My wife & I have talked about this as a potential goal when we retire, along with some friends of ours that we are very close to. Yes, retirement is a long way away, but by that point our parents are likely deceased and kids (if any) likely grown, which would be the only thing keeping us stateside. The Caribbean or Latin America are the most likely destinations, although I dream of living in the UK.
"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
- Herman Göring at the Nuremburg trials (thoughts on democracy)
I did do it a quarter century ago. Not for everybody.
Would I do it now? No, but we are looking at becoming expats, and I'm speaking in a foreign nation in a couple weeks and my wife is coming along so we can look at schools, rents, society, can we make friends, etc. We're doing a trip to France next year to look at a couple cities in the south-ish. A lot easier to make friends when younger, so no guarantee we can pull it off...
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Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
I once heard it described as" You may live in a place, have new friends, but you're stuck with the same old you."
When did I go from Luke Skywalker to Obi-Wan Kenobi?
As someone who passed on the opportunity, I say go for it. I've heard nothing but good things about the Corps and the experience.
When did I go from Luke Skywalker to Obi-Wan Kenobi?
I am much too "rooted" a person to ever happily live far from "home". When I was young, I thought I wanted to wander the world, but I've tried it twice, and I'm just one of those people who's sense of place is just too strong to deny. Part of it is family and friends, but I just can't see myself living anywhere than within about 50 miles of my hometown, and preferably in my hometown.
That doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to travel. I would like to travel to Italy to the town my grandparents left in 1909. I would like to travel to Britain and France and see historic places I've only seen in photos and film. I've toyed with the idea of buying a class C motorhome when I retire and traveling for several months around the US. I'm not sure if that's what I'd really like to do, though. Maybe my dog and I will just go south and be long-term house guests of my numerous friends and relatives who have moved to Florida, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. -- John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961
Visit first for no less than a month. You will love it or you will hate it. Go to Sri Lanka after that. And no, not much of the population speaks English. Just the wealthy and well educated. The "modern" of which you speak is a thin, fragile veneer.
"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" Jeremiah 22:16
I already live abroad
I've always thought about going to live in the UK at some point. My dad thinks I'm nuts, my mum wants to come visit/stay. I've spent the last few days googling possible employers (I have some good contacts there) and places to live.
If it's not the UK, Vancouver is sounding pretty good too. Mrs. Tranplanner hates her job and will happily tag along wherever.
That raises a good point: Americans and Canadians (and I guess Russians, Chinese, Brazilians, Australians, Kazakhstanians...) are in a unique situation. Their home-countries are so large that you can have basically the same experience of packing up and moving thousands of miles away and experiencing a totally different climate, topography, and even a different culture. Somebody in a small, relatively homogeneous country like Austria or South Korea doesn't have that ability.
Though I love the Detroit area, and I wouldn't really want to live in a foreign country, I've told my wife numerous times that I would pack up everything and move to somewhere like Santa Fe, Seattle, Portland (Oregon or Maine), or San Francisco at the drop of a hat if she ever wanted to.
"Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost." - 1980 Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan
This is true. ofos was not far off when he said moving to Texas from Michigan was kinda like moving to another country. In many ways I bet the experience of moving to Texas would seem more alien than if you moved into that foreign country just a few kilometers to the east of you.
People will miss that it once meant something to be Southern or Midwestern. It doesn't mean much now, except for the climate. The question, “Where are you from?” doesn't lead to anything odd or interesting. They live somewhere near a Gap store, and what else do you need to know? - Garrison Keillor
I moved from Oregon to South Carolina and ended up in New Jersey
"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" Jeremiah 22:16
Maister's snide comment aside, there is truth to what WSU said. I moved about 800 miles away from home and into a different climate, culture, topography, etc. I like living here and my job, but it is different from where I come from.
When did I go from Luke Skywalker to Obi-Wan Kenobi?
It is the same as moving from the UP to Lower Michigan. Sometimes I worry I need my passport to cross the bridge because it is a whole other world up there. People are nice as long as you don't try to build anything or take away their guns.
When compassion exceeds logic for too long, chaos will ensue. - Unknown
When I "retire" it will likely have to be to a place like Gabon or Sri Lanka to cut down on the cost of living......
On the ground, protecting the Cyburbia Shove since 2004.
We talked about it, after our trip to Scotland in the 1990s. We both loved it there. At the time, though, there seemed to be too many barriers and the whole idea just fell by the wayside. Also, I don't see us even moving out of state while my mother-in-law (who just turned 80) is alive; both of my husband's siblings live thousands of miles away.
It's not out of the question, though, especially now that he's working for a large corporation with sites in other parts of the world.
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country. Don't hate.When I "retire" it will likely have to be to a place like Gabon or Sri Lanka to cut down on the cost of living......
"He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" Jeremiah 22:16
This was the unfortunate conclusion of sooooo many yankees who moved to FL/elsewhere in the south over the last few decades. They were away from everything they knew, sold the 4 br home for a 1 br condo, then got bored to hell.
I will never leave the South.
Having recently moved to Texas myself, I can attest that there really is nothing quite like it. Texas is amazing; and I mean that in a good and a bad way.
Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.
So very true, I moved to Texas from Illinois last fall. It is a very different place, the size and differing landscapes of this state are mindboggling. It really is like their tourism slogan. Texas, it is like a whole other country. Here in the Houston area I am closer to Jacksonville, FL than I am parts of west Texas. West Texas (El Paso) is closer to LA than Houston. I have moved a lot since I graduated with my undergrad in 2005. I moved from SC to MN, and then MN to Indiana, Indiana to Illinois and most recently Iliinois to Texas. Part of me is tired of moving, yet at the same time I miss the midwest or the Carolinas. I really am ADD when it comes to the places I live, I hope that trait decreases as I get to 30 and beyond.
Oh man... we should get a beer at some point, obviously being kindred spirits
Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.
Garage in living room causes zoning dispute [was: Residential bridges & living room parking spots]
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