Ever thought about a giant leap?

[Brezzi]

I work for a branch of Haymarket which is a publishing company based out of London, They own and publish a whole lot of magazines and other publications one of them is Piston Heads(Biggest general auto magazine in UK). I have a dream of working over there during my 20s I'm 23 now so I gotta get a move on. The problem is the company I work for is branch of Haymarket and is in publishing but they focus on Pharmaceuticals so I'm not sure if the people over at Piston Heads would be interested in me.

This tread makes me want to reach out to them anyway.

[Q5Quint]

I have a lot of friends that do the travel lifestyle. No/few possessions. Mostly they are seasonal park rangers, raft guides, mountainbike guides, snowboard instructors, ski patrol etc etc.

The trick is to never sign a lease or buy 'stuff'.

My friends that bought houses and stuff have facebook pictures of their babies, new cars, and that kinda stuff. The ones that travel have pictures of alaska, japan, china, brazil, chile, all over the US.... etc etc.

I am not sure which set will start regretting not going the other direction first, but I will say this house + 5 vehicles is way more headaches than it is worth.

I've been to Nicaragua and it is awesome and cheap. Folks from costa rica have nicaraguans working in their homes. Nicaraguans have people from Guatemala and Honduras working in their homes, if that tells you anything.

Here is a little seaside cottage for 60k~ and believe me they are still ripping you off. The average nica makes like 2k a year but white people love blowing money there. A taco on the street for lunch costs 10 cents.

http://www.viviun.com/AD-194468/

If you are good with websites and selling property you could ball out a retirement/vacation community pretty quick. And the locals would love it, because they want to work for american dollars.

They are super catholic though and hate drunks, although many of them are.

* due to the income inequality i have had some friends get everything stolen out of their house twice. I would recomend a very community area with a central location that rents the place out while you are not there, so nothing gets stolen.

here is a beach place that looks pretty neat~ http://www.aurorabeachfront.com/nica...%20Palermo.php

Everything is super cheap down there, so if you can find a good spot that is 'safe' for tourists you can build a mansion for 10k. No heat or a/c needed. The electricity usually doesnt work anyway so dont bother with that. One awesome bed and breakfast for surfers and you could be set for a while.

My current housemate has a bed and breakfast in Hawaii so I am going to rent my place out and head there maybe next year.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Never.


And, Lithuanian amortizers.

[evandael]

I am not sure which set will start regretting not going the other direction first..

as long as one does what's right for number one, and doesn't compare experiences, i think neither direction is inherently better than the other. that's what t tell myself, at least.

also,

This tread makes me want to reach out to them anyway.

fucking do it. nau.

[mrsleeve]

Never.


And, Lithuanian amortizers.

I see what you did there

[z31maniac]

I'd be happy just to move somewhere else in the US.

But the wife being self-employed means we would essentially lose ~55% of our income to do so.

[quikveedb2]

Moved to Colorado from NC about 10 years ago, only 1 family member here in CO, about 1.5 hours away. Got a job, made friends, never looked back. Now I'm looking at Southern California for my next move. Do it. People who spend their whole life living in their home town tend to have a very narrow world view.

[threlevenguy]

From my research, it looks like it's quite difficult to find a job there because jobs are protected for Natives. I would have to start a business and even then I am not allowed to work any position besides manager in my own business. Does anyone have insight into this?

[Q5Quint]

In Nicaragua, just next door to costa rica, it is a free-for-all.

I am not sure about that law in costa rica- as about a gazillian nicaraguans ride a bus there everyday for work.

Found this: http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ex...ing-a-business

Seems pretty typical to filing here in the USA.

This article confirms what you say:

http://gocentralamerica.about.com/od/costaricaguide/a/Opening-a-Business-in-Costa-Rica.htm

You need to own 200k of property to become a citizen (does the USA have that option? hah!) or you have to do the visa renewal thing every 90 days. I had some friends down there that would just take a trip to nicaragua every few months and renew their visas.

http://gocentralamerica.about.com/od/costaricaguide/a/Opening-a-Business-in-Costa-Rica.htm

The part about workers showing up is especially true- everybody is chilling out really really hard down there.

[Ether-D]

I ran around the world for about 5 years when I was in my early 20s. I am 36 now and I have a house and some cars and some kids and some animals. I don't regret having what I have now. I certainly don't regret doing what I did when I was younger and fearless.

If you don't have kids, go now!!!!!!!!

You don't need to have a job and a place to stay all planned out. I drove to alaska (from tn) with $600 for gas and a tent and rolled into a town called Girdwood, AK on fumes. I pitched the tent in the woods and got a job the next day waiting tables. I lived in that tent in the same spot all summer, saved a buttload of cash and toured Europe that fall. Then I did it all again the next year.

Don't talk yourself out of it. If you're young and you've got no kids, go. There's nothing humans are better at than adapting to new situations (when there's no other choice). No plan "b"s allowed.

[mikeedler]

Came to Germany in the U.S. Army with just a backpack. Been here ever since.

From what I see with the theft problems of Bulgarians and Lithuanians in Germany, It seems to me that your grandfather got luck to get his family to the U.S. (no raciscm intended-I know zero about Lithuania), I just lock EVERYTHING up since the white vans with the LT plates have been scoping out the last few years.

[Ray Smoodiver]

I'm a kiwi, and spend 6 months of the year in and around the Mediterranean, and the other 6 in the Caribbean. Tough life, I know.

[MikeDE]

Came to Germany in the U.S. Army with just a backpack. Been here ever since.

From what I see with the theft problems of Bulgarians and Lithuanians in Germany, It seems to me that your grandfather got luck to get his family to the U.S. (no raciscm intended-I know zero about Lithuania), I just lock EVERYTHING up since the white vans with the LT plates have been scoping out the last few years.

Yup, I keep an extra eye out around Sperrmüll-time since they'll grab whatever isn't bolted down. By me I see way more 'PL'(Poland) tags.

But on-topic, moving to Germany can be a bitch. Talk to people who have done it to get an idea of Residency/work permits, housing/apts, and work. The last of which can be a pita....

[E30 Wagen]

Is it very expensive to live in Germany compared to the US?

[MikeDE]

Is it very expensive to live in Germany compared to the US?

They like taxing you on everything(electric went up 40% this year alone!!!!!). Fuel is 2x as much as in the 'States, and finding/keeping a good-paying job isn't easy.

Besides that, people are way nosy and have issues minding their own business. And as an American(im a NY'er), Culture-shock is inevitable.