Am I Going To Be Able To Find A Good Place To Live?

[Wolfeye]

I'm from America & all the same trends that make me want to leave are the same things I'm worried that people will presume about me. They're not really wrong, since there ARE broad trends & they have to come from someone. I'm just extremely nervous that I'll have the ironic situation of going somewhere where people are kindred spirits or at least people I would get along with & I won't be able to start a life that goes well because of all the things I'd be presumed to be. Even if people got to know me, I have a hard time believing that they'd actually believe I am the way I seem- since lying & being all talk is a very common American trait. Basically worried about just being seen as a leper because I was born in a leper colony, regardless of my not being that way.

I know this because I've LIVED this. My whole life it's been this way & the people that actually weren't like this were pretty much always f***ed-over royally by people that swear blind that they're not that way. They seem to like "aww, it's such a shame" type of stuff in this part of the world. Whatever the word for stuff like that is, it certainly seems like people feel supportive of things like that. Lack of attempts to counter these situations, handicapping abilities & efforts to knock things like this off course, and revenging situations when they are knocked off course. Not real big on personal freedoms or independant decision-making... unless someone's being an asshole. Then they act like they don't understand the concept of right & wrong, but then claim a wrongdoing has been done whenever an injustice is counteracted or reciprocated.

I've said before that America IS like a melting pot, but not in the way people think. It's more like the pattern of "whatever kind of metal, whatever the condition, whatever the shape- the effort is to melt it down." That influence of vitiation is a trend that I imagine a lot of people expect from Americans & it's not really groundless. I've run into this myself throughout my life & am sick of it. I'm figuring I'll have a lot of problems with a bad reputation that other people got for me. Anyone with experience with this?

[fschmidt]

Wolfeye, what are you talking about? Or rather where are you talking about? I agree that Americans are the world's most repulsive people, but other people aren't exactly ideal. They are liars and backstabbers too. It's just that Americans are more fake about it. People from other countries won't care about your American background as long as you conform to their social rules, and of course you will always be considered a foreigner, but so what.

[Wolfeye]

Well, I was definitely thinking of Spain. Pretty much the whole Mediterranean is an area I'm wondering about, but also the Czech Republic. Mostly Spain & the Czech Republic, though.

The Slavic countries do interest me, but there can be a broad range of conditions between them. I figure most of the Slavic lands might be an issue right now (I side with Russia on so much, but I think it'd be pretty easy for me to get in trouble there at the moment). Aggravating, but the country that I have heritage from is in bad shape at the moment & I probably wouldn't be heading there in these times even if there wasn't a US factor in the situation.

[Jester]

Well, I was definitely thinking of Spain. Pretty much the whole Mediterranean is an area I'm wondering about, but also the Czech Republic. Mostly Spain & the Czech Republic, though.

The Slavic countries do interest me, but there can be a broad range of conditions between them. I figure most of the Slavic lands might be an issue right now (I side with Russia on so much, but I think it'd be pretty easy for me to get in trouble there at the moment). Aggravating, but the country that I have heritage from is in bad shape at the moment & I probably wouldn't be heading there in these times even if there wasn't a US factor in the situation.

I know what you mean.

One can admire the stubborn cultural protectionism of a Belarus, a Mongolia or a Korea, but that doesnt mean they are going to give you a great big group hug when you get there.

Others here will tell you it will help if you
(1) learn their language and blend in (Europe for example, if you're White)
(2) come from a culture they admire (i.e. areas in LA or SEA might be easier, for example, if you're White)

But I am going to make a wild conjecture, with no supporting facts, and add my own two cents:

(3) Be authentic, and PROJECT. Be WHO you are. Don't go to Prague and then try to just be an almost-but-not-quite-Czech. The locals want you to be SOMETHING, and if you dont want to be an American stereotype, then you need to decide who YOU want to be and BE that.

Hint: Just blending in aint gonna cut it.

Thats kind of what I'm learning here in Mexico.

PS
I think some here have suggested that Russia may not be all that bad a choice... that Russia, like France, seems to have a history of taking in outsiders, if they adopt the culture.

I guess I'm saying, if there is a place you are attracted to, GO THERE, be YOURSELF, do NOT expect to be accepted AS one of the locals, but be happy if the locals know and accept who you ARE.

[Moretorque]

My dad has been all over the world but he knows little in some important regards because he's a show boater. They just got back from New Zealand which is another British colony of course but they said they really liked it and it made them realize more so how bad America is on a political social front.

If people have not noticed they are getting rid of the middle class world wide.