#1 Reason for Expatriation -- IS WHAT??!!!

[Introvert]

I was 18 and looking at TLC Worldwide snail mail brochures when I first seriously began to consider the fact that I did indeed have more attractive options for romance and living conditions. There were no Internet forums back then, so there wasn't really an outlet to share ideas with like-minded individuals.

[djfourmoney]

I was 18 and looking at TLC Worldwide snail mail brochures when I first seriously began to consider the fact that I did indeed have more attractive options for romance and living conditions. There were no Internet forums back then, so there wasn't really an outlet to share ideas with like-minded individuals.

The "Internet" as you currently know it goes back to the late 1970's, whether you used it or had access too it is the question.

Most Mail Order Bride stuff was by mail, small ads in the back of Men's magazines usually. Tony Bochene said he saw one for PI girls in the back of Field and Stream, that was the early 80's.

Hell I used to find them in the back of Hustler and other sort of less classy and more raunchy Men's magazines.

There were BBS's - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system and Newsgroups and I can tell you discussions of marrying PI was on various groups like alt.marriage and alt.sex

Just saying...

[Introvert]

Yep. You're right. I am well aware. Most did not have access to the Internet as we now know it back then unless they worked for the Department of Defense.

My main point was that I "woke up" to the possibilities when I was in my teens. It seems that guys are "waking up" earlier now, but the reality is that we simply have the technology to let other people know what we are up to on a large scale today. What used to be private is now public.

[Winston]

Have you noticed that other expat sites never mention dating and foreign women as a reason to expatriate? Why is that? How come we are the only one?

See this list of reasons to expatriate on another site for example:
http://www.expatguy.com/Why-Move-Overseas.htm

[deasil875]

No. 1 reason is because America is now a tyrannical police state that squanders money on bullshit wars and devices to enslave the population, and there is absolutely NO financial privacy when it comes to banking matters. This country has now become very hostile towards entrepreneurship (especially men) and those who choose not to be wage slaves within corporate America, the federal or state government and any other type of public service where you are fed a paycheck by someone else. Those individuals are subject to harsh, business-killing regulations and untenable competition with the big government sponsored corporate conglomerates. You are also taxed TO DEATH, and if the IRS can find a way to extract their pound of flesh they will. Writeoffs sometimes aren't enough to cover your tax liability, especially if you want to make six figures on a 1099.

Foreign women are just icing on the cake, but it is another huge reason for me.

[publicduende]

Have you noticed that other expat sites never mention dating and foreign women as a reason to expatriate? Why is that? How come we are the only one?

See this list of reasons to expatriate on another site for example:
http://www.expatguy.com/Why-Move-Overseas.htm

Hmm...could it be because, as somebody wrote earlier on on the thread, women shouldn't be a reason to be an expat? Before I joined this forum, the first (and possibly only) thing the term "expat" conjured up in my mind was the opportunity to move to an exotic location while working for a large multinational (eg. an investment bank) on a good relocation package, or even perks like an all-paid company flat. I had two separate opportunities to move to Singapore for one or two years. Both times I gave up precisely because I realised that the excitement of living in a different locale was by far offset by the fact that my career would have taken a step backwards, both in terms of quality of work being done and paycheck.

[xiongmao]

Like AmericanInBangkok I went abroad to see and do stuff. Like him I'm also semi-retired. If I need more cash I'll go on oDesk and hassle people till I find programming gigs.

Also I have a gigantic amount of time on my hands so I can do all kinds of other stuff.

If you're younger then studying abroad is an option. However, be careful where you study as an MBA from China or a degree from Thailand is probably worth shit in the global market. The West still leads in education. Still, if you're doing a degree then go and spend a study abroad semester in China or somewhere. Hardly any Westerners do this.

I guess I could take an expat job at some point, but if I went to Singapore as an IT guy I'd probably have to work 60 hours a week and live in a shitty apartment. Whereas in Bangkok I'm living in a well to do area that's just 3 stations from the central business/monging district.

[momopi]

I agree with Momopi. I already have the foreign bride thing nailed down. I want to expat because I've been here in the States all of my life. Come retirement age, I want to open up a new chapter and experience new places. So I'll be doing it for the adventure!!!!!!!!!!

Like they say, don't have kids too late or else you won't have energy to chase after your kids. Don't wait until retirement age to go see the world (unless if you're confident in your physical health at that age). I don't live abroad but try my best to spend a month abroad every year for the past decade.

A couple years back I worked as a 100% traveling consultant and visited 20-30 US States, 5 Canadian provinces, and Asian factory. I was in my late 30's and have to say that I wish I was younger to have taken that job, which requires flying on 6 different planes every week to remote regions across North America. Had I been in my late 20's, I'd have lasted longer on that job.

For those who want to comment about jobs not providing that many vacation days, consider the difference between "paid vacation days" versus "unpaid leave". Most blue collar jobs start with 2 weeks paid leave and white collar jobs now give 3 weeks paid leave. Negotiate with the hiring manager and your boss for additional unpaid leaves. Sometimes you have to sell it to them "I'll take my laptop and attend to any critical issues if needed". Before leaving on vacation, I write a "While I'm Away" document detailing various tasks and instructions for my back-up person. When I return I bring back omiyagi gifts for my backup(s) as thanks for covering for me. If you have all your ducks in a row, your manager or VP is more likely to let you take additional weeks off. This may not work for blue collar type work however.

[djfourmoney]

Have you noticed that other expat sites never mention dating and foreign women as a reason to expatriate? Why is that? How come we are the only one?

See this list of reasons to expatriate on another site for example:
http://www.expatguy.com/Why-Move-Overseas.htm

If you mean on popular expat sites like Expat Living? Because the majority of those considering an expat lifestyle are -

1) College Educated Gen Y/Gen X White Couples, look at any recent episode of Living Abroad or House Hunters: International

Some of these couples are mixed marriages. American men/women married to Europeans, Asians or Latin Americas returning to their spouses home country usually for a more relaxed lifestyle.

2) Baby Boomer retirees

You can tell because most of the questions on the various Expat radio shows I have watched or listen too are about Health Care or the quality of the Heath Care in say Mexico.

Johnny's Expat Files is one of the few podcast or radio shows that has covered in-depth single men moving to Latin America looking for a fresh start including looking for love. My only problem is that when he talks about these subjects, its from a man over 40 and White POV of course. He also is talking about chasing women in small towns in Central America, those with populations between 50K and 100K. Where being a single, middle aged, Gringo is seen as a novelty and for local women an upgrade over local men.

This is why men in their 50's have GF's who are in their mid to late 20's. Of course these men are wealthy business owners who came down to Latin America back in the 90's, made their fortunes and don't like the general direction of the United States.

Anyway you can check it out at www.expatwisdom.com or under The Expat Files on www.prn.fm

[djfourmoney]

Have you noticed that other expat sites never mention dating and foreign women as a reason to expatriate? Why is that? How come we are the only one?

See this list of reasons to expatriate on another site for example:
http://www.expatguy.com/Why-Move-Overseas.htm

Hmm...could it be because, as somebody wrote earlier on on the thread, women shouldn't be a reason to be an expat? Before I joined this forum, the first (and possibly only) thing the term "expat" conjured up in my mind was the opportunity to move to an exotic location while working for a large multinational (eg. an investment bank) on a good relocation package, or even perks like an all-paid company flat. I had two separate opportunities to move to Singapore for one or two years. Both times I gave up precisely because I realised that the excitement of living in a different locale was by far offset by the fact that my career would have taken a step backwards, both in terms of quality of work being done and paycheck.

"Career" is only important when you work for somebody else.

IMHO first rule of being an expat is being self-reliant.

James Corbett of the Corbett Report talked his past recently - http://www.corbettreport.com/episode-16 ... s-corbett/

He went from a college grad to ending up in I believe Osaka, Japan, running a website without any formal journalism education, married with a newborn in 8 years.

The only way you're going to get a good paying job in another country where you don't speak the language is with a Multi-national or US/UK based company where the corporate language is English.

I researched this deeply and was overall disappointed at the job opportunities overseas if you didn't have a 4 year degree.

So my only choice was to start something online. If you can make lots of money posting Grand Theft Auto Walkthrough videos on YouTube, IE being good at video games, how come I can't provide something a bit more useful?

You can sell locally made goods online (Ebay). For example, all the ingredients to make world class chocolate candy exist in Central and South America, but the locally made brands are subpar by Western standards and imported Nestle or Cadbury chocolates are very expensive, too expensive for the average resident of these countries to afford, so they don't know any better.

You can go to China, find a product you can import and sell locally.

Lots of ideas

[publicduende]

"Career" is only important when you work for somebody else.

IMHO first rule of being an expat is being self-reliant.

Well as you say below, it's hard to be self-reliant in a foreign country, without formal qualifications and without even knowing the local language well. A "career", in the form of a multinational who will guarantee you still have a job similar to what you were doing back home, probably some help with relocation, and even a perk or two if they really need you there, is probably the easiest path to being an expat. In fact that was my definition of expat before I met you guys here.

James Corbett of the Corbett Report talked his past recently - http://www.corbettreport.com/episode-16 ... s-corbett/

He went from a college grad to ending up in I believe Osaka, Japan, running a website without any formal journalism education, married with a newborn in 8 years.

The only way you're going to get a good paying job in another country where you don't speak the language is with a Multi-national or US/UK based company where the corporate language is English.

I researched this deeply and was overall disappointed at the job opportunities overseas if you didn't have a 4 year degree.

So my only choice was to start something online. If you can make lots of money posting Grand Theft Auto Walkthrough videos on YouTube, IE being good at video games, how come I can't provide something a bit more useful?

You can sell locally made goods online (Ebay). For example, all the ingredients to make world class chocolate candy exist in Central and South America, but the locally made brands are subpar by Western standards and imported Nestle or Cadbury chocolates are very expensive, too expensive for the average resident of these countries to afford, so they don't know any better.

You can go to China, find a product you can import and sell locally.

Lots of ideas

I agree 100%, it's not easy at all to crack the nut of a foreign country. Japan is a particularly tough job market, and one with a traditionally sharp divide between the kinds of jobs the natives will do, and those the gaikokujin (foreigners, 90% of whom with poor or no Japanese fluency) can do. Running niche websites or services meant for foreigners, especially in a large city like Tokyo, Osaka or Kobe, is doable, but I guess the competition is fierce.

When I was in Osaka in 2005, I mingled with my (Japanes) ex-gf's flatmates from Canada and some of their friends. They all worked en masse for massive language schools like Nova and Aeon. They didn't need any command of Japanese as they were used for evening and night-time Skype sessions with Japanese students. I remember they were on the minimum foreigner salary, which is a lot higher than the standard for a Japanese (don't remember how much, sorry) and was surely more than enough to pay all the bills in a flatshare, enjoy drinking and the occasional trip. When the school collapsed in 2007, thousands of students had to go back to the UK, US, Canada, Australia. A shame, because had they still been alive and kicking, lots of you guys wouldn't be writing about lack of teaching jobs in first-tier Asia

[mguy]

Do not travel for p***y. Ever. End of story.

For someone living in the highest frequented sex tourist location of the world, I take that with a grain of salt.

[djfourmoney]

"Career" is only important when you work for somebody else.

IMHO first rule of being an expat is being self-reliant.

Well as you say below, it's hard to be self-reliant in a foreign country, without formal qualifications and without even knowing the local language well. A "career", in the form of a multinational who will guarantee you still have a job similar to what you were doing back home, probably some help with relocation, and even a perk or two if they really need you there, is probably the easiest path to being an expat. In fact that was my definition of expat before I met you guys here.

James Corbett of the Corbett Report talked his past recently - http://www.corbettreport.com/episode-16 ... s-corbett/

He went from a college grad to ending up in I believe Osaka, Japan, running a website without any formal journalism education, married with a newborn in 8 years.

The only way you're going to get a good paying job in another country where you don't speak the language is with a Multi-national or US/UK based company where the corporate language is English.

I researched this deeply and was overall disappointed at the job opportunities overseas if you didn't have a 4 year degree.

So my only choice was to start something online. If you can make lots of money posting Grand Theft Auto Walkthrough videos on YouTube, IE being good at video games, how come I can't provide something a bit more useful?

You can sell locally made goods online (Ebay). For example, all the ingredients to make world class chocolate candy exist in Central and South America, but the locally made brands are subpar by Western standards and imported Nestle or Cadbury chocolates are very expensive, too expensive for the average resident of these countries to afford, so they don't know any better.

You can go to China, find a product you can import and sell locally.

Lots of ideas

I agree 100%, it's not easy at all to crack the nut of a foreign country. Japan is a particularly tough job market, and one with a traditionally sharp divide between the kinds of jobs the natives will do, and those the gaikokujin (foreigners, 90% of whom with poor or no Japanese fluency) can do. Running niche websites or services meant for foreigners, especially in a large city like Tokyo, Osaka or Kobe, is doable, but I guess the competition is fierce.

When I was in Osaka in 2005, I mingled with my (Japanes) ex-gf's flatmates from Canada and some of their friends. They all worked en masse for massive language schools like Nova and Aeon. They didn't need any command of Japanese as they were used for evening and night-time Skype sessions with Japanese students. I remember they were on the minimum foreigner salary, which is a lot higher than the standard for a Japanese (don't remember how much, sorry) and was surely more than enough to pay all the bills in a flatshare, enjoy drinking and the occasional trip. When the school collapsed in 2007, thousands of students had to go back to the UK, US, Canada, Australia. A shame, because had they still been alive and kicking, lots of you guys wouldn't be writing about lack of teaching jobs in first-tier Asia

I agree that's why the top places to teach English are Brazil, China and another country I don't remember. This is because they pay well and there are plenty of jobs.

GS350JP on YouTube is Black (American), used to be married to a Japanese woman and currently teaches English to young Japanese children including private lessons.

Anyway, it seems to me you have a few choices -

1) Import/Export
2) Online Service/Consulting/Sales
3) Teaching Specialized English (Medical, Law, et-al)
4) Local Business (Using Western techniques and savvy against 2nd/3rd rate competition)

Failing that, I suppose you can work for somebody. I'd say 95% of wannabe expats are overtly concerned about job prospects before leaving their home country.

[aozora13]

I am currently in that category with the other 95 percent expats. I think overall, I see that if you want to actually want to work in IT, you can work only in North America/Europe (Western) to earn a salary and good living but dealing with the expensive country issues.

I am thinking though you could get overseas contractor work (govt contractor) as well if you have certain qualifications in order to live abroad and be able to avoid high taxes and still see the world. I would not suggest it as a lifetime goal but as something as a way to save money.

However, DJ4M is correct. It seems for me at least I can only do a local business in 2nd/3rd Tier countries and possibly work in IT only in Europe and the European option if married.

[Teal Lantern]

Have you noticed that other expat sites never mention dating and foreign women as a reason to expatriate? Why is that? How come we are the only one?

See this list of reasons to expatriate on another site for example:
http://www.expatguy.com/Why-Move-Overseas.htm

It would be like making special mention of blue sky or gravity.
If a Western male is able to expat and have a comfortable income, local women will make themselves known to him.