Oddbean

The west, even with all of it's problems, is still the best in my opinion. There's no place on earth I'd rather live than the US and I have the resources to move to any country I want. And even if I did want to live in another country, it would definitely be a western one. We have work to do, but I'm not ready to forsake the west in favor of something worse. Pass.

Just pulling yer pud. As a European, its interesting that north Americans consider that the adjacent countries don't count when considering distance. There's probably places you can stand in Europe and spit into three different countries!

I haven't used "pulling her pud" in well over a decade. Great little English turn of phrase to say being facecious if you've not come across before. Not used much these days. Means pulling your pudding but fuck knows the origin!

No, and I have no desire to. I know my current needs and no other country on the planet, currently, allows me to do the things I value most as freely as I can now. Hopefully that changes. I doubt it will. My best hope currently is do everything I can to not lose this in the US. I have spent a lot of time researching to come to this conclusion though. I can't live as I do now in any other country, sadly. Even western ones. But that's all from a legal perspective. Philosophically (my preference for Westernism), I don't need to visit any particular place. I think Western philosophy in general is better. So this issue for me is one of legal structure and philosophy. That, for me, means the US is best. I can leave and choose not to. It wasn't until I could leave that I fully realized this because I didn't have a choice one way or the other before. Now I stay completely by choice. I'll never say that will never change though if somewhere else meets my needs better. And I actually hope competition does improve. I'm not excited about the fact that I have nowhere better to go from a legal perspective. I'm less rigid about visiting other places, but there are places I will absolutely not visit in their current state. Nothing has interested me thusfar.

I respect your right to an opinion, but you lost me at "No, and I have no desire to." Your statement is a typical American one. The west is the best, everything I need is in America. America is the best, anything not western is worse. I still have faith in America, but without the contrast of living in other countries, I would never have seen its shortcomings as clearly as I do now. As someone who has lived in and visited multiple countries. I can tell you experience does make a difference. Respectfully, it's a bit like reading reading a book about sex and thinking you know what it is. You can borrow the experience of the author, but if you've never had the experience for yourself, you really don't know it. :)

I am not sure what your point is or which opinions you are referencing. This explains the opinions I expressed in this note. I have a wide array of opinions on many topics that I spend time researching and thinking about.

i've lived in eastern europe a lot of the last 12 years... and i very nearly was in ukraine, or kazakhstan or siberia i can assure you that it is not hell in most of the world... i've heard stories from friends about china, cambodia and vietnam too... really... the media distorts everything to make it seem like it's murdertown everywhere actually, from the stats, murdertown central is actually mexico but i'm pretty sure that being a muslim in israel is rough, and being born into that situation is confusing and horrifying pretty sure there's plenty of jew kids who grow up wondering what the fuck is going on too

I've thought out my position and made up my own mind based on research of history and philosophy. Where I live has nothing to do with that. Feel free to challenge my arguments with your non-chauvanistic, non-fanatic, non-ignorant counter arguments that must be better since I haven't met the arbitrary standard of having lived in a country you approve of. I can only imagine how enlightened I'll be after seeing this preview.

Where you have lived in the world explains your perspective, doesn't. Ean mine is better or worse. Go talk to people who were exchange students and people who loved in other countries, idgaf about your research of history and philosophy. Those people in those countries you've studied are real people, just like you and I. I met a dude from Afghanistan in Denmark who hated me when we first met. And hour or two later the two of us ended up hugging and smoking a joint together. That's all we're saying is that your lack of experience with other people from other cultures puts your perspective in a purely theoretical one based on "research" as you said yourself which is missing a huge part of the human experience. I met kids in my English class abroad who were moved around from country to country alone when they were under age 16 just to escape warlords and collapsing govts. I don't think you can fully grasp the Consequences of the bullshit govts do until you have had a friend who's been through shit like that or seen how people are just people no matter where they're from.

Yes. Lived in Guatemala for 6 weeks last Nov and Dec. Lived in the Netherlands for 4 months during lockdown. Lived in Eastern Europe for 20 years. Lived in Bali for 3 months. Lived in the US for almost 19 years. Lived in Costa Rica for 5 weeks. Just these for now.

Ahaha LOL I didn't see the OP. I guess just your question popped up. Well after living abroad 10 months out of last year in 2 either 3rd world country or underdeveloped as they could be labled... I began to breathe differently just getting at the gate to come back to the US and seeing americans. I was so incredibly relieved landing in LA (and kind you I've lived in LA and was so not my vibe). Then it hit me in conversation with my Uber driver who had not gone back to Azerbaijan for 9 years due to visa limitations and missed his family... but when I asked him if he likes it here he was like "what do you mean, I love it here. I don't have to deal with 3rd world stuff". Then It hit me... considering I lived in a third world country the first 20 years of my life, and suddenly I spent all of last year in such... the reason I immediately felt spaciousness was because the heavy thick survival stress induced aura of a third world country's existence reality was no longer looming over me and in my field. I love America and I am happy to be here.

It appeared out of nowhere for me too until I came back and saw it was asked specifically of the OP. I've often (but not always) had the opposite experience when spending time in developing countries. Life might be less convenient, but the sense of reliance on community and genuine vitality of people has always seemed full of life to me. But perhaps that is the danger of being raised in a Western nation then spending time in such places.

Maybe the difference is that about a decade ago I prayed and asked to be guided to a place near nature, with an open hearted community, near water and I found it and spent the last 9 years in a pretty unique counter culture spot in Northern California that has a very close knit many pockets a communities. So I got to experience that in the US and be amongst people where I can be my unique weird mystical self into the counter culture stuff that I am into... I found the same people and vibes in Bali and I enjoyed it there... I loved and I miss flowy dresses and my hair blown wild in the air as I ride my motorbike... but after 3 months I had to run because I woke up realizing I had mold in my brain... ... Found same hippy vibe community in Guatemala but the pollution on every dimension was so bad there that my sensitive being was constantly trauma triggered. ... Now I am actually outgrowing that vibe and have decided to not go back to my community in NorCal for a little bit at least and explore more driven trailblazing vibes perhaps. I do hear you though, most of the US lacks what you describe to a large extend.