331–340 of 759 posts
Once the kids are gone, we are likely to become nomadic.
(In my case that's Vitória, Brazil.)
I moved out for the work opportunity, to a city a mere 6 hours away door-to-door over air travel, or 12 hours by car. It's been 10 years now.
I visit frequently, about 5 times a year. I spend summers there every year, at least 15 days straight, sometimes 25. I'm happily married with a son. I made new friends.
Yet, I very much miss the frequent contact with relatives and longtime friends.
Asheville NC. My wife and I moved here in early March just before the shutdown. Beautiful. I pinch myself everyday that I get to live And work (from home) here.
What's the social and cultural scene like in NC? Would a single guy in his twenties enjoy it?
My village in Kerala, India. I got a house and I have a small patch of land which is very fertile and plenty of water (there are places with water scarcity). I get to watch the monsoon rains. The beach is like a couple of miles away. The mountains are also quite close and its very beautiful and its very much untouched nature. It's also very hot and humid but I am fine with that. Also, they get fiber so the internet i…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Russia has changed a lot. The Soviet collapse and the subsequent 20 years were not easy, for sure, I can understand why you left. But now I'm reading a lot of reports and historical analysis written from inside Russia, like by Bill Browder, Gilbert Doctorow, Dominic Levien, and other Westerners with deep knowledge of Russia. There is a very different energy now since 2014 (the Crimea situation). And I've spent last 8…
I see your point. For sure, the country's situation changed a lot since the 90s. It is also very common to dismiss any russians who are critical of power to have "western eyes", as if you couldn't be russian and have issues with your government. This mentality was already present in soviet times. You seem to say that you gain immediate affinity with russians for having the same "orthodox" mindset, yet you are ready t…
But there are also blatant lies in the Western media narrative about Russia. For example, the West claims that Putin's "regime" suppresses all alternative viewpoints. However, from spending a lot of time watching Russian media, including official TV channels like Russiya-1, and YouTube standup comedians like Данила Поперечный [1], and seeing memes on Russian social media, I see a lot of diverse anti-government voices in the Russian landscape, which are NOT suppressed. Actually, I find the Western landscape to be more suppressed. Try to be pro-Russian, for example, and see what happens in America.
I find the Russian political landscape, including social media, to be more educated, informed, reasonable, diverse, and intellectual compared to the Trumpian world of American politics.
I personally evaluate Russia using metrics that they value, such as family values. I am not even Christian, I am Muslim, but I have very similar values. But I find that even Russians who are not Christian are still more understanding of my family values than Westerners who look at me like a backwards idiot. In that sense I actually find greater tolerance in Eastern Europe.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=387&v=IfTlqfHq1d...
Ideally, it'd be my home-base to afford a good amount of nomading. Low taxes, low cost of living, excellent food scene (UN City of Gastronomy), and a great craft beer/wine/whiskey scene to boot.
It's not perfect, though. You can acclimate to the summer heat if you put the time in, and you'd be rewarded with our amazing monsoon thunderstorms.
Our college sports team is seemingly in a constant downward spiral. But the University is second only to Raytheon/Air Force in power and influence.
There's a fair amount of gentrification happening; as the case with anywhere, there are good spots and less so great spots crime wise.
But having lived short-term in various places around the country, Tucson is always my home. Happy to answer any questions you may have.
I may be the only person left who loves San Francisco. Just got back from biking from my house through Golden Gate Park past the De Young and Cal Academy to Cliff House and down Ocean Beach. There was sunshine and people were outside. In different circumstances, there are people dancing on roller skates, learning tango, and skateboarding. Near our house there is a great Russian Bakery, tons of Chinese restaurants on…
I may be the only person left who loves San Francisco. Just got back from biking from my house through Golden Gate Park past the De Young and Cal Academy to Cliff House and down Ocean Beach. There was sunshine and people were outside. In different circumstances, there are people dancing on roller skates, learning tango, and skateboarding. Near our house there is a great Russian Bakery, tons of Chinese restaurants on…
When I got to visit SF, it was a lovely, magical city and it inspired me to buy $300 worth of books related to my interest in someday becoming a city planner (or something similar). The problem is I can't possibly afford to live there. If you can live there, cool. For many people, it's just too expensive to make it into a nice experience. All those restaurants nearby are only cool if you can afford the high cost of h…
I would love to move to Japan instead, but the chances of that working are slim to none, and the wife does not really like the Japanese culture anyway, so.