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Living overseas

RishanRishan 454 Posts
edited November 2008 in Strut Central
who here lives/has lived in a foreign country? like it or loathe it?b, 21b, 21i'm from the UK but been in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for 2 and a half years. doing a bit of English teaching, writing book reviews for a daily newspaper, working for a friends real estate company and other various low paying and completely illegal (never had a work permit/visa) jobs just to get by. had a great time, but its all catching up to me now and i'm financially ruined and spiritually broken. time to go home.b, 21b, 21love and hate Malaysia in equal measures. standard of living is so cheap, food is amazing, the sun shines every day, has some of the best beaches in the world and real pristine rainforest. political situation is a mess with an imbecile government. racial problems because its so multicultural. no music scene here whatsoever. its corrupt and dangerous. its too hot and sticky and rainy. really looking forward to going home in january.b, 21b, 21what about you?

  Comments

  • nzshadownzshadow 5,518 Posts
    I have been an expat since 1996, b, 21b, 21I have lived and worked in Switzerland, England, Israel, Sweden and Oz.b, 21b, 21Home is always home, but once you have been away for any considerable amount of time you realize that home aint home anymore. (if that makes sense).b, 21b, 21Be careful not to romanticize your country of birth, it is easy to treat her like an ex that you still pine for: you throw away the bad memories and focus on the good.b, 21b, 21With travel comes experience, with experience, greater perspective so keep your head straight when you get back and i guarantee you that you will be pining for Malaysia within 3 months of UK weather.b, 21b, 21Holland is my home but NZ is my home and i feel like a foreigner in both places.
  • kennykenny 1,024 Posts
    any good record spots in malaysia? :]
  • RishanRishan 454 Posts
    not a single one man! could maybe get your hands on some islamic pop, but i don't know why anyone would want to - that shit is musically offensive. the malay cab drivers always play it and i'll ask them very nicely to please turn it off. truly an abomination of sound.b, 21b, 21I know going back will be one of the hardest things i've ever done, not least because I'll have to leave my girlfriend behind for a while, but i just feel its time to sort my self out and make plans for the future. definitely not looking forward to re-entry syndrome.
  • kennykenny 1,024 Posts
    I was in Oz for almost 10 yrs for study, made a heap of friends while I was there. b, 21b, 21Been back home (HK) eversince I graduated though, and realise how weird it is to have so much more memories of my days in Oz then my childhood years in HK (I left HK when I was 12)b, 21b, 21And now that I'm back, I miss all the friends I had in Oz, though now they're all in different parts of the world, while my friends in HK are the ones I knew when I was 10 or 11 yrs old, ones that I haven't seen for almost 10+ yrs! b, 21b, 21Its weird to be back home like this, with so much memories away home and be with all these people, and when you're back home, you're back into the circle of people that you have not seen for 10 yrs...its like you have to try knowing these people you knew from home all over again, cuz things are so different now, we're all grown ups, working, some even married, compared to when we were kids in primary school!
  • DJ_WubWubDJ_WubWub 874 Posts
    Went from living in the rainforests in Cairns (OZ) to 3.5 yrs in Osaka.Which was at first a mindfuck. Have been back in OZ for 5 yrs and looking back have fond memories of Japan (recordo hunting esp) but at the time it was a struggle. It didn't help that i worked 6-7 days a week for the whole time. Made and saved lots of money so that kinda got me through the ordeal as well.b, 21 b, 21 Missed Australia a lot when I was in Japan but my wife and I were on a mission to make money buy a house and have a kid when we got back so that focus really helped. Knowing also that nothing is really going to change about our hometown while we were away.b, 21b, 21 Japan was at first exciting and culturally interesting but after a while the cultural differences began to irk me. Individually the Japanese were fantastic but collectively certain aspects of their culture gave me the shits after a while.
  • DrBorisQDrBorisQ 298 Posts
    I've been living in Senegal since the start of the year. While I love it, it does wear you down a bit; just the little things. The tiny little decisions that you have to constantly make that are just instinctive when you at 'home'. Although the longer you stay the less of those you have to make, as you learn where everything is and how everything works (or doesn't work as the case may be).b, 21b, 21The longer I stay the less inclined I feel to go back to Australia. This is my home for now, I know that because when I go travelling I always start to look forward to getting back toward the end of a trip. Getting back to where I understand the way things are.b, 21b, 21Melbourne doesn't feel like my home anymore, and I think a large part of that is because I left with no idea about when I would return. I think if you go to live overseas with a defined point of when you are going to return home then you never detatch yourself from the idea as that place as your home. Whereas if you don't know when or indeed if you will go back then you are forced to make you 'home' wherever you happen to be at the time.
  • coldcutscoldcuts 388 Posts
    I've been pondering a move to Costa Rica ever since I took a vacation there back in the summer of 07. I'm looking to go back this Jan/Feb and spend a month or so to check out the job situation. b, 21b, 21I do worry about what my financial situation would be down there though.
  • The-gafflerThe-gaffler 2,190 Posts
    - Londonb, 21- Seoul
  • The Raise UpThe Raise Up Golden Years... wah wah wah 452 Posts
    I spent some time living in Lisbon and I can't wait to get back there for a couple of months next summer! I didn't miss my home country (NL) all that much while living there, just my family.
  • the_spacethe_space 74 Posts
    why spiritually broken? i feel like these are dark days for everyone, and it's daily work to stay positive. i guess the main question is, would you take some of your decisions back? if so, why?
  • Strider79itStrider79it 1,176 Posts
    interesting how most of you were born in Australia ! b, 21b, 21/font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21 Japan was at first exciting and culturally interesting but after a while the cultural differences began to irk me b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21I know where you're coming from ... been more than one year in China and it takes quite a lil' bit to adjust.... and then, when I finally started to feel like at "home" I had to leave that nice country img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/WHYMUSTICRY.gif" alt="" 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/530.gif" alt="" 21
  • discos_almadiscos_alma discos_alma 2,164 Posts
    Istanbul, Turkey, for two years. Amazingly beautiful people and country. Exploding economy right now, too, so there are def many opportunities you could get into. b, 21Amazing food.b, 21Fascinating history (roman, greek, ottoman empires) b, 21Awesome music to dig (Anatolian Psych, break heavy disco, etc.)b, 21Beautiful women.b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bonus.gif" alt="" 21b, 21b, 21Just do it. You won't regret it.
  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21Istanbul, Turkey, for two years.b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21That's the hottest place I've ever been to. Unbearable temperatures.b, 21b, 21Oh and avoid drinking fluid for at least 3 hours after eating their fig products.b, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21 or You won't WILL SURELY regret it. b, 21b, 21h, 21
  • FrankFrank 2,373 Posts
    I need frequent changes of scenery.b, 21Grew up in a village of 400 farmers in the Black Forest and moved around down there for a bit until I was in my mid-twenties then I went to Berlin for a couple of years. from there to NYC for 4 years. back to Berlin for 5 years, then 3 years in West Africa, now back in NYC. It's very weird. Coming from Berlin, NYC felt stimulating and energizing, this time around, it feels kinda boring and overregulated. Especially after 3 years of relative chaos and anarchy. It's also quite painful to realize that I seem to have lost all tolerance for cold weather.b, 21b, 21I think that spending time in different cultures really opens your mind to a lot of things. Not only will you expose yourself to new impressions and influences but through the distance to your own background you will also learn more about where you're coming from.
  • discos_almadiscos_alma discos_alma 2,164 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21Istanbul, Turkey, for two years.b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21That's the hottest place I've ever been to. Unbearable temperatures.b, 21b, 21Oh and avoid drinking fluid for at least 3 hours after eating their fig products.b, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21 or You won't WILL SURELY regret it. b, 21b, 21h, 21 b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^b, 21Pasty German Related
  • The_NonThe_Non 5,691 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21not a single one man! could maybe get your hands on some islamic pop, but i don't know why anyone would want to - that shit is musically offensive. the malay cab drivers always play it and i'll ask them very nicely to please turn it off. truly an abomination of sound.b, 21b, 21I know going back will be one of the hardest things i've ever done, not least because I'll have to leave my girlfriend behind for a while, but i just feel its time to sort my self out and make plans for the future. definitely not looking forward to re-entry syndrome. b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21b, 21Good Malaysian jammie:b, 21b, 21http://thewaxcrusade.com/jeffrydeen.mp3
  • chungtechchungtech 290 Posts
    /font1
    Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21Istanbul, Turkey, for two years.b, 21b, 21h, 21
    b, 21That's the hottest place I've ever been to. Unbearable temperatures.b, 21b, 21Oh and avoid drinking fluid for at least 3 hours after eating their fig products.b, 21b, 21/font1Quote:/font1h, 21b, 21 or You won't WILL SURELY regret it. b, 21b, 21h, 21 b, 21b, 21h, 21b, 21b, 21b, 21UHHHHHH....SULTAN'S REVENGE-R??b, 21b, 21 img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/talib-doodoo.gif" alt="" 21
  • NachoManCandySandwichNachoManCandySandwich 409 Posts
    I've Lived in Tokyo for about five years now.b, 21I'm sure I'll be here for another four, if not more.b, 21b, 21Love being here, love being home. I definitely know the strange feeling of feeling foreign at home, and feeling at home as a foreigner.
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