Resources to understand different places to live in the US and abroad?

Simple living, extreme early retirement, becoming and being wealthy, wisdom, praxis, personal growth,...
Post Reply
TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Resources to understand different places to live in the US and abroad?

Post by TopHatFox »

I'd love books and resources on understanding the pros and cons of living in different states and countries. Thus far the only book I've read on the subject is Reconnaissance Man by Aaron Clarey, which is pretty red pill. I'm fine with that, but I'd like more travel books. I also liked Ken Ilgunas's book Trespassing Accross America and Walden on Wheels as a sort of travel memoire.

Kriegsspiel
Posts: 952
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:05 pm

Re: Resources to understand different places to live in the US and abroad?

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Next Stop: Reloville by Killborn
In A Sunburned Country by Bryson
Notes From A Small Island by Bryson
The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bryson
The Road To Little Dribbling by Bryson
Going Somewhere; A Bicycle Journey Across America by Benson
Home Sweet Anywhere by Martin
Coming Apart by Murray
Civilization: The West and the Rest by Ferguson
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Weatherford
DNA USA by Sykes
Savage Continent: Europe In The Aftermath Of WWII by Lowe
Tourists: How Our Fastest Growing Industry Is Changing The World by Krotz
The Big Sort by Bishop & Cushing
Boomerang: Travels In The New Third World by Michael Lewis
Better Off by Brende
Cadillac Desert by Reisner
Paradise Lot by Toensmeier
The Long Emergency by Kunstler
The Next Hundred Million: America In 2050 by Kotkin
The City by Kotkin
Home From Nowhere by Kunstler
The Geography Of Nowhere by Kunstler
Detroit: An American Autopsy by LeDuff
Dark Age America by Greer
Who’s Your City by Florida
The Rise Of The Creative Class by Florida
The Flight Of The Creative Class by Florida
The Great Reset by Florida
Barbarian Days by Finnegan
Kitchen Confidential by Bourdain
The Two Income Trap by Warren & Tyagi
The Good Earth by Buck
Sons by Buck
A House Divided by Buck
Snowbelt Cities by Bernard
Better Than New by Curtis
A Short History Of Progress by Wright
Green History Of The World by Ponting
Lentil Underground by Carlisle
Red Notice by Browder
Salt by Kurlansky
Our Kids: An American Dream In Crisis by Putnam
The New Geography Of Jobs by Moretti
The Wizard And The Prophet by Mann
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 by Paul Kennedy
Reflections On The Revolution In Europe by Caldwell
The Sex Lives Of Cannibals by Troost

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Resources to understand different places to live in the US and abroad?

Post by TopHatFox »

Sweet

henrik
Posts: 757
Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:58 pm
Location: EE

Re: Resources to understand different places to live in the US and abroad?

Post by henrik »

Travels with Charley: In Search of America
John Steinbeck

joef
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:20 pm

Re: Resources to understand different places to live in the US and abroad?

Post by joef »

I have traveled to dozens of countries and lived as an expat in Mexico and Thailand. In my opinion, the resources for international information is a bit hard to pin down in terms of how expats adapt and their spending ranges.

You could probably do okay in getting specific questions asked if you join an expat forum for the country you are interested in. Thaivisa forum is one such forum.

The questions regarding the pros and cons or even cost of living get tricky since expats tend to have a wide range of experiences. To help illustrate this point, some expats are able to learn the local language or marry/date locals which helps with how they integrate into the said country. Also, some expats might have only lived in a country for a short window and still are in a honeymoon phase which prevents them from providing a more balanced opinion of the place they are living. Others, have had terrible experiences in the country they relocate too which could be related to starting a business, dealing with bad neighbors, incompetent bureaucracy, visa troubles, cultural inefficiencies or xenophobia and these experiences might bring an overly negative sentiment to a country. Also, where you choose to live is not a country so much but rather a specific city or town; and to compare the experiences of a Expat based in a major city like Bangkok to an expat living in a smaller, rural town like Udon Thani would be like comparing New York City to Buffalo, NY. For these reasons, you are best advised to put boots on the ground and see what place you would like by first going there. Then head to an expat bar, pub or restaurant in the city you are in and make friends with some old timers who can help explain the lay of the land to you.

Post Reply