USA is total psychopathic hell. My story, and plans to leave

[CardsFan1]

First, I want to thank Winston for his contribution with this site. I have visited here off and on for 8 years, and I am now fully committed to finally leaving the USA. I also appreciate contributions from people like Falcon and Kradmelder. I love your posts.

My story, in a nutshell:

- I have never really fit in with the USA psychocircus. Home-schooled. Raised with values. Decent looking White guy, 5'11", but not a "Chad". I think I was Red Pilled & Black Pilled to some extent right out of the womb, but took 36 years (my age now) of educating myself to fully wake up.

- It was always very hard for me to make real friends my whole life. Always found Americans to be fake, phony, difficult to get to know. I did have two good friends for 20 years, but that crashed 'n burned recently (I'll get to that).

- Women? Three or four serious girlfriends and relationships, and all, more or less, eventually ending badly. Only one of those relationships do I consider a generally positive experience (the last one). The rest were not healthy, or fulfilling.

- One common theme with American women that I see: they HATE when you point out their flaws, inconsistencies, hypocrisies. Hate it. The problem is that they have a *lot* of issues; in my experience, most are just shitty people, infantile, selfish, stupid, incapable of accountability, dysfunctional. Once you nudge their ego a little bit in the wrong way, game over. This seemed to be the main reason each of my relationships fell apart: I simply could not keep my mouth shut, and I would point out or "notice" serious inconsistencies in their character and behavior, and they loathed that I noticed it.

- The worst I was ever really accused of is that I'm too honest, too harsh. Not the worst thing to be accused of, right? I don't want to search out issues or problems with someone's character, but some of these things are so glaring, you can't ignore it. You SEE bad behavior with your own eyes. You HEAR them say stupid things. You OBSERVE their fakeness, lies, phoniness, bullshit. How can you ignore it? They expect you to. And it is a direct result of these women being raised in a totally f***ed up culture.

- I don't need to get into what American culture is all about, how fake, cheap, shallow and disgusting it is. We know. Winston has spoken with great articulation on the subject and I agree 100% with his assessments.

- I keep track of other movements, MGTOW, Incel forums, Red Pill, Black Pill, 4chan, 8chan /pol, Chateau Heartiste, the backlash against the Jews, backlash against Feminism, etc. It is good to see people waking up, more or less. Sadly, I don't really meet these people in real life, let alone dating.

- We are seeing more and more men waking up to the fact American women are not only trash, but literally only interested in looks and the top 10% of the hottest men. Sadly, this realization doesn't really benefit the other 90%, except to help them stop wasting money and time on women who will never remotely love them or give a crap about them.

- I'm happy Trump won, if only for the fact he's crushing P.C. behavior. I don't think he's quite the bitter Red Pill America needs, but he's ten times better than Hillary.

- Social media has completely taken over our society. Remember Grunge, Slacker, Goth, Metal culture in the 90s? A time when you didn't have to smile all the time, or act fake? Back when girls liked you for "you" and didn't expect you to be Chad? That's gone. We have two cultures now: Fake Social Media Culture & Outdoorsy / Workout Culture (just as equally fake).

- I've traveled a fair amount in the USA, and I found the South to be a decent place to live, but some of the folks aren't quite the sharpest tools in the shed (education and intellectual pursuits are not high priorities, and while there may be exceptions, women seemed just as slutty and gross as anywhere else). I think we all know the vast majority of the country is "gone" and there is no escape from the destructive ills of modern USA culture, no matter where you go (Utah may be one exception, but my impression is things as just as f***ed up there, if not more so). There may also be some refuge in small towns, but the young women are fleeing these areas.

- I currently live near Denver, and the women here seem to be the worst I've ever encountered (recent ex-gf wanted to move here so bad, I have no idea WHY. Area I live is very transient. No sense of community. People seem distant, lifeless, busy, rushed, and most of the town is strip malls, fast food, big box store crap. Like I said, I have no idea what she sees in it. Probably part of why things didn't work out!).

- I've tried to "make it work" in American society for too long, and I'm finally done. I'm not the "crazy" one -- I am living among crazy ones who think they are sane.

- As mentioned before, I lost two good, long-term friends of 20 years over utterly asinine Facebook drama and butthurt. They are both the personification of Snowflakes. I finally called 'em out on some of their hypocrisy, and that was in the end of it. OVER. Quickly. No grit. No guts. No brains, either. Just big egos, and nothing to show for it (both are moochers, one off the government, and the other married a "sugarmomma" -- can't make this shit up! But both yap like they are the big men on campus). It was a profound shock and disappoint to lose those friends, and I'm still reeling from it. Blindsided. I figured they were men and could handle being called out (they dished it out for years themselves). Nope. I forgot the rules: Ego First, Maximum Hypocrisy and Deflection At All Times in USA is the name of the game, over all else.

- As Winston describes, friendships can go up in smoke in seconds in our culture. People just move on, cut other people off, all the time, usually over butthurt -- or if you are not perceived as "cool" anymore.

- Since I work from home, I probably don't quite have opportunities as others to meet people -- but I also spent plenty of time in the workforce and found it totally unfulfilling that in respect. Now, does a firefighter in Wisconsin maybe have some good friends and belong to a community, maybe even married to a nice girl? Yeah, maybe. I don't deny that. It does exist, that sense of stability, probably more in the Midwest. But I'd need to pack up, leave, join a church and plant myself somewhere for 20 years to achieve that... and probably still get divorced and fleeced!

- I have enough passive income and money to depart and leave, and not come back.

- It's time. I'm not a nasty person. I'm not a judgmental person. I'm a very nice, genuine person. But I have standards. This is the wrong place to have standards.

Places I'm considering:

- Bolivia, Tibet, India, Ukraine, Romania, Poland. I'm thinking Eastern Europe is where I'll end up.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

[jamesbond]

Welcome Cardsfan1, glad you found our forum. You basically described the USA in a nutshell, horrible women, dysfunctional society, anti social and very materialistic.

You currently live near Denver, I read that the male to female ratio in Denver is horrible if your a man. 57% of the single people under 50 are men only 43% are women.

[Adama]

Proud people have an allegiance to their hearts and egos above all else. They have no respect for the truth. They are also great oppressors and hypocrites. Basically everything that is bad and evil, prideful people are it. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride and arrogancy, and the evil way and the froward mouth do I hate. See, prideful people are on the evil path, and they speak wickedly (froward mouths), concerning oppressing others.

Proud people are also idolators, worshiping themselves and following their own desires above what is righteous and good, and they are practitioners of witchcraft, trying to bring about a reality to fulfill the evil desires of their wicked hearts (the inflated egos).

So the answer is to find someone who is humble, who loves the truth more than they love their own ego.

[gsjackson]

Lifelong Cards fan here (the St Louis ballclub). Welcome to the forum.

I've been to three of your current choices -- Poland, Romania and Ukraine. Poland has the sweetest women I've found, Romania the best looking. Ukraine is dirt cheap these days with plenty of attractive women, though I found it very difficult to get by in English there. Others have not had the same degree of difficulty.

For anyone thinking about Poland, give some consideration to Lodz (pronounced, oddly, Wuj), the third largest city in the country, an hour and a half train ride from Warsaw. It's a nice size -- about 700,000 -- and is cheaper than Warsaw. A big university town. The main attraction, in my mind, is that Lodz has two of the most attractive (in the sense of drawing people) public venues I have ever seen -- Piotrkowski St. and Manufaktura mall and park. Lots of people are always out and about, and you'll find it easy to strike up conversations with anyone who speaks English, which is most of those under 40.

[jamesbond]

For anyone thinking about Poland, give some consideration to Lodz (pronounced, oddly, Wuj), the third largest city in the country, an hour and a half train ride from Warsaw. It's a nice size -- about 700,000 -- and is cheaper than Warsaw. A big university town. The main attraction, in my mind, is that Lodz has two of the most attractive (in the sense of drawing people) public venues I have ever seen -- Piotrkowski St. and Manufaktura mall and park. Lots of people are always out and about, and you'll find it easy to strike up conversations with anyone who speaks English, which is most of those under 40.

Hey gsjackson, do most of the young women in Poland speak english? Would you say at least 50% do? Do I need to learn Polish before traveling to Poland or can I get by with just learning a little bit of the Polish language?

[IraqVet2003]

First, I want to thank Winston for his contribution with this site. I have visited here off and on for 8 years, and I am now fully committed to finally leaving the USA. I also appreciate contributions from people like Falcon and Kradmelder. I love your posts.

My story, in a nutshell:

- I have never really fit in with the USA psychocircus. Home-schooled. Raised with values. Decent looking White guy, 5'11", but not a "Chad". I think I was Red Pilled & Black Pilled to some extent right out of the womb, but took 36 years (my age now) of educating myself to fully wake up.

- It was always very hard for me to make real friends my whole life. Always found Americans to be fake, phony, difficult to get to know. I did have two good friends for 20 years, but that crashed 'n burned recently (I'll get to that).

- Women? Three or four serious girlfriends and relationships, and all, more or less, eventually ending badly. Only one of those relationships do I consider a generally positive experience (the last one). The rest were not healthy, or fulfilling.

- One common theme with American women that I see: they HATE when you point out their flaws, inconsistencies, hypocrisies. Hate it. The problem is that they have a *lot* of issues; in my experience, most are just shitty people, infantile, selfish, stupid, incapable of accountability, dysfunctional. Once you nudge their ego a little bit in the wrong way, game over. This seemed to be the main reason each of my relationships fell apart: I simply could not keep my mouth shut, and I would point out or "notice" serious inconsistencies in their character and behavior, and they loathed that I noticed it.

- The worst I was ever really accused of is that I'm too honest, too harsh. Not the worst thing to be accused of, right? I don't want to search out issues or problems with someone's character, but some of these things are so glaring, you can't ignore it. You SEE bad behavior with your own eyes. You HEAR them say stupid things. You OBSERVE their fakeness, lies, phoniness, bullshit. How can you ignore it? They expect you to. And it is a direct result of these women being raised in a totally f***ed up culture.

- I don't need to get into what American culture is all about, how fake, cheap, shallow and disgusting it is. We know. Winston has spoken with great articulation on the subject and I agree 100% with his assessments.

- I keep track of other movements, MGTOW, Incel forums, Red Pill, Black Pill, 4chan, 8chan /pol, Chateau Heartiste, the backlash against the Jews, backlash against Feminism, etc. It is good to see people waking up, more or less. Sadly, I don't really meet these people in real life, let alone dating.

- We are seeing more and more men waking up to the fact American women are not only trash, but literally only interested in looks and the top 10% of the hottest men. Sadly, this realization doesn't really benefit the other 90%, except to help them stop wasting money and time on women who will never remotely love them or give a crap about them.

- I'm happy Trump won, if only for the fact he's crushing P.C. behavior. I don't think he's quite the bitter Red Pill America needs, but he's ten times better than Hillary.

- Social media has completely taken over our society. Remember Grunge, Slacker, Goth, Metal culture in the 90s? A time when you didn't have to smile all the time, or act fake? Back when girls liked you for "you" and didn't expect you to be Chad? That's gone. We have two cultures now: Fake Social Media Culture & Outdoorsy / Workout Culture (just as equally fake).

- I've traveled a fair amount in the USA, and I found the South to be a decent place to live, but some of the folks aren't quite the sharpest tools in the shed (education and intellectual pursuits are not high priorities, and while there may be exceptions, women seemed just as slutty and gross as anywhere else). I think we all know the vast majority of the country is "gone" and there is no escape from the destructive ills of modern USA culture, no matter where you go (Utah may be one exception, but my impression is things as just as f***ed up there, if not more so). There may also be some refuge in small towns, but the young women are fleeing these areas.

- I currently live near Denver, and the women here seem to be the worst I've ever encountered (recent ex-gf wanted to move here so bad, I have no idea WHY. Area I live is very transient. No sense of community. People seem distant, lifeless, busy, rushed, and most of the town is strip malls, fast food, big box store crap. Like I said, I have no idea what she sees in it. Probably part of why things didn't work out!).

- I've tried to "make it work" in American society for too long, and I'm finally done. I'm not the "crazy" one -- I am living among crazy ones who think they are sane.

- As mentioned before, I lost two good, long-term friends of 20 years over utterly asinine Facebook drama and butthurt. They are both the personification of Snowflakes. I finally called 'em out on some of their hypocrisy, and that was in the end of it. OVER. Quickly. No grit. No guts. No brains, either. Just big egos, and nothing to show for it (both are moochers, one off the government, and the other married a "sugarmomma" -- can't make this shit up! But both yap like they are the big men on campus). It was a profound shock and disappoint to lose those friends, and I'm still reeling from it. Blindsided. I figured they were men and could handle being called out (they dished it out for years themselves). Nope. I forgot the rules: Ego First, Maximum Hypocrisy and Deflection At All Times in USA is the name of the game, over all else.

- As Winston describes, friendships can go up in smoke in seconds in our culture. People just move on, cut other people off, all the time, usually over butthurt -- or if you are not perceived as "cool" anymore.

- Since I work from home, I probably don't quite have opportunities as others to meet people -- but I also spent plenty of time in the workforce and found it totally unfulfilling that in respect. Now, does a firefighter in Wisconsin maybe have some good friends and belong to a community, maybe even married to a nice girl? Yeah, maybe. I don't deny that. It does exist, that sense of stability, probably more in the Midwest. But I'd need to pack up, leave, join a church and plant myself somewhere for 20 years to achieve that... and probably still get divorced and fleeced!

- I have enough passive income and money to depart and leave, and not come back.

- It's time. I'm not a nasty person. I'm not a judgmental person. I'm a very nice, genuine person. But I have standards. This is the wrong place to have standards.

Places I'm considering:

- Bolivia, Tibet, India, Ukraine, Romania, Poland. I'm thinking Eastern Europe is where I'll end up.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Hello CardsFan1, my name is IraqVet2003. I would like to welcome you to the HappierAbroad forum and community. As for you list of places to possibly go to I would like to add the Czech Republic (Prague), Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, and Thailand.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

Interesting introductory post. Most of us relate to most if not all of what you experienced.

The only thing I would advise is to have a financial plan. First for your exploratory travel, then for your escape. The thing is that the countries that interest you might be quite different after getting out there and experiencing the world.

Whatever the case, you have come to your realization that America is all wrong for you and the wheels are turning to get out. Kudos to you...

[gsjackson]

For anyone thinking about Poland, give some consideration to Lodz (pronounced, oddly, Wuj), the third largest city in the country, an hour and a half train ride from Warsaw. It's a nice size -- about 700,000 -- and is cheaper than Warsaw. A big university town. The main attraction, in my mind, is that Lodz has two of the most attractive (in the sense of drawing people) public venues I have ever seen -- Piotrkowski St. and Manufaktura mall and park. Lots of people are always out and about, and you'll find it easy to strike up conversations with anyone who speaks English, which is most of those under 40.

Hey gsjackson, do most of the young women in Poland speak english? Would you say at least 50% do? Do I need to learn Polish before traveling to Poland or can I get by with just learning a little bit of the Polish language?

From what I've been able to tell, almost all young women in Poland speak English, some quite fluently. You don't need any Polish to get by, and they don't expect it because they know no one studies Polish in school.

[jamesbond]

From what I've been able to tell, almost all young women in Poland speak English, some quite fluently. You don't need any Polish to get by, and they don't expect it because they know no one studies Polish in school.

Thanks, that's good to know I don't have to learn the Polish language before I travel there. It seems as if the girls in Poland are open to meeting men in public and aren't paranoid of strangers like American women are.

[Tom D Harry]

Howdy Cards. Like yourself, I've been reading here for a long time, but never signed up. After reading your post I decided I really should give back a bit, so here goes...

I am happier abroad in SEA, and I must admit, I've learned a lot about my own reasons for leaving, and how much living in the western world had damaged me. Every day I find myself questioning the reasons for my way of thinking, and interactions with others. I am surrounded with people who look at the world in a way that is completely different from the culture in which I was raised. So every time I get pissed at someones strange behavior, I have to remind myself that I am the alien here. It's quite cathartic.

Like yourself, I was motivated by emotional means. I didn't belong in the western world, and while I was very successful within it's money based culture, I just wasn't happy. So I studied the Visa laws of various countries, and the cost of living, and came up with a plan. My first step was recon. I traveled to each of the countries on my list to narrow down the options. I could not believe the affect it had upon me to return to my own country with the new experiences that I had gained from overseas. Whether my travels were good or bad, the comparison was well worth the trip. So take your time. Go to the top three stops on your list, and immerse yourself in the culture.

Having now made the jump, there are a few things that came up that I was not expecting. Like yourself, I've built up the passive income, and there is one thing that I did that has made all the difference. I built it up to 2x what I thought I would need. I am so grateful that I made that choice.

One thing that I overlooked was inflation. While it may be inconsequential in the life I used to live, when it's bouncing off the 2 digit level in my new country, I'm glad I have that extra cash flow to increase my yearly income. The second issue was banking itself. If anything could go wrong, it did. My investment accounts were frozen, by debit card number was stolen, my taxes on the home country investments increased, and I was left with one problem after another no matter how much research I did prior to the move. The government says one thing, but the banks policy says another. The west thrives on bullshit rules, and they get thicker by the day. There was a week where I was in Phnom Penh Cambodia with $20 in my pocket, a useless bank card, a frozen credit card and a Western Union that didn't speak English. I was at the point of spending the 20 on a used guitar to try to busk some cash in the tourist zone, when one of the locals took me under their wing. The point is, you need to have a working system of transfering cash, and more than you thought you would need.

You can't rely on your home bank card, you can't rely on fate keeping you from an injury that requires a helicopter flight to a decent hospital. Once you make the move, it's you against the world, and the world is a serious contender. Even with the precautions that I took, there has been a number of days when the stress of the unknown has knocked me down, and I am one strong, independent mother f***er. So take your time, study, and come up with the best plan you can. You're going to need it.

[Winston]

Welcome CardsFan,
You are welcome. So how did you find us?

When did you realize that the problem wasn't you? We are all programmed to think that the problem is us, and not that the US culture is too fake and toxic and unfriendly, where no one likes you for you. It takes a long time to realize the truth. I didn't until 2002. And you?

Isn't it sad that in the US, no one really likes you for you and thus you never feel truly accepted, so you feel like you always have to try to be something you're not?

Yes the AW do have very toxic personalities, which are obvious, but they cannot see it themselves, because we are all blind to our own faults. And in America everyone is a hypocrite in that they love to dish out criticism, but no one wants to take criticism themselves.

Yeah you make a good point. Honesty is not appreciate in America, even though people pay lip service to it and pretend to value it. It's total hypocrisy. No one really likes honesty and blunt truthfulness. But yet they claim to. Big paradox. It's like everyone is in denial. I find that in Russia and China, honesty is far more appreciated, since people there dislike fakeness too.

Wow you live near Denver? Colorado is one of my favorite states in terms of scenic beauty, mountains and fresh air. Utah is on my list of favorites too. At least people there are more down to earth than on the West Coast and not as toxic, relatively speaking. One thing America has is the most beautiful nature and national parks. Even Europeans like that aspect of it. It's just that the people and culture suck. Yet no one talks about this. All everyone talks about, even in the alternative media and truther/patriot movements, is government tyranny and gun rights and economic problems.

I do think Utah is one of the friendlier states. People there smile more and look more relaxed and say hi to strangers more. It's all superficial of course. But it's better than nothing. At least the vibe in Utah feels very relaxed, not toxic. Did you notice that? And of course it's superb for hiking and camping. The problem with Colorado is that it's too liberal.

Why are you thinking of trying Tibet? It's a nice culture and very exotic. But the women there do not like to date foreigners. Everyone has said that and I experienced that too when I was near Tibet in China. So I wouldn't live there, but it's good for travel. Eastern Europe is where I'd recommend most.

Yeah it's crazy to live in a country where the insane crazy people all think they are sane. That's just crazy. See these quotes about that here: http://www.happierabroad.com/Quotes_Insanity.htm

Great points in your OP. I wish I could star your post, but we don't have that feature yet. You definitely seem like a kindred spirit with us.

[Winston]

Howdy Cards. Like yourself, I've been reading here for a long time, but never signed up. After reading your post I decided I really should give back a bit, so here goes...

I am happier abroad in SEA, and I must admit, I've learned a lot about my own reasons for leaving, and how much living in the western world had damaged me. Every day I find myself questioning the reasons for my way of thinking, and interactions with others. I am surrounded with people who look at the world in a way that is completely different from the culture in which I was raised. So every time I get pissed at someones strange behavior, I have to remind myself that I am the alien here. It's quite cathartic.

Where in SE Asia are you? Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia? If you are in the first two, we can arrange a meetup sometime. We have several HA members in both Philippines and Thailand.

Glad you and other lurkers have finally joined. We need more people speaking out.

[CardsFan1]

Howdy Cards. Like yourself, I've been reading here for a long time, but never signed up. After reading your post I decided I really should give back a bit, so here goes...

I am happier abroad in SEA, and I must admit, I've learned a lot about my own reasons for leaving, and how much living in the western world had damaged me. Every day I find myself questioning the reasons for my way of thinking, and interactions with others. I am surrounded with people who look at the world in a way that is completely different from the culture in which I was raised. So every time I get pissed at someones strange behavior, I have to remind myself that I am the alien here. It's quite cathartic.

Like yourself, I was motivated by emotional means. I didn't belong in the western world, and while I was very successful within it's money based culture, I just wasn't happy. So I studied the Visa laws of various countries, and the cost of living, and came up with a plan. My first step was recon. I traveled to each of the countries on my list to narrow down the options. I could not believe the affect it had upon me to return to my own country with the new experiences that I had gained from overseas. Whether my travels were good or bad, the comparison was well worth the trip. So take your time. Go to the top three stops on your list, and immerse yourself in the culture.

Having now made the jump, there are a few things that came up that I was not expecting. Like yourself, I've built up the passive income, and there is one thing that I did that has made all the difference. I built it up to 2x what I thought I would need. I am so grateful that I made that choice.

One thing that I overlooked was inflation. While it may be inconsequential in the life I used to live, when it's bouncing off the 2 digit level in my new country, I'm glad I have that extra cash flow to increase my yearly income. The second issue was banking itself. If anything could go wrong, it did. My investment accounts were frozen, by debit card number was stolen, my taxes on the home country investments increased, and I was left with one problem after another no matter how much research I did prior to the move. The government says one thing, but the banks policy says another. The west thrives on bullshit rules, and they get thicker by the day. There was a week where I was in Phnom Penh Cambodia with $20 in my pocket, a useless bank card, a frozen credit card and a Western Union that didn't speak English. I was at the point of spending the 20 on a used guitar to try to busk some cash in the tourist zone, when one of the locals took me under their wing. The point is, you need to have a working system of transfering cash, and more than you thought you would need.

You can't rely on your home bank card, you can't rely on fate keeping you from an injury that requires a helicopter flight to a decent hospital. Once you make the move, it's you against the world, and the world is a serious contender. Even with the precautions that I took, there has been a number of days when the stress of the unknown has knocked me down, and I am one strong, independent mother f***er. So take your time, study, and come up with the best plan you can. You're going to need it.

Great post. I don't for a minute feel "secure" when it comes to money and the USA. A bank card is trash, could be useless and irreplaceable. I do find Bitcoin is making things MUCH easier, though. I get the feeling I'd have to return to the USA once in a while, as well as renew a passport every ten years, etc. There are clear obstacles.

[CardsFan1]

Welcome CardsFan,
You are welcome. So how did you find us?

When did you realize that the problem wasn't you? We are all programmed to think that the problem is us, and not that the US culture is too fake and toxic and unfriendly, where no one likes you for you. It takes a long time to realize the truth. I didn't until 2002. And you?

Isn't it sad that in the US, no one really likes you for you and thus you never feel truly accepted, so you feel like you always have to try to be something you're not?

Yes the AW do have very toxic personalities, which are obvious, but they cannot see it themselves, because we are all blind to our own faults. And in America everyone is a hypocrite in that they love to dish out criticism, but no one wants to take criticism themselves.

Yeah you make a good point. Honesty is not appreciate in America, even though people pay lip service to it and pretend to value it. It's total hypocrisy. No one really likes honesty and blunt truthfulness. But yet they claim to. Big paradox. It's like everyone is in denial. I find that in Russia and China, honesty is far more appreciated, since people there dislike fakeness too.

Wow you live near Denver? Colorado is one of my favorite states in terms of scenic beauty, mountains and fresh air. Utah is on my list of favorites too. At least people there are more down to earth than on the West Coast and not as toxic, relatively speaking. One thing America has is the most beautiful nature and national parks. Even Europeans like that aspect of it. It's just that the people and culture suck. Yet no one talks about this. All everyone talks about, even in the alternative media and truther/patriot movements, is government tyranny and gun rights and economic problems.

I do think Utah is one of the friendlier states. People there smile more and look more relaxed and say hi to strangers more. It's all superficial of course. But it's better than nothing. At least the vibe in Utah feels very relaxed, not toxic. Did you notice that? And of course it's superb for hiking and camping. The problem with Colorado is that it's too liberal.

Why are you thinking of trying Tibet? It's a nice culture and very exotic. But the women there do not like to date foreigners. Everyone has said that and I experienced that too when I was near Tibet in China. So I wouldn't live there, but it's good for travel. Eastern Europe is where I'd recommend most.

Yeah it's crazy to live in a country where the insane crazy people all think they are sane. That's just crazy.

Great points in your OP. I wish I could star your post, but we don't have that feature yet. You definitely seem like a kindred spirit with us.

I still do not feel fully woken up, Winston.

I feel alone, isolated ... and even though I live with my ex and we "get along", she is very much content living and working in the USA forever. She visited Europe with me, but seemed rather unmoved by the experience.

I still struggle everyday. Americans act like everything is "normal" -- it's "normal" to take 800 selfies and post them on Instagram -- it's normal to come across as this cold, sort of aloof cipher consumed with yourself and trifling hobbies (as do the women on online dating). It's normal to just be fake-friendly and never say or talk about anything of significance. No one I run into seems to have a single thought or opinion on anything.

I have had ONE experience with an overseas girl, from Peru, and that was entirely positive. She was quite lovely and sweet. She had no desire for a green card, she went to college in Holland (Americans think ALL foreign women want a green card -- wrong).

I visited Prague last year, found it very easy to get around and about. I imagine I'd enjoy the rest of Europe and Eastern Europe. I've been twice and again had no issues whatsoever traveling Europe. Very comfortable there.

I would take the transatlantic boat again, as I hate planes. Financially, I can do it, but as the poster above noted, you must be prepared -- particularly in terms of access to funds, which can get cut off so easily.

What I need is the reminder: YES, YOU ARE THE SANE ONE, THEY ARE THE INSANE ONES. HOW YOU FEEL IS NORMAL. THERE IS A BETTER WORLD OUT THERE.

[chomommablack]

Howdy Cards. Like yourself, I've been reading here for a long time, but never signed up. After reading your post I decided I really should give back a bit, so here goes...

I am happier abroad in SEA, and I must admit, I've learned a lot about my own reasons for leaving, and how much living in the western world had damaged me. Every day I find myself questioning the reasons for my way of thinking, and interactions with others. I am surrounded with people who look at the world in a way that is completely different from the culture in which I was raised. So every time I get pissed at someones strange behavior, I have to remind myself that I am the alien here. It's quite cathartic.

Like yourself, I was motivated by emotional means. I didn't belong in the western world, and while I was very successful within it's money based culture, I just wasn't happy. So I studied the Visa laws of various countries, and the cost of living, and came up with a plan. My first step was recon. I traveled to each of the countries on my list to narrow down the options. I could not believe the affect it had upon me to return to my own country with the new experiences that I had gained from overseas. Whether my travels were good or bad, the comparison was well worth the trip. So take your time. Go to the top three stops on your list, and immerse yourself in the culture.

Having now made the jump, there are a few things that came up that I was not expecting. Like yourself, I've built up the passive income, and there is one thing that I did that has made all the difference. I built it up to 2x what I thought I would need. I am so grateful that I made that choice.

One thing that I overlooked was inflation. While it may be inconsequential in the life I used to live, when it's bouncing off the 2 digit level in my new country, I'm glad I have that extra cash flow to increase my yearly income. The second issue was banking itself. If anything could go wrong, it did. My investment accounts were frozen, by debit card number was stolen, my taxes on the home country investments increased, and I was left with one problem after another no matter how much research I did prior to the move. The government says one thing, but the banks policy says another. The west thrives on bullshit rules, and they get thicker by the day. There was a week where I was in Phnom Penh Cambodia with $20 in my pocket, a useless bank card, a frozen credit card and a Western Union that didn't speak English. I was at the point of spending the 20 on a used guitar to try to busk some cash in the tourist zone, when one of the locals took me under their wing. The point is, you need to have a working system of transfering cash, and more than you thought you would need.

You can't rely on your home bank card, you can't rely on fate keeping you from an injury that requires a helicopter flight to a decent hospital. Once you make the move, it's you against the world, and the world is a serious contender. Even with the precautions that I took, there has been a number of days when the stress of the unknown has knocked me down, and I am one strong, independent mother f***er. So take your time, study, and come up with the best plan you can. You're going to need it.

Great point.

Finances are pretty much the #1 reason why I and many of you likely haven't fully emigrated yet. Not so much having $$$ but as you mentioned reliable ACCESS to it. As bad as the USA is in some respects if I fall on hard times or there are temporary issues with cash flow I can always sleep in my pop's basement or attic. If I fall on hard times abroad (not being old enough to get S.S. payments, if it's still around when I'm that age) it's a much harder situation when you don't have roots in the business sense. This is why I want to setup a corporation abroad. That will be a headache in and of itself. But once you begin employing locals you get a lot more respect and since people will rely on you there will be more interest in your health and well being even if you are a foreigner. I am potentially looking at Malaysia to setup a business. I don't want to be financially reliant on it alone, but being a business owner that employs people in the community will come in handy if you fall on hard times due to international legal complications. You'll have some kind of local bank to draw against. I would also recommend setting up an S-corp back home in the US or in any European country. Then try your best to get an AMX business Credit Card. They have some of the best international support available. It will tide you over while you work out cash flow issues or liquidity back home.

I have international experience and one thing I learned is that HSBC sucks no matter what country you are in. I opened an account under the impression that their multiple branches worldwide would help out in case my TD Bank account got frozen for any reason. They have a branch in Madrid. This was back in '07. Turns out that they cannot help you with international accounts opened in another country. The best way from my research and subscribing to the Nomad Capital newsletter is to setup local business roots. (LOCAL) money talks. But of course easier said than done.