Quote from Ghost of Cutten:
You have made a lot of false assumptions in this post. I'm not an American, for example, and I have no debt.. I'm posting from what would be classed as a 2nd world country. I have also lived and done business in a third world country, and have friends in both places who I've talked with extensively on this whole subject. So I'm speaking from direct personal experience and the experiences of others who live in these places. P.S. I was not talking about "Asia", but about 3rd world vs 1st world as places to live for the long-term. Hong Kong, Singapore, S Korea, Taiwan, Japan etc I am sure are good places to live overall.
The things I trashed were trashed because that's how they are in the locations I've visited, and that's how other people living in even worse-off areas describe them. As an example, I have a friend from a 3rd world country who wanted me to buy a used car in the UK and offered to fly in and drive it all the way across Europe to N Africa, because it would have been cheaper than buying a 10 year old car back home. The reason is vehicle import duties which make it uneconomic to buy old cars. A 5-10 year old hatchback or small coupe in the UK is around 1-2k, in N Africa or E Europe the same car would be viewed as a high quality vehicle and would cost maybe 3-4k. Just one example. Hygiene is significantly worse, and state hospitals are in a terrible state. People are treated not based on medical need, but on who bribes the doctors and nurses to get preferential treatment, which sucks for the numerous old decrepit people who don't have family members visiting, and just sit there fading away with no one giving a fuck. Same story with police, if you see a traffic incident, watch carefully and you will see how fast both people go to "tip" (i.e. bribe) the traffic cop not to book them.
Think politicians back home are bad? Check out the salaries of top 3rd world politicians compared to the average working joe, then compare to places like the USA, UK, Germany, Scandinavia etc where the leader of the country often earns no more than 3-5 times the national average. A mid-ranking politician in the 3rd world would piss their pants laughing if someone offered them three times the national average wage as their total salary, then go off to take some giant bribe to favour one government contract supplier or other.
I experience internet slowdowns fairly regularly, I trade actively intraday so it is noticeable. I have a backup satellite and a 3g just in case, but in places like UK, Germany, USA, Hong Kong etc I would need them maybe once a year, outside the 1st world I use them once a week. I had a UPS back in the UK and that was enough, outside the 1st world I would always have a generator because sometimes power is off for more than 24 hours.
As I mentioned, personally I avoid debt, however it is useful in many cases even if you have plenty of cash e.g. in financing a home. People outside the 1st world mostly use cash because credit is scarce, and usually only available at very high interest rates or in dollars. No one with a brain wants to borrow in dollars because of the ever-present risk of local currency collapse, which would wipe them out overnight since they generally earn in local currency.
The happiness quotient is something I consider and have already referred to. Having tried 1st, 2nd, and 3rd world countries, the 1st world offers the most opportunities for happiness, especially if your life involves something more than just trying to get the cheapest-cost booze, dentists, and whores. If you have kids, it's even more of an issue. In the first world, the average person has a good shot at an ok life if they work reasonably hard and live honestly. Outside the 1st world that is a more difficult proposition, often it is the people who break the rules and fuck over others who get ahead more effectively. People in the 1st world are considerate, generous, and kind too - arguably more so, because there are less situations where people are forced to choose between morality and bread on the table, and there are less situations where corruption is overlooked and profitable. Look at the Uk where society freaked out over MPs claiming a few thousand pounds in expenses - can you imagine that happening in somewhere like Pakistan or Brazil, lol. Poverty pressures people to cut moral corners and backstab in business and personal relations in order to get a bit more $$$. Whereas the average working Joe in the 1st world normally can pay his own way, without having to do anything untoward. He's not inherently any better a person, but his circumstances give him the luxury of avoiding more mercenary choices or screwing others to survive.
It is folly to assume that life in the 1st world is a slow death. Life is what you make it. There are far more opportunities for leisure activities, career progression, development of skills and talents, and social interaction in countries where you speak the language and where people are well off enough to be able to focus on self-actualisation rather than survival and eating tomorrow. I've faced this problem directly as it's much more difficult to do several of my hobbies outside the 1st world, just because of the lack of experienced trainers, facilities, and equipment.
Like a typical narrow-minded prejudiced person, you've assumed that someone else was just spouting off, whereas in fact I was speaking mostly from personal experience. I'm just relating what I've seen, what I've done, and what my preferences are from that position of direct knowledge. I leave it up to the people reading this thread to decide whether my experiences or your portrayal of them has the higher level of truth and integrity.
