Sorry but you WILL NEVER understand the world if you don't travel the world

a reply to: PredatorCrackling

Traveling the world opened up my mind. Every country came with a shock. Some small some large. Adjusting and accepting the reality I encountered lessened as I visited more countries and I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything. There are a lot of countries I would like to go back to and many that I still haven't seen. To be honest, I am thinking I will retire out of the US because I felt like I had more freedom in some other countries. None of them had Walmarts which is both a blessing and immeasurable inconvenience. lol Haha it could be a real adventure just trying to find an item. One of my friends actually bicycled a 140 miles one way just to get a car part that he ordered and have some money wired to him. He took a bus back most of the way. Oh...haha...the bike was sort of beach cruiser mishmash of parts. At least he didn't have to ride back through the mountains again.

Man.. I need to schedule another trip. Always an adventure.

Nowadays I read a lot of foreign translated novels and if I hadn't seen the world most would seem abnormally cruel or insane. I lent a few out to some friends or directed them to the websites they were translated and none had the stomach for them.

I've travelled a bit, but it wasn't until living in another country for many years that I realized really how different cultures can be. Being a tourist, you don't get a real good idea. Half the time you are misinterpetting what you witness, and never realize it.

French people often talk to me about the things they observe when they go on vacation to the US, and it amazes me how badly they interpret the meanings of things.

In terms of economic fluctuations, I don't know a thing about China and the Chinese. I know that where I am, in France, the people around me have little interest in such fluctuations, and a large reason for that is that they don't generally live on credit. They save up to buy things, and even with large puchases like a house, if they must take a loan, they try to get it paid off as quickly as possible. They don't have credit cards here like in the US.

People are actually hiding their savings at home, or in form of gold and jewelry, land, real estate . LIke squirrels, they like to keep a secret stash and keep up an appearence of having little.
They are concerned with having material abundance to pass on to their offspring, with land especially.....none of that "each person makes his own " values, which I see as having certain effects I dislike, but in times of crisis in the world, I see it helps them feel a bit more secure. It gives them a sense of independance from the government "screw the government, we'll take care of each other if need be".

It's a small difference, but makes a big difference in their attitudes and behavior, which is interesting.

Just a note, China does not have a 10 trillion surplus. 10 trillion is China' s GDP by comparison the US GDP is 17 trillion. It , like most nations, has an annual budget deficit. China in fact has a dept problem.

China’s total internal debt all but quadrupled between 2007 and 2014, and now stands at a whopping $28.2 trillion,

Government claims China debt issue under control

And yes China's good time days are over and it will be going though some hard economic patches. However it is the second largest economy in the World so should be able to weather things ok, just as the US can and does.

And I agree traveling is a good thing. I have been all over in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Middle East with Pakistan so far as my furthest eastern stop. I would like to do Japan, Thailand, China and some other Pacific states as soon as I can get my wife to retire.

a reply to: PredatorCrackling

traveling to other countries is good for the mind if you get out and explore a little.
but a lot of people i know who do travel a lot, never leave the hotel bar. i don't count that as really experiencing the culture of the country you are visiting.

a reply to: PredatorCrackling

Big difference between visiting other nations than actually living in them , for an extended period of time, like years.


You can't go to another country, stay two weeks and get a real sense of the culture. I call that "ignorant", when somebody goes to my homeland for two weeks, comes back talking like they figured it all out. No they didn't! Super annoying.

I agree travelling helps, but not very much.

I've lived in two countries, visited a few others.

Not everyone can afford to travel or even wants to.
Me. I hate travelling. Spent my life being shuffled around, not my own choice.

Also I have no desire to go to China. Never will.

a reply to: MrSpad

You are wrong as usual.

Here is Chinese debt
www.nationaldebtclocks.org...

Here is US debt
www.nationaldebtclocks.org...

Here is western MSM link showing Chinese economy now being number 1

www.marketwatch.com...

Do the comparison if you wish.

EDIT: oh and MR Spad, China absolutely has a surplus of at least 10 trillion equivalent in usd

If you really want to hurt inside, take a look at their gold purchases

Been to all seven continents, stopped counting countries at around 70, lived in Paris 3 years, Germany 3, Korea 1 and Japan 5.

I think I'm doing well so far

BTW, China, who cares...

Average yearly income less than $3000 per family
Average living space per family 1000 sq ft
Gutter oil and other really nasty crap...need I say more
Air you can cut with a knife, no really, cut with a knife...

a reply to: PredatorCrackling

Thanks to my generous uncle, I've been to
England
Germany
Greece
Russia
China
Croatia
Mexico
Canada
Argentina
France
Egypt

I have to ask . When you visited the above countries did you do the tourist thing or lets say , back pack away from the tourist trail . The reason i ask is because the people along most tourist trails give you exactly what THEY think YOU want to see . It is really not a good gauge of the country in general .

a reply to: PredatorCrackling

Oh , and Australia does not " invite " people to live here .

a reply to: hutch622

Read my reply to MRSpad just a few posts above

It's all about the money

If your country knows how to manage and save money your country has a bright future

If you are Greece or the USA, your future is the collapse.

Argentina had to learn that lesson 2001

Russia had to learn that lesson in the 90s

So will America have to learn to manage money

originally posted by: hutch622
a reply to: PredatorCrackling

Oh , and Australia does not " invite " people to live here .

And I wrote that government invited me ?

Right ?

I wrote how PM of Australia personally invited me ?

Lol

a reply to: PredatorCrackling

Did i say the PM . Who invited you . Also your first reply in no way answered what i asked you . I asked about your experiences overseas .

a reply to: hutch622

I am sorry are you trying to lecture me?

Do you even know that Australian citizen can issue an invitation and be a guarantor to another person living in another country.

originally posted by: PredatorCrackling
a reply to: hutch622

Read my reply to MRSpad just a few posts above

It's all about the money

If your country knows how to manage and save money your country has a bright future

If you are Greece or the USA, your future is the collapse.

Argentina had to learn that lesson 2001

Russia had to learn that lesson in the 90s

So will America have to learn to manage money

Well Russia and Argentina are both at 15% to 20% inflation, so I guess they are learning all over again.

Bottom line is Russia, China and Europe will fail before America will. I'm not saying this because America is doing so well, it is not, but those others are doing worst...

a reply to: PredatorCrackling

If you are talking about a 457 visa it is hardly an invitation , and you still haven't answered my question .

A big problem with Americans as that they don't experience other countries.

The least conservative people I know also happen to be the most traveled. I think it gives them a bigger perspective on things at home. It's also no surprise that people on the coasts tend to be more liberal as well -- they're exposed to more cultures as these coasts tend to have more international travel going through them.

People in Europe can travel to other countries and experience other cultures a lot easier, the same for South America.

We've become a very "American-centric" country that doesn't have a very good idea of how the rest of the 6 billion of the world live. We're only 300 million or so -- and we pretty much just sit around in our own country, dictating to everyone else how to live.

I'm lucky to have traveled outside of the US a few times, it's not cheap so I don't blame anyone for not being able to. It's a shame we don't travel as much as we could, considering the technology we have at our disposal.

It's funny how we gauge living conditions differently

I had cousins visit us from the US, and made comments about how "poor" european people are, commenting specifically on things like the size of cars, the size of washing machines (absence of dryers). One cousin showed off her knowledge of interior decorating, saying I chose the "strained" look (I think it was) for much of my interior.

No, those doors are not chosen because they look "strained" -they are literally 100 years old, nobody bothered to change them. The key that is bigger than my hand? It wasn't a fashion choice- they just are the original key that went with those doors at that time! LOL! Yes, giant appliances are perfectly available and affordable here, they just are unecessary obstentious overkill. We have sun and wind that work great, cost nothing, smell good and make for a pleasurable experience.
Big cars also are just as available (I remain american in that respect- big BMW suv) but most people find them terribly impractical for parking, and too heavy for safe driving on wet or gravelly roads (I went off a cliff in my Jeep Grand Cherokee once because the weight made it slide on a small mountain road when braking).

They were so snobby while here, and assuming we are poor- with "only" 10,000 euros a month income... without knowing our biggest expense is our mortgage which is 700 euros a month- and we own five times as much land as they, two natural springs; we are completely autonomous in terms water consumption.

Appearences are everything to the average american, in general.

a reply to: Bluesma

That's pretty funny...Americans indeed see old as "poor". America is such a new nation that nothing standing is over 250 years old, and those are rare. Most Americans live in homes that aren't more than 50 years old -- and our products are practically disposable. We just toss and re-buy things like washing machines -- on credit to boot.

A good analogy of a European vs. American:

A friend from the UK only has 5 sweaters. He's had them for 10+ years. They are insanely expensive, modest in style so they're "timeless" looking. My American friend has 25+ sweaters, but they're cheap and wear out fast. They also are "trendy" and go out of style.

Quality vs. quantity. Americans love quantity, even if the quality is crap. More = better seems to be an "American" thing.