There's a retired couple living in my mom's apartment complex who seems to spend 12 hours every day sunbathing outside during the summer months. They did this when we were visiting last year and they're continuing the streak apparently. After you've lived in a warm climate for a while, the whole idea of sunbathing starts to seem obscene, but this is something else.
@neilhenning Oh, I thought people who'd followed me a for a long time knew, sorry. I moved to Thailand after semi-retiring since that's where my wife is from originally.
@neilhenning I'm trying to remember when I retired/moved. I guess it must have been 6-7 years now. I was talking about it a lot at the time for obvious reasons but after that it's not really something you think about it so I don't even think to mention it.
@pervognsen@neilhenning I didn't know that! I heard very polarized opinions on Thailand (beautiful, cheap, easy to move, great food vs. apparently not very democratic, and one has to obey some rules very strictly), and I would love to hear your perspective someday as it might be more relatable to me than, e.g., bodybuilders (many of whom move there for some reason, I think mostly because they buy pharma PEDs without prescription - wat???).
@BartWronski@neilhenning I like it more than other places when you make a weighted sum (according to my preferences) of all the components. The largely military-monarchical system of government with incidental democratic characteristics is what it is; in general I don't think it's something you can get too upset about on your own behalf as an expat when you're here of your own volition and have other options.
@BartWronski@neilhenning There's also plenty of things you can get upset or annoyed about day to day if you want to get upset. I think I'm buffered from a lot of the most annoying stuff by having a wife who's lived overseas with me for years before we moved back to Thailand and she does most of the stuff that would probably frustrate me if I had to handle it directly. The stuff that still bothers me is mostly about things not being "up to standard" in various ways but I'm pretty easygoing.
@BartWronski@neilhenning Everywhere I've lived, expats complaining about everything was inescapable and I always found it tedious and counterproductive. I mean, I get it and it doesn't mean there's necessarily no substance to it, but I'm happy I'm insulated from that now.
@pervognsen@neilhenning yeah, I complain about many things in the US and would not want to live in most of it. I had a hate-love relationship with California (with more "love" in LA and more "hate" in SFBA). No place is perfect.
But so far, NYC is the best place I have ever lived (if you have a decent income) and for my preferences, even if I still complain or make fun of weird things and there are some compromises, I absolutely love it.
@BartWronski@neilhenning I always felt better with myself when complaining about the US while living there since you're in the imperial core of the world hegemon. ;)
@BartWronski@pervognsen@neilhenning Living in NYC is my fantasy but I don't think it's ever going to come true. Maybe it's better to always have the fantasy and never be disappointed.
@dpiponi@pervognsen@neilhenning is it not going to happen because of some work or personal reasons? (if it's very personal, feel free to ignore my question!)
and personally, if I wanted to consider a different place to live, I'd probably try living there for ~3-6 months next time to see how it works for me.
@BartWronski@pervognsen@neilhenning Having moved recently my wife is missing friends just 20-30 miles away whereas I'm a bit antisocial and could happily move thousands of miles. Things are changing though - she really wants to give up driving and now she's seen the reality of living close to rural areas she's beginning to understand why I like cities :)
@dpiponi@BartWronski@neilhenning I like cities too except for the traffic. But it's a lot better in a class with world-class public transport. The NYC's public transport system isn't world class but it's probably as good as it gets in the US, at least.
@pervognsen@BartWronski@neilhenning one thing I noticed, it was definitely easier not to care when I still was not sure if we're gonna stay here (Canada) or not. Now that I care more it's also easier to get irritated by little things (was more 'touristy' before). Having said all that, I did love Thailand as a tourist (but maybe going there during the hottest time of the year (Songkran) was not the smartest idea)
@msinilo@BartWronski@neilhenning One thing I noticed when stepping off the plane yesterday when I landed in Denmark: every time I come here, it feels like stepping into reality. Everywhere else feels like a simulation: realistic but not real. That's just how it is even though I haven't lived here permanently for 20 years. Incidentally, there's plenty of stuff to get annoyed at here too! I notice plenty of things but don't let myself get annoyed.
@pervognsen@msinilo@BartWronski@neilhenning yeah it's a very strange feeling, to go back. i can certainly understand why people get "homesick" for that deep familiarity. even if i slightly judge them for it... :')
@msinilo@BartWronski@neilhenning I will say, I don't think I could accept living in Thailand if we had children or at least I would have a lot more to legitimately grumble about. It's not for me to say what's right and wrong for other people's children, but I definitely wouldn't be happy with the quality and values of the education system, public or private. But I'm only judging one place versus another by what factors are actually relevant to me/us.
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