[subutai]

There's a saying that travel is not about discovering new landscapes but seeing things with new eyes.

Beyond the fact that American women are inferior to many nationalities of foreign women found abroad, what other fallacies have you been able to shatter or break free from by leaving the US?

I read an excerpt today that got me thinking along these lines...

Quote:

"The history of mankind is a history of the subjugation and exploitation of a great majority of people by an elite few by what has been appropriately termed the 'ruling class'. The ruling class has many manifestations. It can take the form of a religious orthodoxy, a monarchy, a dictatorship of the proletariat, outright fascism, or, in the case of the United States, corporate statism. In each instance the ruling class relies on academics, scholars and 'experts' to legitimize and provide moral authority
for its hegemony over the masses" Ed Crane

[OSL]

-It's dangerous abroad
-People abroad want to come to America and be American

[Bad Hussar]

One way to think about this is to determine what you pay financially to "the state" wherever you live, both as a percentage of your income or assets and as an absolute value, versus what you get back. Different countries and regions have vastly different paybacks. Some are very high tax countries have good social programmes (eg Scandinavia), so have some justification. Most countries with high taxes where government spending is a huge percentage of GDP are just inefficient. The citizens don't get good value. The multitude of special interests leach money while adding little value. So unless you're powerfull enough to funnel that money your way you end up a net loser financially.

I'm not American, but as an outsider looking in it looks like most Americans are overpaying for what their various forms of government are doing for them. Obviously it's nothing like a banana republic where the big man and a few of his brothers/cousins steal everything not nailed down, but it's also not like places like Singapore, Dubai and so on where accumulating capital through your own efforts without the government wanting to tax you to death is possible.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Canada is in some ways quite similar to the US so most things mentioned here about the US can be applied to Canada as well. One thing I've noticed earlier in my travels is for what I pay for an average lifestyle in Canada I can have a very good lifestyle in other places in SA and SEA. I first witnessed that in Brasil and now am not only witnessing it but also living it daily here in Bangkok. For ex: in Toronto, just the mortgage on my condo is around 2K/month and here in BKK, I'm eating out all the time, going out whenever I want and party at least 3-5 times a week where I spend without worrying about money an I only spend about 2k/month (not including accommodations). The same lifestyle of eating out all the time, going out several times a week and not worrying about how much I spend would require a minimum of 7-10K in Canada. In other words, income/currency arbitrage as its best real life example.

I've also noticed that in other parts of the world, specially in Europe and SA (mainly Brasil as that's where I'm most familiar with) is that people tend to enjoy more life and live not just for working but to actually live. Each time I am in Brasil, Europe and now in BKK, I actually feel alive as opposed to just going through the motions when I'm in Canada with my mind fixated on how soon will I be able to get out of here. While at the same time, I have never looked forward to returning back to Canada while always counting down the days of my next trip (prior to now that is when I had a job). I noticed that friends are more likely to go out in Brasi or in Thailand than say in Canada since when you call someone there, they're either tired, working, or simply broke and can't afford to go out much. Plus when it's -20C outside, the last thing you want to is face that cold, even for a few minutes.

The nicer weather also affects big time the mood and attitude of people, not to mention the way the women dress in a tropical environment.
Food is healthier and natural/organic as opposed to full with chemicals in NA. Even juices and soft drinks taste differently. The best coca cola as well as the tastiest fries I've had where all abroad. People are healthier looking. After being in BKK for a month now, I've yet to see a fat, obese Thai. The only fat and obese I see are the farangs or foreigners.

These are the major ones that come straight to mind. Of course, there are many more that can be mentioned. All in all, the more I travel, the more I realize that quality of life is a lot better outside of NA and mainly because of the currency arbitrage but also the wholeness, kindness of the locals, the wholeness and healthier aspect of the food, a better weather, hordes of beautiful, feminine and sexy sweet women. All of which make wanting to live full time again in NA very hard, at least in the near future for me.

[Badstuber]

Quote:

The best coca cola as well as the tastiest fries I've had where all abroad.

I agree with this. Sprite and Cola tastes like CHLORINE on my holiday in the US.

[oldnemesis]

(11-30-2010 07:42 PM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  

-It's dangerous abroad
-People abroad want to come to America and be American

- English is spoken (or at least understood) virtually everywhere;
- Everyone in those third world countries is excited just to be with a fellow American dude, and you'll have a line of locals virtually line up as soon as you checked in;
- Everyone in those third world countries is trying to scam and rob a fellow American dude, and all the country criminals gonna line up for your dollars as soon as you checked in;
- Everyone is happy to take American dollars as payment, so exchange is unnecessary;
- Your health insurance from America covers you for all emergencies abroad (it actually may, but in most cases it does not);
- You can get into the local store and find all American brands and items you're used to;
- Everyone watches baseball, or at least knows what is it;

[hydrogonian]

Quote:

"The history of mankind is a history of the subjugation and exploitation of a great majority of people by an elite few by what has been appropriately termed the 'ruling class'. The ruling class has many manifestations. It can take the form of a religious orthodoxy, a monarchy, a dictatorship of the proletariat, outright fascism, or, in the case of the United States, corporate statism. In each instance the ruling class relies on academics, scholars and 'experts' to legitimize and provide moral authority
for its hegemony over the masses" Ed Crane

If you want a good History of this in the US, I can recommend "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn.

Fallacies:

-People are mostly different in other countries
-day to day life is mostly different in other countries
-people in other countries keep up with American hollywood (some do, but most don't to the degree that an American would deem keeping up)
-everyone is out for themselves
-all foreign women are better than American women (there are bad women everywhere, and good women everywhere. Now, the relative numbers are a different story..)


Paying taxes in South Korea ruined me, as far as getting value for taxes is concerned. I think I paid 4-8%, or something like that, which included healthcare.

[phoenix abroad]

-That you have to be a rich millionaire before you are able to travel a lot.

Depending on how you do it - Travel can be expensive for sure, especially if you travel like most Americans do. When I went to Toronto this summer with old friends from home some of them were spending money like it was on fire and they had to get rid of it. Shopping sprees buying tons of shit they didn't need, eating at touristy places like Hard Rock Cafe (ugh), and getting wasted on expensive drinks at touristy bars. I guess you do have to be a millionaire if you want to travel like that.

I just went exploring the city with two of my friends who weren't retarded and we walked around seeing cool stuff like Chinatown. We ended up having way more fun and spending hardly anything. The other people never even left that main square the whole day and saw almost none of the city.