Do You Enjoy the Place Where You Live?

[SteveO]

Just checked the forecast for Yuma for the next few days. Wow... A furnace it is.

You've created a lifestyle well aligned with your interests and preferences. It's cool that you have access to such different places nearby and the toys to get there comfortably.

Yep. I paid a fraction of what a house would cost in a big city. It certainly allows for more toys.

Thankfully, I have the time as well. My spots on the beach are difficult to get. So I watch for cancellations at the last minute.

 

[Johnny boy]

I live in Washington State

Best place in the entire world in the summertime. America is nice. I've traveled and America just has everything. I like it here. Especially after seeing the inside of an Indian Hospital lol.

In the winter I absolutely hate it here and I try to travel someplace else to go enjoy the sun. I spent 2 months in Thailand a year and a half ago and loved it.

The weather here in the summer is great. It's 70-90, dry and sunny, but everything is green from all the winter rain. We have no tornados, tsunamis, snakes, lions, giant bugs, etc. It's just pretty and there's tons to do. It's expensive but make more money I guess.

 

[Tom H.]

Yes. Beautiful weather, warm water, surfing, hiking, laid-back lifestyle, small town and many expats are successful, entrepreneurial and value liberty.

Any time I leave my house I see someone I know. I start my day walking my dog on the beach. Most importantly, I have space to do my own thing, I'm not constantly bombarded with other people's agendas or expectations... in the U.S. there is a constant tension in the air, maybe you don't realize it when you're there, but come here and suddenly the atmosphere just feels more spacious and a nagging stress disappears. People around you are way more worried about when a good swell will come in than they are about paying their mortgage or buying a new car.

I literally stay within a 3 mile bubble for weeks at a time and I love it.

 

[SteveO]

I absolutely love where I am. Of course, I live in a furnace down here in yuma, az. But, the four wheeling is incredible, winters are mild, beach and mountains are close by for heat escapes. Plus it is inexpensive.

My house is on the edge of the city, on the edge of a mountain, with incredible views. 5 acres of land with very low people density.

I'm heading to the beach for 4 days in about 5 minutes. Motorhome, beachfront camping, 2.5 hours from my house.

Also close to the gulf of California down in Mexico. Been on the beach four wheeling and stayed at the malecon (pier) down in Puerto Penasco for 60 dollars a night with water views. Fresh fish, restaurants, many shops in walking distance.

Very content here.

 

[Deleted70138]

One of those houses is where I live half of the year, 10 minute drive from ski-resort, 40 minute drive from the capital, 2 hour drive from desert (with leopards and some other wild things), 4 hour drive from the beach (not big enough waves for surfing though). There is a mountain bike route on the mountain on the right side, 3000m+ mountains, several ukrainian, russian (mountain guides) and chinese neighbours (road engineers). Pretty multinational place, just need to bring a bitcoin as local currency and establish my own kingdom with zero taxes and zero subsidies.

 

[Antifragile]

I love where we live. It’s absolutely the best place. Lifestyle is amazing, people are great (Canadians!), whats not to like? We have water, mountains. Trails like the pic walking distance from my home. Ski, bike, boat, climb, or enjoy a downtown Vancouver dining! International city means a lot of choices for food. The weather is moderate in the winter and stunning in the summer.
Yes, is also one of the most expensive places on earth.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Been in the Phoenix area for nearly 25 years and I've loved it mostly.

While I'm open to staying near-term, I'm looking for change.

It is getting hotter and the growth of the city and suburbs has reached insane proportions, to the point, there has to be water shortages coming soon.

That said, I'm in no hurry to seek out other pastures.

Ultimately, I might just bail to Costa Rica.

 

[Kak]

I’m from “Amerizuela.” It sucks.

If you’re an entrepreneur you’re a racist now, everyone hates you, is jealous, and wants to take your money from you. They’ll use the gang they voted and somehow deem it moral and justifiable.



I’m probably going to go to St. Croix or Puerto Rico for the majority of the year unless things get really messed up and I buy citizenship (by investment) in some other, nonUS Caribbean nation.

Thankfully the Caribbean isn’t just a refuge for me, it has also always been the dream. As I pull more and more of my time out of my businesses, and America continues to suck more and more, the easier this is becoming to justify.

The city is Houston. I like the airport, I like Galveston, I like the golf here, there are probably less “masked wonders” here, and the business community is pretty good. Other than that, it’s part of America’s theft scheme and it can F*ck off.

 

[Sethamus]

I l just outside New Orleans( followed the wife back home by her family)…I miss Texas.
Festivals year round, and a sportsman’s paradise all year around if you like to hunt, fish, or just yee yee around in the water or mud.

If you don’t mind the hot humid summers and the occasional “wet” winter that makes guys from the north cry about how cold it is at 35 deg. compared to the dry 0 deg winters in the mountains then it isn’t terrible, just not my first choice.

Ultimately, I might just bail to Costa Rica.

Favorite place I have been to so far. Small mountains for hiking and the beach so close together. If they had snow it would be perfect.

 

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[LeszekM]

That is a good topic. It is nice to hear people around the world, your experiences and feelings related to the place. @MTF thanks for that to be honest it is hard to speak with my friends / family about that and i am happy i can share with you.
@monfii wow! I have never heard such things about Brussels, my family lives in Hanover/Germany and the stories you told looks similar as she said.

I live in Gdansk / Poland, i love my city and the way how it is developing. We have sea and forest so you can't complain for places to do some activities. I love mountains and definitely i wish to live closer so i can take easily 1-2 days of for trekking but they are on the South around 700km away from here so it is always a big trip to go there.

Literally Poland from May to Sep/Oct is pretty nice place to live when this whole nature is waking up from winter. It is easier to wake up @5 o'clock just right now it is 7:30 and i am after 15km bike ride caused today sun shine was so amazing and i decided to go outside to feel better during the day.


I don't want to complain, maybe you don't hear that but Polish are know that we complain a lot
All other months here in north is windy, cold, cloudy and rainy which is very depressing for me. Also winters are mostly without snow as it used to be in mine childhood, climate has changed.
I feel i lose so much energy and potential.
That is why i love & hate that place. During the autumn and winter i feel really bad caused i am conscious how i can feel when i receive sun shines! I am better husband, family member, i work with higher motivation, my body blessed me caused i am spending a lot of time outside on the fresh air. I also do all my gymnastics workouts outside. Couldn't be better to start a day with physical activity on the fresh air with amazing sunrise?

For me there is on exemption when i accept winter. Visit mountains!
View attachment IMG_5467.MOV

I know how much important for me it is to live in place when my body/mind feels good that is why my dream is to move out abroad. Still i am not sure the final place but i am looking for south of Europe Spain / Italy.
Unfortunately my wife is so scared of moving abroad, i try to understand her caused she needs family to be close. I know it is very important but i always believe if i can't be in harmony of myself i can't give other people positive energy.

We talk about it a lot and i think we find a perfect solution to live here from May-Oct and live in another country from rest of the year. That is why i am motivated to develop our Amazon FBA sales chanel to achieve this goal.

Wish you all perfect day with a lot of smile!

 

[Paul David]

Nope.

Goal has been for years to move somewhere sunnier like Spain. Kids are nearly teenagers now so ideally would have happened a lot earlier. Just launched a new online saas business. I've found plenty of ways that haven't enabled me to reach my goal I'm confident this one is!

Where I live in UK I'm lucky to have a beach 1 mile from house but the majority of the time its usually cold or windy down there.

The way I see it, the world's a better place when you've got the sun on your back!

 

[Andy Black]

I started wondering about whether it's places that are boring or if it's people who can't find anything exciting to do in them.

I enjoy living where I live. I can walk the kids to school while they glide along on their scooters. I can go for a jog or a stroll down the canal. I bump into people all the time or people wave as they drive past.

It’s not “exciting” though. But then I don’t really get excited about activities or things.

The most animated and excited you’ll see me is when I’m explaining things to people. It’s not because I’m 50. I was always that way. Not sure what that means.

 

[Deleted78083]

No I hate it.

Brussels is a dangerous, polluted, and extremely poor city inhabited by both poor and rich people telling you capitalism doesn't work. All the people you meet vote communist, and they're all making above 2000 euros a month.

You have Roms kids and their family begging everywhere in the street by day, watching Youtube videos on their iPhone by night.

There is a camp of beggars 200 meters away from the EU Commission. Every metro station has their own family, couple, or community of beggars.

The North Station is full of refugees waiting to know about their status. Some of them got cholera at some point so the Flemish bus service decided not to stop there anymore. If you go there after the sun disappeared, you're likely to get raped, stolen, then killed.

There are police and ambulance sirens all the time crossing the city for god knows what (they don't care if it's 4 in the morning).

It's the most traffic-jammed capital in Europe.

There is no identity in Brussels. 70% of people living there weren't born in Belgium, which makes it the second most cosmopolitan city in the world (after Dubai). No Belgian people live there. You have to be from a certain ethnicity to find an apartment or room. Turks, Moroccans, Polish, Portuguese, Romanians, Congolese...each have their own neighborhood. If you're the wrong skin color, you are not allowed to go there.

Women get harassed so much in the street that all of the girls left. It got so bad at some point that the government had to launch a campaign against street harassment (still ongoing).

I'd estimate the ratio girls/guys to be 40/60, which means it is very difficult to find a girlfriend as almost all girls already have a boyfriend. And the few that dare going out wear headphones to make sure no one talks to them.

I got yelled at by a drunk beggar yesterday telling me my mum was a whore. Nice. I was on my way back to Brussels by train and in the train, a group of "youngsters" were smoking and disturbing everyone by running and fighting. The controller was this small girl, so she couldn't do anything. And since they were from a group you don't want to mess with, everyone was scared to say anything. Needless to say, they didn't have tickets, and didn't get any fine either.

1/4 kid goes hungry at school in the morning. 25% live below poverty level. And unemployment is around the same level (20-25%).

The city is so "diverse" that rival groups of different ethnicities that don't like each other in their home country fight within the city (it's a bit like if the Israelo-Palestinian conflict was happening in Brussels, but with other countries since Brussels is too dangerous for Jews anyway). I think they made a movie about it but it never came out because they were afraid of riots if it did.

Everyone hates Brussels so much that no one wants to live there. Everyone lives outside of it. So RE is super expensive in the outskirts because the EU Commission employs 30 000 people they pay much higher than Belgian salary (5-10k per month).

In architecture, the term "Brusselization" means building ugly buildings in a random manner.

People that come to Brussels only do so for the money. As soon as they have the chance to, they leave, so it's impossible to have regular, long-lasting friends.

Honestly I do not know where I would move if I could. Probably Seville, Valencia, or Budapest.

Anywhere would be fine as long as I can meet other conservative/entrepreneurs people. But I have moved so much already that I am exhausted. I just want to earn an income by myself then get a wife and a family.

Honestly sometimes I think I should go to the US. I spend my days speaking English, listen to US podcasts, hang out on US websites, watch US movies, read US books, listen to US music, and follow US news.... I suppose I'd go to Austin. Seems like it's where all the fun is happening.

 

[MTF]

I was talking with @Fox about our lifestyles and I started wondering about whether it's places that are boring or if it's people who can't find anything exciting to do in them.

I consider myself very familiarized with the area where I live. I've been to tons of places most people don't know about. I tried most things that I was interested in that were possible to do nearby. For me, that's mostly being outdoors in great weather (ideally by a body of water) and individual sports. I also enjoy going to good vegan restaurants but they are almost non-existent where I live. I'm not interested in cultural events (or any big events for that matter), night life, and stuff like that.

Because there are few activities that I can do here regularly that I enjoy (there's no surfing, no hiking, no diving, no mountains, no rock climbing, no real wilderness, and very few interesting outdoor activities), my lifestyle isn't particularly exciting. In fact, I joke with my girlfriend that we live like retirees. We go on walks to the same place (a local forest for which I AM very grateful). We ride bikes on the same trails (in the same forest). If it's summer, I swim in a lake (it's one of my favorite local activities and I'm very grateful that such a lake exists here). Rarely, if we convince some friends, we rent a kayak in the summer (and kayak down the same river as always because there are no other options). Other than that, very little happens. Sometimes the highlight of the day is shopping for some new interesting food to try lol.

The place is not like California where on the same day or two you can surf, ski, snowboard, go hiking, camp in the wilderness, etc. It's not like a Caribbean paradise where you can spend the entire day on the beach or on a boat and enjoy the day. It's not like New Zealand where you can find spectacular panoramas or go on a one-day or a multi-day adventure.

I'm not saying a place should have all these things at once, I'm just saying that certain places don't have any of those and feel, for a lack of a better word, "boring." I guess what I'm trying to say is that the place where I live is at best mediocre. So I can't say I truly enjoy where I live. I do like certain aspects of living here but compared to many places I visited, it's a boring place with nothing that makes it stand out (like Switzerland and beautiful mountains, or the Caribbean and beautiful beaches, or Indonesia and fantastic surfing, or Australia/Chile and various climates and landscapes, etc.).

Do you enjoy the area where you live? What makes it enjoyable? Do you enjoy it year-round or only during a specific season (like summer or winter)? If you didn't enjoy the place where you live but now you do, what changed?

If you don't enjoy the place where you live, why do you live there? What makes it unenjoyable? Do you have plans to move somewhere else, and if so, where to and why?

 

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[Mathuin]

(Belfast, NI) It is an ok place to live. The people are mostly nice and it is a small city so it doesn't take long getting from one end to the other. The weather isn't great.

It is a much better place now than what it was 20-30 years ago when it was a warzone, but thankfully I never had to experience that. Tensions still remain but mostly fine and peaceful.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere in the country. I much prefer living in the city.

I invite you to visit India just to have a taste I bet you'll like it.

I lived in India for a month on a volunteering trip when I was 17 and loved it. Went to New Delhi , Agra, Mussorie, Dehradun and briefly to a few others I cannot remember. Amazing country!

 

[sojeer]

Living in Dublin now and really like this place. Besides that the city center isn’t anything more then regular European city, it has pleasant hiking space nearby (Wicklow) and amazing seaside, especially Howth (recently with great sunny days we had literally Mediterranean views). Weather is also not as bad as it is in this kind of latitudes. For me this is a good compromise between beautiful nature and prospering country. Overall Ireland has beautiful landscapes, nice people, but what I’m missing from my perfect place is warm climate and Latin vibes.

Other than that I lived in a few countries (Spain, Uk, Poland, Portugal, Germany, now Ireland) and still think that Europe is missing something. You have to take here a big compromises (e. g. language barriers, having business or job from north and live on south... at least me as I like warm vibes too).
I like the idea that US is so huge and varied. And it is still one country, one language. I’m sad that it is so difficult to settle there if you are foreigner.

My other choice in Europe/Africa are Spanish Canary Islands (Tenerife, Fuerteventura or any other). They are like Hawaii of the Europe. It’s an awesome place but better arrive there with your own/remote job. Economy here isn’t good. But other then that, there are plenty activities to do around the Island and the weather is perfect all year round.
Barcelona is my other type. Amazing city, great vibe. Lived there for a few months and the only city which I truly love.
These two are my ultimate places but still need to do my homework on the north. However, from the other side, if I will win a green card one day than States will be no brainier for me.

 

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[Private Witt]

I live in Washington State

Best place in the entire world in the summertime. America is nice. I've traveled and America just has everything. I like it here. Especially after seeing the inside of an Indian Hospital lol.

In the winter I absolutely hate it here and I try to travel someplace else to go enjoy the sun. I spent 2 months in Thailand a year and a half ago and loved it.

The weather here in the summer is great. It's 70-90, dry and sunny, but everything is green from all the winter rain. We have no tornados, tsunamis, snakes, lions, giant bugs, etc. It's just pretty and there's tons to do. It's expensive but make more money I guess.

Funny, nobody believes when told Western Washington is the best summer weather in the country, which I can confirm, its epic, besides the wild fires. They all think it rains year round. The winters are for sure brutal, and the summer pay off is well earned. I dont really mind the hoody and rain weather, but its just the fact the darkness goes for so long.

As for me, I lived in Colombia for two years and it ruined me. Talk about amazing opportunities to enjoy every facet of life. Can't wait to revisit Colombia, would love to live there again.

 

[Robbi]

Currently residing around the Valencia region in Spain. I like most things around here; food, the nature close by, the sea and the city itself. Coming from living in London, the overall quality of life is much better here.

Seeing as I'm not fully integrated nor fluent in the language, I'm not super comfortable doing business locally and have only a vague idea what it's like--seems like it might trickier than what I'm used to, with more red tape. None of this a deal breaker for myself, and an online business is totally doable and most likely the best way forward.

In the future, I'd like to live in the mountains and have nature right on my door step. Bulgaria is also appealing and somewhere I'd like to check out, mainly for its nature, tax rates (10%) and cheap cost of living, which would be conducive to running a fully online business.

EDIT: while running a company from Spain looks like it would be much more difficult, running a limited company from the UK while living in Spain is still a-ok!

 

[Matt Sun]

I’d loved living in Patagonia lately with near forest, lakes, hiking in the snow , etc.
But now its constant rain so I moved and i’m thinking on going to Florianopolis, wich has a big city and lots of things to do but parts of the island also get that small town relax vibe, you can surf, hike, etc. And its really not that expensive at all to live there.

Pics are of the cabin I rented and the near by lake.

 

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[scottmsul]

I'm planning on moving to Jacksonville pretty soon. I love the things to do in Colorado (hiking/skiing) but I don't like the political climate here. Also wouldn't mind living somewhere warmer.

 

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[Devampre]

Currently living in rural Saskatchewan Canada... So here's what I dislike about living "out in the sticks."

Lack of population
Poor/mediocre internet at a high cost
Cold winters (We had a -60C night this last winter.)

 

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[Deleted78083]

Wow, sounds terrible. My wife always tells me she wants to visit Brussels. I told her I have zero interest in visiting Brussels and would prefer visiting Antwerp instead. Now I'm 100% certain Brussels is off the list.

Why don't you come to The Hague? We have plenty beautiful women, beaches, golf courts, nature and imported Belgian beers so you won't miss out on those either. You can learn golf surfing, kite surfing or join me on the golf course ;-)

Brussels is a great destination if you want to be scared or desire to participate in a protest.

Skip it otherwise.

If you live in the Netherlands, Flanders won't be so different. Go to Wallonia. Just don't go to big cities, they're ugly and uninteresting. Stay in nature, it's amazing in Wallonia. Try out Spa, Remouchamps, Durbuy, Arlon, or Dinant. Look up kayaking, it's great!

If you like thermal baths, try Chaudfontaine, Grimbergen, or Boetsfort!

Many things to do and visit in Belgium, and the food is amazing.

Funny you live in The Hague, I have done my bachelor's in Rotterdam! I often went to Scheveningen to chill. The Hague is beautiful, I thought that it's an ideal city to raise a family, so nice, safe and peaceful.

I am in Brussels atm for economic reasons. I have a meat diet, and meat is cheap here. Also I can stay for free at my brother's.

As for the girls, roughly 95% of Dutch girls are taller than me lmao.

So my problem, once again, is money. Once I get my web design agency off the ground, I'll be able to go wherever I please.

 

[MTF]

Loving all the responses! Keep them coming. It's fun and very educational to learn about different places and why people like/dislike them.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere in the country. I much prefer living in the city.

I've noticed that often people who grew up in the city want to move to the countryside. And vice versa.

Also wouldn't mind living somewhere warmer.

Ha that's often one of the biggest motivators I think.

I live in Washington State

Best place in the entire world in the summertime. America is nice. I've traveled and America just has everything. I like it here. Especially after seeing the inside of an Indian Hospital lol.

In the winter I absolutely hate it here and I try to travel someplace else to go enjoy the sun. I spent 2 months in Thailand a year and a half ago and loved it.

The weather here in the summer is great. It's 70-90, dry and sunny, but everything is green from all the winter rain. We have no tornados, tsunamis, snakes, lions, giant bugs, etc. It's just pretty and there's tons to do. It's expensive but make more money I guess.

I can relate to that. Most of Europe is unpleasant during the winter (except for the southernmost regions) but the summers can be incredibly nice. People also become much nicer during the summer because everyone is dead tired of winter by the time spring/summer comes and it's a huge relief when it's finally here.

I'm giving myself 6-7 years max, if I haven't gotten comfortable in that time I'd like to find a way to head over to the states and try and maybe start a different chapter, depending on how the US goes. I value a sense of freedom and ease that I don't think you can get here, society feels so rigid and traditional.

Why so many years?

I used to be very enthusiastic about the US. Right now, not really. I still enjoyed my trips there but I don't think I could live there. The sense of freedom and self-ownership is way more present than in Europe. But from a healthy lifestyle point of view, the US is way behind Europe. the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the US is sick, obese people.

Other than that I lived in a few countries (Spain, Uk, Poland, Portugal, Germany, now Ireland) and still think that Europe is missing something. You have to take here a big compromises (e. g. language barriers, having business or job from north and live on south... at least me as I like warm vibes too).
I like the idea that US is so huge and varied. And it is still one country, one language. I’m sad that it is so difficult to settle there if you are foreigner.

Americans often think of Europe as sort of a country. While traveling through Europe with open borders is a little bit like it, moving from one country to another is not like it at all. All countries are different, almost all have different languages, and while some things are familiar (like the same supermarket chains for example), it's still a huge lifestyle change.

I also like varied countries. As for huge, it depends. Huge usually means badly managed.

My other choice in Europe/Africa are Spanish Canary Islands (Tenerife, Fuerteventura or any other). They are like Hawaii of the Europe. It’s an awesome place but better arrive there with your own/remote job. Economy here isn’t good. But other then that, there are plenty activities to do around the Island and the weather is perfect all year round.

I've been both to Hawaii (Oahu) and the Canary Islands (Tenerife). The Canary Islands can still get chilly during the winter. Most homes don't have heating so you freeze inside. Beaches aren't as nice and water is cold compared to Hawaii. The biggest islands (Tenerife and Gran Canaria) are overdeveloped and overpopulated. Due to old political reasons, the local time zone is silly for the latitude (sunrise at 7 am in the summer and at 8 in the winter).

It's still a pretty nice place but I always roll my eyes when people call it the Hawaii of Europe because it's nothing like it. It lacks the tropical atmosphere, time zone (6 am - 6 pm living) and scenery (most islands are very dry).

As for me, I lived in Colombia for two years and it ruined me. Talk about amazing opportunities to enjoy every facet of life. Can't wait to revisit Colombia, would love to live there again.

What about safety?

Lack of population

For some people that's a benefit

Cold winters (We had a -60C night this last winter.)

Damn. Do you have the right gear to be able to survive a single minute outside in such conditions? I assume that during the day it's still unbearably cold? I would be afraid to go grocery shopping lol.

Ultimately, I might just bail to Costa Rica.

Wow, that surprised me. Why Costa Rica? I've read a lot about it (never been there) and one thing that terrifies me is how shitty personal safety is. Almost everyone (even those who love it there) say that safety isn't great and you have to be careful (and most people still get robbed at least a few times).

I’m probably going to go to St. Croix or Puerto Rico for the majority of the year unless things get really messed up and I buy citizenship (by investment) in some other, nonUS Caribbean nation.

Thankfully the Caribbean isn’t just a refuge for me, it has also always been the dream. As I pull more and more of my time out of my businesses, and America continues to suck more and more, the easier this is becoming to justify.

There's something about the Caribbean that's deeply satisfying. It has its share of problems (one of which is lack of good local food on most islands) but it's one of the best places to live a slow, enjoyable life where you know everyone and everyone knows you (this can also be a drawback, though).

I l just outside New Orleans( followed the wife back home by her family)…I miss Texas.

Any plans to ever return there or split your time 50/50? Why is Texas better than New Orleans?

One of those houses is where I live half of the year, 10 minute drive from ski-resort, 40 minute drive from the capital, 2 hour drive from desert (with leopards and some other wild things), 4 hour drive from the beach (not big enough waves for surfing though). There is a mountain bike route on the mountain on the right side, 3000m+ mountains, several ukrainian, russian (mountain guides) and chinese neighbours (road engineers). Pretty multinational place, just need to bring a bitcoin as local currency and establish my own kingdom with zero taxes and zero subsidies.

Looks like a nice quiet area. And where do you live the other half of the year? Do you live there in the summer or in the winter?

What is the desert called? Iori Plateau?

Currently residing around the Valencia region in Spain. I like most things around here; food, the nature close by, the sea and the city itself. Coming from living in London, the overall quality of life is much better here.

I've been there and it's a pretty nice place for sure, particularly for cheap, quiet living in the countryside while still being close to urban centers.

In the future, I'd like to live in the mountains and have nature right on my door step. Bulgaria is also appealing and somewhere I'd like to check out, mainly for its nature, tax rates (10%) and cheap cost of living, which would be conducive to running a fully online business.

Are you considering Spain as well for living in the mountains?

Bulgaria can get pretty cold, unless you enjoy that.

I wouldn't even want to think about moving if we would have a better climate in the place where I live. Winters are grey, windy and boring in The Netherlands. Probably very similar to the UK.

I think that it's a common sentiment. The climate has a big impact on how enjoyable a place is. Because if six months each year are terrible for spending time outside, you're very limited as to what you can do.

Since I love this place so much during summer I'd like to escape only during winter season. Something like the Spanish coast where weather is good, food is great and cost of living is low.

The Spanish coast, even in the south, can get coldish during the winter and it definitely doesn't feel like summer. The sea/ocean is too cold and nights can get pretty cold, too. So it's sort of like maybe early spring or late fall. Definitely better than the Netherlands in the winter, though.

Great thread idea here. It's fun to read everyone's experiences and see where we all come from. Helps to have that perspective because it's easy to stay in a bubble and not explore other places that may suit one better.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this! I enjoyed reading your post.

Even my mother who loves the island would not go back for safety/economic concerns.

Wow, that's so sad.

Honestly sometimes I think I should go to the US. I spend my days speaking English, listen to US podcasts, hang out on US websites, watch US movies, read US books, listen to US music, and follow US news.... I suppose I'd go to Austin. Seems like it's where all the fun is happening.

I'm the same, except I don't care much about the news. Living in the US would definitely massively improve my speaking and writing skills and that would help my business tremendously. But on a personal level, it doesn't seem like the best choice. As for other English-speaking countries, I really enjoyed Australia. But looking at what they are doing there now, I doubt it's going to be a great place to live for people who don't like totalitarianism.

It's been pretty damn sad how badly the pandemic has affected this country.

Could you please elaborate?

So my problem, once again, is money. Once I get my web design agency off the ground, I'll be able to go wherever I please.

Surely there are cheaper countries in Europe where you could get your web design agency off the ground and that are way nicer than Brussels?

Living in a place you hate has an impact on your business since you can't be really 100% mentally if you absolutely despise the place where you live.

 

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[Deleted78083]

Wow! I have never heard such thesis until now. It is really nice to read this because usually opinions are not so pleasant. Can you please tell more why to think like that and why people will start moving to Poland at some point?

- Competent, educated, hardworking and skilled workforce
- Smart people (Polish are in the top 20 smartest people in the world)
- Booming economy
- Many problems yet to solve (which means many business opportunities)
- Safe country
- People speak English in the big cities

The things I felt Poland needs to improve are infrastructure (particularly health, banking and transport), and corruption at the lower level (police, etc).

History was not kind to Poland. But I felt Polish people increasingly proud of their nations - and they should be!

An important issue in Poland is the brain drain. Many smart Polish leave to go get higher salaries in the UK, the US, and other countries.

When this will stop, I am sure Poland will be one of the nicest places to live in. You're already attracting the smart Ukrainians, Russians, and Belarussians, and Poland is growing as an IT outsource destination.

It means that very soon, Poland will become highly innovative, which will drive the salaries up, and attract more people to move there.

Edit: People in Poland are optimistic about the future because it will get better. As such, they work enthusiastically towards it.

People in the West are pessimistic, because it will get worst (it already is). As such, they think about leaving the boat before it sinks entirely.

Post-communist Europe is the future of Europe. Italy will end up bankrupt, France will end up in a civil war, infrastructures in Germany are crumbling and it's increasingly hard to do business. Spain and Portugal can't develop their economy beyond tourism, and Scandinavia is headed towards increased insecurity and a failure of its social care system.

Most innovation already comes from post-communist Europe. Czech Republic created the first hardware wallet, Estonia is leading in terms of online infrastructure, Lithuania is famous for making lasers, Latvia makes it easy to build companies, and Hungary....well, it's nothing short of the nicest country in the world.

Why would you stay in a decadent woke bankrupt pessimistic dangerous bureaucratic crowded expensive and highly-taxed Western country when you can go to Poland and marry a Polish girl and have a big family?

opinions are not so pleasant.

People don't know what they are talking about. The media says "Poland = bad" and so they just repeat.

Morons.

 

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[Guest-5ty5s4]

Yes. My small town is in a great location near a major metropolis (Houston), we have warm weather year-round, the beach is close by, and property values are affordable. I also know pretty much everyone, even the presidents of the local banks and owners of some major companies.

Ideally I'll reach the point where I have enough money to do whatever traveling I feel like whenever I want to, and just keep a home base here where things are affordable, safe, and the political and social landscape is agreeable and friendly.

To me, that is pretty ideal. Now, I'm sure as I progress, my plans can and will change

 

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[Train]

Great thread idea here. It's fun to read everyone's experiences and see where we all come from. Helps to have that perspective because it's easy to stay in a bubble and not explore other places that may suit one better.

Do you enjoy the area where you live? What makes it enjoyable? I enjoy the tranquility and small-town feel where I live (Fort Worth, TX). It's not overcrowded and there's a nice visually, pleasant balance of foliage and man-made structures. Somewhere between city and suburban living, which is ideal for me. Cost of living is relatively cheap too compared to a grander, denser city.

Do you enjoy it year-round or only during a specific season (like summer or winter)? Highs are 90-100 Fahrenheit in the summers and lows of 25-35 Fahrenheit in the winter. I actually like the cold seasons (no snow to worry about) but it gets unbearable at night. The hot summers make you just want to stay inside though.

If you didn't enjoy the place where you live but now you do, what changed? It was new and I was homesick. But I grew to enjoy the tranquility.

If you don't enjoy the place where you live, why do you live there? Bound here due to a job but looking to push for virtual telecommuting full-time while I work my fastlane idea.

What makes it unenjoyable? Some things I don't enjoy are that it can be a little too sleepy. It's not as exciting as, say, Miami or NYC in terms of activities. Another drawback is that the city is spread out so you need a car to go everywhere. But the pros are low cost of living and easygoing living feel.

Do you have plans to move somewhere else, and if so, where to and why? I may move back home to South Florida to be close to family. It's been interesting to note differences between my idealization of South Florida versus reality. While there are exciting things to do there, there are some drawbacks. Higher cost of living. Some popular areas (cough South Beach cough) are trashier than they are made to be. Everything is also spread out (you need a car to go anywhere). Good thing is no state income tax. Not to mention the risk of any real estate investment sinking into the ocean in the coming decades.

It is interesting to hear Puerto Rico mentioned here. I used to live there in my youth. Unfortunately, it's gone seriously downhill since at least early 2000s. A lot of companies pulled out due to removed incentives in the 90s. Not to mention the alleged corruption across government officials and their incompetencies. Even my mother who loves the island would not go back for safety/economic concerns. I have heard Dorado mentioned as a place where the wealthy frequent however.

 

[Tom H.]

Sounds super nice. And that's in Jaco, Costa Rica? How long have you been living there? Do you ever get tired of living in a small, slow-paced place?

My only concern about the slow pace is that I wonder if my son will just become a surfer bum. Overall, I think this is an amazing place to raise kids, but I think you need to make an effort to expose kids to success and ambition.

 

[socaldude]

Nope, don’t like it at all. The population, housing, cost of living, traffic, regulations and homeless is out of control.

I do enjoy surfing, scuba diving and riding my bike though.

Will probably move to Mexico(I’m a citizen) or Las Vegas.

Oh, and COVID still exists. You still have to wear a mask everywhere you go.

 

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[Devilery]

I'm from Eastern Europe and I do not enjoy living there. The weather is great during the 3 summer months, but the winters are looong and cold. It's also raining often and it's overall a grey-ish and depressing place.

In the past 12 months, I've managed to live for longer and shorter term in Italy, Spain, quick trip to Canary Islands, 4 months in the capital of Latvia (my hometown in semi-rural), and I'm now in Turkey. I've also lived several years combined in all Scandinavian countries (beautiful but the weather sucks).

I get "bored" of every place I visit. I still haven't found the place where I would want to live for a year or longer, not even talking about 5+ years. In the nearby future, I want to live in a place that's warm year round, is an island (tropical), and has a low cost of living. Currently, I feel like South Asia could be "it", but I haven't been there yet (if it all works out, I should be there next month). Few thousand a month, and you're living on a tropical island, in a villa, next to the beach, with monkeys in your backyard, and possibilities to have all the daily tasks (cleaning, cooking) done for you while spending just a fraction of your income. Maybe.. Maybe I've fallen for the "freelancer Thailand/Bali dream", but I really feel like this is "it" for the next few years. After that, I have absolutely no idea.

 

[Deleted74338]

The only downside here is the weather, its almost always grey, but all around its a good place to live(NRW Germany). Its pretty safe, people are nice-ish, its in a developed country, so can't complain much.

I would still like to move to a sunnier place though. There so many beautiful places out there, that I dont want to spend the rest of my life here. In general beautiful nature + sunny weather puts me in a good mood, and that's what I want in life.

I see many people moving to Southeast Asia, but personally I don't think I'd move there, it's too big of a change, there are also too many expats there already, the population density is crazy in some of the well known areas and besides, there are lots of beautiful and cheap places here in Europe as well, so no need to go to the other side of the planet.

Here are some places I am considering moving to one day:
- Island of Corsica, I think this is the perfect place for me, not many tourists, its extremely beautiful(mountains + beaches) and often overlooked. There are some issues with nationalism though.
- Sardinia, same as Corsica just with double the population density.
- Sarande / Ksamil, really cheap and very beautiful
- Some Greek Island, preferably in the Ionian Sea(most beautiful beaches I've ever seen), also very cheap.
- Some others are Madeira, Canary Islands, Occitania, Southern Portugal though these are more expensive.

No I hate it.

Brussels is a dangerous, polluted, and extremely poor city inhabited by both poor and rich people telling you capitalism doesn't work. All the people you meet vote communist, and they're all making above 2000 euros a month.

You have Roms kids and their family begging everywhere in the street by day, watching Youtube videos on their iPhone by night.

There is a camp of beggars 200 meters away from the EU Commission. Every metro station has their own family, couple, or community of beggars.

The North Station is full of refugees waiting to know about their status. Some of them got cholera at some point so the Flemish bus service decided not to stop there anymore. If you go there after the sun disappeared, you're likely to get raped, stolen, then killed.

There are police and ambulance sirens all the time crossing the city for god knows what (they don't care if it's 4 in the morning).

It's the most traffic-jammed capital in Europe.

There is no identity in Brussels. 70% of people living there weren't born in Belgium, which makes it the second most cosmopolitan city in the world (after Dubai). No Belgian people live there. You have to be from a certain ethnicity to find an apartment or room. Turks, Moroccans, Polish, Portuguese, Romanians, Congolese...each have their own neighborhood. If you're the wrong skin color, you are not allowed to go there.

Women get harassed so much in the street that all of the girls left. It got so bad at some point that the government had to launch a campaign against street harassment (still ongoing).

I'd estimate the ratio girls/guys to be 40/60, which means it is very difficult to find a girlfriend as almost all girls already have a boyfriend. And the few that dare going out wear headphones to make sure no one talks to them.

I got yelled at by a drunk beggar yesterday telling me my mum was a whore. Nice. I was on my way back to Brussels by train and in the train, a group of "youngsters" were smoking and disturbing everyone by running and fighting. The controller was this small girl, so she couldn't do anything. And since they were from a group you don't want to mess with, everyone was scared to say anything. Needless to say, they didn't have tickets, and didn't get any fine either.

1/4 kid goes hungry at school in the morning. 25% live below poverty level. And unemployment is around the same level (20-25%).

The city is so "diverse" that rival groups of different ethnicities that don't like each other in their home country fight within the city (it's a bit like if the Israelo-Palestinian conflict was happening in Brussels, but with other countries since Brussels is too dangerous for Jews anyway). I think they made a movie about it but it never came out because they were afraid of riots if it did.

Everyone hates Brussels so much that no one wants to live there. Everyone lives outside of it. So RE is super expensive in the outskirts because the EU Commission employs 30 000 people they pay much higher than Belgian salary (5-10k per month).

In architecture, the term "Brusselization" means building ugly buildings in a random manner.

People that come to Brussels only do so for the money. As soon as they have the chance to, they leave, so it's impossible to have regular, long-lasting friends.

Honestly I do not know where I would move if I could. Probably Seville, Valencia, or Budapest.

Anywhere would be fine as long as I can meet other conservative/entrepreneurs people. But I have moved so much already that I am exhausted. I just want to earn an income by myself then get a wife and a family.

Honestly sometimes I think I should go to the US. I spend my days speaking English, listen to US podcasts, hang out on US websites, watch US movies, read US books, listen to US music, and follow US news.... I suppose I'd go to Austin. Seems like it's where all the fun is happening.

I heard Molenbeek is an interesting place. Eifel is pretty cool, Robertville right now is amazing because of the weather.

 

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