Russian expat in the US.
I like it here in general, otherwise I wouldn't be here. However, if I were in my early 20s again I would probably try my luck in Moscow instead of moving abroad. I am not from Moscow originally, so moving there would have been difficult also, but chances are I would have done better career-wise and gotten laid a lot more with more attractive girls.
Why don't I move there now, you might ask? I guess I could, but I'm too used to my life here. My successful peers who stayed in Russia have already bought or inherited real estate, made connections which I don't have, built their professional reputation, etc. I would have to join the rat race, which is more competitive and brutal in Russia than here, at the very start. Besides, there are too many things other than money and girls which are shocking to me when I visit home. I still feel like a foreigner here, but I am already a foreigner there as well.
Having tried dating in the US with both Russian and American girls, I can't see myself staying here full time in my 40s and 50s unless something unexpected happens that makes me change my mind. I don't want to start a family in this environment (wouldn't want to do it in modern Russia, either). I realize that if I stay single and continue living here, at some point I will become invisible even to moderately attractive women. My hope is to be able to move to South East Asia before that happens, ether to retire, semi-retire or work remotely.
I like it here in general, otherwise I wouldn't be here. However, if I were in my early 20s again I would probably try my luck in Moscow instead of moving abroad. I am not from Moscow originally, so moving there would have been difficult also, but chances are I would have done better career-wise and gotten laid a lot more with more attractive girls.
Why don't I move there now, you might ask? I guess I could, but I'm too used to my life here. My successful peers who stayed in Russia have already bought or inherited real estate, made connections which I don't have, built their professional reputation, etc. I would have to join the rat race, which is more competitive and brutal in Russia than here, at the very start. Besides, there are too many things other than money and girls which are shocking to me when I visit home. I still feel like a foreigner here, but I am already a foreigner there as well.
Having tried dating in the US with both Russian and American girls, I can't see myself staying here full time in my 40s and 50s unless something unexpected happens that makes me change my mind. I don't want to start a family in this environment (wouldn't want to do it in modern Russia, either). I realize that if I stay single and continue living here, at some point I will become invisible even to moderately attractive women. My hope is to be able to move to South East Asia before that happens, ether to retire, semi-retire or work remotely.