Living outside the US

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: TheSiege

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser

Originally posted by: TheSiege
we hear day in and day out that we are "free" here. the definition of free can be debated. i was wondering how was living outside the US compare.

Im asking people that have lived in and out of the US.
besides culture differences, what big things did you notice that you liked and disliked?
as far as government and politics and police and education and such.

i just wonder if i move outside if the states if ill miss the US or not....

p.s. be sure to state where you lived...

I'll tell you. I'm born and raised in Sweden. Been in the US for 4 years now.

Major differences:

The US is very centered around religion (beleive it or not) and I find that kind of strange.
There is of course religion in Europe too but it's not a big deal like here. You never here anyone say 'God bless....' and so on. No discussion about wether to teach Evolution or Creation. It's Evolution or nothing. ID is laughed at....
Religion is never an issue in politics either. you believe what you believe and everyone is cool with that.

The US has an obsession with noobs and nudity. If you see a boob on TV in europe it will barely get noticed. Here that would result in fines and 5 - 10 sec delays in live feeds.
The double standard in the US is weird.

Non-smoking nazis are everywhere here and it's spreading to my country too.

Dating is a big deal here. I've never ran into more 'unwritten' rules than here. It's kind of cute in a way but also frustrating and results in general weirdness.

Besides that it's actually very similar. It's just that there is 'more' of everyting in the US.

Another unique feature is chromed rims. That went out of style 30 years ago back home and never came back. LOL

You will never see anyone carry a gun in public in Europe. Even owning one is extremely rare unless you hunt.

At concerts in europe you will rarely have seated tickets in the infield. Having a dumbass security guard telling you to sit down at a concert will most likely result in one less security guard.

A good thing in the US are the 24 hours grocery stores.

Tipping just because is unheard of in europe too. People get paid a decent salary to start with and if you actually do tip you do it because of exceptional service. It's appreciated for sure but you will not get punished with special sauce if you don't.


You will now most likely tell me to fvck off and go home.

not likely, i just wonder what im missing and want opinions. i want to move out of the states someday and wanna know what kinda of shell shock i will be in, and i am really concerned about the education of my future kids.

Don't worry about the education. In many european countries the higher education is free (everyone pays for it with taxes) and very good. No need to get a 2'nd mortgage just to put your kids in college. The quality Professors and Teachers are not dependant upon how many students attend their classes, ie their pay and therefore willingness to stay at a University has nothing to do with how much fees the school gets.

You will have no shell shock but you will find that many cities are very old and you can feel the 'history' in the atmosphere.

Where do you want to move?

 

[Syringer]

You cannot generalize the US as a whole anymore than you can generalize Europe as a whole. We're the 3rd most populated and 4th biggest in the world, and easily the most diverse when it comes to people and culture in general. Drastic lifestyle changes can be found simply by driving to the next town..for instance take a 10 or so mile journey from yuppie West LA to downtown/central LA and you'll think you entered into a new world. While JS80's post is overgeneralizing, there is a reason why more immigrants have moved here over the years than anywhere else, and why few people who've either moved here or lived here their whole lives would ever want to leave..Anyone from any walk of life, no matter how poor or deep into a hole they are, can come here, start anew, and with hard work can easily assimilate themselves into an "average" life, and many times work their ways much higher than that. Few other countries provide anything close to that..

 

[TheSiege]

Originally posted by: Syringer
You cannot generalize the US as a whole anymore than you can generalize Europe as a whole. We're the 3rd most populated and 4th biggest in the world, and easily the most diverse when it comes to people and culture in general. Drastic lifestyle changes can be found simply by driving to the next town..for instance take a 10 or so mile journey from yuppie West LA to downtown/central LA and you'll think you entered into a new world. While JS80's post is overgeneralizing, there is a reason why more immigrants have moved here over the years than anywhere else, and why few people who've either moved here or lived here their whole lives would ever want to leave..Anyone from any walk of life, no matter how poor or deep into a hole they are, can come here, start anew, and with hard work can easily assimilate themselves into an "average" life, and many times work their ways much higher than that. Few other countries provide anything close to that..

it might have to do something with the reputation of this country also,
we were founded my immagrants, so it is appealling to the rest of the world.
dont get me wrong i love the US, but then again i dont know what im missing because i never left. and there are things that you can generalize the country with
education
higher education
taxes
federal law
i.e. gun laws, abortion, free speech and so on

thats what im interested in

 

[TheSiege]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser

Originally posted by: TheSiege

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser

Originally posted by: TheSiege
we hear day in and day out that we are "free" here. the definition of free can be debated. i was wondering how was living outside the US compare.

Im asking people that have lived in and out of the US.
besides culture differences, what big things did you notice that you liked and disliked?
as far as government and politics and police and education and such.

i just wonder if i move outside if the states if ill miss the US or not....

p.s. be sure to state where you lived...

I'll tell you. I'm born and raised in Sweden. Been in the US for 4 years now.

Major differences:

The US is very centered around religion (beleive it or not) and I find that kind of strange.
There is of course religion in Europe too but it's not a big deal like here. You never here anyone say 'God bless....' and so on. No discussion about wether to teach Evolution or Creation. It's Evolution or nothing. ID is laughed at....
Religion is never an issue in politics either. you believe what you believe and everyone is cool with that.

The US has an obsession with noobs and nudity. If you see a boob on TV in europe it will barely get noticed. Here that would result in fines and 5 - 10 sec delays in live feeds.
The double standard in the US is weird.

Non-smoking nazis are everywhere here and it's spreading to my country too.

Dating is a big deal here. I've never ran into more 'unwritten' rules than here. It's kind of cute in a way but also frustrating and results in general weirdness.

Besides that it's actually very similar. It's just that there is 'more' of everyting in the US.

Another unique feature is chromed rims. That went out of style 30 years ago back home and never came back. LOL

You will never see anyone carry a gun in public in Europe. Even owning one is extremely rare unless you hunt.

At concerts in europe you will rarely have seated tickets in the infield. Having a dumbass security guard telling you to sit down at a concert will most likely result in one less security guard.

A good thing in the US are the 24 hours grocery stores.

Tipping just because is unheard of in europe too. People get paid a decent salary to start with and if you actually do tip you do it because of exceptional service. It's appreciated for sure but you will not get punished with special sauce if you don't.


You will now most likely tell me to fvck off and go home.

not likely, i just wonder what im missing and want opinions. i want to move out of the states someday and wanna know what kinda of shell shock i will be in, and i am really concerned about the education of my future kids.

Don't worry about the education. In many european countries the higher education is free (everyone pays for it with taxes) and very good. No need to get a 2'nd mortgage just to put your kids in college. The quality Professors and Teachers are not dependant upon how many students attend their classes, ie their pay and therefore willingness to stay at a University has nothing to do with how much fees the school gets.

You will have no shell shock but you will find that many cities are very old and you can feel the 'history' in the atmosphere.

Where do you want to move?

the only place ive ever wanted to live outside the US is
japan and germany

japan becuase technology and electronics, (im a EE major) and germany because my roots and i know the language a little

 

[FrustratedUser]

I highly recommend the Netherlands. Not because of legal weed, just because Dutch people are very nice! The women are blond and tall. Tallest in Europe!
Very laidback attitude. They speak funny but most speak very good english so you'd be fine.

 

[Alienwho]

I lived in Brazil for a few years. Here is my impression:

Cool country. It's a fun bustling place. A lot of cities are a lot like european cities, and a lot of cities are typical south american crap. You'll see everything from super elite rich to the biggest slums of your life, all on a 2 minute drive. Beautiful endless rolling green hills until you hit the beach.

The cops and government are totally corrupt and run by their own agenda. The people are nice and are all very religious. Most of them are either Catholic or the Super protestant (assembly of God, congregation of Christ, etc.) Everybody and their dog says "God bless" as you leave, on the whole they're an extremely religious country (much more than the US).

Transportation vary's by the city. Some cities have excellent bus systems and others have crap bus systems. Altogether though all cities have bus systems that work fine. If you can make your way to the down town of most cities (except for the insanely huge são paulo, rio de janeiro, etc.) you can walk anywhere you want in a half hour or so. Walking is generally an enjoyable experience until you pass by a sewer pipe and man those smell great.

If you're a white american you can get nearly any girl you want. They love americans and are fascinated by them.

I picked up the language enough to be able to take care of myself in about 6 months, and at one year I was extremely comfortable with the language, and at about 1 year 6 months I could fool people and tell them I was from other states in Brazil (by faking an accent relative to that state) and they'd believe me.

I would love to go back and live in Brazil for a relatively short amount of time (a year or two) however I wouldn't want to stay there forever or raise a family there. For a single guy though it's a great time.

Oh I should also mention, stuff is cheap down there. I could go back down to Brazil and easily live like a king and get a great job. That's my plan if I end up failing at life in the Unites States, I could always go back to brazil and be somebody important.

 

[EatSpam]

Originally posted by: JS80
we don't have to have lived outside the US to know it sucks out there.

:roll:

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Syringer
You cannot generalize the US as a whole anymore than you can generalize Europe as a whole. We're the 3rd most populated and 4th biggest in the world, and easily the most diverse when it comes to people and culture in general. Drastic lifestyle changes can be found simply by driving to the next town..for instance take a 10 or so mile journey from yuppie West LA to downtown/central LA and you'll think you entered into a new world. While JS80's post is overgeneralizing, there is a reason why more immigrants have moved here over the years than anywhere else, and why few people who've either moved here or lived here their whole lives would ever want to leave..Anyone from any walk of life, no matter how poor or deep into a hole they are, can come here, start anew, and with hard work can easily assimilate themselves into an "average" life, and many times work their ways much higher than that. Few other countries provide anything close to that..

Excellent post. :thumbsup:

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Syringer
You cannot generalize the US as a whole anymore than you can generalize Europe as a whole. We're the 3rd most populated and 4th biggest in the world, and easily the most diverse when it comes to people and culture in general. Drastic lifestyle changes can be found simply by driving to the next town..for instance take a 10 or so mile journey from yuppie West LA to downtown/central LA and you'll think you entered into a new world. While JS80's post is overgeneralizing, there is a reason why more immigrants have moved here over the years than anywhere else, and why few people who've either moved here or lived here their whole lives would ever want to leave..Anyone from any walk of life, no matter how poor or deep into a hole they are, can come here, start anew, and with hard work can easily assimilate themselves into an "average" life, and many times work their ways much higher than that. Few other countries provide anything close to that..

Most cities in the US are not like Los Angeles. Take it from one who has lived in other cities.

 

[dartworth]

JS80 = JLGatsby ????


????

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Originally posted by: JS80
we don't have to have lived outside the US to know it sucks out there.

Poor clueless Americans...

Thanks for generalizing all Americans.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Originally posted by: JS80
we don't have to have lived outside the US to know it sucks out there.

Poor clueless Americans...

way to assume i'm poor and clueless.

you don't need to assume anything, you're laying it all out.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: dartworth
JS80 = JLGatsby ????


????

wow...low blow...i think that is the worst insult anyone can give on ATOT...i'm going to go in a corner and cry now...

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Originally posted by: JS80
we don't have to have lived outside the US to know it sucks out there.

Poor clueless Americans...

way to assume i'm poor and clueless.

Dear:

[X] Loser [X] Lamer [ ] AOLer
[ ] Me-too-er [ ] Pervert [ ] Geek
[ ] Spammer [ ] Nerd [ ] Martyr
[ ] Fed [ ] Freak [ ] Scientologist
[ ] Socialist [ ] Stain [ ] Jerk

You Are Being Flamed Because:

[ ] Your lame advertising message has firmly convinced me to ignore you
[ ] Your post proves you to be an A**hole
[ ] You posted an "everyone is against me/my race/my religion/my country" message
[ ] You posted a release date thread
[ ] You quoted an ENTIRE post in your reply
[ ] You continued a long, stupid thread
[ ] You started an off-topic thread
[ ] You posted a "YOU ALL SUCK" message
[ ] You said "me too" to something
[ ] You suck
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[ ] Your sig/alias/server sucks
[ ] You made up slang then used it in a message
[ ] You posted a phone-sex ad
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[X] You posted something really stupid/depraved
[ ] You tried to blame others for your stupidity
[X] you incorrectly assumed unwarranted moral or intellectual superiority
[ ] you are posting an anonymous attack

To Repent, You Must:

[ ] Give up your AOL account
[ ] Give up your CIS account
[ ] Bust up your modem with a hammer and eat it
[X] Stop masturbating for a week
[ ] Jump into a bathtub while holding your monitor
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[X] Leave us all alone
[ ] Print your home phone number in your adverts
[ ] Slam your fingers in a desk drawer repeatedly
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In Closing, I'd Like to Say:

[ ] Get a life
[ ] Never post again
[ ] I pity your dog
[ ] Remove yourself from our presence
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[ ] Learn to post or sod off
[ ] Do us all a favor and crawl into some industrial machinery
[X] See how far your tongue will fit into the electric outlet
[ ] Get a clue
[ ] All of the above

Generic Flaming Form v1.0

 

[Compton]

Originally posted by: dartworth
JS80 = JLGatsby ????


????

:thumbsup:

 

[DAGTA]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: TheSiege

Originally posted by: JS80
we don't have to have lived outside the US to know it sucks out there.

thanx that helps (sarcasm)

hmmm let's see...Asia, weird food, can't speak language, you'll be the only white guy for miles.

Europe, thought police, high taxes, crappy food, lazy people all around, riots in the street every time politicians want to help the poor by implementing laws to boost the economy, oh and they don't want you (i.e. they won't let you emigrate there unless you're a refugee from africa).

Canada, thought police, high taxes, ...wait sounds like Europe. They won't let you in either.

South America? Can't drink the water, kidnappings, corruption, etc.

Australia, i hear the aussies are pretty cool, but yea high taxes.

Hong Kong wouldn't be bad if you were Chinese and spoke cantonese.

This is a prime example of why much of the rest of the world considers Americans to be stupid.

 

[Reckoner]

USA... the place where you can sue for tripping over a rock

 

[tgx78]

I lived in NY and moved to Vancouver Canada 5 years ago. Everything here is laid back. People walk slower Eat slower and even talk slower lol. I noticed right away Vancouver has poorer transit grid (obviously) compare to NY and public transit here sucked. Also noticed that things are not cheap here. nothing like how expensive living in Manhattan but for Canadian city Vancouver measures right up there in terms of living cost per capital. But I do feel lot safer living here and raise my family. Weather is also nicer up here except in Winter it rains a lot.

 

[Bitek]

Cape Town SA is awesome. Not at all what you'd think Africa would be like. England is awesome too. Too bad I couldn't live all over th world, there are too many cool and nice places to go.

 

[astrocase]

I've lived in another country. The USA is better. At least CA. I can see myself choosing to live in another country rather than in a racist or bible thumping state. That's just me though.

 

[CanOWorms]

I think that people would need factors about yourself. Race, ethnicity, employment, etc. A country like the Netherlands may be great for a white person, but horrible for someone else. People used to say that the Dutch are tolerant people, but tolerance does not necessarily mean acceptance.

 

[imported_Tick]

What many people forget about the US is that each state is as large and as different from eachother as many countries are. You can get the experience of living in another country by just moving a few states over. If you don't like where you live, I'd try another state before going through the trouble of moving to another country. I further feel that you can find a group of people and a place that replicates the experience of almost any part of the world somewhere within the US. The diversity here is the highest in the world, and the economic prosperity means that is easily feasible to move until you find a place you enjoy living in.

 

[RabidMongoose]

Living in Canada is pretty strange. It basically involves talking about the US or hearing about the US contantly...even more than Americans in the United States. In addition, you have to live with the Canadian Inferiority Complex.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

I lived in B.C. for a short while (1.5 years) and i'll tell you from experience, being 14 at the time and trying to fit in with Canadian teenagers was very difficult. From what I could tell, Canadians dislike Americans. I would never move back.

 

[astrocase]

I just spent an hour writing a 4.5 page response to the guy about Sweden. I got a BSOD in WinXP. I am really frustrated now. Not only did I lose the response but I have no idea why my PC is crashing.

Oh well. I'm not re-writing it.

Basically I've lived, worked, and studied in Sweden and chose to move back to California due to the taxes, weather, racism, anti-semetism, intollerance, poor work ethic, a weak economy, an inability to become wealthy no matter how hard you worked or how smart you are, and the reality that living in Sweden would mean I could never afford to come back to California. I simply wasn't content living in a 3 bedroom apartment for the rest of my life, with a white volvo, and a small cottage out in the country regardless of whether I was a grocery store clerk or a banker.