It's a classic "grass is greener" phenomenon. I suffer from it too. Though I'm not the passportbro demographic, I'll sometimes dream about leaving the west. If I ever do, though, it needs to be sans rose colored glassed, so I appreciate your perspective.
Absolutely brilliant writing voice; you had me hooked the whole way through and somehow conveyed a sense of body language and intonation that is difficult to do when not in person.
Also an interesting topic to me since I am planning my escape from the US and am attempting to do the same type of in depth research into different cultures and how they actually operate vs how the seem to operate from the outside. Currently I am tentatively pointed in the direction of eastern or southern Europe. This is mostly due to the fact that chaos breeds opportunity, and corrupt, lazy governments have a harder time enforcing deeply esoteric punishments which are disguised as laws, and are more interested in the banal things such as money.
'Absolutely brilliant writing voice; you had me hooked the whole way through and somehow conveyed a sense of body language and intonation that is difficult to do when not in person.'
This is generous praise and most encouraging; I appreciate it.
'chaos breeds opportunity, and corrupt, lazy governments have a harder time enforcing deeply esoteric punishments which are disguised as laws, and are more interested in the banal things such as money.'
I hadn't thought of things in this way. You're quite right that the government isn't interested in inflicting 'moral punishments'. In general there's no real taste for that kind of thing in Romania--no widespread 'middle class values' see.
I've worked (in big tech) with some very smart Romanians - and they tend to be significantly more well-adjusted than the average tech bugman. Few are overtly Christian but most are obviously culturally Christian (eg. the women aren't interested in hook-ups and demand serious relationships).
My hope is that many will return to the motherland, bringing their professional experience with them, building an economy that will reverse the brain-drain. Other than that, I have no view on the overall political trajectory of Romania, which is an extremely complex subject and not one I'm qualified to speculate about. I imagine there are serious challenges too. I'm also aware that the Romanians I know represent the intellectual elite, not the average person.
But if you wanted to embed yourself in a fundamentally healthy European community, middle class Romania would be a good place to do it. Culturally Christian, ethnically European, affordable to raise children, and tremendously beautiful in parts. If you were intentional about where you lived and who you lived with, you could build something very nice for your family.
Lack of qualifications never stopped me from speculating; otherwise I'd have nothing to write about.
"Culturally Christian, ethnically European"
Yes and yes & no--I will come to these matters in due course.
"If you were intentional about where you lived and who you lived with, you could build something very nice for your family."
The where and the whom are indeed of the essence.
"the women aren't interested in hook-ups and demand serious relationships"
As you say, the west-leaning/-soujourning middle class (more also on *them* in subsequent entries) are not especially representative. There are plenty of sl00ts, especially camgirls and the like. Alex Kaschuta points out that they don't give away anything for free, which is not quite the same as Christian sexual modesty.
Thanx for reply; probably the best way to conclude is to say I share your hopes but perhaps not your optimism.
It's a classic "grass is greener" phenomenon. I suffer from it too. Though I'm not the passportbro demographic, I'll sometimes dream about leaving the west. If I ever do, though, it needs to be sans rose colored glassed, so I appreciate your perspective.
Absolutely brilliant writing voice; you had me hooked the whole way through and somehow conveyed a sense of body language and intonation that is difficult to do when not in person.
Also an interesting topic to me since I am planning my escape from the US and am attempting to do the same type of in depth research into different cultures and how they actually operate vs how the seem to operate from the outside. Currently I am tentatively pointed in the direction of eastern or southern Europe. This is mostly due to the fact that chaos breeds opportunity, and corrupt, lazy governments have a harder time enforcing deeply esoteric punishments which are disguised as laws, and are more interested in the banal things such as money.
'Absolutely brilliant writing voice; you had me hooked the whole way through and somehow conveyed a sense of body language and intonation that is difficult to do when not in person.'
This is generous praise and most encouraging; I appreciate it.
'chaos breeds opportunity, and corrupt, lazy governments have a harder time enforcing deeply esoteric punishments which are disguised as laws, and are more interested in the banal things such as money.'
I hadn't thought of things in this way. You're quite right that the government isn't interested in inflicting 'moral punishments'. In general there's no real taste for that kind of thing in Romania--no widespread 'middle class values' see.
This is interesting. I'm bullish on Romania - but good to have assumptions checked before they run wild
Why bullish sir
I am genuinely interested to know
I've worked (in big tech) with some very smart Romanians - and they tend to be significantly more well-adjusted than the average tech bugman. Few are overtly Christian but most are obviously culturally Christian (eg. the women aren't interested in hook-ups and demand serious relationships).
My hope is that many will return to the motherland, bringing their professional experience with them, building an economy that will reverse the brain-drain. Other than that, I have no view on the overall political trajectory of Romania, which is an extremely complex subject and not one I'm qualified to speculate about. I imagine there are serious challenges too. I'm also aware that the Romanians I know represent the intellectual elite, not the average person.
But if you wanted to embed yourself in a fundamentally healthy European community, middle class Romania would be a good place to do it. Culturally Christian, ethnically European, affordable to raise children, and tremendously beautiful in parts. If you were intentional about where you lived and who you lived with, you could build something very nice for your family.
Lack of qualifications never stopped me from speculating; otherwise I'd have nothing to write about.
"Culturally Christian, ethnically European"
Yes and yes & no--I will come to these matters in due course.
"If you were intentional about where you lived and who you lived with, you could build something very nice for your family."
The where and the whom are indeed of the essence.
"the women aren't interested in hook-ups and demand serious relationships"
As you say, the west-leaning/-soujourning middle class (more also on *them* in subsequent entries) are not especially representative. There are plenty of sl00ts, especially camgirls and the like. Alex Kaschuta points out that they don't give away anything for free, which is not quite the same as Christian sexual modesty.
Thanx for reply; probably the best way to conclude is to say I share your hopes but perhaps not your optimism.
This is me and Bavaria. But I’m married with a bunch of kids.
Believe me sir when I tell you that Romania is more challenging than Oktoberfest and lederhosen
I will never challenge that!
Reality is horrendous.
a cryptic remark sir