5 ms·

Your description does not sound like an amazing place that you said it is in the first sentence?

by ssijak 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
geoka9 2y ago
Some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I've ever seen and very hospitable people. A very nice place to visit. Not a very good place to live though unless you're so rich that you don't have to rely on the local infrastructure and services for survival and quality of life.
- ssijak 2y ago
  I find life to also be bad if you are the only rich person isolated in a bubble when 99% of the people are in extreme poverty. You just can't feel good, unless you don't care.
  - brnt 2y ago
    Also, sharp gradients inherently incentivize attempts to equalise. It is an unstable situation.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - blackhawkC17 2y ago
    Also makes you a target, living life constantly watching your back and being careful about any stranger you meet. There’s a reason most rich people stick to developed countries.
  - Rinzler89 2y ago
    You'r definitely not be the only rich person there. There's thousands of rich corrupt people in their own bubble.
    - ethbr1 2y ago
      Being in Venezuela in the first years of Chavez was bizarre. National university professor's family (so, upper middle class) living behind 3m concrete walls topped with broken glass and shuttling between there and similarly armored swim clubs. It made me reflect on the difference between token security and actual security.
  - BurningFrog 2y ago
    Being a walking dollar sign in a poor country is seriously dangerous! Money matters, but so does muscle.
- sumedh 2y ago
  > Some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I've ever seen based on the pics in the article, it seems pretty similar to Himalayan regions of Pakistan, India, Nepal. What was so special?
  - rdlw 2y ago
    I think most people find the Himalayas pretty special
rvense 2y ago
The people are friendly and welcoming, and the scenery is amazing. As a tourist, I don't much mind paying a few bribes to policemen (who barely get paid a wage), and I can stand to keep my mouth shut about their president when I'm there (even though he's obviously a bastard). But it's painful to think what it must be like to live there and have nowhere else to go.
- protomolecule 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - 0xdde 2y ago
    From the post: > In 2014, Tajikistan was the most-remittance based economy on earth, amounting to almost half of its GDP. The countryside is dotted with half-finished concrete homes which I was told were the long-term retirement plans of Tajiks working abroad; they build their structures for a few months each year over many years or decades using trickles of funds earned from abroad. When the structures are finished, they prepare them to be their permanent homes once they retire from migrant work. They aren't settling out of the country permanently and I doubt the quality of life as a migrant worker in Russia is spectacular.
    - protomolecule 2y ago
      They are. "174,000 Tajiks became citizens of Russia in 2022, up from 104,000 the year before." [0] That's 1.5% of Tajikistan's population in a single year. We are not building walls, you know. [0] https://eurasianet.org/number-of-tajiks-seeking-to-get-russian-citizenship-growing-fast https://eurasianet.org/number-of-tajiks-seeking-to-get-russi...
      - 0xdde 2y ago
        Your link suggests this is largely to remove red tape while working in Russia. It does not answer how many are settling long-term. There is of course also this little complication: > Anecdotal evidence suggests that recent recipients of that status have been prioritized for military mobilization as the Kremlin forges ahead with its offensives against Ukraine.
lm28469 2y ago
The vast majority of the world is amazing if you come with western money as a tourist, Cuba, Turkey, Kirghizistan, &c. you'll have a great time, most locals are great people but living there as an average citizen isn't that amazing in term of quality of life, access to necessities, infrastructure, ...
- anal_reactor 2y ago
  Nothing beats being rich in a poor country
  - generic92034 2y ago
    Being filthy rich in a rich country, perhaps? :)
    - anal_reactor 2y ago
      No because in a rich country you need to adhere to laws and regulations while in a poor country you can just pay bribes and do what you want
      - sunaookami 2y ago
        That still holds true in rich countries...
        red-iron-pine 2y ago
        really just a function of how much money, and how you define "rich". poor countries just shift that number lower. but if I had $100MM I'd rather be sorta-rich in Los Angeles than mega-rich in Bolivia
        sandworm101 2y ago
        It really doesn't. Rich countries have base rules that all must follow. Justin Timberlake was just arrested for drunk driving. He might get off because he can afford the best lawyers, but he was arrested. That is a thing that happened. It would not have happened in somewhere like Tajikistan where a roadside bribe would nullify the entire situation. For the equivalent of a few hundred bucks they would have given him a ride home and nobody would be the wiser.

Your description does not sound like an amazing place that you said it is in the first sentence?

by ssijak 2y ago

Your description does not sound like an amazing place that you said it is in the first sentence?

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

geoka9 2y ago

Some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I've ever seen and very hospitable people. A very nice place to visit. Not a very good place to live though unless you're so rich that you don't have to rely on the local infrastructure and services for survival and quality of life.

ssijak 2y ago
I find life to also be bad if you are the only rich person isolated in a bubble when 99% of the people are in extreme poverty. You just can't feel good, unless you don't care.
- brnt 2y ago
  Also, sharp gradients inherently incentivize attempts to equalise. It is an unstable situation.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- blackhawkC17 2y ago
  Also makes you a target, living life constantly watching your back and being careful about any stranger you meet. There’s a reason most rich people stick to developed countries.
- Rinzler89 2y ago
  You'r definitely not be the only rich person there. There's thousands of rich corrupt people in their own bubble.
  - ethbr1 2y ago
    Being in Venezuela in the first years of Chavez was bizarre. National university professor's family (so, upper middle class) living behind 3m concrete walls topped with broken glass and shuttling between there and similarly armored swim clubs. It made me reflect on the difference between token security and actual security.
- BurningFrog 2y ago
  Being a walking dollar sign in a poor country is seriously dangerous! Money matters, but so does muscle.
sumedh 2y ago
> Some of the most beautiful mountain scenery I've ever seen based on the pics in the article, it seems pretty similar to Himalayan regions of Pakistan, India, Nepal. What was so special?
- rdlw 2y ago
  I think most people find the Himalayas pretty special

rvense 2y ago

The people are friendly and welcoming, and the scenery is amazing. As a tourist, I don't much mind paying a few bribes to policemen (who barely get paid a wage), and I can stand to keep my mouth shut about their president when I'm there (even though he's obviously a bastard). But it's painful to think what it must be like to live there and have nowhere else to go.

protomolecule 2y ago
[flagged]
- 0xdde 2y ago
  From the post: > In 2014, Tajikistan was the most-remittance based economy on earth, amounting to almost half of its GDP. The countryside is dotted with half-finished concrete homes which I was told were the long-term retirement plans of Tajiks working abroad; they build their structures for a few months each year over many years or decades using trickles of funds earned from abroad. When the structures are finished, they prepare them to be their permanent homes once they retire from migrant work. They aren't settling out of the country permanently and I doubt the quality of life as a migrant worker in Russia is spectacular.
  - protomolecule 2y ago
    They are. "174,000 Tajiks became citizens of Russia in 2022, up from 104,000 the year before." [0] That's 1.5% of Tajikistan's population in a single year. We are not building walls, you know. [0] https://eurasianet.org/number-of-tajiks-seeking-to-get-russian-citizenship-growing-fast https://eurasianet.org/number-of-tajiks-seeking-to-get-russi...
    - 0xdde 2y ago
      Your link suggests this is largely to remove red tape while working in Russia. It does not answer how many are settling long-term. There is of course also this little complication: > Anecdotal evidence suggests that recent recipients of that status have been prioritized for military mobilization as the Kremlin forges ahead with its offensives against Ukraine.

lm28469 2y ago

The vast majority of the world is amazing if you come with western money as a tourist, Cuba, Turkey, Kirghizistan, &c. you'll have a great time, most locals are great people but living there as an average citizen isn't that amazing in term of quality of life, access to necessities, infrastructure, ...

anal_reactor 2y ago
Nothing beats being rich in a poor country
- generic92034 2y ago
  Being filthy rich in a rich country, perhaps? :)
  - anal_reactor 2y ago
    No because in a rich country you need to adhere to laws and regulations while in a poor country you can just pay bribes and do what you want
    - sunaookami 2y ago
      That still holds true in rich countries...
      - red-iron-pine 2y ago
        really just a function of how much money, and how you define "rich". poor countries just shift that number lower. but if I had $100MM I'd rather be sorta-rich in Los Angeles than mega-rich in Bolivia
      - sandworm101 2y ago
        It really doesn't. Rich countries have base rules that all must follow. Justin Timberlake was just arrested for drunk driving. He might get off because he can afford the best lawyers, but he was arrested. That is a thing that happened. It would not have happened in somewhere like Tajikistan where a roadside bribe would nullify the entire situation. For the equivalent of a few hundred bucks they would have given him a ride home and nobody would be the wiser.