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Come to Eastern Europe, your student loan money is enough for a whole new life here. P.s. honestly, I don't understand how ppl who are so hoplessly indebted ar

Come to Eastern Europe, your student loan money is enough for a whole new life here. P.s. honestly, I don't understand how ppl who are so hoplessly indebted are not migrating here. Bulgaria offers very cheap life with the opportunity of doing business with the EU and the US. Why work 24/7 when you can enjoy a good life in a place where the local people and economy need a foreigner to lead them in the business and globalizing world?

rhcom2 9y ago
Everyone I know and care about is here. That isn't inconsequential.
- Dangissuchacunt 9y ago
  Those people are probably cunts. Find new people.
fineng123 9y ago
Because they don't understand. A common refrain about the story in the U.S. of LaVar Ball, the impetuously famous basketball dad, is that it was a huge mistake to send his kids to play in Lithuania. It's a classic example of "worldly" Americans going to the Louvre and being "cultured" but not having the depth of understanding that Eastern Europe is a wonderful, beautiful place. It's just not as well-kept and poorer so they turn up their nose.
- lozaning 9y ago
  I think there's plenty of room to critique LaVars choices while staying purely within the confines of basketball. The difference between skill level, exposure, and compensation is quite stark between the US and anywhere else. He could send his kids to go live at the Louvre and it's still be a dumb basketball move.
  - fineng123 9y ago
    You could definitely say they can learn more in the States as the quality of basketball is higher, but they won't be paid until they're in the league.
  - wutangson1 9y ago
    Actually, Lithuania fields a very good national team. When highschool kids (in Melo's case) are now having to adapt to the pro level, it can only benefit him.
- Analog24 9y ago
  That's quite a sweeping, derogatory generalization
  - fineng123 9y ago
    The horrible thing about generalizations is that they are so painstakingly accurate sometimes, and they hit so close to home that people hate them. Americans are hilariously uncultured. Do software engineers tend to be socially awkward? Yes. Try to understand the world for what it is or live in perpetual cognitive dissonance, your choice.
smnrchrds 9y ago
It is not so easy to immigrate to Eastern Europe from outside EU/EEA. I don't know about Bulgaria in particular, but typically in order to move to another country, either permanently or temporarily, you need to show that you have a degree in an in-demand major, a job offer from a reputable employer in the country, and an official assessment showing that you will not negatively impact the labor market, e.g. by taking a job a citizen could have done. You can't just pack your bags and take a plane and expect to be allowed to work in the country of your destination. Every election season, many people in the US say "If X is elected, I am moving to Canada." Then they check the immigration department website [1], realize it is going to take multiple years and thousands of dollars for them to navigate the immigration system, and even then there is a high likelihood of failure. So most promptly give up. The bureaucratic difficulty of immigration is not the only issue dissuading potential immigrants. Language barrier, cultural differences, loss of one's professional network, the possibility that one's education and experience wouldn't be acceptable to the employers in the destination country, family and friends, etc. also play a role. I am sure many consider moving to Easter Europe, but few end up going through with it. [1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/website-crash-immigration-trump-electronic-travel-authorization-u-s-election-canada-1.4003637 http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/website-crash-immigration-tr...
godelski 9y ago
Because 80% of people (at least Americans) live <50 miles from their birthplace. People don't like to move. There's a lot of hurdles moving. I know I moved across country (west coast to the south) and there is still a big culture shock after a few years. tldr: There's more to the equation than finance.
- adreamingsoul 9y ago
  I'm considering moving to the east-coast near a mentor of mine. Land is cheaper (when compared to the Northwest) and it's in Zone 5/6 which is pretty good for growing.
  - godelski 9y ago
    From my experience, having some sort of a support structure to move into greatly lessens some of the problems. One of the biggest challenges in moving is finding that new support structure. And I guess this also is highly dependent on how social you are to begin with.
- ytwySXpMbS 9y ago
  What stuff has led to culture shock? What's stood out to you?
  - godelski 9y ago
    There's a lot. But to sum up a few: - The overwhelming political nature of everything here. It is "free-market is the solution to everything or you're a socialist" mentality. The Moore race is a good example of this. The only thing worse than a Dem is a pedo. I'm moderate right, for reference. (maybe some of this is just the political climate of the times) - Bible belt and churches around every corner. Religion is much more common place, and I definitely get weird looks if I mention that I don't go to church. - Everyone is big. I mean the obesity thing here is common and I'm shocked at the amount of fast food and all meat diets people do. This can lead to some bland food, though there is also some really good food. Great BBQ here. - There is much more casual racism here (I'm white, but it is enough that I notice it when I'm not looking for it). Lots of confederate war flags and for some reason people keep telling me that the civil war had nothing to do with slaves. I don't know why people keep bringing that up in discussions that it isn't related to. These things also pop up in the frequent political discussions that I can't seem to avoid. - Finding friends is hard. Part of this is just moving to a new area, part of it is cultural differences. I expect this to be a challenge for anyone that is moving not into a big area or into a job/school that you have a lot of peers. You'd be surprised how many friends you have because you sit next to them for hours a day. - Everyone is extremely nice. This isn't really a bad thing, but it is surprising. People will go out of their way to help you. And there are just cultural norms and vernacular that are strange to me. I'm also in a small town, so that definitely plays a factor. But it isn't a hick town either. I can't escape the feeling that I'm a foreigner. And I think that feeling of being a foreigner is off-putting for a lot of people.
buf 9y ago
This. I "retired" to Bulgaria last year for 6 months and lived lavishly: restaurants, beach/mountain vacations, travel, shows, massive apartment, etc and found that my cost of living was 1/10th what I paid in San Francisco for less than half the luxury. I'm only back in the US now for a limited time. I've done the math and found that I need a few more years of work to live in Bulgaria full-time for the rest of my life.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- ridgeguy 9y ago
  Curious about how it's worked for you. Why did you pick Bulgaria? How serious have you found language and cultural barriers to be? As an American (my assumption), how hard was it to open a bank account? Etc. Tnx.
  - buf 9y ago
    Wife is Bulgarian. I discovered how great it was by accident, I guess you could say. I speak broken Bulgarian.
JBlue42 9y ago
Only a small percentage would have jobs they could take with them / work remote. What would they actually do in Bulgaria or for it? And this is looking past language barriers. I say this as someone that had a wonderful trip there and like the country and people quite a lot.
Turing_Machine 9y ago
What happens if Mr. Putin (or one of his successors) suddenly decides that he wants Bulgaria back under Russian control?
- _old_dude_ 9y ago
  Russian troops need to cross Ukraine and Romania first ?
  - laingc 9y ago
    Halfway there, then.
    - Turing_Machine 9y ago
      Also Russia still has a navy and an air force.
- wutangson1 9y ago
  not sure it is realistic that Vova can decide he wants part of the EU under his control
- hedonistbot 9y ago
  Bulgaria is a NATO member and hosts 4 joint military facilities with NATO forces (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian%E2%80%93American_Joint_Military_Facilities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian%E2%80%93American_Joi...). The NATO pact treats a military attack on one of its members as an attack on all of them (including the US).
adreamingsoul 9y ago
I've seriously considered it, but my family is the primary reason why I haven't pulled the trigger. I have Scandinavian roots on my Dad's side and would most likely try to utilize that.

rhcom2 9y ago

Everyone I know and care about is here. That isn't inconsequential.

Dangissuchacunt 9y ago
Those people are probably cunts. Find new people.

fineng123 9y ago

Because they don't understand. A common refrain about the story in the U.S. of LaVar Ball, the impetuously famous basketball dad, is that it was a huge mistake to send his kids to play in Lithuania. It's a classic example of "worldly" Americans going to the Louvre and being "cultured" but not having the depth of understanding that Eastern Europe is a wonderful, beautiful place. It's just not as well-kept and poorer so they turn up their nose.

lozaning 9y ago
I think there's plenty of room to critique LaVars choices while staying purely within the confines of basketball. The difference between skill level, exposure, and compensation is quite stark between the US and anywhere else. He could send his kids to go live at the Louvre and it's still be a dumb basketball move.
- fineng123 9y ago
  You could definitely say they can learn more in the States as the quality of basketball is higher, but they won't be paid until they're in the league.
- wutangson1 9y ago
  Actually, Lithuania fields a very good national team. When highschool kids (in Melo's case) are now having to adapt to the pro level, it can only benefit him.
Analog24 9y ago
That's quite a sweeping, derogatory generalization
- fineng123 9y ago
  The horrible thing about generalizations is that they are so painstakingly accurate sometimes, and they hit so close to home that people hate them. Americans are hilariously uncultured. Do software engineers tend to be socially awkward? Yes. Try to understand the world for what it is or live in perpetual cognitive dissonance, your choice.

smnrchrds 9y ago

It is not so easy to immigrate to Eastern Europe from outside EU/EEA. I don't know about Bulgaria in particular, but typically in order to move to another country, either permanently or temporarily, you need to show that you have a degree in an in-demand major, a job offer from a reputable employer in the country, and an official assessment showing that you will not negatively impact the labor market, e.g. by taking a job a citizen could have done. You can't just pack your bags and take a plane and expect to be allowed to work in the country of your destination. Every election season, many people in the US say "If X is elected, I am moving to Canada." Then they check the immigration department website [1], realize it is going to take multiple years and thousands of dollars for them to navigate the immigration system, and even then there is a high likelihood of failure. So most promptly give up. The bureaucratic difficulty of immigration is not the only issue dissuading potential immigrants. Language barrier, cultural differences, loss of one's professional network, the possibility that one's education and experience wouldn't be acceptable to the employers in the destination country, family and friends, etc. also play a role. I am sure many consider moving to Easter Europe, but few end up going through with it. [1] http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/website-crash-immigration-trump-electronic-travel-authorization-u-s-election-canada-1.4003637 http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/website-crash-immigration-tr...

godelski 9y ago

Because 80% of people (at least Americans) live <50 miles from their birthplace. People don't like to move. There's a lot of hurdles moving. I know I moved across country (west coast to the south) and there is still a big culture shock after a few years. tldr: There's more to the equation than finance.

adreamingsoul 9y ago
I'm considering moving to the east-coast near a mentor of mine. Land is cheaper (when compared to the Northwest) and it's in Zone 5/6 which is pretty good for growing.
- godelski 9y ago
  From my experience, having some sort of a support structure to move into greatly lessens some of the problems. One of the biggest challenges in moving is finding that new support structure. And I guess this also is highly dependent on how social you are to begin with.
ytwySXpMbS 9y ago
What stuff has led to culture shock? What's stood out to you?
- godelski 9y ago
  There's a lot. But to sum up a few: - The overwhelming political nature of everything here. It is "free-market is the solution to everything or you're a socialist" mentality. The Moore race is a good example of this. The only thing worse than a Dem is a pedo. I'm moderate right, for reference. (maybe some of this is just the political climate of the times) - Bible belt and churches around every corner. Religion is much more common place, and I definitely get weird looks if I mention that I don't go to church. - Everyone is big. I mean the obesity thing here is common and I'm shocked at the amount of fast food and all meat diets people do. This can lead to some bland food, though there is also some really good food. Great BBQ here. - There is much more casual racism here (I'm white, but it is enough that I notice it when I'm not looking for it). Lots of confederate war flags and for some reason people keep telling me that the civil war had nothing to do with slaves. I don't know why people keep bringing that up in discussions that it isn't related to. These things also pop up in the frequent political discussions that I can't seem to avoid. - Finding friends is hard. Part of this is just moving to a new area, part of it is cultural differences. I expect this to be a challenge for anyone that is moving not into a big area or into a job/school that you have a lot of peers. You'd be surprised how many friends you have because you sit next to them for hours a day. - Everyone is extremely nice. This isn't really a bad thing, but it is surprising. People will go out of their way to help you. And there are just cultural norms and vernacular that are strange to me. I'm also in a small town, so that definitely plays a factor. But it isn't a hick town either. I can't escape the feeling that I'm a foreigner. And I think that feeling of being a foreigner is off-putting for a lot of people.

buf 9y ago

This. I "retired" to Bulgaria last year for 6 months and lived lavishly: restaurants, beach/mountain vacations, travel, shows, massive apartment, etc and found that my cost of living was 1/10th what I paid in San Francisco for less than half the luxury. I'm only back in the US now for a limited time. I've done the math and found that I need a few more years of work to live in Bulgaria full-time for the rest of my life.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ridgeguy 9y ago
Curious about how it's worked for you. Why did you pick Bulgaria? How serious have you found language and cultural barriers to be? As an American (my assumption), how hard was it to open a bank account? Etc. Tnx.
- buf 9y ago
  Wife is Bulgarian. I discovered how great it was by accident, I guess you could say. I speak broken Bulgarian.

JBlue42 9y ago

Only a small percentage would have jobs they could take with them / work remote. What would they actually do in Bulgaria or for it? And this is looking past language barriers. I say this as someone that had a wonderful trip there and like the country and people quite a lot.

Turing_Machine 9y ago

What happens if Mr. Putin (or one of his successors) suddenly decides that he wants Bulgaria back under Russian control?

_old_dude_ 9y ago
Russian troops need to cross Ukraine and Romania first ?
- laingc 9y ago
  Halfway there, then.
  - Turing_Machine 9y ago
    Also Russia still has a navy and an air force.
wutangson1 9y ago
not sure it is realistic that Vova can decide he wants part of the EU under his control
hedonistbot 9y ago
Bulgaria is a NATO member and hosts 4 joint military facilities with NATO forces (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian%E2%80%93American_Joint_Military_Facilities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian%E2%80%93American_Joi...). The NATO pact treats a military attack on one of its members as an attack on all of them (including the US).

adreamingsoul 9y ago

I've seriously considered it, but my family is the primary reason why I haven't pulled the trigger. I have Scandinavian roots on my Dad's side and would most likely try to utilize that.