5 ms·

From recent personal discussions, I think part of the solution choosing another place to live. The "hubs" of the world are becoming way too expensive for people

From recent personal discussions, I think part of the solution choosing another place to live. The "hubs" of the world are becoming way too expensive for people who don't purely chase money as an objective (or are born into it.)

peterburkimsher 9y ago
Where? I currently live in Taiwan. It costs me 3 months savings to buy a plane ticket to visit family. I can afford to do that once or twice a year. That doesn't matter much though, because I only get 8 days of annual leave anyway. I'm a British citizen by descent (born in Switzerland to parents resident in France). My future children cannot be British. I cannot become Taiwanese without giving up my previous nationality. I would also have to do military service, and learn how to kill foreigners. There is a conflict of interest here, because I am a foreigner. I have a Masters of Engineering from Lancaster University, UK. I started Ph.D. at KAIST in Korea, but dropped out when they refused to pay my scholarship. I wanted to move to Canada for the Express Entry programme, but now they got too many applications from the US. They changed the rules, and now they require me to be a senior manager. I wanted to move to New Zealand for the Skilled Migrant Category visa. They asked for 2 years work experience. During my 2nd year here, they increased that to 3 years. Now they require 75,000 NZD per year salary (4x my current salary). I don't think any company will pay that. It is extremely difficult, and getting harder, to take a foreign spouse to the UK. The US "asked me to leave" (one step short of deportation) when my exchange student visa petition was denied, because I didn't have $25,000 cash in the bank. Thankfully the process was so slow that I finished a whole year at UCSB before they kicked me out. I can't go back any more though. I also don't think I can afford to get married, because it's just too expensive (300,000 NTD would take me one year to save up). The politics and finance problems means I don't think I can marry my Taiwanese girlfriend. I believe in chastity, so this probably means that I'll die a virgin. I've decided that rather than ending my own life, and having no voice, I can at least speak on behalf of those who struggle. The older generation are rich (owning cars and houses, having children). Most people I know who are my age are not able to afford such luxuries. Why should I pay for pensions to support these rich old people? Why should I pay for insurance to extend my life, when I'm not even satisfied with the situation I'm in? I expect that there will be a war soon. I refuse to fight in it, but I hope that here in Taiwan, I'll be on the front lines, and it'll be over for me soon.
- azag0 9y ago
  You are a European citizen, but you want to live in Taiwan, or NZ, Canada, or US. I don't blame you, but that seems to be the source of your struggles. I'm sure I might have problems getting into those countries as well. Any particular reason you don't want to live anywhere in EU?
  - peterburkimsher 9y ago
    English is my first language. My dad worked at CERN, an EU research institute, for over 30 years before retiring last September. He bought a house in France, but his office was in Switzerland. We crossed the border every day - him to go to work, me to be born/go to school. It's a Geneva thing. He couldn't get French nationality because he wasn't working in France. Now the UK is leaving the EU, he is likely to lose the right to live in France. He finally paid off the mortgage on his house, but he's probably about to lose it all. He's also considering New Zealand, but immigration there becomes much more difficult after age 55. Trying to get PR in an EU country would take at least 5 years. The Express Entry and Skilled Migrant Category visas for PR in Canada and NZ are much faster (about 6 months of processing time if I have the prerequisites). Rent is also much cheaper in Taiwan (only 20% of my salary). Electronics are cheap, so that saves some personal expenses. When I did summer jobs in Switzerland and Austria before, I had less net income, after rent & food. At least here I'm breaking even. I just don't expect that I can ever find a place where I could earn enough to pay to learn to drive/marry/buy a house/etc.
    - dx034 9y ago
      > Now the UK is leaving the EU, he is likely to lose the right to live in France. This is very unlikely. While much about Brexit is unclear, it seems nearly certain that there will be provisions that British nationals can continue living in the EU and vice versa. No country involved wants to change the status for people who already emigrated. Discussions focus more around the exact rights (e.g. if the European Court of Justice remains responsible for EU citizens in the UK) and about movement of people after Brexit. And even if you only move to Europe in a few years, it's likely that you will get a visa much easier than with a non-European passport.
NumberCruncher 9y ago
Munich in Germany is a lovely place to live, even if at least you have to understand German if you want to work for a serious company. 30 days of holiday, perfect health insurance system. But there are a lot of European cities (for example Amsterdam, Zurich) where speaking English is enough for making a living. I do not understand why on earth would someone as a foreigner prefer living in the US.
- peterburkimsher 9y ago
  Zürich is in Switzerland. If I became Swiss, I would have to do military service, and kill foreigners. Germany seems nice (I've only visited, not worked). But Germany doesn't allow dual nationality. I'd have to give up my current half-British second-class citizenship in order to get the privilege to live there for the rest of my life. Now the UK is leaving the EU, I can't rely on being allowed to live there permanently. The Dutch government is good. I spent 1 month in Amsterdam in 2013, trying to find jobs. I failed. I also felt excluded because of being a foreigner (I heard actual racist comments twice during that month). I was welcomed by the foreign and squatter community, but they were mostly drunk and/or high (I don't do drugs or drink). In the end, I got a job in China, so I flew there to work for 5 months before starting that ill-fated Ph.D. programme in Korea.
  - ccozan 9y ago
    If you are British, still EU, then Germany allows double citizenship. But, since you need 6-8 years to live in Germany until you get your citizenship, by the UK will be no longer EU, so..
- ccozan 9y ago
  Munich is becoming increasingly expensive for young, unmarried people. Or couples with kids. I don't have actual sources for data, but most of my friends are complaining. I am living in a town 80km south west of Munich and I pay for a full house with garden less than a one bedroom app in Munich. I find this really expensive. Kindergarten you are expected to pay about 1000 euros a month for a place, because there is a shortage. Meanwhile, my local kindergarten cannot fill its quota of children. Life quality is amazing since you can buy most of the food locally.

peterburkimsher 9y ago

Where? I currently live in Taiwan. It costs me 3 months savings to buy a plane ticket to visit family. I can afford to do that once or twice a year. That doesn't matter much though, because I only get 8 days of annual leave anyway. I'm a British citizen by descent (born in Switzerland to parents resident in France). My future children cannot be British. I cannot become Taiwanese without giving up my previous nationality. I would also have to do military service, and learn how to kill foreigners. There is a conflict of interest here, because I am a foreigner. I have a Masters of Engineering from Lancaster University, UK. I started Ph.D. at KAIST in Korea, but dropped out when they refused to pay my scholarship. I wanted to move to Canada for the Express Entry programme, but now they got too many applications from the US. They changed the rules, and now they require me to be a senior manager. I wanted to move to New Zealand for the Skilled Migrant Category visa. They asked for 2 years work experience. During my 2nd year here, they increased that to 3 years. Now they require 75,000 NZD per year salary (4x my current salary). I don't think any company will pay that. It is extremely difficult, and getting harder, to take a foreign spouse to the UK. The US "asked me to leave" (one step short of deportation) when my exchange student visa petition was denied, because I didn't have $25,000 cash in the bank. Thankfully the process was so slow that I finished a whole year at UCSB before they kicked me out. I can't go back any more though. I also don't think I can afford to get married, because it's just too expensive (300,000 NTD would take me one year to save up). The politics and finance problems means I don't think I can marry my Taiwanese girlfriend. I believe in chastity, so this probably means that I'll die a virgin. I've decided that rather than ending my own life, and having no voice, I can at least speak on behalf of those who struggle. The older generation are rich (owning cars and houses, having children). Most people I know who are my age are not able to afford such luxuries. Why should I pay for pensions to support these rich old people? Why should I pay for insurance to extend my life, when I'm not even satisfied with the situation I'm in? I expect that there will be a war soon. I refuse to fight in it, but I hope that here in Taiwan, I'll be on the front lines, and it'll be over for me soon.

azag0 9y ago
You are a European citizen, but you want to live in Taiwan, or NZ, Canada, or US. I don't blame you, but that seems to be the source of your struggles. I'm sure I might have problems getting into those countries as well. Any particular reason you don't want to live anywhere in EU?
- peterburkimsher 9y ago
  English is my first language. My dad worked at CERN, an EU research institute, for over 30 years before retiring last September. He bought a house in France, but his office was in Switzerland. We crossed the border every day - him to go to work, me to be born/go to school. It's a Geneva thing. He couldn't get French nationality because he wasn't working in France. Now the UK is leaving the EU, he is likely to lose the right to live in France. He finally paid off the mortgage on his house, but he's probably about to lose it all. He's also considering New Zealand, but immigration there becomes much more difficult after age 55. Trying to get PR in an EU country would take at least 5 years. The Express Entry and Skilled Migrant Category visas for PR in Canada and NZ are much faster (about 6 months of processing time if I have the prerequisites). Rent is also much cheaper in Taiwan (only 20% of my salary). Electronics are cheap, so that saves some personal expenses. When I did summer jobs in Switzerland and Austria before, I had less net income, after rent & food. At least here I'm breaking even. I just don't expect that I can ever find a place where I could earn enough to pay to learn to drive/marry/buy a house/etc.
  - dx034 9y ago
    > Now the UK is leaving the EU, he is likely to lose the right to live in France. This is very unlikely. While much about Brexit is unclear, it seems nearly certain that there will be provisions that British nationals can continue living in the EU and vice versa. No country involved wants to change the status for people who already emigrated. Discussions focus more around the exact rights (e.g. if the European Court of Justice remains responsible for EU citizens in the UK) and about movement of people after Brexit. And even if you only move to Europe in a few years, it's likely that you will get a visa much easier than with a non-European passport.

NumberCruncher 9y ago

Munich in Germany is a lovely place to live, even if at least you have to understand German if you want to work for a serious company. 30 days of holiday, perfect health insurance system. But there are a lot of European cities (for example Amsterdam, Zurich) where speaking English is enough for making a living. I do not understand why on earth would someone as a foreigner prefer living in the US.

peterburkimsher 9y ago
Zürich is in Switzerland. If I became Swiss, I would have to do military service, and kill foreigners. Germany seems nice (I've only visited, not worked). But Germany doesn't allow dual nationality. I'd have to give up my current half-British second-class citizenship in order to get the privilege to live there for the rest of my life. Now the UK is leaving the EU, I can't rely on being allowed to live there permanently. The Dutch government is good. I spent 1 month in Amsterdam in 2013, trying to find jobs. I failed. I also felt excluded because of being a foreigner (I heard actual racist comments twice during that month). I was welcomed by the foreign and squatter community, but they were mostly drunk and/or high (I don't do drugs or drink). In the end, I got a job in China, so I flew there to work for 5 months before starting that ill-fated Ph.D. programme in Korea.
- ccozan 9y ago
  If you are British, still EU, then Germany allows double citizenship. But, since you need 6-8 years to live in Germany until you get your citizenship, by the UK will be no longer EU, so..
ccozan 9y ago
Munich is becoming increasingly expensive for young, unmarried people. Or couples with kids. I don't have actual sources for data, but most of my friends are complaining. I am living in a town 80km south west of Munich and I pay for a full house with garden less than a one bedroom app in Munich. I find this really expensive. Kindergarten you are expected to pay about 1000 euros a month for a place, because there is a shortage. Meanwhile, my local kindergarten cannot fill its quota of children. Life quality is amazing since you can buy most of the food locally.