Do you think you could live abroad for the rest of your life?

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Kim on June 16, 2007 at 10:34am

I don’t know if people are born with an inclination to move or not.
I just think that people are realizing that there are many different countries out there and each one of them shows different benefits to live there.
For instance, I just came back from Hamburg Germany and loved the fact that there train system is very high tech and fast (150-220 mph fast) and allowed me to have a second option if I didn’t feel like flying and going through the US’s storm trooper security. As for the trains in the US, they don’t seem to be making any effort to compete with the airlines.

The food in Germany is naturally grown and they do mess with enhancing the growth or putting any other crap into there food. My German friends laughed when I told them that in American we have to wash are fruits and vegetables very thoroughly and that I even use a spray called Veggie Wash on the food first before I rinse them with water.

The news casts over there was the biggest change I saw a lot of more positive stories on the news. Not just who died or who shot who.

I’m seriously looking into other countries and see what there benefits are.

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Permalink Reply by Hyunwoo Sun on June 17, 2007 at 10:23am

I agree. Some people get to find out that the country they were born in might not be the best country for them to live in. It's a pity that not everyone gets to have this kind of opportunity.

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Permalink Reply by Derek on June 16, 2007 at 12:09pm

Interesting question. I visited a couple of European countries, and thought that I'd really like to "explore" them more. I really like the USA, but it is getting bad with all the govt involvement now. There are a LOT of things great about the USA, and a lot of things broken.

My desire was to move to England (probably the easiest to adapt to), and then explore the other countries more in depth. Right now, I'd still have to say USA is the best.

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Permalink Reply by Hyunwoo Sun on June 17, 2007 at 10:25am

I'd like to go to the USA and see how life is over there, although I will have to wait a long time before I can actually put that into practice. :D Well, basically I would love to see all the different parts of the world and all the different life styles, and for that aim I'm trying to learn to speak as many languages as possible.

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Permalink Reply by Audrey on June 16, 2007 at 2:31pm

I think the education you received is what make the "inclination" for going abroad. What I mean is, if when you were a kid you travelled to foreign countries, if you were taught to adapt to different ways of life, it will be easier to live abroad for a life time.
I also think a lot of persons are not planning to do this, but one day they look back and realize they have a family in their new country, friends ... and they just can't go back and give up on all these things.

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Permalink Reply by Hyunwoo Sun on June 17, 2007 at 10:28am

I agree that it has to do with the education. :D

But I also think that for some(or maybe most) people it's not always just looking back and realizing that they've spent too long a time to go back, but it's rather like planning everything ahead and making up their mind to emigrate and not come back except on holidays.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Rey on June 16, 2007 at 3:46pm

I definitely have a little of the "nomad" gene in me, but there's nothing quite like the comfort of your own home, or a place you are intimately familiar with.

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Permalink Reply by Hyunwoo Sun on June 17, 2007 at 10:30am

exactly ... :-) that's what made me wonder why some people want to leave the country for a different country and promise they will never come back, althought it has to be seen whether they will really never return or not, but one thing for sure is that a lot of Asians are emigrating from their mother countries in search for a better life outside.

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Permalink Reply by Flamekebab on June 17, 2007 at 2:27am

Reading this topic, the word "abroad" didn't sit right with me.

My earliest memories are of travelling to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Sweden. Later in my life I travelled to most of Europe as well as Mongolia. Additionally, over the years the staff of my parents' company (the HQ of which is literally on my doorstep) have consisted of a mix of nationalities from many far flung regions of the globe.

When I am at my main official home I just don't feel at home. I don't feel like "this is where I belong". It's my territory, certainly, but it doesn't feel like where my heart is.
Conversely, Stockholm does (I hold Swedish citizenship and speak Swedish and have many relatives there).

Also, when you ask your question, it makes it seem as if there's no option to do both..
Yes, it requires quite a lot of money, but it isn't unfeasible to live in two countries.

My parents have finally reached the stage where they can afford to do this - they spend the spring and summer in the UK and then fly out to New Zealand in October, returning to Britain for Christmas before flying out again. That way they never have to put up with Winter!

On a side note, it is quite scary for me how little many US people seem to know about other nations.
It's easy for me, I guess, as I've known so many places, but based on what I've seen the US is definitely not somewhere I'd want to live. Canada, maybe, but I don't think I could deal with the USA.

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Permalink Reply by Flamekebab on June 17, 2007 at 11:22am

For me it's a fundamental difference between cultures, I think. I have many American friends, but increasingly I find myself at odds with values the US seems to support.
For example, whilst I'm by no means a believer in anarchy or communism, the real emphasis on capitalism is something I have a problem with. Furthermore, this idea that religion matters annoys me too.
Those are two crap examples, as I can't quite put my finger on it. Years ago I thought it'd be fun to spend some time in the US. Sadly, GWB came into power and destroyed any desire.

My father has also stated that unless absolutely necessary, he has no intention of visiting the US again. The security, paranoia and stupidity of it all has got to him (not helped by the fact that his finger prints are so weak these days that airport security checks are a nightmare!).

I don't rule out the idea of living in the USA, I just rule out the idea of living in the USA if it continues to be as it is at the moment.

I'm sure that day-to-day it wouldn't be massively different, but I tend to focus on a bigger picture than that.

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Permalink Reply by Hyunwoo Sun on June 17, 2007 at 10:32am

Yeah I admit I wasn't considering the possibility of doing both... it's still possible, but for the majority of people, it's either here or there, what with the difficulty of obtaining citizenship and everything...

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen Grace on June 17, 2007 at 10:12am

definitely. and probably will end up doing so. splitting my time between the states and either montreal, paris or berlin. all cities i would move to in a heart beat. just gotta work on getting that job that will let me do that.

and was i born with this inclination? i don't know, but i do know me and all 3 of my siblings have this goal. one has followed that instinct and now lives in Tokyo- not coming back anytime soon. much to the chagrin of my mother.

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