In America it's life, liberty and the pursuit of a paycheck

jamesbond · Post by **jamesbond** » October 16th, 2009, 7:40 pm

It seems as if all one needs to be happy in the US is a good paying job. At least that's what I feel from watching the news and various tv programs (like financial experts telling people how to invest their money and how to plan for retirement).

What about having a social life? Isn't that just as important as having a good job? What about being able to meet people and have fun, how come topics like that are never discussed on tv programs?

So apparently all one needs in the US to be happy is "life, liberty and the pursuit of a paycheck." LOL

momopi · Post by **momopi** » October 17th, 2009, 2:51 pm

Broadcast media (TV, radio) receives most of their revenue from advertisment, so they must go after ratings. Financial topics are actually pretty lame and don't generate a lot of ratings. High-ratings show deal with topics like Octomom and Michael Jackson (insert Idiocracy joke here).

Cable TV receives their revenue from subscription/licensing fees and ads, so they can support more specialized topics like the Travel Channel and Food Network. Back when AZN TV was still around, they had a show called "Get Drunk in China". Bascically it's one Japanese American guy (Jimmy T) going to different regions in China and sampling their alcohol. That kind of show would've never made it on mainstream TV here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhK86345pHs

With the internet, now anyone can star in their own TV show online. Even 2 bored girls with nothing else better to do can run a show called "Bored in Bikini's":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01jM3MFrno0
http://www.clicknetwork.tv/watch.aspx?c=2&p=18&v=234

Hero · Post by **Hero** » October 18th, 2009, 11:37 am

I have a job that pays well, but I plan to quit the minute I get out of debt; I figure that will happen in about two years. After that, I'll figure out a way to live abroad.

Post by **Winston** » October 26th, 2009, 11:52 am

momopi wrote:Broadcast media (TV, radio) receives most of their revenue from advertisment, so they must go after ratings. Financial topics are actually pretty lame and don't generate a lot of ratings. High-ratings show deal with topics like Octomom and Michael Jackson (insert Idiocracy joke here).

Cable TV receives their revenue from subscription/licensing fees and ads, so they can support more specialized topics like the Travel Channel and Food Network. Back when AZN TV was still around, they had a show called "Get Drunk in China". Bascically it's one Japanese American guy (Jimmy T) going to different regions in China and sampling their alcohol. That kind of show would've never made it on mainstream TV here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhK86345pHs

With the internet, now anyone can star in their own TV show online. Even 2 bored girls with nothing else better to do can run a show called "Bored in Bikini's":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01jM3MFrno0
http://www.clicknetwork.tv/watch.aspx?c=2&p=18&v=234

But then how come the news mostly talks about the economy, jobs, etc. as if that's all anyone cares about and thinks about and needs? Forget that you need sex, love, friendship, good mental health, etc. (well at least I do).

The mainstream media's job is to preserve the establishment and ridicule anything unconventional. Since the interests that run the media are high in the hierarchy, it makes sense that they would want to brainwash you into thinking that all you want to do is work, cause they get rich off of the slave labor of the masses. The system, as usual, only benefits those at the very top of the pyramid.

jamesbond · Post by **jamesbond** » December 6th, 2009, 10:08 am

Work-acoholism is common in the US. It seems to be encouraged by parents and family members and kids learn it from an early age. The reason why the standard of living is so high in the US, is because people in the US work themselves into an early grave!

Repatriate · Post by **Repatriate** » December 6th, 2009, 11:07 pm

I probably work twice as hard living overseas but I enjoy life much more. There's nothing wrong with productivity if the environment you're in is supportive and social. It's just that in America people are expected to work hard and also be socially exclusive and insular while doing so. You end up with skilled professionals who only hang out with each other in tightly knit occupational cliques. You date and marry from within and end up with an unhappy anti-social lifestyle built on image and "who" you are supposed to associate with. This is very different from a country like Thailand where a people may have friends across a broad social spectrum and if you wanted to you could easily break out of your existing social circle to make new friends anywhere else.

momopi · Post by **momopi** » December 7th, 2009, 10:32 am

Winston wrote: But then how come the news mostly talks about the economy, jobs, etc. as if that's all anyone cares about and thinks about and needs? Forget that you need sex, love, friendship, good mental health, etc. (well at least I do).

What is their target demographics?

Hint: not single young men looking for a date.

globetrotter · Post by **globetrotter** » December 15th, 2009, 6:23 pm

The USA is a slave labour camp with slightly better food. If, IF, you want to own your own business and work hard and accumulate stuff and obtain material and financial success ONLY, go to the USA. Ladislav has often posted the benefits of the USA. Issue is that many of us acknowledge those perqs but we are miserable there anyhow and would rather leave even if we do not have 100K saved up.

Life is too short to make it only about the pursuit of money.

AsianBill · Post by **AsianBill** » December 15th, 2009, 6:56 pm

Yeah but what are the practical alternatives? And would you really find the mentality towards work and money that much different outside the US? You obviously need money to survive, so unless you want to be a panhandler or live off someone else all your life, you HAVE to work. Or maybe you can get citizenship in a social welfare country you're moving to and try to live off a state pension, but how realistic is that?

globetrotter · Post by **globetrotter** » December 16th, 2009, 12:39 am

AsianBill wrote:Yeah but what are the practical alternatives? And would you really find the mentality towards work and money that much different outside the US? You obviously need money to survive, so unless you want to be a panhandler or live off someone else all your life, you HAVE to work. Or maybe you can get citizenship in a social welfare country you're moving to and try to live off a state pension, but how realistic is that?

There are many alternatives. Positive thinking and resolute action.

Goodness heavens the vibe and feel outside the USA is NOTHING like what it feels like there. Winston has written entire e-Books about this topic. The mentality and vibe about work and money is so different than the total obsession in the USA. The waitresses at the restaurant I ate at today earn 500RMB a month MAYBE. They get NO TIPS. Yet they were happy, joking, kidding around with each other at the beginning of their shift.

Life outside the USA is not USA-lite with less or more money. You must go and see for yourself. Ask Winston or Ladislav.

The alternatives are to use your USA citizenship to leverage into higher social standing in one of many countries and live on 5% of your income.

Mr S · Post by **Mr S** » December 16th, 2009, 2:48 am

To be successful living overseas you generally need to have a masters degree in an education related field as qualified westerners with credentials from the anglo-sphere parts of the world can secure decent paying work in any foreign country. The pay will depend on where you are located and what you are willing to do, but the work is out there. I make between 1500-2000 American dollars a month just working part time here in the Philippines. I could make more working full time either supplementing my income as a professor at one of the main universities or working full time in an international school. (but I don't feel like dealing with the extra hassle at the moment) In the top international schools in most countries employees don't pay taxes (or a small percentage typically under 10%) and starting pay is between 35-40K a year American. If you don't have higher education than your options are much more limited. You can find work but it will be a life of living pay check to pay check and not being able to enjoy yourself overseas cause you will always be counting how much money you have that's expendable. The other option is...

You can have an independently owned business which you can draw money from, enough to support you living overseas. There could be more benefits to this option since you are your own boss and you can take various tax write offs from your business working overseas. Having passive income is the best although it is typically the hardest to set up initially. If you can have an online business where you can just monitor it through any internet connection than that would be even better.

Those are the main two options one can choose from to escape living in the west. I've initially chosen the education route but will eventually switch to the business option once I feel satisfied with my own educational achievements.

NorthAmericanguy · Post by **NorthAmericanguy** » March 19th, 2012, 4:45 pm

Repatriate wrote:I probably work twice as hard living overseas but I enjoy life much more. There's nothing wrong with productivity if the environment you're in is supportive and social. It's just that in America people are expected to work hard and also be socially exclusive and insular while doing so. You end up with skilled professionals who only hang out with each other in tightly knit occupational cliques. You date and marry from within and end up with an unhappy anti-social lifestyle built on image and "who" you are supposed to associate with. This is very different from a country like Thailand where a people may have friends across a broad social spectrum and if you wanted to you could easily break out of your existing social circle to make new friends anywhere else.

Wow! Well said.

NorthAmericanguy · Post by **NorthAmericanguy** » March 19th, 2012, 4:48 pm

globetrotter wrote:The USA is a slave labour camp with slightly better food. If, IF, you want to own your own business and work hard and accumulate stuff and obtain material and financial success ONLY, go to the USA. Ladislav has often posted the benefits of the USA. Issue is that many of us acknowledge those perqs but we are miserable there anyhow and would rather leave even if we do not have 100K saved up.

Life is too short to make it only about the pursuit of money.

LOL!! So true.

E_Irizarry · Post by **E_Irizarry** » March 19th, 2012, 5:21 pm

NorthAmericanguy wrote:
globetrotter wrote:The USA is a slave labour camp with slightly better food. If, IF, you want to own your own business and work hard and accumulate stuff and obtain material and financial success ONLY, go to the USA. Ladislav has often posted the benefits of the USA. Issue is that many of us acknowledge those perqs but we are miserable there anyhow and would rather leave even if we do not have 100K saved up.

Life is too short to make it only about the pursuit of money.
LOL!! So true.

@globetrotter,

The USA has slightly better food than whom??? You haven't been to the Dominican Republic, Pakistan, or Thailand for some pretty serious diehard food.

S_Parc · Post by **S_Parc** » March 20th, 2012, 7:16 am

The trick to achieving happiness is to couple a "Paycheck" with not dating (or even attempting to date) AWs.

If you can adjoin the above, then you have half the formula for stateside happiness.