Winston Interviews Eurobrat, Expat in Europe and Italy

[Rock]

Oh and I guess your lifestyle of being a corporate warrior IT banking nerd going into the office everyday eating crappy and expensive lunches, putting on weight, having your manager heckle you on a daily basis is just so superior to my bohemian life in Berlin? Puleaazee I have been there and done that, I prefer my freedom.

It's totally fine to do that as long as you enter early and exit early (after you've put away whatever figure you think can sustain you for the rest of your life through investments).

The tragic mistake so many seem to make once they get their foot in the door of a high paying money oriented career (investment banking, law, management/IT consulting, etc.) is to get consumed with that lifestyle to the point of attaching their ego to their job/title/firm/industry. It becomes their primary identity. The only escape for them is a severe downturn which gets them permanently laid-off before it's too late. Otherwise they end up being corporate slaves even into their 40s and beyond which means they miss out on the life and freedom you are so enjoying now.

You say you've been there and done that. Does that mean you were in the high paid world where 250-500K Euros or more is your total comp? Did you mange to save up a big pile of cash to invest and generate passive incomes? The more such assets you accumulate, the less pressure you have to even bother working. Real freedom is financial independence.

[publicduende]

Oh and I guess your lifestyle of being a corporate warrior IT banking nerd going into the office everyday eating crappy and expensive lunches, putting on weight, having your manager heckle you on a daily basis is just so superior to my bohemian life in Berlin? Puleaazee I have been there and done that, I prefer my freedom.

It's totally fine to do that as long as you enter early and exit early (after you've put away whatever figure you think can sustain you for the rest of your life through investments).

The tragic mistake so many seem to make once they get their foot in the door of a high paying money oriented career (investment banking, law, management/IT consulting, etc.) is to get consumed with that lifestyle to the point of attaching their ego to their job/title/firm/industry. It becomes their primary identity. The only escape for them is a severe downturn which gets them permanently laid-off before it's too late. Otherwise they end up being corporate slaves even into their 40s and beyond which means they miss out on the life and freedom you are so enjoying now.

Well, it's not as black and white as you make it, especially here in Europe where people do tend to want a life beyond work, work, and work. Statistically, most people start enjoying life a bit more after building themselves both a platform of skills/reputation/connections, which may allow them to find work a-la-carte, at least on a freelance or "senior consulting" basis, and a few productive assets, which will provide the kind of passive income while they're away on that 3-month cruise around the world or getting tanned in Bali.

Not everybody has a chance to start investing early. And if their capital to invest is time and skills, not everybody has a chance or desire to dive into risky endeavours so early in life. Often a corporate job is all they have and can count on until they decide to call it quits or tune it down in favour of a start-up with some ex-colleagues or a higher risk venture away from their office desks. As financial author Nassim Taleb mentions often in his books ("Fooled by Randomness", for instance), realised income has to be weighted against the probability of happening as well as the probability of persisting. A dentist making $250K a year for 25 years in New York is by all means more successful than a Wall Street trader making $10/20 million in 10 years, because a dentist has - say- a 90% chance to earn at least that kind of money for 25 years while the trader only perhaps a 1% chance to reach and stay at the cusp of his profession for more than a couple of financial cycles (5 to 7 years each).

The companion concept of this is what he calls the survivor bias. Everybody likes to talk about the champions of every industry: the guys who lost 3 stones in 6 months and got washboard abs, the "rich dad" whose string of spot-on estate investments afforded him a comfortable 6-figure passive income, the start-up wizkid who sold his company to Facebook and is now setting up DJ gigs in Dubai for fun. Reality is, nobody talks about the other 70, 80, 90, 95% who doesn't make it. The people who flip houses and find themselves barely recouping expenses. The traders who keep doing data entry on Bloomberg terminals for less than $100K a year and are the first to go when layoffs come.

If you consider average life expectancy is now well into the 70s and people who know how to take care of themselves can enjoy vibrant and youthful lifestyles well into their late 50s and sometimes beyond, I wouldn't consider somebody who postpones his dream of freedom until, say, his late 40s after paying his mortgages and the kids' college fees, a "loser" or a "corporate slave". Things are harder now, as there are no more safe heaven for investments, yet the concept still holds. After all, is it a coincidence that some of the genuine "happiest abroad" members are all men in their late 40s to early 60s who have built that aforementioned kind of platform and now living off it while enjoying their beautiful young Filipina?

[publicduende]

Oh and I guess your lifestyle of being a corporate warrior IT banking nerd going into the office everyday eating crappy and expensive lunches, putting on weight, having your manager heckle you on a daily basis is just so superior to my bohemian life in Berlin? Puleaazee I have been there and done that, I prefer my freedom.

Sadly my job isn't low paid at €2.000 it's a normal job. Actually in Italy, this is a good job. Plus I get the benefits or relocating to wherever country in Europe I want to and I get to walk around naked in the day while you get to enjoy being shackled at your desk and spending 2+ hours commuting each day.

London nightlife is ok, but you can easily tire yourself out there in one year. Pound for pound the value just isn't there, there's tons more cities all over Europe that offer a tremendous value over London like cheaper drinks and entrance fees and prettier girls.

That's one more of your delusions and the spin you put for the HA audience to throw another "wow" to your amazing Berlin lifestyle. WTF.

You told me you make €1500 on a good month, and that's without any paid holidays and any payments made towards pension funds, private healthcare, etc. We both agreed the kind of job you're doing was a good foothold in Europe and was great as a temporary job, until you found something that would give you at least the perception that you're picking up from where you left off, and you're stable. If you're now glorifying it because it's part of your grand "HA in Berlin" narrative, do as you please, but the moment you slap that lie on my face, I'll call you on your BS and you'll embarrass yourself.

You know there are pros and cons with any corporate/cubicle job as there are with a job that allows you to feel the excitement of the student/semi-employed artist life, at the expense of a big step back career-wise. With the kind of economic situation that is poisoning the entire European Union, Germany included (indeed, Berlin being right at the epicentre of that crisis), I don't know how wise it is to enjoy that kind of freedom, let alone suggest others to embrace it without arming the right defensive measures first.

[eurobrat]

Oh and I guess your lifestyle of being a corporate warrior IT banking nerd going into the office everyday eating crappy and expensive lunches, putting on weight, having your manager heckle you on a daily basis is just so superior to my bohemian life in Berlin? Puleaazee I have been there and done that, I prefer my freedom.

Sadly my job isn't low paid at €2.000 it's a normal job. Actually in Italy, this is a good job. Plus I get the benefits or relocating to wherever country in Europe I want to and I get to walk around naked in the day while you get to enjoy being shackled at your desk and spending 2+ hours commuting each day.

London nightlife is ok, but you can easily tire yourself out there in one year. Pound for pound the value just isn't there, there's tons more cities all over Europe that offer a tremendous value over London like cheaper drinks and entrance fees and prettier girls.

That's one more of your delusions and the spin you put for the HA audience to throw another "wow" to your amazing Berlin lifestyle. WTF.

You told me you make €1500 on a good month, and that's without any paid holidays and any payments made towards pension funds, private healthcare, etc. We both agreed the kind of job you're doing was a good foothold in Europe and was great as a temporary job, until you found something that would give you at least the perception that you're picking up from where you left off, and you're stable. If you're now glorifying it because it's part of your grand "HA in Berlin" narrative, do as you please, but the moment you slap that lie on my face, I'll call you on your BS and you'll embarrass yourself.

You know there are pros and cons with any corporate/cubicle job as there are with a job that allows you to feel the excitement of the student/semi-employed artist life, at the expense of a big step back career-wise. With the kind of economic situation that is poisoning the entire European Union, Germany included (indeed, Berlin being right at the epicentre of that crisis), I don't know how wise it is to enjoy that kind of freedom, let alone suggest others to embrace it without arming the right defensive measures first.

No one here listen to this crazy old Italians delusional responses, he obviously lives in the past. Sei un vecchio pazzo. Che ci fai qui, dando consigli?

I am working part time at €12/hour and billed €1580 last month, PART-TIME. The least I make is €1500. And that's from working in my underwear and some days I even work from my bed because it's so comfortable. Can you say the same thing "uomo anziano". And this isn't counting my other forms of income which are €300-600 a month, €300 being passive and the other €300 from consulting for other companies.

Sure I could be making more and working a full-time gig making €40k a year with benefits and vacation, but I don't want it. I prefer my freedom and lifestyle over the bigger pay check and added stress.

Full-time jobs do offer some perks but then you have the cost of commuting, you're forced to work a schedule you may not like or one that doesn't fit your lifestyle, right now I work flex-hours and make up my own schedule. Yes I miss paid days off, but working from home outweighs those 30 days vacations you get as a European. The pensione, bringing that up is such an old school Italian "the government will save me" way of thinking. You really think as high as the debt levels are in these countries that my "pensione" will even be there 30 years from now? Especially now that we have the baby boomers retiring robbing the last of the system and burdening the state and healthcare systems.

I'm glad there's no pompous people here in Berlin like you Duende, you obviously don't have an open mind. And sorry you and your wife may have and make more money than me but you're not living a better life than me in that shitty London suburb you live in with your workaholic lifestyles with the occasional £15 pizza or £100 seafood dinner.

Oh if you could only see it my way, but you're addicted to money.

[publicduende]

No one here listen to this crazy old Italians delusional responses, he obviously lives in the past. Sei un vecchio pazzo. Che ci fai qui, dando consigli?

"Uomo anziano" (old man) is also "uomo saggio" (wise man) and the more you provoke me with your in-your-face bragging, the more I will feel like calling you on your bull. Your call, "uomo giovane e arrogante"

I am working part time at €12/hour and billed €1580 last month, PART-TIME. The least I make is €1500. And that's from working in my underwear and some days I even work from my bed because it's so comfortable. Can you say the same thing "uomo anziano". And this isn't counting my other forms of income which are €300-600 a month, €300 being passive and the other €300 from consulting for other companies.

I didn't mention your total income including other sources, just your job. Of course if you have a rented flat or do occasional work for other companies, that adds up. Still, it's your primary source of income as well as professional development we're talking about here.

And when you say you work "part-time" in your underwear, you think people will be looking at you in awe wishing they were that lucky? Yours is the age where you work your arse off to learn new skills and perfect the ones you've got, make connections and build the platform that you might then use later in your life to find it easier work opportunities and earn more, in other words to "do more with less". I could understand doing the job you do while you were settling in Europe/Italy was a godsend, but sticking to it as if it were the best thing since sliced bread, let alone glorify it...I stop following you...

Sure I could be making more and working a full-time gig making €40k a year with benefits and vacation, but I don't want it. I prefer my freedom and lifestyle over the bigger pay check and added stress.

And what exactly are you doing, with all this freedom, apart from walking around your flat naked? You're having the same beers as I am, you're meeting people like I do, you're eating out like I do. The only thing that does annoy me is the daily commute, but it's something one gets used to after a while, especially when you see your morning and evening trains full of people who share the same fate.

Full-time jobs do offer some perks but then you have the cost of commuting, you're forced to work a schedule you may not like or one that doesn't fit your lifestyle, right now I work flex-hours and make up my own schedule. Yes I miss paid days off, but working from home outweighs those 30 days vacations you get as a European. The pensione, bringing that up is such an old school Italian "the government will save me" way of thinking. You really think as high as the debt levels are in these countries that my "pensione" will even be there 30 years from now? Especially now that we have the baby boomers retiring robbing the last of the system and burdening the state and healthcare systems.

I'm glad there's no pompous people here in Berlin like you Duende, you obviously don't have an open mind. And sorry you and your wife may have and make more money than me but you're not living a better life than me in that shitty London suburb you live in with your workaholic lifestyles with the occasional £15 pizza or £100 seafood dinner.

Oh if you could only see it my way, but you're addicted to money.

I can't speak for my wife, but I see it that way, simply because I saw it that way, a few years ago. You're enjoying a job that pays your bills and gives you an illusion of freedom, but you know it's not adding a chip to your professional pedigree (in fact quite the opposite) and the trouble will start the moment you'll venture into the Berlin winter making calls and begging for a job that isn't "mini" and pays more than the canonical €400 a month. What makes you think I am a "pompous" person. I am just stating facts, and facts that are straight in the face of your cheap delusions. I am sorry, but that is reality. Heaven knows for how much longer you will be able to pose your way out of it, on an online forum none the less.

[eurobrat]

"Uomo anziano" (old man) is also "uomo saggio" (wise man) and the more you provoke me with your in-your-face bragging, the more I will feel like calling you on your bull. Your call, "uomo giovane e arrogante"

Sorry but you don't fit that category, you come off more like this:



Now seriously, who wants to listen to that guy? Let alone take advice from him.

I didn't mention your total income including other sources, just your job. Of course if you have a rented flat or do occasional work for other companies, that adds up. Still, it's your primary source of income as well as professional development we're talking about here.

Who say's I'm still not working on my professional development? You? I have learned a lot not only from this gig but it's given me the chance to really learn a lot from Europe solely by living here and how the system works and the "in's and out's"

And when you say you work "part-time" in your underwear, you think people will be looking at you in awe wishing they were that lucky? Yours is the age where you work your arse off to learn new skills and perfect the ones you've got, make connections and build the platform that you might then use later in your life to find it easier work opportunities and earn more, in other words to "do more with less". I could understand doing the job you do while you were settling in Europe/Italy was a godsend, but sticking to it as if it were the best thing since sliced bread, let alone glorify it...I stop following you...

Sorry I grew up in the US where we bust ass from 18-25, so I have already been through all of that. If you're talking about how the Italians do things then yes at 28 you're still sitting there reading from a book thinking you're progressing your skill set and knowledge

Yea, I am lucky and there are people out there that wish they could shift around to different countries and live a good lifestyle while working in their underwear. I'm doing something that wasn't even possible 15 years ago. I'm not glorifying it, but compared to other jobs here in Europe it isn't bad at all.

And what exactly are you doing, with all this freedom, apart from walking around your flat naked? You're having the same beers as I am, you're meeting people like I do, you're eating out like I do. The only thing that does annoy me is the daily commute, but it's something one gets used to after a while, especially when you see your morning and evening trains full of people who share the same fate.

I have my hobbies and I'm getting out more now that I'm not in Italy being outcasted for not being in a social circle when no one would invite me to one in the first place. Meeting people is much easier in Berlin than it is anywhere in Italy.

I can't speak for my wife, but I see it that way, simply because I saw it that way, a few years ago. You're enjoying a job that pays your bills and gives you an illusion of freedom, but you know it's not adding a chip to your professional pedigree (in fact quite the opposite) and the trouble will start the moment you'll venture into the Berlin winter making calls and begging for a job that isn't "mini" and pays more than the canonical €400 a month. What makes you think I am a "pompous" person. I am just stating facts, and facts that are straight in the face of your cheap delusions. I am sorry, but that is reality. Heaven knows for how much longer you will be able to pose your way out of it, on an online forum none the less.

Still on this Germans only make €400 a month deal huh? My rent alone is €490 a month so if everyone on this block is paying €400-500 a month and only making €400 then where does the rest of the money come from? See more delusional crap you're spewing on this forum. These are not facts, just more biased opinions from you. Most people here in Berlin are making €1200-2500 a month, unlike the insane income disparity you find in places like London or Italy things here are fair.

There's plenty of jobs here in Berlin similar to what I do now paying €1500-€2200 a month (some even with flex schedule), only I would have to go sit in a cubicle. So to me it's cubicle with 30 paid days off a year with some free shitty coffee or walking around naked, I choose the latter. And by no means does a cubicle job = more job security, in the globalised and outsourcing days that thing known as job security from a company is long gone no matter what your work situation is.

[publicduende]

"Uomo anziano" (old man) is also "uomo saggio" (wise man) and the more you provoke me with your in-your-face bragging, the more I will feel like calling you on your bull. Your call, "uomo giovane e arrogante"

Sorry but you don't fit that category, you come off more like this:

[img...]

Why am I even spending time talking to you? And why do you feel the need to use me as a landmark for how your life is not, or shouldn't be? You're not happy in Berlin, and you won't be. If you were, you would be at peace with yourself and your demons first, and with people like me immediately afterwards.

Now seriously, who wants to listen to that guy? Let alone take advice from him.

I am done giving advice, let alone expecting someone to appreciate it. Let birds be birds and fly away, and let frogs boil slowly in their own soup.

Who say's I'm still not working on my professional development? You? I have learned a lot not only from this gig but it's given me the chance to really learn a lot from Europe solely by living here and how the system works and the "in's and out's"

Unfortunately, "I spent a year feeling shit and cursing to the air in Como" isn't exactly something that would shine on your CV, or that potential employers will understand. Good for your personal development that you finally learned what you want (although I believe it's just more posing and mask wearing to make up for the time lost and look good online). Professional development is something else.

Sorry I grew up in the US where we bust a** from 18-25, so I have already been through all of that. If you're talking about how the Italians do things then yes at 28 you're still sitting there reading from a book thinking you're progressing your skill set and knowledge

Yea, I am lucky and there are people out there that wish they could shift around to different countries and live a good lifestyle while working in their underwear. I'm doing something that wasn't even possible 15 years ago. I'm not glorifying it, but compared to other jobs here in Europe it isn't bad at all.

Another pathetic profession of entitlement and arrogance on your side. So you're 27 and already know everything, because you "busted your a** 18-25". If that's the case, what's left of your professionalism? Yes I often sit and go through a book because keeping skills up to date is the most important thing in my profession. What's the most important thing in yours? I'd better stop here.

I have my hobbies and I'm getting out more now that I'm not in Italy being outcasted for not being in a social circle when no one would invite me to one in the first place. Meeting people is much easier in Berlin than it is anywhere in Italy.

I doubt it but yes, if that's the case, good for you. You never were outcast, you never wanted to mingle in the first place. Your desire to stay lonely and frustrated so your harsh prophecy on Italy and Italian could be fulfilled trumped everything else.

Still on this Germans only make €400 a month deal huh? My rent alone is €490 a month so if everyone on this block is paying €400-500 a month and only making €400 then where does the rest of the money come from? See more delusional crap you're spewing on this forum. These are not facts, just more biased opinions from you. Most people here in Berlin are making €1200-2500 a month, unlike the insane income disparity you find in places like London or Italy things here are fair.

There's plenty of jobs here in Berlin similar to what I do now paying €1500-€2200 a month (some even with flex schedule), only I would have to go sit in a cubicle. So to me it's cubicle with 30 paid days off a year with some free shitty coffee or walking around naked, I choose the latter. And by no means does a cubicle job = more job security, in the globalised and outsourcing days that thing known as job security from a company is long gone no matter what your work situation is.

People have to get by with two or more of those jobs, and the rest is good old welfare. If I know that, you should it too. If you want to walk naked, why don't you just get a job as an underwear model?

[eurobrat]

Why am I even spending time talking to you? And why do you feel the need to use me as a landmark for how your life is not, or shouldn't be? You're not happy in Berlin, and you won't be. If you were, you would be at peace with yourself and your demons first, and with people like me immediately afterwards.

More lies, I'm happier and more free now than I ever was in London or Italy. Berlin is amazing with a lot more to offer me then all the cities in Italy combined. I actually look forward to every day where as I was wilting away in Lombardy.

I am done giving advice, let alone expecting someone to appreciate it. Let birds be birds and fly away, and let frogs boil slowly in their own soup.

Wishing more ill on me I see...

Unfortunately, "I spent a year feeling shit and cursing to the air in Como" isn't exactly something that would shine on your CV, or that potential employers will understand. Good for your personal development that you finally learned what you want (although I believe it's just more posing and mask wearing to make up for the time lost and look good online). Professional development is something else.

It was more personal development but theres some things I could squeeze into my professional development. I am getting more technical training online thats helping my professional development from this gig, like how to sell traffic which is big right now and something I had no experience in.

Another pathetic profession of entitlement and arrogance on your side. So you're 27 and already know everything, because you "busted your a** 18-25". If that's the case, what's left of your professionalism? Yes I often sit and go through a book because keeping skills up to date is the most important thing in my profession. What's the most important thing in yours? I'd better stop here.

I'm 28 a$$ hat. I'm keeping my skills and looking at new techniques and opportunities all the time. Everyone who's working, especially these days has to unless you're doing something like scrubbing toilets or bar tending we're all in the same boat.

I doubt it but yes, if that's the case, good for you. You never were outcast, you never wanted to mingle in the first place. Your desire to stay lonely and frustrated so your harsh prophecy on Italy and Italian could be fulfilled trumped everything else.

I was outcasted, mocked, bullied, and ripped off. But good things there's lots of open and understanding Italians I have met (unlike you) who agree with me because it's happened to them too.

People have to get by with two or more of those jobs, and the rest is good old welfare. If I know that, you should it too. If you want to walk naked, why don't you just get a job as an underwear model?

Oh here we go again, you're telling the lie until it becomes your reality. You have something in common with a famous past european leader.



This is not true at all. There are lots of companies here and jobs in manufacturing, technology, bio-technology, media and music.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Berlin

Some notable companies here:

Daimler
Deutsche Bahn
Axel Springer AG
Bombardier Transportation
Universal Music Germany
Vattenfall Europe
Bayer Health Care
BMW
MTV Europe
VIVA
NPR

We've been through some tough times but this city has shinned before and now it's time to shine again.

"Berlin ist mehr ein Weltteil als eine Stadt" ("Berlin is rather a part of the world than a city")
(Jean Paul, 1800)

"Berlin is the newest city I have come across. Even Chicago would appear old and gray in comparison."
(Mark Twain, US Writer, Chicago Daily Tribune, 1892)[/url]

[Winston]

Coming from someone who's been living abroad since 2010 and has met many foreign people. I'd say that I'm not surprised by the interview.
I've been to travel resorts where I saw that people would stick to their group or other compatriots, especially women of course, The same applies to university campus where exchange students would only stick to their compatriots. I'd hardly ever see an exchange student hanging out with locals.
My personal experience with french people both men and women was OK, but German women were the worse people I ever met, they were cold as ice, hostile, apathetic just terrible overall in contrast German men were nice, we could talk about anything without me worrying about stepping on eggshells. My point is: foreign women my not be exactly as this site portrays them, I think they changed thanks to Americanization.

Which countries did you go to? Some guys do well in Western Europe though. Not all guys are the same. Western Europe is not America though. The cultures there are not as insane or fake. The women there are nowhere near as fake as in America. But they are liberated and independent though, not submissive.

I have never made any false claims on Happier Abroad. To find the friendliest women, you gotta go to:

- Eastern Europe
- Russia, Ukraine, FSU Republics
- SE Asia, Philippines, Thailand
- China
- Latin America

Go there and you won't complain anymore. And you won't say that the claims on this site aren't true. You will say the opposite. Guaranteed.

[The]

I dont understand why Publicduende has to comment on every thread that eurobrat is on , if hes so annoyed with him? I just dont understand it...I thought you were done speaking to eurobrat after the last thread.....I swear some people are f***ing idiots...And Im not on eurobrats side either...I don't hang out with aspergers victims but come on!!!

[Rock]

I dont understand why Publicduende has to comment on every thread that eurobrat is on , if hes so annoyed with him? I just dont understand it...I thought you were done speaking to eurobrat after the last thread.....I swear some people are f***ing idiots...And Im not on eurobrats side either...I don't hang out with aspergers victims but come on!!!

Perhaps deep inside Duende resents EB and is quite jealous of him. So he takes it out by bashing him with all the negativity.

Duende offered personal guidance to EB when the latter was in Italy. But that country just did not work out for him. EB had a bad attitude and instead of appreciating Duende's time and effort invested, just complained and even even blamed him. Doesn't exactly encourage others to help him in the future.

Still, Italy was a fantastic learning experience for EB. He now has a much better understanding of what he likes and dislikes in W. Europe and what city(ies) will provide the lifestyle he desires. And he shared it all with the forum. Let's give credit where credit is due. But Eurobrat, never again pull a stupid and selfish stunt like deleting all of your posts! You lost a lot of credibility when you did that last year after all the help you received here.

Now EB is living the HA lifestyle - dual EU/USA citizen, lots of freedom, ability to earn enough money wherever he goes, living in a place he loves, a great deal of his adventures still ahead of him, and limitless dating possibilities. Meanwhile, Duende is stuck in a soul crushing Anglo environment as a corporate slave with a similar aged wife who is likely suffering the same fate (she's a career woman right, any kids)?

Of course money is very important as a means to the HA lifestyle. If and when you get the opportunity to make some big dosh, you should compromise by sacrificing a few years to build up an asset base. But you need to have the balls to walk when you've saved enough. Otherwise, you become your money worshiping job and loose yourself. Of course if your job truly makes you happy, then you've found your way. But I suspect a very high percentage of guys who's time is owned by their firms or clients are somehow empty inside.

EB has made choices which jibes well with a lot of what Winston preaches here. And he's sharing here generously. He's doing what I wish Winston would do a lot more of - traveling, living outside of Anglo world, and telling us all about it. He suffered a lot of what Winston would call Murphy's Law in Italy too. Yet that doesn't stop him.

[publicduende]

I dont understand why Publicduende has to comment on every thread that eurobrat is on , if hes so annoyed with him? I just dont understand it...I thought you were done speaking to eurobrat after the last thread.....I swear some people are f***ing idiots...And Im not on eurobrats side either...I don't hang out with aspergers victims but come on!!!

That's because he never misses a chance to provoke me, too. And knowing what I know about him a little more than you guys, I know that he is 1) no happier in Berlin and 2) a friggin hypocrite saying what he says.

[publicduende]

I dont understand why Publicduende has to comment on every thread that eurobrat is on , if hes so annoyed with him? I just dont understand it...I thought you were done speaking to eurobrat after the last thread.....I swear some people are f***ing idiots...And Im not on eurobrats side either...I don't hang out with aspergers victims but come on!!!

Perhaps deep inside Duende resents EB and is quite jealous of him. So he takes it out by bashing him with all the negativity.

Duende offered personal guidance to EB when the latter was in Italy. But that country just did not work out for him. EB had a bad attitude and instead of appreciating Duende's time and effort invested, just complained and even even blamed him. Doesn't exactly encourage others to help him in the future.

Still, Italy was a fantastic learning experience for EB. He now has a much better understanding of what he likes and dislikes in W. Europe and what city(ies) will provide the lifestyle he desires. And he shared it all with the forum. Let's give credit where credit is due. But Eurobrat, never again pull a stupid and selfish stunt like deleting all of your posts! You lost a lot of credibility when you did that last year after all the help you received here.

Now EB is living the HA lifestyle - dual EU/USA citizen, lots of freedom, ability to earn enough money wherever he goes, living in a place he loves, a great deal of his adventures still ahead of him, and limitless dating possibilities. Meanwhile, Duende is stuck in a soul crushing Anglo environment as a corporate slave with a similar aged wife who is likely suffering the same fate (she's a career woman right, any kids)?

Of course money is very important as a means to the HA lifestyle. If and when you get the opportunity to make some big dosh, you should compromise by sacrificing a few years to build up an asset base. But you need to have the balls to walk when you've saved enough. Otherwise, you become your money worshiping job and loose yourself. Of course if your job truly makes you happy, then you've found your way. But I suspect a very high percentage of guys who's time is owned by their firms or clients are somehow empty inside.

EB has made choices which jibes well with a lot of what Winston preaches here. And he's sharing here generously. He's doing what I wish Winston would do a lot more of - traveling, living outside of Anglo world, and telling us all about it. He suffered a lot of what Winston would call Murphy's Law in Italy too. Yet that doesn't stop him.

Thanks for the unbiased commentary on our recent (and ongoing, it seems) feud. I am definitely not jealous of him and his lifestyle. I just find much of his bragging about Germany and Berlin quite out of tune with reality and hypocritical when it quickly turns into a personal attack at the first chance. He clearly sees me as an easy, direct target to take revenge against Italy and Italians, culpable of giving him a bad experience.

Sad to see you too bought his narrative to a tee. I am not a corporate slave because I am a freelancer and have been it for 8 years. And yes, being a married adult also means sacrificing some of one's personal freedom to settle in a "crushing Anglo environment" and plan for a safer future (especially in time like these) and a family. If you really need to know, by the end of next year we will be owning outright a fully remodelled 4 bedroom house in a central area of Cambridge, probably worth more than £600,000, living in it rent (and debt free) and ready to use all of our cashflows on new investments, probably in Colombia. Stability is exactly what one needs to plan the next jump and actually make it feel a lot less radical and risky than it would have been otherwise. I also had a very major life problem in the past 3 years which threw so much uncertainty and anxiety in my life, that I now naturally crave stability more than before.

I know HA is full of the freedom-loving types and freedom of movement and dating is one of the pillars of the HA manifesto, and I respect that. But, please respect people who can't (or won't) make such radical choices, or they will make them at specific moments in their lives, not continously. The fact I am in full-time employment in blue-collar companies does not mean my wife and I don't enjoy life and feel our souls crushed to death. The fact EB is in Berlin with a semi-casual job who gives him the freedom to walk around in his underpants doesn't necessarily means he's safe and absolutely happy about it. If he really was in peace with it, he would refrain bragging about his Berlin paradise and how much he despises Italy and Italians (including me) and even things he considered cool until a few months ago.

To each his own.

[OutWest]

I dont understand why Publicduende has to comment on every thread that eurobrat is on , if hes so annoyed with him? I just dont understand it...I thought you were done speaking to eurobrat after the last thread.....I swear some people are f***ing idiots...And Im not on eurobrats side either...I don't hang out with aspergers victims but come on!!!

Perhaps deep inside Duende resents EB and is quite jealous of him. So he takes it out by bashing him with all the negativity.

Duende offered personal guidance to EB when the latter was in Italy. But that country just did not work out for him. EB had a bad attitude and instead of appreciating Duende's time and effort invested, just complained and even even blamed him. Doesn't exactly encourage others to help him in the future.

Still, Italy was a fantastic learning experience for EB. He now has a much better understanding of what he likes and dislikes in W. Europe and what city(ies) will provide the lifestyle he desires. And he shared it all with the forum. Let's give credit where credit is due. But Eurobrat, never again pull a stupid and selfish stunt like deleting all of your posts! You lost a lot of credibility when you did that last year after all the help you received here.

Now EB is living the HA lifestyle - dual EU/USA citizen, lots of freedom, ability to earn enough money wherever he goes, living in a place he loves, a great deal of his adventures still ahead of him, and limitless dating possibilities. Meanwhile, Duende is stuck in a soul crushing Anglo environment as a corporate slave with a similar aged wife who is likely suffering the same fate (she's a career woman right, any kids)?

Of course money is very important as a means to the HA lifestyle. If and when you get the opportunity to make some big dosh, you should compromise by sacrificing a few years to build up an asset base. But you need to have the balls to walk when you've saved enough. Otherwise, you become your money worshiping job and loose yourself. Of course if your job truly makes you happy, then you've found your way. But I suspect a very high percentage of guys who's time is owned by their firms or clients are somehow empty inside.

EB has made choices which jibes well with a lot of what Winston preaches here. And he's sharing here generously. He's doing what I wish Winston would do a lot more of - traveling, living outside of Anglo world, and telling us all about it. He suffered a lot of what Winston would call Murphy's Law in Italy too. Yet that doesn't stop him.

Thanks for the unbiased commentary on our recent (and ongoing, it seems) feud. I am definitely not jealous of him and his lifestyle. I just find much of his bragging about Germany and Berlin quite out of tune with reality and hypocritical when it quickly turns into a personal attack at the first chance. He clearly sees me as an easy, direct target to take revenge against Italy and Italians, culpable of giving him a bad experience.

Sad to see you too bought his narrative to a tee. I am not a corporate slave because I am a freelancer and have been it for 8 years. And yes, being a married adult also means sacrificing some of one's personal freedom to settle in a "crushing Anglo environment" and plan for a safer future (especially in time like these) and a family. If you really need to know, by the end of next year we will be owning outright a fully remodelled 4 bedroom house in a central area of Cambridge, probably worth more than £600,000, living in it rent (and debt free) and ready to use all of our cashflows on new investments, probably in Colombia. Stability is exactly what one needs to plan the next jump and actually make it feel a lot less radical and risky than it would have been otherwise. I also had a very major life problem in the past 3 years which threw so much uncertainty and anxiety in my life, that I now naturally crave stability more than before.

I know HA is full of the freedom-loving types and freedom of movement and dating is one of the pillars of the HA manifesto, and I respect that. But, please respect people who can't (or won't) make such radical choices, or they will make them at specific moments in their lives, not continously. The fact I am in full-time employment in blue-collar companies does not mean my wife and I don't enjoy life and feel our souls crushed to death. The fact EB is in Berlin with a semi-casual job who gives him the freedom to walk around in his underpants doesn't necessarily means he's safe and absolutely happy about it. If he really was in peace with it, he would refrain bragging about his Berlin paradise and how much he despises Italy and Italians (including me) and even things he considered cool until a few months ago.

To each his own.

In light of this LONG and continuing exchange (I can only imagine...EB slaps your face with his gloves, insults your mother and says disdainfully, "Pistols or sabres? ") I think it possible that BOTH of you have missed your calling. Both of you should have been some kind of materials engineers, as you can get incredible use out of what is originally little material.

[Rock]

I dont understand why Publicduende has to comment on every thread that eurobrat is on , if hes so annoyed with him? I just dont understand it...I thought you were done speaking to eurobrat after the last thread.....I swear some people are f***ing idiots...And Im not on eurobrats side either...I don't hang out with aspergers victims but come on!!!

Perhaps deep inside Duende resents EB and is quite jealous of him. So he takes it out by bashing him with all the negativity.

Duende offered personal guidance to EB when the latter was in Italy. But that country just did not work out for him. EB had a bad attitude and instead of appreciating Duende's time and effort invested, just complained and even even blamed him. Doesn't exactly encourage others to help him in the future.

Still, Italy was a fantastic learning experience for EB. He now has a much better understanding of what he likes and dislikes in W. Europe and what city(ies) will provide the lifestyle he desires. And he shared it all with the forum. Let's give credit where credit is due. But Eurobrat, never again pull a stupid and selfish stunt like deleting all of your posts! You lost a lot of credibility when you did that last year after all the help you received here.

Now EB is living the HA lifestyle - dual EU/USA citizen, lots of freedom, ability to earn enough money wherever he goes, living in a place he loves, a great deal of his adventures still ahead of him, and limitless dating possibilities. Meanwhile, Duende is stuck in a soul crushing Anglo environment as a corporate slave with a similar aged wife who is likely suffering the same fate (she's a career woman right, any kids)?

Of course money is very important as a means to the HA lifestyle. If and when you get the opportunity to make some big dosh, you should compromise by sacrificing a few years to build up an asset base. But you need to have the balls to walk when you've saved enough. Otherwise, you become your money worshiping job and loose yourself. Of course if your job truly makes you happy, then you've found your way. But I suspect a very high percentage of guys who's time is owned by their firms or clients are somehow empty inside.

EB has made choices which jibes well with a lot of what Winston preaches here. And he's sharing here generously. He's doing what I wish Winston would do a lot more of - traveling, living outside of Anglo world, and telling us all about it. He suffered a lot of what Winston would call Murphy's Law in Italy too. Yet that doesn't stop him.

Thanks for the unbiased commentary on our recent (and ongoing, it seems) feud. I am definitely not jealous of him and his lifestyle. I just find much of his bragging about Germany and Berlin quite out of tune with reality and hypocritical when it quickly turns into a personal attack at the first chance. He clearly sees me as an easy, direct target to take revenge against Italy and Italians, culpable of giving him a bad experience.

Sad to see you too bought his narrative to a tee. I am not a corporate slave because I am a freelancer and have been it for 8 years. And yes, being a married adult also means sacrificing some of one's personal freedom to settle in a "crushing Anglo environment" and plan for a safer future (especially in time like these) and a family. If you really need to know, by the end of next year we will be owning outright a fully remodelled 4 bedroom house in a central area of Cambridge, probably worth more than £600,000, living in it rent (and debt free) and ready to use all of our cashflows on new investments, probably in Colombia. Stability is exactly what one needs to plan the next jump and actually make it feel a lot less radical and risky than it would have been otherwise. I also had a very major life problem in the past 3 years which threw so much uncertainty and anxiety in my life, that I now naturally crave stability more than before.

I know HA is full of the freedom-loving types and freedom of movement and dating is one of the pillars of the HA manifesto, and I respect that. But, please respect people who can't (or won't) make such radical choices, or they will make them at specific moments in their lives, not continously. The fact I am in full-time employment in blue-collar companies does not mean my wife and I don't enjoy life and feel our souls crushed to death. The fact EB is in Berlin with a semi-casual job who gives him the freedom to walk around in his underpants doesn't necessarily means he's safe and absolutely happy about it. If he really was in peace with it, he would refrain bragging about his Berlin paradise and how much he despises Italy and Italians (including me) and even things he considered cool until a few months ago.

To each his own.

Maybe he sees you as a personification of all he hates about Italy. If that's his reason for lashing out at you, very lame and immature. I wouldn't put it past him. He's pretty abrasive sometimes.

But he doesn't come off as the braggart type. He never makes lofty claims of dating lots of hot women. Nor does he frequently talk of making big money or being some kind of expert like several others on this forum do such as Paloaltoguy, Newlifeinthefillipines, and you Duende. He seems straightforward, tell it like it is style according to his personal impressions and experiences on the podcast and in most of his posts. In this regard, he's similar to Winston, not some OiltraderAccademy big talk man.

At the very minimum, he's got a great opportunity. He's all set. Decent enough looking, resident in an exciting foreign city, EU citizenship, sufficient income sources, and intelligent. Now he just has to get his head out of his ass and make some interesting things happen.

EB, prove Duende wrong. Live the life, take lots of vids and photos, and share them here along with your stories. Show us what a great place Berlin really is.