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You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

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Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#101

Post by slig »

mavdi wrote: post #100
slig wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm thinking of moving from Brazil to Portugal. Is there anything special you didn't like in Lisbon? Was is too similar to London and you were looking for something different? Thanks

You'd have to try it for yourself I guess. I loved Lisbon as a place to visit, but living there was a totally different story. Sadly (and apologies to the Portuguese here) Portugal is a harsh country to immigrants, especially Brazilians from what they told me. Frankly I'd say the only thing Portugal and Brazil have in common is the language. My opinion only.

Thanks for replying! I plan to try that.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#102

Post by jscholes »

Sir_Substance wrote: post #95
bitL wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Australias government increasingly intervening directly in it's citizens lives whether they like it or not What exactly do you mean? And is it Australian government or individual state ones?

Both. A few examples are in order I guess. A few years ago, the federal government dissolved the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, which checked peoples passports and asked them stern questions about the suspicious grass dolls they bought in Vietnam. If you did something really stupid, a customs officer might point a pistol at you. They replaced it with the Australian Border Force, who despite formall…

I've enjoyed reading your comments in this thread. Have you considered writing up any of your observations about places you've visited, lived or worked in in a blog/book/etc? I would check it out.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#103

Post by projektir »

throwaway84742 wrote: post #68
pranjalv123 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of pocket maximums kick in eventually, unless you accidentally go to an out-of network provider, unless you lose your job and therefore your insurance, unless your insurance decides that a drug you need isn't covered, etc., etc., etc.

You don’t lose your insurance anymore if you lose your job. You are required by law to have insurance whether you have a job or not.

Your formulation makes it sound like the government will make sure you have insurance.

This is not the case. You have to make sure you have insurance or the government will fine you. But if you were unable to get insurance for whatever reason, you still don't have insurance.

And Obamacare premiums are not small and the insurance is not very good.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#104

Post by Sir_Substance »

jscholes wrote: post #102
Sir_Substance wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both. A few examples are in order I guess. A few years ago, the federal government dissolved the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, which checked peoples passports and asked them stern questions about the suspicious grass dolls they bought in Vietnam. If you did something really stupid, a customs officer might point a pistol at you. They replaced it with the Australian Border Force, who despite formall…

I've enjoyed reading your comments in this thread. Have you considered writing up any of your observations about places you've visited, lived or worked in in a blog/book/etc? I would check it out.

I've certainly considered it, but it's very much not me. It's hard to be more expressive than that without posting a huge long introspective ramble. I'm one of lifes natural born psudo-anonymous internet posters, I guess.

edit: Thanks for the compliment by the way :) I really do forget my manners on the internet!

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#105

Post by Cyph0n »

projektir wrote: post #103
throwaway84742 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t lose your insurance anymore if you lose your job. You are required by law to have insurance whether you have a job or not.

Your formulation makes it sound like the government will make sure you have insurance. This is not the case. You have to make sure you have insurance or the government will fine you. But if you were unable to get insurance for whatever reason, you still don't have insurance. And Obamacare premiums are not small and the insurance is not very good.

To follow up on this, you will be fined by the IRS for every month of the year in which you have no insurance...

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#106

Post by hollerith »

jacquesm wrote: post #51
pmoriarty wrote: post #38

I love to travel, meet other people, experience different cultures, and widen my horizons. For those reasons alone, I'd definitely advocate at least doing a lot of traveling to lots of different countries, and (if possible) trying to live in those countries you like best. That said, I've found that living in other countries does have its down sides. The one that's bothered me most is being treated like a second-class…

Some countries are worse in this respect than others. I've lived in lots of different places, I've never really felt much of an outsider because (1) I try hard to learn as much of the local language that I can, (2) I try to connect to the locals rather than to my fellow country men and (3) I try really hard to be nice to people and help where I can. Having some skills will make this much quicker. Even so, there are d…

>And moving back here was a mixed bag

"here" meaning the Netherlands; is that not so?

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#107

Post by throwaway84742 »

projektir wrote: post #103
throwaway84742 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t lose your insurance anymore if you lose your job. You are required by law to have insurance whether you have a job or not.

Your formulation makes it sound like the government will make sure you have insurance. This is not the case. You have to make sure you have insurance or the government will fine you. But if you were unable to get insurance for whatever reason, you still don't have insurance. And Obamacare premiums are not small and the insurance is not very good.

Yes. So rather than putting a gun to my head to make me pay for your insurance they put the gun to the head of the purportedly responsible adult who should be paying, and provide steep discounts if you can’t afford it.

Government can merely redistribute its tax earnings, often in extremely corrupt and wasteful ways. It does not create wealth on its own.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#108

Post by maxerickson »

projektir wrote: post #103
throwaway84742 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t lose your insurance anymore if you lose your job. You are required by law to have insurance whether you have a job or not.

Your formulation makes it sound like the government will make sure you have insurance. This is not the case. You have to make sure you have insurance or the government will fine you. But if you were unable to get insurance for whatever reason, you still don't have insurance. And Obamacare premiums are not small and the insurance is not very good.

What's your criteria for "good"?

The worst conforming ACA plans are essentially the catastrophic insurance that people think they are clamoring for; they are expensive because health care costs in the US are spiraling out of control. It could be that people actually want plans with a bunch of complicated limitations and limits, but I doubt it.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#109

Post by yorby »

ukulele wrote: post #5

It's funny that Florida has such a pristine reputation internationally. I'm from the Southern US, and my view of Florida is that it's where 80% of the crazies in the US live. Anytime I see a batsh*t crazy headline? Florida. Check the articles you see from now on and you'll notice a pattern. So to all the internationals: if you like the US but not its extremes, definitely don't move to Florida.

A lot of people are in Florida, so you end up with more headlines then from smaller states...

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#110

Post by wyclif »

ukulele wrote: post #5

It's funny that Florida has such a pristine reputation internationally. I'm from the Southern US, and my view of Florida is that it's where 80% of the crazies in the US live. Anytime I see a batsh*t crazy headline? Florida. Check the articles you see from now on and you'll notice a pattern. So to all the internationals: if you like the US but not its extremes, definitely don't move to Florida.

Florida Man. You're talking about Florida Man.
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