60% of American men will never be happy living overseas

[Jester]

.....If you are a selfish, stuck in your ways type of guy chances are you'll never be comfortable abroad. I'd even venture to say 60% of American men will never be happy living overseas.

Sure women are a dime a dozen overseas but once you land one, then what? Dating foreign women and living abroad are two very different and distinct topics.

What kind of man thrives overseas? (I mean living there permanently.)

What are the characteristics of men who permanently adjust to living in SEA, Japan, FSU, South America etc.?

Sure it helps to have independent money, learn the culture, learn the language. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm curious about personalities, temperament, upbringing, etc. What are the traits of a man who will crash and burn overseas? What are the traits of a man who will take to it like a fish to water?

And what is different about the men who will succeed in FSU, Asia, Latin America?

We know the women are there, waiting for us to bust a move. But life is more than women. Whos hould go? Who shouldn't? Who should go to SEA, who to LA, who to Eastern Europe?

[sushiman]

Interesting topic.

In my experience there is a very definite type of guy who just can't adapt. Hard to put it into words. After years over here in Asia they can't speak a word, are disgusted by the food and eat McDonalds every day, complain on internet forums how the locals are dumb savages because they do not think like Americans, etc. They tend to have very strong habits and can't adjust to doing things differently, thinking differently, or being okay with others doing things differently.

The English teachers in Korea are a great example of this, they come to get drunk cause they are 20s and have nothing else to do, NOT because they have a passion for adventuring in other cultures. They quickly find they can't handle it and go home, or stay and bitch for years.

My friends over here are all people with a certain "international" spirt; lived in brazil, japan, been everywhere, don't identify with any one culture, high education. They can make it anywhere. But not sure what makes some people like that.

Anyhow it's a big deal, because it's not all hot chicks and vacation, adapting to the local ways can be challenging.

[zboy1]

Interesting topic.

In my experience there is a very definite type of guy who just can't adapt. Hard to put it into words. After years over here in Asia they can't speak a word, are disgusted by the food and eat McDonalds every day, complain on internet forums how the locals are dumb savages because they do not think like Americans, etc. They tend to have very strong habits and can't adjust to doing things differently, thinking differently, or being okay with others doing things differently.

The English teachers in Korea are a great example of this, they come to get drunk cause they are 20s and have nothing else to do, NOT because they have a passion for adventuring in other cultures. They quickly find they can't handle it and go home, or stay and bitch for years.

My friends over here are all people with a certain "international" spirt; lived in brazil, japan, been everywhere, don't identify with any one culture, high education. They can make it anywhere. But not sure what makes some people like that.

Anyhow it's a big deal, because it's not all hot chicks and vacation, adapting to the local ways can be challenging.

I totally agree Sushiman. The people who can't handle being overseas are usually the one's who are totally Americanized and set in their ways and can't handle the cultural differences as a result. Usually it's a whiny, White Westerner that isn't used to being a minority in a country (something minorities deal with everyday in a Western country) and instead of being on the 'top' of society, they find themselves in an usual position. Whites usually can't handle that very well, tbh. I find that minorities have an easier go at it because they're used to being 'second-class citizens' if you will.

[publicduende]

Interesting topic.

In my experience there is a very definite type of guy who just can't adapt. Hard to put it into words. After years over here in Asia they can't speak a word, are disgusted by the food and eat McDonalds every day, complain on internet forums how the locals are dumb savages because they do not think like Americans, etc. They tend to have very strong habits and can't adjust to doing things differently, thinking differently, or being okay with others doing things differently.

The English teachers in Korea are a great example of this, they come to get drunk cause they are 20s and have nothing else to do, NOT because they have a passion for adventuring in other cultures. They quickly find they can't handle it and go home, or stay and bitch for years.

My friends over here are all people with a certain "international" spirt; lived in brazil, japan, been everywhere, don't identify with any one culture, high education. They can make it anywhere. But not sure what makes some people like that.

Anyhow it's a big deal, because it's not all hot chicks and vacation, adapting to the local ways can be challenging.

I had a first hand experience of these kinds of expats when I spent a few weeks in Osaka, visiting my ex-girlfriend. She was living with a Canadian young couple, both English teachers at the (now defunct) Nova language school. I hooked up with them and met a sizable community of young Anglophone expats, mostly young graduates from the UK, Oz and Canada. With a few notable exceptions, they seemed contented to speak English to a few Japanese students a few hours per day (or night!), and spend their disposable income drinking away in microbar and having sex with the occasional Japanese girl who would approach them. I had the stark impression these people were only having fun among themselves, sticking to "gaijin bars" and never really taking an effort to learn Japanese language, or the Japanese ways, or even sightsee the rich heritage they had at walking distance, or a few trains stops away.

Most of them would leave after 6 months or a year, with little or no savings and, most sadly, no "cultural footprints" in their minds. I can imagine lots of expats may live this kind of life elsewhere in Asia, and miss the golden chance to explore the local culture, open their minds to a different way of living and being. I could excuse the typical mature expat who is living abroad for work, and is often too stressed about the long working hours to explore away, yet what's the point for a young, uncommitted and free men or woman to live abroad and not take a chance?

[pete98146]

.....If you are a selfish, stuck in your ways type of guy chances are you'll never be comfortable abroad. I'd even venture to say 60% of American men will never be happy living overseas.

Sure women are a dime a dozen overseas but once you land one, then what? Dating foreign women and living abroad are two very different and distinct topics.

What kind of man thrives overseas? (I mean living there permanently.)

What are the characteristics of men who permanently adjust to living in SEA, Japan, FSU, South America etc.?

Sure it helps to have independent money, learn the culture, learn the language. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm curious about personalities, temperament, upbringing, etc. What are the traits of a man who will crash and burn overseas? What are the traits of a man who will take to it like a fish to water?

And what is different about the men who will succeed in FSU, Asia, Latin America?

We know the women are there, waiting for us to bust a move. But life is more than women. Whos hould go? Who shouldn't? Who should go to SEA, who to LA, who to Eastern Europe?

The guys that take to living abroad are ones that actually take interest in the people, culture and language. A perfect example is a guy like Ladislav! He's an absolute sponge who tries to soak up as much about his new country as possible. Guys like him KNOW there are obstacles and frustrations but they soon learn to jump over the hurdles. They don't bitch or moan instead they adapt.

Remember the first time I went to Thailand. I was getting a haircut and and the owner (absolute knockout) of the salon had her nephew visiting her. He was around 8 years old and was going to join a soccer league. His shoes were falling apart tho. After my haircut I went over and spent $10 to buy the kid a new pair of shoes from a sidewalk vendor. The little kids eyes we as big as saucers and I had a friend for life...lol. Everytime I walked by the salon I stuck my head in to say hello and the owner would be beaming with a pretty smile. No longer was I Joe Farang but I was Peter the good guy.

So I'm convinced it's all about attitude. You can choose to get out, meet people and get involved in their community or you can sit in your apartment and be a self absorbed grinch. Guess which guy is going to have the most fun overseas??

[DevilsAdvocate]

.....If you are a selfish, stuck in your ways type of guy chances are you'll never be comfortable abroad. I'd even venture to say 60% of American men will never be happy living overseas.

Sure women are a dime a dozen overseas but once you land one, then what? Dating foreign women and living abroad are two very different and distinct topics.

What kind of man thrives overseas? (I mean living there permanently.)

What are the characteristics of men who permanently adjust to living in SEA, Japan, FSU, South America etc.?

Sure it helps to have independent money, learn the culture, learn the language. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm curious about personalities, temperament, upbringing, etc. What are the traits of a man who will crash and burn overseas? What are the traits of a man who will take to it like a fish to water?

And what is different about the men who will succeed in FSU, Asia, Latin America?

We know the women are there, waiting for us to bust a move. But life is more than women. Whos hould go? Who shouldn't? Who should go to SEA, who to LA, who to Eastern Europe?

The guys that take to living abroad are ones that actually take interest in the people, culture and language. A perfect example is a guy like Ladislav! He's an absolute sponge who tries to soak up as much about his new country as possible. Guys like him KNOW there are obstacles and frustrations but they soon learn to jump over the hurdles. They don't bitch or moan instead they adapt.

Remember the first time I went to Thailand. I was getting a haircut and and the owner (absolute knockout) of the salon had her nephew visiting her. He was around 8 years old and was going to join a soccer league. His shoes were falling apart tho. After my haircut I went over and spent $10 to buy the kid a new pair of shoes from a sidewalk vendor. The little kids eyes we as big as saucers and I had a friend for life...lol. Everytime I walked by the salon I stuck my head in to say hello and the owner would be beaming with a pretty smile. No longer was I Joe Farang but I was Peter the good guy.

So I'm convinced it's all about attitude. You can choose to get out, meet people and get involved in their community or you can sit in your apartment and be a self absorbed grinch. Guess which guy is going to have the most fun overseas??

Well here is what I'd like to know. If I go to Thailand to live am I going to have the problems I have in the USA?

You see, obviously I'm different from all of you. I have to fight all the time in the USA, it's a never ending battle for me. People in the USA do not like me, they are jealous of me and hate my guts, and as such they f**k with me all the time. So I either have to just ignore them or bust their teeth down their throats. I have always opted to bust their teeth down their throats.

What I would like to know is if I'm going to get f***ed with constantly like I am in the USA? Are the Thai guys going to hate my f***ing guts and want to f**k with me?

Because I can just tell you now that if that were to happen my life will come to an end in Thailand, but I will go ballistic and kill every mother f***er that I can take out on my own.

I have had enough of this f***ing bullshit for one lifetime.....

The USA is the biggest joke country to ever exist, it's the most unfriendly fake country and it's people are all retards and assholes and freaks beyond description.

Like these guys from Oklahoma, I mean seriously, these people are fat, they are stupid beyond belief, they are punks and freaks and assholes beyond belief, I hate their guts, and they being American and me being American are two different things. They are freaks of the world, they are not human beings, they hate hate hate, they love war, they love killing, they are ignorant and stupid and fat and dumb and ugly and mind boggling f***ing retard mother fuckers.

Obviously the government has been f***ing with these people, and dumbing them down, and making them inbreed, and putting something into the water or whatever, but these people are horrible rotten human beings.

I cannot live around them any longer or I'm going to go postal and take people out.....

It's really that simple....

So the question is, am I going to get f***ed with in Thailand?

Because seriously, you guys do not understand, and I'm sorry about that, but if I were to go to Thailand, and some cops tried to extort me, what do you think I would do? Sissy out? Pay their extortion? ROTFLOL.....

I would easily take their guns away from them and kill each of them very very easily, no problem whatsoever.....

I'm afraid this world is not suitable for me to live within....

Signed,

Devils Advocate

[pete98146]

.....If you are a selfish, stuck in your ways type of guy chances are you'll never be comfortable abroad. I'd even venture to say 60% of American men will never be happy living overseas.

Sure women are a dime a dozen overseas but once you land one, then what? Dating foreign women and living abroad are two very different and distinct topics.

What kind of man thrives overseas? (I mean living there permanently.)

What are the characteristics of men who permanently adjust to living in SEA, Japan, FSU, South America etc.?

Sure it helps to have independent money, learn the culture, learn the language. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm curious about personalities, temperament, upbringing, etc. What are the traits of a man who will crash and burn overseas? What are the traits of a man who will take to it like a fish to water?

And what is different about the men who will succeed in FSU, Asia, Latin America?

We know the women are there, waiting for us to bust a move. But life is more than women. Whos hould go? Who shouldn't? Who should go to SEA, who to LA, who to Eastern Europe?

The guys that take to living abroad are ones that actually take interest in the people, culture and language. A perfect example is a guy like Ladislav! He's an absolute sponge who tries to soak up as much about his new country as possible. Guys like him KNOW there are obstacles and frustrations but they soon learn to jump over the hurdles. They don't bitch or moan instead they adapt.

Remember the first time I went to Thailand. I was getting a haircut and and the owner (absolute knockout) of the salon had her nephew visiting her. He was around 8 years old and was going to join a soccer league. His shoes were falling apart tho. After my haircut I went over and spent $10 to buy the kid a new pair of shoes from a sidewalk vendor. The little kids eyes we as big as saucers and I had a friend for life...lol. Everytime I walked by the salon I stuck my head in to say hello and the owner would be beaming with a pretty smile. No longer was I Joe Farang but I was Peter the good guy.

So I'm convinced it's all about attitude. You can choose to get out, meet people and get involved in their community or you can sit in your apartment and be a self absorbed grinch. Guess which guy is going to have the most fun overseas??

Well here is what I'd like to know. If I go to Thailand to live am I going to have the problems I have in the USA?

You see, obviously I'm different from all of you. I have to fight all the time in the USA, it's a never ending battle for me. People in the USA do not like me, they are jealous of me and hate my guts, and as such they f**k with me all the time. So I either have to just ignore them or bust their teeth down their throats. I have always opted to bust their teeth down their throats.

What I would like to know is if I'm going to get f***ed with constantly like I am in the USA? Are the Thai guys going to hate my f***ing guts and want to f**k with me?

Because I can just tell you now that if that were to happen my life will come to an end in Thailand, but I will go ballistic and kill every mother f***er that I can take out on my own.

I have had enough of this f***ing bullshit for one lifetime.....

The USA is the biggest joke country to ever exist, it's the most unfriendly fake country and it's people are all retards and assholes and freaks beyond description.

Like these guys from Oklahoma, I mean seriously, these people are fat, they are stupid beyond belief, they are punks and freaks and assholes beyond belief, I hate their guts, and they being American and me being American are two different things. They are freaks of the world, they are not human beings, they hate hate hate, they love war, they love killing, they are ignorant and stupid and fat and dumb and ugly and mind boggling f***ing retard mother fuckers.

Obviously the government has been f***ing with these people, and dumbing them down, and making them inbreed, and putting something into the water or whatever, but these people are horrible rotten human beings.

I cannot live around them any longer or I'm going to go postal and take people out.....

It's really that simple....

So the question is, am I going to get f***ed with in Thailand?

Because seriously, you guys do not understand, and I'm sorry about that, but if I were to go to Thailand, and some cops tried to extort me, what do you think I would do? Sissy out? Pay their extortion? ROTFLOL.....

I would easily take their guns away from them and kill each of them very very easily, no problem whatsoever.....

I'm afraid this world is not suitable for me to live within....

Signed,

Devils Advocate

Good question DA. If you get a pretty Thai gf then yes the Thai guys may envy you but I doubt they'd ever get in your face about it. It's just not the Buddhist way to live life. Thias are VERY non-confrontational. Worst case scenerio is that they give you a bit of the stink eye but I'm sure you can live with that can't you? So unless it's YOU that runs around looking for trouble, chances are you'll be ok. Also, if you are in any big city in Thailand, there is such a plethora of beautiful women that you landing one Thai hottie isn't a big deal. It won't garner much attention at all.

The entire Thai way of "putting on a smile always" is a bit fake but again "when in Rome." Learn how to play their game to succeed or be the Ugly American who doesn't learn how to mesh and you may well find trouble. As they say (over and over and over in Thailand) "up to you!"

[DevilsAdvocate]

.....If you are a selfish, stuck in your ways type of guy chances are you'll never be comfortable abroad. I'd even venture to say 60% of American men will never be happy living overseas.

Sure women are a dime a dozen overseas but once you land one, then what? Dating foreign women and living abroad are two very different and distinct topics.

What kind of man thrives overseas? (I mean living there permanently.)

What are the characteristics of men who permanently adjust to living in SEA, Japan, FSU, South America etc.?

Sure it helps to have independent money, learn the culture, learn the language. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm curious about personalities, temperament, upbringing, etc. What are the traits of a man who will crash and burn overseas? What are the traits of a man who will take to it like a fish to water?

And what is different about the men who will succeed in FSU, Asia, Latin America?

We know the women are there, waiting for us to bust a move. But life is more than women. Whos hould go? Who shouldn't? Who should go to SEA, who to LA, who to Eastern Europe?

The guys that take to living abroad are ones that actually take interest in the people, culture and language. A perfect example is a guy like Ladislav! He's an absolute sponge who tries to soak up as much about his new country as possible. Guys like him KNOW there are obstacles and frustrations but they soon learn to jump over the hurdles. They don't bitch or moan instead they adapt.

Remember the first time I went to Thailand. I was getting a haircut and and the owner (absolute knockout) of the salon had her nephew visiting her. He was around 8 years old and was going to join a soccer league. His shoes were falling apart tho. After my haircut I went over and spent $10 to buy the kid a new pair of shoes from a sidewalk vendor. The little kids eyes we as big as saucers and I had a friend for life...lol. Everytime I walked by the salon I stuck my head in to say hello and the owner would be beaming with a pretty smile. No longer was I Joe Farang but I was Peter the good guy.

So I'm convinced it's all about attitude. You can choose to get out, meet people and get involved in their community or you can sit in your apartment and be a self absorbed grinch. Guess which guy is going to have the most fun overseas??

Well here is what I'd like to know. If I go to Thailand to live am I going to have the problems I have in the USA?

You see, obviously I'm different from all of you. I have to fight all the time in the USA, it's a never ending battle for me. People in the USA do not like me, they are jealous of me and hate my guts, and as such they f**k with me all the time. So I either have to just ignore them or bust their teeth down their throats. I have always opted to bust their teeth down their throats.

What I would like to know is if I'm going to get f***ed with constantly like I am in the USA? Are the Thai guys going to hate my f***ing guts and want to f**k with me?

Because I can just tell you now that if that were to happen my life will come to an end in Thailand, but I will go ballistic and kill every mother f***er that I can take out on my own.

I have had enough of this f***ing bullshit for one lifetime.....

The USA is the biggest joke country to ever exist, it's the most unfriendly fake country and it's people are all retards and assholes and freaks beyond description.

Like these guys from Oklahoma, I mean seriously, these people are fat, they are stupid beyond belief, they are punks and freaks and assholes beyond belief, I hate their guts, and they being American and me being American are two different things. They are freaks of the world, they are not human beings, they hate hate hate, they love war, they love killing, they are ignorant and stupid and fat and dumb and ugly and mind boggling f***ing retard mother fuckers.

Obviously the government has been f***ing with these people, and dumbing them down, and making them inbreed, and putting something into the water or whatever, but these people are horrible rotten human beings.

I cannot live around them any longer or I'm going to go postal and take people out.....

It's really that simple....

So the question is, am I going to get f***ed with in Thailand?

Because seriously, you guys do not understand, and I'm sorry about that, but if I were to go to Thailand, and some cops tried to extort me, what do you think I would do? Sissy out? Pay their extortion? ROTFLOL.....

I would easily take their guns away from them and kill each of them very very easily, no problem whatsoever.....

I'm afraid this world is not suitable for me to live within....

Signed,

Devils Advocate

Good question DA. If you get a pretty Thai gf then yes the Thai guys may envy you but I doubt they'd ever get in your face about it. It's just not the Buddhist way to live life. Thias are VERY non-confrontational. Worst case scenerio is that they give you a bit of the stink eye but I'm sure you can live with that can't you? So unless it's YOU that runs around looking for trouble, chances are you'll be ok.

The entire Thai way of "putting on a smile always" is a bit fake but again "when in Rome." Learn how to play their game to succeed or be the Ugly American who doesn't learn how to mesh and you may well find trouble. As they say (over and over and over in Thailand) "up to you!"

No I wouldn't care about any of them giving me some evil eye, no not at all....

One of the reasons why I was choosing an Asian country is because of my experience with Asians, like for instance:

Most of my trouble in the USA has been from my fellow white guys just like me, I'd say about 80% of my trouble. And I've had some trouble with Mexicans, but not that much considering I'm from San Diego and have always been around a lot of Mexicans in general. I've had some problems with blacks, but not that much at all. But never once in my life has any Asian ever given me one single problem, not an evil eye have they given to me, and I sense no hostility from Asians whatsoever, I don't even sense that they are saying things behind my back, I get no sense from that whatsoever.

Maybe they are just very good at hiding it, I really don't know, but I don't think so....

So I see Asians as good people because of this, they are just like I am, in that they don't bother anybody, they don't look for trouble, they simply just live their lives, they are very respectful people from everything that I have seen in the USA.....

For this reason I like Asians, and they seem to like me, or should I say they don't seem to not like me, which is good enough for me....

Maybe I shouldn't read into all the bad stories out there, it would be like me living in Brazil and hearing about some guy killing a bunch of people at the movie theater and then thinking that the USA is a seriously dangerous place......

I think maybe if I go there I'll find it so peaceful and my spirit will be able to rest for awhile long enough that if the police did try to extort me I would just laugh and pay their extortion fee.

It's just that when you are strung up with such high stress your fuse is short and it doesn't take much to set you off, whereas if you can rest the longer you can do so the fuse gets a whole lot longer.

I need to leave the USA soon, and I'm going to.....

[DevilsAdvocate]

What kind of man thrives overseas? (I mean living there permanently.)

What are the characteristics of men who permanently adjust to living in SEA, Japan, FSU, South America etc.?

Sure it helps to have independent money, learn the culture, learn the language. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm curious about personalities, temperament, upbringing, etc. What are the traits of a man who will crash and burn overseas? What are the traits of a man who will take to it like a fish to water?

And what is different about the men who will succeed in FSU, Asia, Latin America?

We know the women are there, waiting for us to bust a move. But life is more than women. Whos hould go? Who shouldn't? Who should go to SEA, who to LA, who to Eastern Europe?

The guys that take to living abroad are ones that actually take interest in the people, culture and language. A perfect example is a guy like Ladislav! He's an absolute sponge who tries to soak up as much about his new country as possible. Guys like him KNOW there are obstacles and frustrations but they soon learn to jump over the hurdles. They don't bitch or moan instead they adapt.

Remember the first time I went to Thailand. I was getting a haircut and and the owner (absolute knockout) of the salon had her nephew visiting her. He was around 8 years old and was going to join a soccer league. His shoes were falling apart tho. After my haircut I went over and spent $10 to buy the kid a new pair of shoes from a sidewalk vendor. The little kids eyes we as big as saucers and I had a friend for life...lol. Everytime I walked by the salon I stuck my head in to say hello and the owner would be beaming with a pretty smile. No longer was I Joe Farang but I was Peter the good guy.

So I'm convinced it's all about attitude. You can choose to get out, meet people and get involved in their community or you can sit in your apartment and be a self absorbed grinch. Guess which guy is going to have the most fun overseas??

Well here is what I'd like to know. If I go to Thailand to live am I going to have the problems I have in the USA?

You see, obviously I'm different from all of you. I have to fight all the time in the USA, it's a never ending battle for me. People in the USA do not like me, they are jealous of me and hate my guts, and as such they f**k with me all the time. So I either have to just ignore them or bust their teeth down their throats. I have always opted to bust their teeth down their throats.

What I would like to know is if I'm going to get f***ed with constantly like I am in the USA? Are the Thai guys going to hate my f***ing guts and want to f**k with me?

Because I can just tell you now that if that were to happen my life will come to an end in Thailand, but I will go ballistic and kill every mother f***er that I can take out on my own.

I have had enough of this f***ing bullshit for one lifetime.....

The USA is the biggest joke country to ever exist, it's the most unfriendly fake country and it's people are all retards and assholes and freaks beyond description.

Like these guys from Oklahoma, I mean seriously, these people are fat, they are stupid beyond belief, they are punks and freaks and assholes beyond belief, I hate their guts, and they being American and me being American are two different things. They are freaks of the world, they are not human beings, they hate hate hate, they love war, they love killing, they are ignorant and stupid and fat and dumb and ugly and mind boggling f***ing retard mother fuckers.

Obviously the government has been f***ing with these people, and dumbing them down, and making them inbreed, and putting something into the water or whatever, but these people are horrible rotten human beings.

I cannot live around them any longer or I'm going to go postal and take people out.....

It's really that simple....

So the question is, am I going to get f***ed with in Thailand?

Because seriously, you guys do not understand, and I'm sorry about that, but if I were to go to Thailand, and some cops tried to extort me, what do you think I would do? Sissy out? Pay their extortion? ROTFLOL.....

I would easily take their guns away from them and kill each of them very very easily, no problem whatsoever.....

I'm afraid this world is not suitable for me to live within....

Signed,

Devils Advocate

Good question DA. If you get a pretty Thai gf then yes the Thai guys may envy you but I doubt they'd ever get in your face about it. It's just not the Buddhist way to live life. Thias are VERY non-confrontational. Worst case scenerio is that they give you a bit of the stink eye but I'm sure you can live with that can't you? So unless it's YOU that runs around looking for trouble, chances are you'll be ok.

The entire Thai way of "putting on a smile always" is a bit fake but again "when in Rome." Learn how to play their game to succeed or be the Ugly American who doesn't learn how to mesh and you may well find trouble. As they say (over and over and over in Thailand) "up to you!"

No I wouldn't care about any of them giving me some evil eye, no not at all....

One of the reasons why I was choosing an Asian country is because of my experience with Asians, like for instance:

Most of my trouble in the USA has been from my fellow white guys just like me, I'd say about 80% of my trouble. And I've had some trouble with Mexicans, but not that much considering I'm from San Diego and have always been around a lot of Mexicans in general. I've had some problems with blacks, but not that much at all. But never once in my life has any Asian ever given me one single problem, not an evil eye have they given to me, and I sense no hostility from Asians whatsoever, I don't even sense that they are saying things behind my back, I get no sense from that whatsoever.

Maybe they are just very good at hiding it, I really don't know, but I don't think so....

So I see Asians as good people because of this, they are just like I am, in that they don't bother anybody, they don't look for trouble, they simply just live their lives, they are very respectful people from everything that I have seen in the USA.....

For this reason I like Asians, and they seem to like me, or should I say they don't seem to not like me, which is good enough for me....

Maybe I shouldn't read into all the bad stories out there, it would be like me living in Brazil and hearing about some guy killing a bunch of people at the movie theater and then thinking that the USA is a seriously dangerous place......

I think maybe if I go there I'll find it so peaceful and my spirit will be able to rest for awhile long enough that if the police did try to extort me I would just laugh and pay their extortion fee.

It's just that when you are strung up with such high stress your fuse is short and it doesn't take much to set you off, whereas if you can rest the longer you can do so the fuse gets a whole lot longer.

I need to leave the USA soon, and I'm going to.....

And when I say "white guys" I don't want to include Italians with that. Italians seem to be a special people to me, and here is why.

Living in San Diego during the 80's I had a lot of trouble from white guys, white guys just like me. So when I moved to the East Coast area like NY and the general area there, I thought for sure that all the Italians out there were going to want to fight me all the time, and I dreaded it....

I was stunned and amazed when I did go there and not one Italian guy ever once wanted to fight me, and in fact they didn't even pay any attention to me at all, as if I didn't even exist, and they seem too busy with their own lives to care about what I was doing.

The only problem I did have was with a fellow white guy (Irish).....

I found the Italians a very intriguing people, I had respect for the guys because they seem to be living life more.....

My first trip to NY City I went to a place to eat and there was this short Italian guy with these three hot girls, and to his right a huge bodyguard. At first I didn't notice the girls were with him and as they went by me (going to the restroom) they smiled at me and naturally I was smiling back, not realizing they were with this short Italian mafia guy....

So they come back out of the bathroom and go by me again smiling really big and flirting and I'm smiling back and flirting and then they go sit down next to this short Italian guy, and he's looking right at me glaring at me, and then I see his bodyguard and I go.........ooops......

I thought I was going to have a serious problem on my hands at that point.....

But he looked at me and I at him and he had control of his power, and he waived his bodyguard not to do anything and that was the end of it....

These Italian guys impress me....

There is a rule about life that all people should know, and that is you don't mess with people, it's really that simple, and anybody who does better watch out, because you will mess with the wrong person one day....

[RichieBoy]

Too be fair some people do have problems trying to find food which isn't spicy in South East Asia, I am surprised how much chilli they have in food here and while I like spicy food it can give you the trots(to the bathroom) Hottest thing I had back home was a vindaloo but compared to the chilli's they put in food here.....

[Voice of Reason]

.....If you are a selfish, stuck in your ways type of guy chances are you'll never be comfortable abroad. I'd even venture to say 60% of American men will never be happy living overseas.

Sure women are a dime a dozen overseas but once you land one, then what? Dating foreign women and living abroad are two very different and distinct topics.

What kind of man thrives overseas? (I mean living there permanently.)

What are the characteristics of men who permanently adjust to living in SEA, Japan, FSU, South America etc.?

Sure it helps to have independent money, learn the culture, learn the language. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm curious about personalities, temperament, upbringing, etc. What are the traits of a man who will crash and burn overseas? What are the traits of a man who will take to it like a fish to water?

And what is different about the men who will succeed in FSU, Asia, Latin America?

We know the women are there, waiting for us to bust a move. But life is more than women. Whos hould go? Who shouldn't? Who should go to SEA, who to LA, who to Eastern Europe?

If you go overseas solely for the purpose of meeting women...then fail.

If you are open-minded and want to learn more about the world, and you're aware that not everything will be rosy...you should be fine.

[Taco]

It's a huge adjustment moving from the Angloshere to the poorest street in the Philippines, after about 8 months it started to get easier for me. When my Filipino neighbors don't have any food to eat they catch stray dogs and roast them. Some things like the climate I can never get used to it because my body is adapted to cold weather. There isn't a perfect country to live in you just have to make the most of where you happen to be.

Philippines

Pros: overly friendly women, fresh fruit and veggies, inexpensive, no one gets mad, male dominated culture, cable TV, public transportation, cheap flights to other Asian countries

Cons: no jobs, crazy driving, hot climate, poverty, getting ripped off, ants and spiders, internet, customer service

[Contrarian Expatriate]

Being able to adapt overseas takes a skill set that must be developed. These are the skills that have served me well over 20 years:

-Travel Skills: Knowing how to research a location, how to pack, how to plan flights and accommodation, take a little bit of time to master. Knowing how to get from the capital to smaller cities with friendlier people is more challenging due to poor accommodations and transportation services, but I can do it. Also travel to neighboring countries if it is safe to do so, just be sure you research border entry requirements.

-Sizing up locals very quickly: I can tell from the first smile or the first sentence if someone is a hustler or a fraud. I can also tell if a woman is a scamster or a genuinely interested person saying hello.

-Finding social areas that suit you: I use hotel employees and cab drivers to show me the social areas that do not cater to tourists. It often gets to the point where locals tell me that I know more cool places in their city than they do.

-Taking the negative experiences in stride: Dealing with local drunk men or a rude waitress from a low class background is annoying, but part of the process. I don't dwell on the negative.

-Recognizing Culture Shock: Culture Shock is a normal part of the acclimation process. When you love a place, then it starts to grate on you, you have culture shock. It passes and you then begin to really enjoy a place. Bitching and complaining is a normal reaction to culture shock for some. It is to be expected and it is usually temporary.

-Learning Class Distinctions: If you don't know how one class of local is compared with another, you have done yourself a disservice. While the middle class might shun you, the upper class might think you are cool, and the lower class might resent you. Restaurants, bars, and clubs, tend to cater to a certain class so know which one.

These are just some of a few things that I have found to enrich my experience abroad. You all might have some others, but these tend to serve me well.

[Jackal]

I think that most of the guys who are able to fit in overseas have had a lot of prior exposure to foreign cultures when they were growing up (they lived in a city where they met lots of foreigners or have foreign family members, etc.)

My mother is from a European country, so I always acted like a European anyway. So going to Europe was more a return to what is natural for me than it was something new and different which I had to learn.

There are of course exceptions. There are probably a few guys who never traveled, but who for some reason (some very unique past karma) just connect very well with the locals in a particular country and then become inspired to learn the language, but I think that these guys are quite rare.

If a man lived way the heck out in some small town in Idaho his whole life and never learned any foreign languages while growing up, I doubt that he will be able to adapt to very different foreign countries successfully.

However, the internet is a great resource. If the hick from Idaho reached a turning point mentally and resolved to start reading about foreign countries, to teach himself a foreign language, to talk to foreigners online both in English and in the foreign language he's learning, and to stop exposing himself regularly to the American media which works hard to make guys too paranoid to go overseas, then some mental transformation is possible. The 2 keys to transformation are 1) the initial strong resolve to do it and 2) regularly practicing the new skills and habits to develop them.

Having above average mental skills also helps. Most Americans are quite stupid and ignorant, so if you are already more intelligent than they are, this is a good sign. But even people who aren't so bright might be successful (or perhaps even more successful) if they have great social skills and are very accepting and open-minded about different cultures.

Or an even simpler test: If you are one of those people who feel that America is "the greatest country in the world" (LOL!), then you probably won't be very happy overseas!

[Teal Lantern]

.....If you are a selfish, stuck in your ways type of guy chances are you'll never be comfortable abroad. I'd even venture to say 60% of American men will never be happy living overseas.

Just as a thought exercise --
Anyone's best guess at what percentage of American men could go overseas before individual men started being heavily questioned at the gate, or rules were enacted making their departure more difficult?

Not like it hasn't happened in other places.