Australia Sucks said:
Global Man you are again making a straw man argument I have already addressed. I did not say poverty makes people happier.
My response was clearly to Vladimir Poontang's post.
I pointed out that it is possible in some countries people who are less well off then westerners may be happier despite the disadvantage of less money because they have other social positives which offset the lack of money.
Of course it is possible. People generally make the most of whatever their lot in life is, I have already said this in this thread. That people can be happy while being poor is both true and a non-point.
You are creating a "strawman" in this thread by pretending that those in the Anglosphere can't have both financial security
and a happy social life.
It is a
choice to be a "drone" in the USA, Canada, UK etc. Perhaps it is so deeply ingrained that it may seem like not a choice, I'll give you that, but it is a choice nonetheless.
On the other hand, the average Colombian, Thai etc does not have that choice. They have very limited opportunities compared to you, for example.
The Anglo guy can choose, at any time, to eat better, socialize more if he wants, pursue a different career or education, start a business with relative ease etc. His issues are ones that he can change with just a little bit of thought and effort, to a very high likelihood of success. He is not held back by the country he lives in or its economics.
The Colombian guy can't make his country into a land of attainable wealth and endless opportunity. His problems are ones which can't be easily solved, if they can at all.
Also many posters with high rep points on this thread pointed out they have friends in developing countries are are generally happier than their friends in developed countries.
Pointing out rep points doesn't add anything to your point. I don't need others' perspective in order to understand something that I've been experiencing since I left the USA for Thailand at 19 years old many years ago.
As for your point, I don't know if you mean native/local friends or if you mean expats friends living in those destinations. Of course there are happy people everywhere- such a fact does not give any weight to whether it is better to grow up in relative poverty or to grow up in Australia for example. It simply shows that people make the most of what they have and get on with life enjoying what they can (except for you for some reason).
If these are expats you are talking about- well no shit it's gravy for relatively wealthy foreigner, I don't need anyone to tell me that, I've lived years in various 3rd world locations. They/we are sure as shit not living like a local, and comparing expats to being a average local is not a comparison at all obviously.
I remember I used to know this Colombian bloke living in Sydney (he is a permanent resident here). He was originally from Medellin and came to Australia some years ago with his wife and now had a young daughter here too. I remember talking to him about his life back home in Colombia and he told me that overall he had a better lifestyle there.
...
He said his life was harder and less fun in Australia but he was here to build up a future so his daughter could enjoy more opportunities. But pretty much he is less happy in Australia and its a sacrifice he is making for his daughters future.
-Of course his life was harder in Oz, he was having to work in a demanding society that rewards hard work and effort, and has exacting standards that make a country like Australia function well, as opposed to the general "manana" attitude of Colombia. Being late with everywhere, getting little actual work done, not having to (or being able to) build any wealth for the family, etc back in Medellin is definitely
easier. Doing less and doing it slower can certainly be more
enjoyable. That is not a surprise or a revelation, nor is it any kind of indictment on Oz.
-This may seem too convenient as a response, but it is a true story. My first girlfriend in Bogota had a brother who I never met, he left just before I met her (I did bang her in his old room though). He was cook and he desperately wanted to find a way to make a true life out of his passion, not just survival which is what Colombia had to offer him. He first traveled to Chile and worked for a time there in a hotel, but even though it's a step up economically from Colombia it's really not much better for people like him. Pay was low, advancement difficult. So, he left and went to Buenos Aires. He found more options there, but struggled with the Porteño elitist attitude toward any brown hued South Americans, and it was very unlikely he would succeed there.
He finally decided to apply to culinary school in
Australia, Melbourne to be precise. He was accepted. Fortunately for him, his parents could just about afford to help him pay, and he need to work as much as was allowed to survive. But the visa that allowed him to study stipulated that he could not leave for X number of years if he wanted to qualify for permanent residency at the earliest possibility (you Aussies will know more about that, this is just from my memory of second hand info years ago). I believe it was 5 years or so that he basically couldn't leave (even if he could he couldn't afford it), and his family could never afford to go there. It was a giant sacrifice, but he made it because it was one of the only ways to fulfill his desire to be a professionl cook. And we are not talking a celebrity chef, just to make what we would consider a decent living at it. It was basically not possible for him in the whole of South America- extremely unlikely at the very least. But it was relatively straight forward for him to achieve this in Melbourne. I remember it being hard as hell for him from what my girl relayed,
but at least what he wanted was now possible, and he seemed happy for that.
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AS You are talking about basically retiring in your 30's on passive income and investments, and you are wondering if perhaps your average dude in Colombia has a better life. It's F'n ridiculous.
