I Guess I'll rant about the my USA trip Here

[Mr S]

Hi Guys,

I'm currently visiting NH, USA. Mostly visiting family, picking up things I can't purchase in Philippines or is overpriced there, voting, working on my NH teaching certification. I have been living overseas now for roughly 6 years or so, almost 5 of those just in the Philippines.

Recently I had been considering going back to the USA to work on a doctorate and so had been going back and forth with it. I currently have a masters in education which allows me to work pretty much where I want as an educator. Over the last couple of years I have also been working on an online masters in Humanities so as to balance out my education masters and be more employable. (I also don't feel like making payments on my student loans yet, so I can defer those while I attend school)

Now living in a 3rd world country has its ups and downs and can get extremely annoying at times. However, just being back in the states for the last two weeks has just reconfirmed how lame and boring living in America is. If I was forced to have to live and work here again I don't know what I would do with myself! I feel like I'm stuck in an old folks home being forced to go through the motions of life and living; or at least that’s how I perceive my fellow Americans around me.

I mean I am literally spoiled in the Philippines regarding available woman and their hotness factor. I was thinking in the back of my head: "How the hell could I have even considered coming back to the USA?" After seeing all the fat slobs here and running across pictures such as these: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?a ... =685787641
It just brings me back to reality that I was able to get my ass out of the states and be able to support myself, why should I risk going back for a degree that may or may not be useful in the overall scheme of things in my life? Plus the U.S. economy sucks and I would have to lay down tracks again like buying a car, insurance, place to live, etc. And the best hope for a piece of ass would be scouring the Internet for desperate BBW's or occasional average looking American woman. And if I made a mistake of getting one pregnant my life would really be over and suck royally!

So I think I will just take my two degrees, be thankful I was motivated enough to finish them and just move on and continue working overseas; enjoying the endless dating and putang opportunities provided to me while I am still relatively young (mid thirties). I don't at the moment want a long time GF or wife and living in America you can't bounce around with woman as much unless you are willing to lower your standards considerably. After being spoiled by woman in the Philippines, Thailand and other SE Asian countries, how can I expect to go back to shitty woman and dating prospects?

For all you guys out there still on the fence about moving overseas, if you can do it...DO IT!

I sacrificed my social life for two years getting a masters in education but now I have a golden ticket anywhere I want! I can make decent middle class wages in whichever country I decide to work in. Yeah, you may not think of yourself as a teacher but actually if you work in the international schools most of the kids are cool and you have awesome resources compared to teaching in the USA or small private English schools in other countries.

Will I still get a doctorate some day? Possibly, but with the Internet and technology improving every year, 5 years from now online learning for almost any discipline may be possible and can be done from anywhere in the world as long as one has a reliable Internet connection. (Only a small portion of schools offer online education, although it is increasing each year)

Also I could do a doctorate in Australia or New Zealand which is half the cost of doing one in America and plus I would qualify for citizenship after its completion.

I believe in reincarnation so the "You only live once" doesn't really apply to my thinking and behavior; but I will say that you only live once under the current circumstances and who knows what a future life my entail? Maybe I decide to choose a shitty life for experience sake and I can't do much of anything compared to the opportunities presented to me in this lifetime.

I also want to teach/visit Eastern Europe/Russia to compare with Asia before I get too old, maybe also Latin America. As I haven't decided which culture actually agrees with me. I find Asian girls attractive but most of them are dumb as rocks and have annoying cultural habits that can't be modified. (This is my perspective. Don't go telling me that there are smart girls available and all cultures are equal, blah, blah. I know that there are exceptions to the rule; but from my perspective this is the case and Winston has also posted info stating the same conclusions)

Anyways, I was wondering if you all agree with my logical conclusions and have anything else to add? My decisions are never set in stone but I like to hear others perspectives as I tend to be more logical than emotional and may not see the aspects related to that side of being human.

And also I'm reminded how much cold weather sucks by being back in USA! Ugh!

Two more weeks than back in Manila... for what its worth...

Maybe also within the next few months I can put together a website detailing info I have gleamed living overseas and dealing with the woman in Asia, especially Philippines and other SE Asian countries. I know a lot of shit when it comes to dating woman here, I can get into their minds...I suppose that's why I am bored with them as I need a new cultural challenge.

[Mr S]

It depends on economic status of the girls family. If she comes from a poor family with lots of siblings then yes you will be the family's savior and expect to help financially when called upon. (Unless she is the black sheep of the family and is strained with them. I have met girls that fit this category; or her mother & father is dead, then it might be ok to date them long-term)

If you want to marry a Filipino best to marry one from the middle class or above. I would never marry a bar girl or one without an education unless they are willing to go to school and get a degree in some useful skill. Send them to school and prove themselves. If they can't get through a Filipino university, they won't last long living in a western country like the USA. Also since most of America is very independent and isolating, it is the extreme opposite of the Philippines so it's another thing they have a hard time adapting to. They will want you to keep them entertained and if you have to work a lot, the marriage will get strained as she will look for attention elsewhere...

I was in the navy previously and most of the guys married to Filipino's had some kind of marriage issues. They look and act the part before you marry them but once you take them to the states the uneducated or party types see how receptive guys are to them over in America, they start cheating on their husbands and shit like that. Many Asians consider it ok to do things like that as long as the other person doesn't know and they think it won't harm anything. They actually tend to do that in the Philippines as well but they are easier to catch.

It would be better if you actually marry a Filipina to just stay in the Philippines if you can or somewhere in Asia where there won't be temptations for her. Think of it this way, America to Asian woman is like the Philippines to American men.

Basically only date woman who come from a middle class or above lifestyle and family or make sure they have finished a 4 year university degree. All the other girls you meet are just pump and dumps pretty much.

[Winston]

What one of my advisors told me is that if they ask you for money, just say you have to support your siblings through school or pay for their medical expenses, or help your parents out, and so you have no spare cash to give them.

After all, it's a false Filipino stereotype that ALL foreigners have extra cash to spare, ALL the time. Nothing wrong with showing them the reality vs. their fantasy.

But yeah, the need will be there, and if you don't help them, you could be seen as a "bad man" that is selfish and disappointing.

Mr. S said the ideal situation is to find a middle class Filipina. But the problem is that they are few and not so open to meeting strangers, and also quite reserved for some odd reason. Otherwise, we'd all have done that. It's the poor ones that are the most open, eager and desperate. That's the dilemma.

So you either got to be patient and take your time meeting a middle class one, within the right circles or special interests. Or you can find a poor Filipina whose family is not going to be too demanding or who doesn't care what her family thinks. That is rare, but I do know some guys here whose girlfriend's family doesn't ask him for money, even though they are poor.

[Winston]

I totally empathize with you Mr. S. I've experienced the same thing and felt the same way whenever I return to the US. The worst part of it is that you can't talk about it with very many people, or else you are considered a freak and loser. It's totally taboo to have these views or to express them. And not even most of your friends will want to hear your complaints about reverse culture shock.

[gmm567]

You're an interesting bunch of people.

I don't think you want to get married in the US at all. The divorce courts are so bad. Decent guys are f***ed over weekly, and I mean f***ed over. It's insane here.

[Adama]

Mr S., thank you for the comparison. Very helpful. I'm going to search all of your other posts for interesting things as well.

[Mr S]

Well I never liked public speaking either, but I looked at successful people and most were not shy speaking their mind in front of others, whether it was a small or large group. So I hunkered down and went through the motions of getting over my shyness of speaking in front of large audiences (mostly by teaching). I think it's worth your while to reconsider, you would be improving upon your weaknesses at least in the process. You could get a masters in nursing and teach overseas, lots of opportunities for that. You could also attempt an educational masters degree and go into teaching that way. I think you are holding yourself back through preconceived limitations that you have put upon yourself. You should attempt to overcome them and assert your TRUE self upon the world.

If I were to compare my various personal skills when I was 19 and finishing high school to what I am now, I can see how much I have grown and changed from my own preconceived limitations and turned what I and others thought as not having any skill in a certain area whether it was social or not, to being quite proficient and confident with myself in many different areas.

At the moment I feel I have a deficiency in knowing how to personally protect myself properly in a violent confrontation. So, I am considering taking up a martial art like Aikido which supports this as well as my spiritual interests. I think individuals need to constantly analyze their weaknesses and try to improve upon them in various ways. Sometimes this is easy and sometimes it's difficult, but it's not hard to overcome if one really has the desire and will to.

[aozora13]

Mr. S, I know exactly what you are talking about when coming back to America. When I went on vacation to Europe which was to see a German woman, it was wonderful. I would say that the Germans do not have good customer service but in general, I felt a lot different and the people although distant with strangers were easier to deal with than Americans. The food was not bland and there was actually a culture. When I returned after visiting Germany and a few other countries (France, Czech Republic), I wanted to return. I was honestly thinking about that at that time if I should just stay. However, I do have an option now since I had to resign from my job because of strange circumstances which are crazy to explain. I am not trying to see if I can teach in Germany (which is hard by the way) and/or teach in eastern Europe. I have my mind up and registered for a TEFL for October this year. I believe that I am not too old (25) and I think that this might be something that will at least be something I can do although not make too much money at the beginning since teachers do not make too much.

I have questions for anyone who is currently teaching. Did you have problems with family members trying to say you are wasting your life and going to live a life of poverty? I am a recent graduate in IT and I have limited work experience and I had to leave my job because of strange issues which I did not know about until I had to leave. My family is against this and most likely I will get little and/or no support unless I am in serious trouble. I do have saved money to go so this is not a problem for a while but I just wanted a person's opinion on giving advice on this matter.

[ladislav]

I have questions for anyone who is currently teaching. Did you have problems with family members trying to say you are wasting your life and going to live a life of poverty?

My last job in Saudi Arabia ( teaching English) paid some $4800 a month tax free, and I had a free luxury apartment, 60 days vacations and often free food, and, every day, would be taken to/from work for free; a swimming pool for free, a nice tennis court. Poverty my a$$!

[Mr S]

Here's some advice I posted to another user. I figure it might be useful info for others who are still sitting on the fence regarding whether to go and move overseas...

*****************

Well I guess it all depends what you see yourself doing in the future long term. You can survive reasonably well with a middle class lifestyle as an international teacher, that is if you have the proper teaching credentials. If you don't have education credentials just being a white American with an undergraduate degree and a CELTA or TESOL will open a lot of doors for you. Although there are only a few countries which will allow you to make decent money.

I don't know how much money you make trading stocks on the side but you could work in Korea as a teacher and make around $2000-2500 a month with the school paying for your housing. You could also do privates on the side which could make you an extra grand or two a month depending on how many you have and how much you want to waste your free time on private tutoring. Seoul or Busan would be the main cities to live and work in with a decent pool of privates available. One other thing that is good about working and living in Korea is its close to eastern Russia, the main city Vladivostok would be a good holiday destination to find Russian white chicks if Korean girls don't do it for you.

There aren't really any other options in regards to making money for someone with limited experience or credentials. Taiwan and Japan pay ok but cost of living will eat up most of what you make. Other Asian countries may be more fun but they pay less so your lifestyle may suffer unless you can supplement your income online like with your stocks perhaps. If you want to be in SE Asia go to Vietnam, they pay the highest wages. I think you will make around 15 bucks or so an hour (maybe more now) depending on how desperate the school is for you. But they make you jump through a lot of hoops to work legally there. Check out this website for more info:http://www.mekongesl.com/v9/

Another avenue you could take which is what I did was work in a country you like (most likely poor with shit paying jobs) and work on a masters in education online. You can take out FSA loans to supplement your income while you go to school, than after that you can get more lucrative job positions anywhere in the world pretty much. It may look like a lot of money for a masters online but if you think about the long term benefits, it's worth it. If you are not always spending your money on stupid shit then you should be able to pay it off easily enough in a few years if you want. I got a masters in education with a reading and literacy specialization, which helped me to get the high paying job I have now in the Philippines. I'm currently working on a Humanities masters online as well which will help with rounding out my education and teaching positions if desired in the future. When I finish this I may go on to complete a PhD online, they have those you can do also by computer. Although usually you have to travel back to the states a couple times a year to go to their graduate seminars.

I've spent a lot of time jumping through the education hoops for these masters degrees, but they have paid off in allowing me to remain overseas with legit work visas while also making at least a middle class income, which goes a lot farther in the 3rd world country. I don't have to pay for all kinds of extra bullshit like I do in the states. I don't have a car, house or health insurance bill which saves me big bucks. If I get sick I just pay out of pocket, its not that much here and in most countries its cheap. I don't need a car in the city as in most cities in the world (unlike America) they usually have decent public transportation. My rent is only around $250 a month for a two bedroom apartment. Electricity is maybe $40 a month. Cellphone is $10 or less and Internet is around $25.00 a month.

I have a much higher quality of life living overseas than I do in the states. I would have to make over 50 grand a year in the states to live a decent lifestyle that I take for granted living overseas. Plus I have the option to get laid or not. You don't have that option in the states unless you have a GF. I can say on a Friday night "I want to meet a new chick and get laid" and probably 90% of the time you will be successful if you really want to be. Getting sex is easy overseas, remaining single is actually the hard part!

Don't worry about job experience being an English teacher. As long as you have a CELTA or TESOL and are white you are all set cause all white people are experts at English! According to Asians that is...

Teaching you may or may not enjoy, it has its up and downs. A lot has to do with the administration behind the school whether one is enjoying themselves. Bad management can make a teachers life miserable. My advice is if you start teaching and don't like it, try another venue. It takes about two years or so to really realize whether you enjoy teaching or not. Less than that and one can have a distorted perception of what the teaching profession really is about. Some people prefer teaching younger kids, other older ones or adults. I find woman tend to prefer younger children and men older. Probably due to the maturity and rationality differences of both genders.

Graduate school isn't really that hard, it's actually easier than undergraduate in my opinion. It's just that you have to read a lot, doing research and writing papers that many times seem pointless. But if you can jump through the hoops and survive getting one, it will help your prestige overseas and credentials. Actually most 2nd & 3rd world countries overseas look more favorably on someone who has high academic credentials than in the states. I think it's mainly cause it's usually a lot more difficult to go to school in most foreign countries, especially if its graduate level work. So even if you don't in the long run use it, it will come in handy off and on throughout your life.

I've never been to Central or South America, although I would like to visit someday. I'm more interested in visiting the ruins and other sites than the woman as I know it's a bit more difficult to hook up down there unless you live there or speak the language. I do find the woman there generally more attractive than Asians. I prefer curvier bodies with nice real breasts, which many Asians fail to have. But I'm not much concerned with finding an ideal woman at the moment as I'm working on myself and probably won't be complete until I'm in my early 40's. After that I'll maybe try to find an ideal partner. One thing I'll never forget that I heard Tom Leykis say to his listeners, "Woman are dream killers for men. Before you get serious with a woman, make sure you have accomplished all or most of your educational and business goals cause she will attempt to stop you from attaining any further success than you already have." I think this statement is true for a majority of woman, not all, but most. Woman do not want you to become more successful than when they initially met you as it makes them feel inferior and threatened that you may leave them for another woman and so they try to keep you down as much as possible. I'd prefer to be single my entire life than be cuckold by a woman just so that I can say I have a wife or family. I don't need the headache. It's better to be free, even if I had to suffer and not get sex for the rest of my life. (even though that wouldn't happen cause I've left the American matrix, but many guys still suffer this paradigm in their forced artificial reality imposed by feminist and liberal media elements)

My life overseas may not be perfect to many Americans if they viewed it. They are stuck in their own perceptions of what it means to be successful. I want to be free and have choices, which is what I have now living overseas. America is becoming more and more beaurocratic and police state like with many stupid laws where people are either sued or forced to do jail time. This goes against the recent past of America where common sense judgement prevailed during most altercations among people. It's very risky living in the states now. One wrong move and you could lose everything as white males are the enemy now and you are often guilty now before being proved innocent. By the time you prove your innocence you lose everything and have a bitch of a time starting over again. I probably won't ever live in the states permanently again unless things change in the future. But it doesn't seem like that will be the case anytime soon, if ever.

From what I have heard from guys that have been to Central or South America, Panama is the place to go for woman and quality of life for Central America, Columbia is the place to go for South America. I would probably try Columbia first as there is more variety and cities to choose from to visit. Most guys that like the Philippines also give high remarks to Columbia, they either like Columbia better or Philippines depending on their taste in woman. One thing you should be aware of with woman overseas from 2nd and 3rd world countries is that most as uneducated or have a limited education in comparison to western countries. So even though the woman may be nice and feminine and beautiful, the communication factor will be quite limited, especially if you are not fluent in their language. Many expats hang out in the bars here not so much to drink and whore around, but to actually be able to make friends and talk and discuss various topics which he can't do with his wife or neighbors. This can be very limiting if you are a verbal type person and need consistent feedback from your wife or GF. Even if you found an educated girl who only speaks her language or can speak some English, you may have to be cautious cause she can be smart enough to f**k you over without you realizing it. So tread carefully dating overseas. Woman are woman everywhere, they all have their problems. American woman have been screwed up in their own way, while every country's woman will have their own idiosyncrasies that you may or may not notice right away unless you live in the culture for a while. It took me about a year or more before I started to really realize how Filipina's really behave and what their pro's and con's are. American woman generally suck, but it doesn't mean that all woman overseas are going to be any better in some cases. Just keep an open mind and don't jump into a relationship right way, even if she is the most beautiful hot piece of ass you have ever had. Most woman are mental, especially the good looking ones. This I know for a fact now. Better to find a 6 or 7 and get her in shape (physically, emotionally & mentally) to turn her into an 8 or 9. A lot less headache in the long run.

Regarding tutoring business, there is a lot of local competition you will have to overcome anywhere you go, even if you are a native speaker and have qualifications. Do your research in each country cause some desire certain services to others. Like in the Philippines preparation tutoring for the IELTS examination is big business here. In South America there could be totally different language businesses competing with each other. Remember too that many Europeans visit Central/South America in general and so there is a larger back packer pool to choose from for teaching English classes, which push wages down. Also Spanish is closer to English than Asian languages so its not as hard to learn for the natives there. Asia is much more lucrative for teaching the English language. Most people working as a teacher in South America are doing it to supplement their income. They usually will have money on the side and not entirely relying on just their teaching income. From what I have read its difficult to make a living teaching there unless you work for an international school. You have to have other sources of income to survive if you want to live there and live a middle class lifestyle. Crime is also a problem as well. Not as much in Asia to worry about. Most situations will be the foreigners fault for being careless. While in South America I've heard you have to be very careful there and also robberies are quite common. If you don't live in a high security building you will get broken into eventually and your stuff stolen. I don't have any problems here in Asia. Asians generally aren't as violent as other races in my opinion.

That's about it for additional comments. I suggest if you have the funds take a normal vacation to various parts of Asia for a month and then go to Central/South America and if you have time also include eastern Europe then compare your findings before choosing where you want to move and live semi-permanently. If you just pack up and go to South America you may be missing out on living in a country that is actually more suited to you. If you got the time and money do that route if you can.

Good luck...

[momopi]

Mr S, thank you for that great detailed post!

[aozora13]

Mr. S, thank you for the post. I am not sure right now if teaching is the career that I want. I am trying to see if I can go to study abroad for my master's degree. There are plenty of English programs which I was very surprised are in many foreign countries. I was trying to do this path before but I had to leave my company because of issues and I need a job which might give me some experience, earning some money and time to hear back from some schools I want to apply too. The sad thing is I have to wait until January/February for a response and start in August. I am trying to see if I can get a job right now in my area and then save and apply to a few schools. I think teaching is a decent career but I feel that I will use it as a second plan. Also another thing is I am non-white. This will be bad for other non-white teachers to find work in Asia, although I have heard of teachers of different ethnic groups working in Asia. I guess you have to explain that you are an American (British, Australian, Kiwi, Canadian) to work at there schools. You are correct about the education. I recently graduated (May 2008) and I wanted to get my master's degree so I can actually compete for a better job. I saw that most are really expensive here and that my job did not pay for anything. I am going to see if I can work for a job temporary (1 year) and then save enough to go study. I know, it is a little crazy but my original goal was to work for 2 years and then go study so this is not far off.

American women have serious problems but women of other nationalities have problems too. I would say that in poorer nations you have to be sure that she is sincere and not trying to get access to permanent residency (green card) and to basically use you only as a gateway to a what she thinks as a better life. Well, thanks for the advice. I know that life in some places is less stressful than the states and I feel in the next year things are going to get more stressful. I see that I need to try to do one more year and I believe that things can work for me.

[Mr S]

You could try to find work in Australia or New Zealand and then go to school there. It's cheaper there and after I think three years you can apply for permanent residency and citizenship. Could give you another option for a lifestyle change. I interview A lot of Filipino's trying to immigrate to those countries as nurses. Do an immigration search on the internet and see where you stand. IT shouldn't be too hard for an American to move to one of those countries if you have a skill the government needs.