It Would Seem I've Become A 'whinging Pom'....

[UK Man]

According to my wife I've become a moaner.

When I asked her to give me some examples of my moaning she rattled off about twenty without even thinking about it which included the following. ''The TV is crap! Supermarkets are crap (I suspect lack of pricing and poor restocking of shelves instigated that moan)! The standard of driving is abysmal! The door to door service is a joke! Customer service in all areas is below average! Compared to Ebay Mercado Libre is crap! The police force is nothing but a job creation scheme! Water pressure is ridiculously low even during cold weather! Argentine chocolate, tea and coffee are all of poor quality!'' Well she didn't stop there but I'm sure you get the picture. I did point out that Philip Morris cigarettes, Argentine potatoes and the winter weather were all to my liking.

I've been here nearly ten years so is this just normal behaviour for an expat or is time to return to the motherland?

 

[Crema Americana]

haha The problem with being gone 10 years is that if you go back, you will mostly find new things that annoy you about the UK.

 

[gpop]

I got the same from my wife - but to be fair - she complained about many things about Canada when we were living there.

Still, I [would have] qualified the benefits of life in the north far outweigh those of living here. The funny thing is that the longer I'm away from Canada the more there are things to complain about life there now. Crema Americana hit that one on the head !
I've resigned myself to accepting my "international complainer" status - ALL THINGS EVERYWHERE ARE NOT TO MY LIKING :lol: .

 

[fifs2]

haha The problem with being gone 10 years is that if you go back, you will mostly find new things that annoy you about the UK.

Probably...I couldn't even contemplate a move back to the UK but 5 years in Spain and I still love it and find I feel more positive about Argentina since I am back to being a visitor. Like in politics, there is a 3rd way...

 

[Girino]

I was a super whiner, both in real life and on this forum, for the first year and half. Now things are backwards - my husband is the whiner and I am localized. I keep telling him that with his attitude he is going to have a hard time here and I keep telling him 'aflojáte, che!' 'pará de joder', 'que mala onda que sos!'. Usually, when he complains about something I can tell him "imagine the same situation back home" and he reconsiders Argentina. I realize it might not be the same for those coming from the US or the UK. I think the winning card is the people attitude... when I tell him "imagine dealing with the phone company customer service" or "imagine going grocery shopping in an anonymous supermarket, for as well furnished at it might be, you won't have the guy with the crooked guy smiling at you and inviting you to try out stuff".

I recently met another girl from Europe that complains about the same things as me (after 2 years) - I found it relieving. You might need a whining-buddy!


Small confession: visiting Europe after living here made step backward in my localization-therapy. I wouldn't recommend visiting home too often.

 

[UK Man]

Yes probably just a mixture of 'familiarity breeds contempt', the first really hot spell after the winter which always turns me into a grumpy sod and the fact we missed our trip back to the UK this year which meant I've run out of some of my favourite things.... the totally useless door to door service hasn't helped that.

Apart from that I do actually like it here....especially the people.

 

[another]

Yes probably just a mixture of 'familiarity breeds contempt', the first really hot spell after the winter which always turns me into a grumpy sod and the fact we missed our trip back to the UK this year which meant I've run out of some of my favourite things.... the totally useless door to door service hasn't helped that.

Apart from that I do actually like it here....especially the people.

second that last line here ... especially the people

 

[TWB103]

Small confession: visiting Europe after living here made step backward in my localization-therapy. I wouldn't recommend visiting home too often.

I agree with you except for this bit.


In my experience it was the opposite. Going 'home' helped me appreciate Argentina more. I was able to put things into perspective. Such to the point that I complain less than my Argentine half about life here.

 

[rondastidolph]

Whoops, looks like the virus of complaining has infected you! I've been here 15 years and one thing I first noticed was how much the Argentine people complain. Now I find myself with the same virus.

 

[Girino]

I agree with you except for this bit.


In my experience it was the opposite. Going 'home' helped me appreciate Argentina more. I was able to put things into perspective. Such to the point that I complain less than my Argentine half about life here.

There were things from back home that kept disappointing me - some were among the reasons why I left. I found people grumpy, anxious, and always whining that they didn't have enough. They were also showing very aggressive traits and said a lot of racist comments (hey, I am an immigrant myself, though I travel coach on planes), a lot of expectations about potential dating material fulfilling their standard (and would you fulfill theirs?!). Superficiality and consumerism are two things that luckily I have left behind me now, but that are rampant in Italy.

Some things disappointed me more than before, but also some cons were promoted to pros. For example, I did appreciate being able to walk alone at night with my purse in hand without a thought in my mind (before I would have complained that nothing was going on at night - no events, no social activities, etc.), or being able to have a drink outside in an historic square with my fancy bag on the chair next to mine (before I'd said it was not cosmopolitan enough of a town, too plain or boring).

I liked being pampered by my friends who brought me to places "where they do this fantastic dish" or where the food is amazing. Here they just look for the cheapest greasiest place where they go out stuffed like pigs - they don't really appreciate quality or variety or freshness of ingredients or the cook' skills and inventiveness. I understand that I have had this amazingly high standard of living until the age of 30 and that I can discern crap from quality.
I am able to imagine a world with more safety - my Argentine friends who have never visited Europe don't and it is something you can't simply explain with words, you have to feel it under your skin.

The list could go on and on.
Anyway, when I came back from my first visit abroad, I had a hard time for a few weeks to readjust to my Argentinian life. This is also why I am looking up for excuses to not visit home this year. There will be always a piece of me that will call 'home' my home country, and also another (larger) part of me that could no longer feel at home over there.