Re: Expat Destinations

[Matthias Grob <matthias@grob.org>]

You can call this OT, but the place we choose to live is fundamental 
and who is born in the first world has the freedom to choose!

I think that musicians have been traveling always. Probably more in 
the middle ages than now (anyway, whole tribes moved much further 
then, although it was much more difficult!). We are the kind of 
messengers that have to get some overview and pack it into our music. 
While other professions are responsible for stability and thus rather 
locally fixed, we bring the new waves and colorations.
So if you feel that spirit, take a chance and try, even if you may 
seem to fail, you hardly will regret the experience!

Since I made a big jump from Switzerland to Brasil 10 years ago, I 
can give some hints about such moves. Each place is different, so I 
resume my experience:

Pro:
- Live cost is much cheaper, I could not live off the EDP in US or Europe
- The climate is just perfect, few days are hot, its never cold, 
enough water, sun...
- There is enough space, cheap land of all kinds of beauty.
- No need for complicated housings, no insulation, not even windows. 
Simple dressing.
- Less security laws. Do it they way you want, if it harms you, its 
your problem. If someone elses silliness harms you, its also mostly 
your problem.
- Portuguese is a beautiful language, perfect to express lovely things.
- Food is excellent, the variety on the market all year and the 
brilliant local creations like Acaraje at every corner and Moqueca 
and...
- Music is all present and nice.
- There is a lot of freedom and tolerance to live as you like and 
believe what you want.
- Its an amazing experience to know a totally different way of life, 
expands perception, also about the culture you come from and makes 
you select more consciously what you want.
- You can be very usefull to the local population with ideas, 
contacts, knowledge, new vewpoint... but its also very difficult to 
bring this input without offending!

Contra:
- Import tax is 100% so each technical thing you need is a hassle or 
expensive.
- Live style is slow. Stand in the line, be patient when things are 
late or dont happen. Its hard to be here and keep up with the speed 
of the rest of the world.
- The local music is so strong that there is hardly any space for foreign 
art.
- Immigration laws are a problem in most countries. Get marred or 
something...
- Less security. Watch your things and accept that you loose 
something once in a while. Not only by robbery but by strong natural 
influences (corrosion, microbes...)
- Work is badly paid, quality little respected. If you depend on 
making a living here, you need to be very smart or modest. Internet 
is a great way out!
- Its almost impossible to really integrate into a society which had 
totally different conditions to grow up. I cannot laugh about most 
jokes and if I throw one of my rather ironic style, they dont 
understand or feel offended.
- New discovery: the body is used to be fed as in childhood. We keep 
most of our habits and can find the ways for this here. But for 
example, if you dont like hot food, you are more likely to get 
parasites. Either you adapt to the local costumes which is a shock 
for the body, or you dont and thus disrespect the deeper reasons for 
those costumes. Not a big problem, though.

As you see, there are about the same amount of arguments to do it or 
not. I dont regret and cannot imagine to go back to a first world 
country unless something really fundamental would happen there for 
me, or a heavy crisis would strike here.
-- 


          ---> http://Matthias.Grob.org