Happier Abroad Forum Community

Johnny wrote:http://open.salon.com/blog/lost_in_berl ... ft_america

Great post.

I was particularly struck by his idea of "the educated class" leaving. I had never really thought of myself or HA folks this way. But maybe we are indeed a subset of "the educated class". Interesting idea.

Certainly the "educated class" of Iran left after the mullahs took over in 1979, settling largely in Beverly Hills and areas surrounding. And the "educated class" of Russia left after the revolution there in 1917, settling largely in France and Iran. And then there are the Cubanos, who left for Miami...

Maybe the educated class got out of Atlantis before it sank,,, built those pyramids... passed on legends of flying machines....

Jester wrote:Maybe the educated class got out of Atlantis before it sank,,, built those pyramids... passed on legends of flying machines....

And how to build a decent car factory.



Toto, I don't think we're in Detroit anymore.

Johnny wrote:http://open.salon.com/blog/lost_in_berl ... ft_america

It makes sense to me as far as most of the article I read. If you're living in a country (meaning the US) and you're not fulfillingly happy, you should leave. To be honest, I don't think America is going to get any better. In fact, it's not.

See guys....I keep telling you Germany is much better.

He's so spot-on but one thing I agree to disagree:

He's out of his rabid mind if he feels that the educated class should leave. That's a great problem in the U.S. of Gay now: too many idiots taking up jobs in positions that should have way-more qualified doers.

E_Irizarry, I agree a Brain Drain is bad. But its because we value money over all else. So the brightest minds are taking jobs on Wall St. or to defend Wall St. All you have to do is Google "Revolving Door"

So smart people go to work for business, then run for public office (cause it cost $2 Million to run a Senate campaign), change the rules and then become even richer by going back to work for the same private sector they soften regulations on + have all the beltway relationships to get more strings pulled.

The educated class has/is leaving, who do you think has the wherewithal to even consider something like this????

The reason why the majority haven't packed their collective bags is as the poster said, too many Americans believe their own propaganda of American Expectionalism that they can change the system if they just try.

The problem is too many good people have spent their entire lives trying to change it and its only gotten worst.

Jester is right HA is a sub-set of the educated class, just with much less money/formal education. So they come to HA to complain and get into petty discussions about virginity and which places are easier to get laid...

Instead of trying to figure out how to get off this rock. People make excuses for the day is long -

I need to finish school; No you don't many famously rich people never finished high school or college.

I have family I need to take care of; Are your parents on their death bed? If not, then nothing to worry about. If so, take them with you, other countries have better health care ANYWAY.

I need a job/income to make it work; Again bullshit, there dozens of ways to earn money without a formal education and without a ton of money to invest. If you just work at it, you can make enough to live on. I'll keep saying it, Winston is doing just that. You post on here, he makes money. New users sign up, he makes money. The more traffic that is on this site, HE MAKES MORE MONEY. How come that can't be YOU? Stop making excuses!

There is a ton of expat information out there, all you have to do is look for it. It would be more productive than posting here on a regular basis. Which is why I haven't, I got SHIT to do.

djfourmoney wrote:E_Irizarry, I agree a Brain Drain is bad. But its because we value money over all else. So the brightest minds are taking jobs on Wall St. or to defend Wall St. All you have to do is Google "Revolving Door"

So smart people go to work for business, then run for public office (cause it cost $2 Million to run a Senate campaign), change the rules and then become even richer by going back to work for the same private sector they soften regulations on + have all the beltway relationships to get more strings pulled.

The educated class has/is leaving, who do you think has the wherewithal to even consider something like this????

The reason why the majority haven't packed their collective bags is as the poster said, too many Americans believe their own propaganda of American Expectionalism that they can change the system if they just try.

The problem is too many good people have spent their entire lives trying to change it and its only gotten worst.

Jester is right HA is a sub-set of the educated class, just with much less money/formal education. So they come to HA to complain and get into petty discussions about virginity and which places are easier to get laid...

Instead of trying to figure out how to get off this rock. People make excuses for the day is long -

I need to finish school; No you don't many famously rich people never finished high school or college.

I have family I need to take care of; Are your parents on their death bed? If not, then nothing to worry about. If so, take them with you, other countries have better health care ANYWAY.

I need a job/income to make it work; Again bullshit, there dozens of ways to earn money without a formal education and without a ton of money to invest. If you just work at it, you can make enough to live on. I'll keep saying it, Winston is doing just that. You post on here, he makes money. New users sign up, he makes money. The more traffic that is on this site, HE MAKES MORE MONEY. How come that can't be YOU? Stop making excuses!

There is a ton of expat information out there, all you have to do is look for it. It would be more productive than posting here on a regular basis. Which is why I haven't, I got SHIT to do.

LOL! If it was that easy then you would see a flood of Americans and other Westerners leaving their country--but since it's not--you don't see many people do it. People like you who think it's so easy--only spread disinformation and false ideas to new people. It's better to plan long-term and think about your future rather than engage in spur-of-the-moment reactionary behavior that you end up regretting later on in life. No offense...

zboy1 wrote:

djfourmoney wrote:E_Irizarry, I agree a Brain Drain is bad. But its because we value money over all else. So the brightest minds are taking jobs on Wall St. or to defend Wall St. All you have to do is Google "Revolving Door"

So smart people go to work for business, then run for public office (cause it cost $2 Million to run a Senate campaign), change the rules and then become even richer by going back to work for the same private sector they soften regulations on + have all the beltway relationships to get more strings pulled.

The educated class has/is leaving, who do you think has the wherewithal to even consider something like this????

The reason why the majority haven't packed their collective bags is as the poster said, too many Americans believe their own propaganda of American Expectionalism that they can change the system if they just try.

The problem is too many good people have spent their entire lives trying to change it and its only gotten worst.

Jester is right HA is a sub-set of the educated class, just with much less money/formal education. So they come to HA to complain and get into petty discussions about virginity and which places are easier to get laid...

Instead of trying to figure out how to get off this rock. People make excuses for the day is long -

I need to finish school; No you don't many famously rich people never finished high school or college.

I have family I need to take care of; Are your parents on their death bed? If not, then nothing to worry about. If so, take them with you, other countries have better health care ANYWAY.

I need a job/income to make it work; Again bullshit, there dozens of ways to earn money without a formal education and without a ton of money to invest. If you just work at it, you can make enough to live on. I'll keep saying it, Winston is doing just that. You post on here, he makes money. New users sign up, he makes money. The more traffic that is on this site, HE MAKES MORE MONEY. How come that can't be YOU? Stop making excuses!

There is a ton of expat information out there, all you have to do is look for it. It would be more productive than posting here on a regular basis. Which is why I haven't, I got SHIT to do.

LOL! If it was that easy then you would see a flood of Americans and other Westerners leaving their country--but since it's not--you don't see many people do it. People like you who think it's so easy--only spread disinformation and false ideas to new people. It's better to plan long-term and think about your future rather than engage in spur-of-the-moment reactionary behavior that you end up regretting later on in life.

It is that easy.

What makes you think I am not planning long term? You're just trying to justify the thousands you spent on educating yourself.

Most people don't know somebody else who has done it and that's why its not widely accepted. Just as gay issues have become more acceptable as more people know them.

Who is engaged in spur of the moment? This has been a work-in-progress since 2007, when I returned from Europe.

It takes awhile to figure out what you need in order to make it work. What I needed was not to have a job get in the way. Too many jobs get in the way, I know maybe two jobs that don't. Security Guard, overnight shift and Parking Lot Attendant.

I'd take my parking lot attendant job back in a heart beat. I was alone on my own floor, watching a set of key (double parked). From 8-11am nothing happen, the majority of people were in the office building by 7:30 before I got there. I had time to completely read the Los Angeles Times and I did so, every single day (M-F). If I wanted something, I would order it at home and have it sent to the building. It was the late 90's the mobile internet is not what is now. While you can't get cell service down there, it would allow me to further work on web site layouts, graphics and that sort of thing. On my lunch hour, I can go upstairs and plug in a data stick, send emails I previous wrote, etc, etc.

I only worked M-F (8-6), no WEEKENDS. Yeah it was min wage but I didn't do anything = perfect

Knowing what I know now, I would have qualified for SNAP, saving me $200 in food every month.

Back then the min wage was $6.25, now it would be $510 every two weeks = $1020 a month NET

If you don't pay for food ($200) and don't pay rent (living at home), you can save the majority of money coming in.

You could supplement your income by donating plasma on Saturday = $120 a month tax free

Most people don't use more than 1GB of data on their smartphones, downgrade to the lowest data plan.

Take the bus/train/subway, sell your car, you'll save about a thousand dollars a year between fuel and maintenance. Yes its a pain in the rear, buts its not forever unless you want it to be.

If you can't save at least $500 a month, you got money issues. You don't need Xbox Gold, you can drop down to the cheapest broadband (which your being robbed for anyway). For movies, go get Netflix or Redbox.

If you asked, could show you how to completely disconnect from cable/sat and still watch your favorite programming.

It is THAT easy, you just have to put your mind too it and shut out any naysayers.

Regret comes from NOT DOING it at all, which is what happens to the majority. By the time you can retire, you're too old to do anything really.

Go ahead and play that typical American game of educating and job status to get ahead, you won't be any "richer" than me when it comes time to leave.

I could leave in March, but to continue General Relief, I have to attend some classes that are actually beneficial to my plan. So the earliest I can leave is mid April. I am trying to weigh out that option now. I plan on staying as long as possible and one-way tickets don't mean shit, you can get your money refunded if you don't go back anyway. One way tickets just put an exclamation point on it. You only save about $150 for an extra bit of security if all goes pear shaped.

Even if it does, return home, re-tool and try again.

My time is limited I will be 43 this year and I firmly believe my value on the market will be further reduced if I do as you say.

As I said in another post, the cheapest way to get to Mexico is bus. From there you can fly out of Guadalajara, TJ or Mexico City. That is how you get to Cuba being an American citizen.

It cost about $40 to go from Downtown LA to TJ Airport.

You can live in TJ on less than $500 if you had too. You can live the life of Reilly on $1,000 a month and have beach front property.

How is that expensive???? Not even.

There are many places around the world for what its considered "poor" in America can have you living a middle class lifestyle. Plus you get health care and your children get an actual education.

Its simple Zboy you aren't trying hard enough. Truth be told there is always going to be Doubting Thomas' and Naysayers you rub up against conventional wisdom.

Edit: I agree when some say we should change the name of the site to unhappy at home, because so few of you have actually left or are planning to leave. Its cheaper and less risky to log onto HA and tell me I got it wrong.

See Ya.

You just proved my point DJ! You planned long-term, saved some money, and had a plan that you stuck to. I bet back then, you wouldn't have been able to leave the country on a permanent basis--as you implied it was easy to do. Governments around the world are making it harder to expatriate to other countries, and even countries like the U.S., is making it more difficult to obtain passports and to travel to other countries. So, all I'm saying is that the process takes time and should be well-thought out before taking the plunge.

And I'll be leaving this country too soon, so I'm not like what you're implying, lol. It just took me a while for me to get the process going....

PeterAndrewNolan wrote:See guys....I keep telling you Germany is much better.

Aren't the Germans also delaying marriage & having children at below replacement rates (not counting immigrants)?
Or by "better", do you mean strictly from the economic/liberty perspective?

zboy1 wrote:You just proved my point DJ! You planned long-term, saved some money, and had a plan that you stuck to. I bet back then, you wouldn't have been able to leave the country on a permanent basis--as you implied it was easy to do. Governments around the world are making it harder to expatriate to other countries, and even countries like the U.S., is making it more difficult to obtain passports and to travel to other countries. So, all I'm saying is that the process takes time and should be well-thought out before taking the plunge.

And I'll be leaving this country too soon, so I'm not like what you're implying, lol. It just took me a while for me to get the process going....

Actually that is wrong, I had $10,000+ in the bank in 2007, I could have stayed then. What I thought then is what I would do? I had a job already as crappy as it was, all my prospects had dried up or I didn't want what was available at the time. I had promised to return to the US, so I did, only to experience the financial meltdown. In hindsight (which is always 20/20) I would have visited just the one woman who was already committed to me, married her and the rest would have been history.

I wouldn't be here posting this because being single would no longer be an issue. Chances are with the crisis we would have returned back to Germany or never left, that's hard to say. The compromise was I would be an instant father to two young boys and I wasn't ready for that.

My penalty is being here tolerating this nonsense until I can make a change.

With no job, you need to figure out something. I felt having a regular job would prevent me from reaching my goal if TIME and not MONEY was the issue. If your goal is to hook up with a woman overseas, you need to be able to spend as much time with her as possible. Sure you can make it work over Skype but I tried doing strictly the internet before and while it largely worked, you still need to visit women. Most men only get 10-14 days worth of paid vacation.

I felt this was an issue (time), so I tried to hatch an plan that would work.

When you are earning exactly $450 (give or take a few cents) a month, money management is PARAMOUNT!

Minor setbacks to those with full time work, are MAJOR setbacks to me; Example -

I had planned on continuing my workout plan with Gold's Gym but then ran the numbers and figured out I would save a few hundred dollars by ending my contract. I had to pay $120 fine for doing so. If you earn $1150 a month which is the national average as I said it hurts, but it hurts more when you earn less than half of $1150.

So I have eliminated ANY and all monthly payments. My choice not to look for any sort of work, is validated as more economist believe this is a jobless recovery and that it will be years before we're even hiring beyond soaking up people entering the job market every month.

It also took some time to figure out how to earn money online.

All these things don't come overnight. Otherwise, flushed with money, armed with the information I have now, I can make that jump without question and without incident.

I still maintain its easier than most people think. I am not earning money so much so I can stay, I cam saving money so I can afford to go. I am going to earn money online which means I don't have to go learning the local language, I can learn it at my own pace, if at all.

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Teal Lantern wrote:

PeterAndrewNolan wrote:See guys....I keep telling you Germany is much better.

Aren't the Germans also delaying marriage & having children at below replacement rates (not counting immigrants)?
Or by "better", do you mean strictly from the economic/liberty perspective?

I don't know or care why Peter thinks its better. He has personal demons he needs to work on.

Low birth rates plague Europe. They are well below replacement (1.8 children) and have no idea how to solve it other than being more aggressive with policies designed to encourage child births among career woman. Also policies to encourage child birth among those that normally (they believe) can't afford to have children.

There is no long any reason to be in America, we don't discourage babies here but there is enough narcissism to have a European birth rate, its only irresponsible African-Americans, Latinos and generally poor people that continue to have children and we demonize them for it.

I am so done with this country, I am glad more people are coming out of the shadows and speak on what is a taboo subject in America.

Great article! That man has a brain, saw all the problems in the US like the rest of us do, and took action and left. He's a good example for others.

djfourmoney wrote: I could leave in March, but to continue General Relief, I have to attend some classes that are actually beneficial to my plan. So the earliest I can leave is mid April.

Cool. Have you decided which country you'll be going to yet?