Anyone aspire to live outside of the US?

[Wrath of Foamy]

She wants to return home to England? You said you live In Thailand and your wife is Thai and wants to return home.

Maybe phrased badly.

My partner is Thai and we both live in England. She has been here a long time but really misses her home country. I intend to go with her, partially due to adventure and partially due to the current state of this society that I'm living in.

I would like to visit Japan and several places in Asia before I go though.

 

[sub_thug]

Law school is typically a 2 year committment. To my understanding it's like saying getting a bachelor's in 4 years is really fast when that's typically what it takes. Ideally I'd like to marry at 33-35 to a 26-30 year old and have kids a few years later. Again though this stuff is kind of arbitrary, I could plan all I want for that kind of thing but then life will happen.

The median salary for environmental law is typical for all practices of law, which is in the low 6 figures, with many making less than that, and many making a lot more than that. This is also subject to change, I may end up going into something else. I've still got some time to figure this out, that just seems to be my general direction. I'm going to start studying for the LSAT next year. Environmental law is also seeing slight job growth whereas most areas of law are stagnant or declining.

I appreciate the sage advice, I do. There's a lot of things that can't be planned for and I know I'll have to make compromises. A lot of this is just dependent on how successfull I am in my career. If I can't cut it in law school then obviously big changes will have to be made. If I'm a mediocre lawyer and I only hit 6 figures at 45 years old, then a lot of this goes out this window. I'm planning on working my ass off, getting good grades, putting my nose to the grinder and putting in the hard work. Once I quit my job in december I'll have a lot more free time to pursue things other than school. I want to pick up video editing and starting a youtube channel and a blog (which I've actually been building for a minute now). With how fast culture and the world are changing it's really hard to account for everything that could change. I'm just trying to pick up a valuable skill set with my education and be as adaptive as possible while picking up some other valuable skills/hobbies on the side.

Right on. I just thought it was 3. Maybe because kids don't take summer semesters?

Yeah, picking an age to marry doesn't really matter, haha. It's true what they say, "Life doesn't care about your plans."

That's great! If environmental law is what you want to do, then go for it. There's no substitute for loving what you do.

Yeah, that's a good approach. I found out that cybersecurity was an interest of mine, so I'm learning the skills and doing them as a part-time job. Turns out it's great way to make an extra $50k per year! It's also giving me some experience in the field when I retire from the military in about 10 years. So yeah, I'm all about monetizing your hobbies. That's great man, I hope your stuff works out.

 

[Der Eisbär]

I wasn't having a dig at you, I was just being realistic with you. If veganism is important to you (which from the other thread the answer is a glaring yes), then that should definitely be something you should strongly consider when moving.

My friend's wife is vegan in Bangkok and she has endless problems trying to get vegan food here. As I said, consider what is the most important for you and what you are also willing to compromise on. The hard part is that most people in life don't know the answer to those 2 things until they forced out of their comfort zone or lose everything. That is why I suggested that you travel for a long period of time (6 month+) and figure out where your values are and what you need and don't need.

To give context, I grew up right next to the beach and went surfing every week. I now live in a city without a beach and the beaches over here don't have any waves for surfing. That was the biggest compromise I had to make when moving here. I still spend a lot of time at the beach and different islands, but I only surf a couple times a year now. That was a huge adjustment for me.

The other compromise I made when cost of living related. I lived cheaply when I first moved and had to focus on building up my online business. This meant I compromised on diet. Not that I didn't eat well (i ate VERY well), but I rarely had steak, let alone good steak. Steak is one of my favorite foods, so it was a big change. Luckily this was only a temporary compromise as I'm now very financially comfortable and eat dry aged grass fed Australian ribeye every month over here now.

I'm confused. Does Thailand have a shortage of produce, legumes, rice?

 

[IIIIIIII]

like many, i would love to live in switzerland. it's practically impossible to live there, so i try visiting as often as i can. i think it's even difficult if you want to marry a swiss citizen and get in that way.

 

[YoungBoyd]

I'm confused. Does Thailand have a shortage of produce, legumes, rice?

Don't know what he is on about.

https://www.happycow.net/asia/thailand/bangkok/

And ofc Thailand is full of locally grown produce. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, rice etc.

Probably not as great as Berlin or LA though.

 

[Der Eisbär]

Don't know what he is on about.

https://www.happycow.net/asia/thailand/bangkok/

And ofc Thailand is full of locally grown produce. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, rice etc.

Probably not as great as Berlin or LA though.

I knew he was I just wanted him to consider it. Don't know why people think vegans exist on meat substitutes and uranium or some shit lol. The South East Asian diet is low in meat and high in produce and grains. I would imagine there's a bounty of amazing produce there.

 

[YoungBoyd]

I knew he was I just wanted him to consider it. Don't know why people think vegans exist on meat substitutes and uranium or some shit lol. The South East Asian diet is low in meat and high in produced and grains. I would imagine there's a bounty of amazing produce there.

No doubt. High quality and cheap produce in abundance. Asian diets are traditionally plantbased. Veganism is probably worst in far Northern places like Norway with subpar produce and not enough demand to warrant top quality imports.

 

[ithinktheymad]

No, you don't get my point. I'm not talking about people in the streets. This poster is an official poster from one of the biggest political parties in Switzerland.
It's the same as if the Republican or Democratic party would do something like that in the USA.

Ah, my mistake.

I took it to mean "black sheep" and from further reading it seems to have been geared at foreigners of no particular race or nationality. It was one of the cornerstones of the last election for the current party in power in the U.S where I mostly live. They didn't need any posters, they just said it out right that they were kicking people the fuck out.

 

[Nesk]

it seems to have been geared at foreigners of no particular race or nationality.

"Of course it was"...and if it was, would that make it okay?

It was one of the cornerstones of the last election for the current party in power in the U.S where I mostly live. They didn't need any posters, they just said it out right that they were kicking people the fuck out.

It's not only posters, they said too. But the difference is for you guys it was this election with an idiot like Trump that it got really out of hands...in Switzerland it's every election for the last 30 years.
And in Switzerland we don't have only two parties and still this guys always end the elections with the second or third most votes of 9-10 parties...if Swiss people aren't racist then I don't know.

 

[mon]

Dumaguete topped some list of best retirement places a few years back and every newbie expat flocked there like sheep, resulting in overcrowding, increased crime, horrible traffic, and the place has basically become a victim of it's own success.

Same thing happened to Costa Rica 25 years ago, and it's now an unsafe place with living costs similar to the US. Ecuador has been suffering the same fate for the past 15 years. You gotta stay ahead of the curve with expat destinations, think outside the box, and do your own research, IMO.

It was an example of a place I noticed had a large expat population. I had to travel through to go through to get close to Apo island and while there noticed every other westerner was over 60 and there was a lot of them..

I linked you both because you live there and if he's going to be asking questions on living in a country like Thailand or the Philippines he's better to talk to the people there. I decided Philippines was not an option as you need to have a citizen own more than half and when I found the law couldn't be circumvented by an incorporated company I scratched it of the list. This is first the fundamentals for me to settle in a country, can I or a entity own the property if not how solid is the lease, how long can I get it for, if he's going to live overseas he better educate himself or he's in for an expensive experience.

As for Costa Rica, I don't know and that's why I'll be checking it out myself. Stayed with a Columbian on an Airbnb in Aus 12 months ago and he was the one who told me to focus on Costa not Columbia as while they both had sorted out a lot more of the problems they had 20 years ago with safety and crime towards expats Costa was better a little better everywhere. While your information conflicts what I've been told or found I will now take take it on board, I'll visit and assess it myself than decide.

 

[mon]

Yeah I'm working pretty hard to actively chase down my academic goals. Should have my undergrad by 28, law degree by 30. I've been pretty successfull in forgoing wife/kids thus far, pretty sure I can make do until 35+. Like I said if I do go into law I could do other things in other countries than just practice law, like being a consultant. I don't think life has to be a race to accomplish my goals and I'm sure along the way there will be opportunities and/or barriers I couldn't have planned for. In the end I may just end up settling for living abroad for 1-2 years before I settle down full time in the states.

What's most important to me is living a comfortable life and not having to want for anything, spending my work hours doing something I believe in, building a dream home (if I stay in the states), spending time traveling and doing lots of recreational activities (snowboarding, surf trips, hiking, kayaking).

Another thing is start investing every cent you have into American investments, by that I mean every cent. By the time you decide to live elsewhere you want property paid off, shares paying dividends or any other alternative source of income. Traveling somewhere and expecting to live on a wage generated there isn't particularly smart(to me). Having money coming in as US currency while living in a lot these countries can be the difference between succeeding and failing.

A couple of other poster touched on it and was 100% correct. You need to know what you want, what you'll compromise on and what is unacceptable. You also need to immerse yourself in as many different cultures as possible, that way you know if you can actually do this.

 

[mon]

No, you don't get my point. I'm not talking about people in the streets. This poster is an official poster from one of the biggest political parties in Switzerland.
It's the same as if the Republican or Democratic party would do something like that in the USA.

What does the poster say?

 

[AznTrojan]

i'd love to live for a little while in singapore

 

[Oeshon]

I'm confused. Does Thailand have a shortage of produce, legumes, rice?

Nope, plenty of locally produced rice and vegetables are available but perhaps not the kind of stuff you are after. You can get all the western stuff too but you will pay more than you do in the US for it. A lot of the Thai local produce is roots and herbs used to cook/combine with other dishes. Think stuff like chili, ginger, basil, lemon grass, papaya, etc. These are stable flavors in a lot of Thai dishes for this reason. You can get a good look at what you can get locally here - http://www.supatra.com/pages/thaiveggies.html

Anything local on that website you will be able to find very cheap at fresh markets. You can also get a ton of fruit here and there is WAY more better options for fruit than veg (in my opinion anyway). There are some fruitarian vegans (R.I.P Steve Jobs lol) that live off fruit over here. Notably Freelee from YouTube and a few others. You can see all the local fruit here - http://www.supatra.com/pages/thaifruitguide.html

As for rice, again you can get it super cheap and there are a lot of different varieties available, so no problem there.

You could do okay cooking if you are happy to cook and eat the stuff above and then splurge on western comfort stuff when you want to pay above US prices. Restaurants are very hit and miss with vegetarian/vegan menus, so if eating out can be more challenging.

 

[Oeshon]

i'd love to live for a little while in singapore

I'm curious, why?

I haven't lived there but i've been about 30 times and I can't see the appeal.

 

[Hollywood Jack]

Curious as to where you brahs would like to settle down.

The cost of living is getting out of control in this country and idk man, I'm tired of being around people that look and sound like me constantly. I want to live somewhere where the people are different. American culture has become so corporate it's sickening. Everywhere you go it's the same strip mall, the same franchise restaurants, the same looking dumb bimbos with the same looks and the same hipsters.

Would love to settle down outside of this country and be a foreigner in a different land where corporate culture isn't so widespread and the people aren't so culturally homogeneous and into reality tv and pop culture.

First round draft picks would be:

Irish countryside

pros:
-quick/cheap access to mainland europe
-irish girls
-lack of strip malls/corporate and pop culture
-rich history and culture
-no drug/gang epidemic
-clean air and water
-could get to a major city like dublin fairly quickly for some nightlife
-people speak my language (barely lol)

cons:
-expensive
-cold

Argentinian Coast

pros:
-cheap. money goes a long way
-live on the beach (I surfed as a kid when I lived in cali and I've always wanted to be back in a position where I could surf daily. GOAT recreational activity)
-ethnic girls
-rich culture and history
-awesome food

cons:
-semi 3rd world
-probably a good deal of drugs/crime


anyone else wanna settle down outside the US? Post where you'd like to go.

I'd pick the Argentinian coast, personally. I also think the drug/crime problems there are mainly isolated to the bad parts of Buenos Aires and other large cities. Argentina is definitely on my list of countries to emigrate to. Along with Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Belize, etc.

 

[Hollywood Jack]

I'm curious, why?

I haven't lived there but i've been about 30 times and I can't see the appeal.

Too tightly controlled, right? It'd be a paradise if things were loosened up a bit.

 

[Sir Galahad]

I'd love to live in Tokyo again. @HelloJapan @loyalyolayal @Pugilistic @Zer

 

[loyalyolayal]

I'd love to live in Tokyo again. @HelloJapan @loyalyolayal @Pugilistic @Zer

 

[AznTrojan]

I'm curious, why?

I haven't lived there but i've been about 30 times and I can't see the appeal.

clean.. super safe.. incredible food.. and it's a great gateway to the rest of asia..