Why do expats decide to live outside of their own countries?

[jp]

Hi lacoloringa

We fancied an adventure and a bit of a change. Came here with work so it was a fairly easy move, have always loved travelling and its been a richer experience for staying put, speaking the language and living a fairly normal life out here. To be honest its just life in a bit city, not a million miles from life back home - daily commute, work, usual domestic life etc but the food, the sights, the sounds, the people and the setting are all different.

I love the change and the newness of everything, making new friends, developing new rituals, finding new favourite things. It also puts a different perspective on what you left behind. We'll go home in a few years and appreciate it all the more for having been gone.

 

[captdave]

Lacoloringa

I wish I HAD written it, I'd be rich!
Those were from an old Jimmy Buffet song called "Banana Republic"

David

CaptDave,,,,loved that poem!!! Are you a poet who doesn't know it? LOL

 

[Napoleon]

Lacoloringa

I wish I HAD written it, I'd be rich!
Those were from an old Jimmy Buffet song called "Banana Republic"

David

I thought it sounded a little Jimmy B. Especially the throwing in the ganja part. I could see the crowd shouting approval as the song kept rolling on.

-Nap

 

[globulus]

Why does a question like this (& its responses) make me feel like a freak. I know it's dumb to project unto others one's own sensibilities.
I think it was Augustine who said something like, "Life is like a book, & those who never travel (to, . . . & especially, live in, other parts of the world), read but one page of that book."
The quote may work for me so well because of an insatiable curiosity I can satisfy only by both reading books & visiting & living with the natives of various cultures.
I've also always been a cultural anthropologist by nature, the "Margaret Mead" type, which is essentially without the objective perspective of a scientist studying & critiquing her subjects, but actually participating subjectively in their lives with all of its details & travails.
Languages, too, interest me, with all of their subtle nuances which I see as reflections of the cultures & subcultures they are evolving in.
Sorry for the wordiness, . . . but, again, I shouldn't expect my passion to be the passion of others. I thank my hosts for having me & teaching me daily.

 

[Recoleta Carolina]

Recoleta Carolina,

The question was asked out of curiosity....not to request a sick diatribe out of you. How dare you say my question wasn't sincere. Who are you to judge? I have travelled extensively in my life but always choose to live in the U.S. That is my choice!! I simply wanted to know why others choose not to.

It is easy for me to understand why people decide to come and live in the U.S. and I have many friends in the U.S. from other countries. So, yes, I have thought about it. And, if you could read, you would see that that was not my question. The best part of life in the U.S. is its convenience.
It's EASY to hop in the car and drive anywhere; It's EASY to pay bills, have repairs done, fix errors in paperwork, etc. ALL of the stuff you bitch about all the time. If you are so happy here, why do you bitch so much?

There is no question about it. When it comes to convenience the U.S. has every place beat hands down. Having said that, the U.S. is an early to rise and early to bed type of country. Work, work, work. Even if a person is not asleep at 9:00pm, normally they are at home and getting ready to retire. In Buenos Aires I am just getting ready to go out for dinner at the time that I would be watching television and getting ready for bed in the U.S. I love having three or four hour dinners without being bothered by waiters who only want to flip tables. So, you could say that I love the night life!

 

[sergio]

Carolina Recoleta: The divorce rate in Argentina is very high, probably as high as in the US. Anyone have statistics?

 

[sonygael]

Recoleta Carolina said she doesn't usually sugarcoat her responses... that makes me thinks she must be a pain in the arse to talk to... she must think of herself as a special one for acting like a pain in the hole for everyone that post a msg in here. She should post her msg to somewhere else. Ah she is looking for Ibope let's just ignore, best remedy!

 

[soulskier]

I normally do not sugarcoat my responses. Some people only want to hear a sanitized version of their own fantasy. And, some people can't handle truth.

The problem is, on at least some of your posts, you aren't posting what is actually the truth, but rather what you think is the truth.

If I didn't know better, I would say you are StanExpat with another screen name.

 

[HDM]

It didn't take long, just one nasty exchange actually, to get used to Carolina; she was all over me once because I posted positive impressions of living in Buenos Aires, which she expounded must be lies because it did not reflect her position about the place, which she apparently truly detests (except eating and dancing, apparently). I just stay out of her way and find this site much more pleasant, accurately reflective of reality, and useful by doing so.

As to my answer to the original question, I found for reasons I am not sure I completely understand, that I really enjoy living in a variety of foreign cultures, languages, and scenery, so I do whenever possible. In fact, except for two years, we have not lived in the States for more than twenty years, and when we are in the States, we experience culture shock. But I cannot offer you an explanation for this.

 

[gouchobob]

In my case I plan to return to my home country once all the false charges and accusations have been cleared up.