Thing is: friends of mine recently returned from Zurich after over a year of working there and apparently they got much "hate" for being germans working in Zurich, for whatever reason. Not saying suisse people are racists, the ones i know are nice people! Also it's expensive. And i am not the mountain-vacation-type of guy. ;)
(the last point is probably more of a reason then the first)
I left my native Canada when I was 19 to write code abroad. I've since had work in four different countries on three continents. I might not end up being wealthy but I've enjoyed myself and don't regret a thing.
I think we both have a fair share of morons on both sides :(
Sadly, this doesn't make me feel more safe to go there again. But the city of Dubrovnik was nice anyways :)
Yes, this is valid for other similar instances, like the former Soviet Union republics, Germany, Sudan, and a bunch of other places which if not changed their boundaries, at least changed their political regime calling themselves differently now. Taking this a little bit further, you may also reach the conclusion that all places are different now because they changed somehow along the way, even if are called the same.
I was thinking that my response below (same city) didn't cover such cases. It would have been quite possible for someone in the right region of Europe to have lived in four countries without moving, with a lifespan of about 80 years: Austro-Hungarian Empire; Rumania; USSR; Ukraine.
Although experiences across different states can differ. The OP states having moved to a different country. This entails new culture, language and traditions for many countries.
Of course this is more likely to happen in Europe where countries are smaller and borders, well aren't borders anymore.
The United States is a huge country and the job opportunities and lifestyle in Mexico may not seem beneficial to most citizens.
US -> Australia here; left for personal reasons. I would probably still be in the US otherwise. I miss the memory of the US sometimes, and the people I left behind. Also New Haven pizza.
There's this place not too far from Scotland, easily reachable via a cheap flight with EasyJet. It's called Italy. They make amazing pizzas. And gelato. Mmmmm, gelato pizza...
The how! It is one of the reasons I did not left yet, I have no idea.
Most countries won't accept Brazillians wanting to go there legally permanently (probably because the havock that illegal brazillians spread around the world :/) with few exceptions (ie: have specific degrees in case of Canada, or be married to a local, that sort of stuff).
Also, although some of our cities (like Recife) kill people faster than some war zones (Recife body count for example rises faster than Iraq body count), noone will grant refugee status to a brazillian (specially, because it would cause a political fallout of some government admiting that Brazil has civil war, and the government here is trying hard to avoid that status, despite having the Army and Navy being in active duty in Rio de Janeiro and fighting people that are armed with military grade weapons, like bazookas and anti-air cannons)
And my assets are negative, this is a big no-no for many countries (like US, that don't allow entry of people with negative assets even as tourists, because negative assets means they having nothing to lose, and much to gain by overstaying their visas).
I have some crazy student debts here, and moving money in or out of here is not much simple, also it has some other implications... I am basically forced to stay until I pay those debts, unless someone offer me some REALLY good job elsewhere (REALLY good in the sense, that wage - cost of living is significant... although I currently earn 15k usd, a 80k usd job in SV is not much profitable for example...)
Extremely violence ridden, I had guns pointed at me in more than once instance, and I witnessed firefights from my bedroom more than once too, in different cities (one firefight was even in a expensive "safe" neighbourhood, what happened is that a dumb guy tried to steal the car of a celebrity private security)
Also, really bad environment to do business, we frequently get scored very low on "ease to do business" index, there is excessive bureaucracy, rules that change randomly (on average the country enacts 18 new laws per day, most of them related to taxes, subsidies, and so on...), excessive corruption...
Also the average brazillian is usually very, very treacherous, people are always warm up front, but quick to stab you in the back, this particular reason is one that I want to change my citizenship (I don't think the average brazillian deserves my life to defend them in case a war happen)
And there are also a mass of other problems summed (for example, trying to homeschool your children here is a felony, jail and all included, also the Gini coefficient is severely absurd, the top 0.1% get more money than their peers in many other developed countries, while the top 5% get less than US minimum wage, probably thanks to banks charging 70%/yr of interest, and credit card companies charging 250%/yr, making finance be wildly profitable, and anything else not so much)
I always have a hard time answering the question "Where are you from?"
I was born in a country that doesn't give out citizenship (A middle eastern nation). My father, too, was born there. In fact, I need a visa to go visit my own birth country (where my parents still live).
I inherited Indian citizenship through my father and his family (I've never lived there), and potentially British citizenship through my mother (she was born in England but British nationality laws are very complicated). I travel on an Indian passport although I can not vote in India as I am a Non-Resident Indian (That might change for the 2014 elections).
My permanent residency, interestingly, is in Canada; and I live and work in the US.
Edit: I just know there is a business in here somewhere.
It used to be the same in India. But it changed a few years ago. Now you can Indian citizenship if you are born in India and atleast one of your parents is an Indian citizen.
Yup, that's what people usually really mean when they ask "Where are you from?"
I went NZ -> New York, NY -> Scotland and if I'm say on holiday somewhere, doesn't really matter whether it's in the UK, Europe, US, and someone asks "Where are you from?" then I have to think.
Depending on my mood I might answer New Zealand because that's the accent they hear and they really mean "What country were you born in?". Or I might answer Edinburgh or Scotland because that's where I live and consider my home, in which case the response is often "... but you don't have a Scottish accent", and I then explain and they get the answer they were looking for or expecting. Or I might answer "Where does the wind come from?" and disappear down the rabbit hole.
My children have triple citizenship and will no doubt have their own difficulties with "Where are you from?" in later life.
Same here. I was born in Dubai. Dad was working there as an engineer during the building boom in the 70s. I inherited British citizenship through both parents, and US citizenship through Dad.
But, I've lived most of my life just outside Washington DC, USA.
131 comments
[ 6.9 ms ] story [ 429 ms ] thread(the last point is probably more of a reason then the first)
(I live in Croatia that was part of ex Yugoslavia, which fell apart in the 90es)
The people who attacked you are morons, and unfortunately we have a share of those too. :(
I have a feeling that the yes's will greatly outnumber the no's a little later when the U.S. logs in.
Depending on what the point of this exercise is.
Of course this is more likely to happen in Europe where countries are smaller and borders, well aren't borders anymore.
The United States is a huge country and the job opportunities and lifestyle in Mexico may not seem beneficial to most citizens.
I really want to leave, but I cannot yet.
Some countries have more freedoms.
Some countries have more resources and that translates into more money, more technology and a better quality of life.
.
Pick one, or all three.
p.s.: serious question, and it's a lot tougher when you are from a third world country.
Most countries won't accept Brazillians wanting to go there legally permanently (probably because the havock that illegal brazillians spread around the world :/) with few exceptions (ie: have specific degrees in case of Canada, or be married to a local, that sort of stuff).
Also, although some of our cities (like Recife) kill people faster than some war zones (Recife body count for example rises faster than Iraq body count), noone will grant refugee status to a brazillian (specially, because it would cause a political fallout of some government admiting that Brazil has civil war, and the government here is trying hard to avoid that status, despite having the Army and Navy being in active duty in Rio de Janeiro and fighting people that are armed with military grade weapons, like bazookas and anti-air cannons)
And my assets are negative, this is a big no-no for many countries (like US, that don't allow entry of people with negative assets even as tourists, because negative assets means they having nothing to lose, and much to gain by overstaying their visas).
I have some crazy student debts here, and moving money in or out of here is not much simple, also it has some other implications... I am basically forced to stay until I pay those debts, unless someone offer me some REALLY good job elsewhere (REALLY good in the sense, that wage - cost of living is significant... although I currently earn 15k usd, a 80k usd job in SV is not much profitable for example...)
Extremely violence ridden, I had guns pointed at me in more than once instance, and I witnessed firefights from my bedroom more than once too, in different cities (one firefight was even in a expensive "safe" neighbourhood, what happened is that a dumb guy tried to steal the car of a celebrity private security)
Also, really bad environment to do business, we frequently get scored very low on "ease to do business" index, there is excessive bureaucracy, rules that change randomly (on average the country enacts 18 new laws per day, most of them related to taxes, subsidies, and so on...), excessive corruption...
Also the average brazillian is usually very, very treacherous, people are always warm up front, but quick to stab you in the back, this particular reason is one that I want to change my citizenship (I don't think the average brazillian deserves my life to defend them in case a war happen)
And there are also a mass of other problems summed (for example, trying to homeschool your children here is a felony, jail and all included, also the Gini coefficient is severely absurd, the top 0.1% get more money than their peers in many other developed countries, while the top 5% get less than US minimum wage, probably thanks to banks charging 70%/yr of interest, and credit card companies charging 250%/yr, making finance be wildly profitable, and anything else not so much)
Who knows where to next.
I was born in a country that doesn't give out citizenship (A middle eastern nation). My father, too, was born there. In fact, I need a visa to go visit my own birth country (where my parents still live).
I inherited Indian citizenship through my father and his family (I've never lived there), and potentially British citizenship through my mother (she was born in England but British nationality laws are very complicated). I travel on an Indian passport although I can not vote in India as I am a Non-Resident Indian (That might change for the 2014 elections).
My permanent residency, interestingly, is in Canada; and I live and work in the US.
Edit: I just know there is a business in here somewhere.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperation_Council_for_the_Ara...
I went NZ -> New York, NY -> Scotland and if I'm say on holiday somewhere, doesn't really matter whether it's in the UK, Europe, US, and someone asks "Where are you from?" then I have to think.
Depending on my mood I might answer New Zealand because that's the accent they hear and they really mean "What country were you born in?". Or I might answer Edinburgh or Scotland because that's where I live and consider my home, in which case the response is often "... but you don't have a Scottish accent", and I then explain and they get the answer they were looking for or expecting. Or I might answer "Where does the wind come from?" and disappear down the rabbit hole.
My children have triple citizenship and will no doubt have their own difficulties with "Where are you from?" in later life.
But, I've lived most of my life just outside Washington DC, USA.
Been living in different countries and even on another side of the globe, but keep coming back.