This forum is getting out of hand

The_Adventurer · Post by **The_Adventurer** » May 5th, 2011, 6:29 am

This forum has really gotten out of hand. I really used to enjoy visiting here and reading a lot of great comments and amazing information. Now things have gone drastically in a new direction. It's a shame Globetrotter is gone. It seems many of those who are really doing something about being happier abroad are no longer here.

The current direction of the discussions on this forum, meaning the everything that's wrong with the world direction, leads me to believe I have nothing to contribute. I am out here actually doing it. I have been out here 3 years and mostly have this site to thank for it. Unfortunately, the adventure, the excitement and the happiness of my real life no longer seem to be a match to the content on this forum.

I hope those who dream of being happier abroad do something to realize those dreams, and I wish you all the best in your futures.

aozora13 · Post by **aozora13** » May 5th, 2011, 8:30 am

Yeah, I have to actually agree with Terence. I, for one am I non-white person abroad too and even though I have been in Europe for about a 3 weeks, I realize that being pushed by people here at Happier Abroad and NiceGuy Forum has really helped me realized that I am glad that I took the step to do it, even with family thinking I am crazy and not trying at all to make things a little easier for me.

I would say for the most part the trip has been a little difficult. I had too get used to paying a lot for food in Europe (Western) as in the Euro. However, I think that with mainly relying on myself unless I am in an emergency, I see that this is a better growth area for me.

Well for girls in Western Europe it varies. As some Americans and of course Europeans think that I am African it is good and bad. I think that when they hear my accent, they know who I am so I guess overall once I get used to the place and find the places to hangout, I will probably be able to get a Austrian girlfriend. However, I actually like the Germans a little more and I think that time will tell but I really hope I can do that. However, besides girls and the slight increase in costs (mainly for food and for taxes), I do not think living in Europe is bad. I took a big step in living in Vienna and I see that possibly if things go well for me at work, I might be able to stay longer. If not, I will try to at least go do another internship/traineeship. It varies but I know the year will help me.

I will say that this forum really did have some good inspiration, especially from Ladislav. I have also learned from other people about to live in another country. It is not cheap living in western Europe but it can be down reasonably and you can still enjoy yourself.

Happierabroad has gone down hill over this dumb thread which in all honestly Winston should have never put up. First even though he made a girl who was only 19(?) at the time and he was 35-36 get pregnant was not the best decision and at this point his main priority would have been to possibly get his son (and live-in girlfriend) a decent place to live.

However, I have seen him (and others have said too) about how he keeps asking people who have lived in other countries or in the US to give help to his problems. If I had problems maybe socially to get girls it is okay. However, about your family's business is your own.

Terence has made a point that this is a informative forum about meeting new people and helping them seek opportunities in other countries. No one actually gave me the idea to do the current traineeship/internship for 1 year in Europe. However, I was actually able to achieve and even thought how it would not hurt me as much since I am doing work in a new technology and get to meet new people.

Hopefuly this forum changes to its former glory and it can really help new people who are finally trying to change their lives.

Post by **Winston** » May 5th, 2011, 8:54 am

You guys are not seeing the big picture. This forum is actually booming. Approximately 900 people visit this site each day, double that of last year. And at any given time, 30 - 50 people are online here in this forum, which is twice as many as last year.

So traffic has doubled here.

As to the quality of posts, well it goes up and down like any forum. We are not going to lose members cause of bad threads, fights, or flame wars. Not as long as this forum is unique. People leave a forum when it no longer provides any stimulation anymore, not when they get offended.

That being said, I do agree that if you're already happier abroad, then this forum has little to offer you except maybe friendship, expat communion, idea exchanges, brainstorming, cultural analyses, etc. But for those stuck in the US and yearning to go abroad, this forum provides inspiration and a venting ground.

The advice here is dependent on volunteer expats like Ladislav, Mr S, Momopi, and Rock. But they can get busy, and if they do, then the posts will be mostly by newbies.

But that's ok. Nothing's perfect. Everything has its lows. That's what makes life real.

Or we can all brag and pretend to be perfect and exude fake positivity all day, like they do in office work environments. Is that what you guys want? Sheesh.

I prefer to keep it real, even if it turns off some people. Being true and honest to myself is number one. To hell with what others think.

Even if we lose some members, we are always gaining new ones. Every place in the world loses people and gains people. Such is the cycle of life.

Post by **Winston** » May 5th, 2011, 8:58 am

Aozora,
I don't care if my ranting thread has brought this forum down (though I don't agree that it has). It was honest from my heart, and that's what counts. As long as I speak from the heart, I am true to myself, and that's the most important thing.

Good quality people will appreciate that, low quality people won't. So perhaps it's a good weed-out method.

As long as I am true to myself and can say what I feel, I consider myself truly free. You see, as long as you are attached to the opinions of others, you can never be truly free. Remember that.

Rock · Post by **Rock** » May 5th, 2011, 9:27 am

Winston wrote:You guys are not seeing the big picture. This forum is actually booming. Approximately 900 people visit this site each day, double that of last year. And at any given time, 30 - 50 people are online here in this forum, which is twice as many as last year.

So traffic has doubled here.

As to the quality of posts, well it goes up and down like any forum. We are not going to lose members cause of bad threads, fights, or flame wars. Not as long as this forum is unique. People leave a forum when it no longer provides any stimulation anymore, not when they get offended.

That being said, I do agree that if you're already happier abroad, then this forum has little to offer you except maybe friendship, expat communion, idea exchanges, brainstorming, cultural analyses, etc. But for those stuck in the US and yearning to go abroad, this forum provides inspiration and a venting ground.

The advice here is dependent on volunteer expats like Ladislav, Mr S, Momopi, and Rock. But they can get busy, and if they do, then the posts will be mostly by newbies.

But that's ok. Nothing's perfect. Everything has its lows. That's what makes life real.

Or we can all brag and pretend to be perfect and exude fake positivity all day, like they do in office work environments. Is that what you guys want? Sheesh.

I prefer to keep it real, even if it turns off some people. Being true and honest to myself is number one. To hell with what others think.

Even if we lose some members, we are always gaining new ones. Every place in the world loses people and gains people. Such is the cycle of life.

I think it has a lot of value for expats too. And personally, I hate all the ranting about American girls. Just vote with your feet and leave them already.

One example of how this forum has helped me - a professional investor from Eastern Europe who has never posted here but has a username got in touch w/me via PM about investing in Renminbi. Now we exchange information on investment opportunities around the world. I also met contacts in PI from this site who have a lot of on-the-ground knowledge and experience and are willing to openly share it.

I hope this site further evolves to the point where we have expert on-the-ground contributors from a lot countries and regions of the world. That would broaden our awareness of the Happier Abroad universe. It has improved on this front but still has a long ways to go.

MrPeabody · Post by **MrPeabody** » May 5th, 2011, 4:24 pm

I agree. It's basically turned into MGTOW complaining and CT, the two fundamental legs of modern male masturbation. Going abroad actually takes work and effort. However, it does generate traffic because thats what the audience wants. I'm currently in Thailand working 12 hours a day on my CELTA so I can do it. After two weeks I have already gotten more accurate information from people who live here about how Thailand actually works.

Rock · Post by **Rock** » May 5th, 2011, 7:07 pm

MrPeabody wrote:I agree. It's basically turned into MGTOW complaining and CT, the two fundamental legs of modern male masturbation. Going abroad actually takes work and effort. However, it does generate traffic because thats what the audience wants. I'm currently in Thailand working 12 hours a day on my CELTA so I can do it. After two weeks I have already gotten more accurate information from people who live here about how Thailand actually works.

So what have you learned so far about how Thailand actually works?

ssjparris · Post by **ssjparris** » May 5th, 2011, 7:28 pm

yes i agree with winston here too. personally i am jealous that terrance can live where he wants. he has it really good. i am working on getting where he is at though. so in due time it WILL happen. for now i can only filter through foreign women here in america. we all know how they end up when they get to this country. so its kind of a challenge finding a good foreign woman in the states.

FreeYourMind · Post by **FreeYourMind** » May 6th, 2011, 12:44 am

The forum has been too argumentative and even gotten into some flame wars of late, but I think it's just a temporary down blip, as Winston mentioned. Traffic, and posting, are up and that's a good thing. It's a wide open site, because it fits the style and beliefs of Winston, which to me is a good thing. Winston is far more tolerant of his critics than I could ever be on a site that I owned and ran. There's too much disrespect directed toward Winston and by posters at each other.

Post by **Winston** » May 6th, 2011, 2:39 am

Good point FreeYourMind. One reason I'm tolerant is because simply using my moderator authority and saying "I'm banning you if you don't shut up or behave" is a cowardly ego trip thing to do. Anyone can do that, even the wimpiest guy can do that if he's a moderator.

I prefer dealing with people on a level playing field, by either appealing to their reason, or verbally kicking their ass. If they don't like it, they can voluntarily leave. But by dealing with them on a level playing field, it gives me more of a sense of honor rather than pulling moderator authority.

A person who fights for truth should use truth to get their way, not authority, rank or control. That's my belief.

Post by **Winston** » May 6th, 2011, 2:45 am

Here are some traffic stats to this site at the end of April from Google Analytics. The "unique visitors" number that you see in parentheses to the right of the graph represents the number of individuals that visited this site per day. As you can see, it ranges from 800 to 1000. I'm guessing that about half of these visitors are regulars (posters or lurkers), and the other half are new visitors who stumbled upon here from search engines or other sites.

djfourmoney · Post by **djfourmoney** » May 6th, 2011, 12:21 pm

I don't think its gone down hill. Without some negative posting it would be boring for the most part and I don't mean you have to have negativity to have fun. But it sparks debate and that's always good.

I don't mind Winston sharing his personal information as long as he's willing to accept the fallout from it. You can't put yourself on front street and then expect people to fully agree with what your doing, some are going to take issue with your life if you invite comment.

I come here almost everyday looking for information and once I get my life where I want it, I want to continue to contribute as an inspiration to others. I mean I'm unemployed, unmarried, no children, 40 years old and live with my folks. It can't get much more f***ed up socially than this and when (not if) I made it out of here into my own home, with a wife that loves me to death and a child on the way, I'll will ring the Mission Accomplished bell and share with all because I love nothing more than being right = Scoreboard

Rock · Post by **Rock** » May 6th, 2011, 11:07 pm

djfourmoney wrote: I come here almost everyday looking for information and once I get my life where I want it, I want to continue to contribute as an inspiration to others. I mean I'm unemployed, unmarried, no children, 40 years old and live with my folks. It can't get much more f***ed up socially than this and when (not if) I made it out of here into my own home, with a wife that loves me to death and a child on the way, I'll will ring the Mission Accomplished bell and share with all because I love nothing more than being right = Scoreboard

Stay strong! I've seen guys start get married (for first time) and start families very late in life. Your biggest challenge now is to figure out a way to make enough money to support that. Have you considered the English teaching route? I think its virtually impossible to get a decent paying truck driving job overseas as a foreigner.

djfourmoney · Post by **djfourmoney** » May 6th, 2011, 11:46 pm

Rock wrote:
djfourmoney wrote: I come here almost everyday looking for information and once I get my life where I want it, I want to continue to contribute as an inspiration to others. I mean I'm unemployed, unmarried, no children, 40 years old and live with my folks. It can't get much more f***ed up socially than this and when (not if) I made it out of here into my own home, with a wife that loves me to death and a child on the way, I'll will ring the Mission Accomplished bell and share with all because I love nothing more than being right = Scoreboard
Stay strong! I've seen guys start get married (for first time) and start families very late in life. Your biggest challenge now is to figure out a way to make enough money to support that. Have you considered the English teaching route? I think its virtually impossible to get a decent paying truck driving job overseas as a foreigner.

Rock you must not be paying attention

I just finished up the 9 week A+ program. I don't have money to take the test right now, I'm going to keep going as we're going to do more networking, build a server and work with Windows 7 more (MCDST). We also might do some more on Security + than the 9 weeks before. I've started to look for jobs and I'll be working on my updated resume this coming week and apply for a few jobs that don't require certificates and may pay me to take them, we'll see.

So Phase One is almost complete. Once I take and pass my A+ exam and Network + exam that will be the end of Phase One. Phase Two is to find work and save, save, save, save.

Phase Three putting my plan into action and making a trip around Christmas to South America.

Phase Four is up in the air, maybe Mark's company, maybe's Eduard's service. I also want to make a trip to Brazil to gauge how Brazilian Women of European decent react to me.

I don't have a Class A anymore so no driving trucks.

Rock · Post by **Rock** » May 7th, 2011, 1:37 am

djfourmoney wrote:
Rock wrote:
djfourmoney wrote: I come here almost everyday looking for information and once I get my life where I want it, I want to continue to contribute as an inspiration to others. I mean I'm unemployed, unmarried, no children, 40 years old and live with my folks. It can't get much more f***ed up socially than this and when (not if) I made it out of here into my own home, with a wife that loves me to death and a child on the way, I'll will ring the Mission Accomplished bell and share with all because I love nothing more than being right = Scoreboard
Stay strong! I've seen guys start get married (for first time) and start families very late in life. Your biggest challenge now is to figure out a way to make enough money to support that. Have you considered the English teaching route? I think its virtually impossible to get a decent paying truck driving job overseas as a foreigner.
Rock you must not be paying attention

I just finished up the 9 week A+ program. I don't have money to take the test right now, I'm going to keep going as we're going to do more networking, build a server and work with Windows 7 more (MCDST). We also might do some more on Security + than the 9 weeks before. I've started to look for jobs and I'll be working on my updated resume this coming week and apply for a few jobs that don't require certificates and may pay me to take them, we'll see.

So Phase One is almost complete. Once I take and pass my A+ exam and Network + exam that will be the end of Phase One. Phase Two is to find work and save, save, save, save.

Phase Three putting my plan into action and making a trip around Christmas to South America.

Phase Four is up in the air, maybe Mark's company, maybe's Eduard's service. I also want to make a trip to Brazil to gauge how Brazilian Women of European decent react to me.

I don't have a Class A anymore so no driving trucks.

Hey sorry about that. I must have missed some your posts. And I don't know anything about computer certification programs. You're implementing a solid plan. I can't wait to read your post Christmas travel report.