Happier Abroad Forum Community

I have a license in massage therapy which is how I have saved up enough money to go abroad now but the question is how to make money abroad? How to obtain work visas, jobs, etc if Americans are not allowed to work abroad in Costa Rica?

And on a deeper level, I just want a new family even if it is in another part of the world. My "family" is a collection of individuals that see me once every five years and we never connect. I just don't care anymore about them. People in countryside Costa Rica are strongly connected and they welcomed me. I am tired of feeling alone every day as I am sure most of us are.

I totally get you on that "connected" thing. The problem is that America tries to vitiate everything you & everyone else does. It's like acid- a lot of times it's hard to find someone that's not universally corrosive to everyone. They're "anti non-self" as I call it. Anyone, anything they do, and even extant circumstances are an issue to them- since it doesn't come from them. They want to be the "well-spring" from which everyone flows. Ever seen the first Conan movie? It seem A LOT like that cult leader, except there isn't as much detail in the movie as there is in real life.

Anyway, I'd imagine college might not be too much of an issue if you've got a bit of money saved up. Don't know how the "college scene" is in Latin America, but I'd imagine it could go far in that part of the world. In this part, it's like a situation of "f**k you for being better at something (because could you outshine me), f**k you for being worse (because you're worse), and f**k you for being equal to me (since you could theoretically take my place)." Another thing is that it's like borderline feudalism here. That or "corporate communism," as I've heard it called. It seems that the job (rather, the people that could fire you at that job) dictates what you do in general. Professionally, in your private life, doesn't matter. It's the general concept of "I could fire you" (which equates to killing someone occupationally) used as leverage against that person & everyone else in the same type of situation.

Costa Rica seems to guard the jobs that could be filled by a Costa Rican, so maybe try somethign that they don't usually do? something that's not really huge in Costa Rica? I don't get why illegal work would be a huge issue, but it seem they might not hire you if you are working illegally in the same way that Americans won't hire you if you're not working illegally.

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I don;t know, but for teaching jobs I guess you just use the normal methods like posting your resume on ESL Cafe or something. However, be warned about Latin America as a place. If you are an introvert like me, you will be overwhelmed by their noise and partying. I just spent a week in Cuba and I felt very uncomfortable.

Ghost wrote:The problem with job-seeking abroad is that most countries are sane enough to safeguard foreigners from doing jobs that locals can do.

Indeed. In my experience, the jobs Westerners do in non-Western countries are:
Teach English
Work for Western corporations
Work for Western NGOs (puke)
Work in Western-style bars
Cater to Western tourists in some way
Import-export
Do something the locals have never been trained to do (although opportunities for this are diminishing all the time)
In some places like China there might be white-guy type jobs such as catalog modeling, strutting around in a business suit to make some company seem more cosmopolitan etc. Not so much in Latin America.

If you aren't the IT work online type you need to figure something else out. If you are young and employers aren't running to your door... try this.

Get a skill. Manage a seasonal golf course, drive a truck (semi, straight, etc), and buy a cheap house in the country (especially in the Midwest) so you have a place to crash. Drive that truck like hell then fly out.