C40's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
User avatar
Ego
Posts: 6359
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:42 am

Re: C40's Journal

Post by Ego »

Nice! Your mechanical and van build skills are really flourishing.

rube
Posts: 883
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:54 pm
Location: Europe (NL)

Re: C40's Journal

Post by rube »

Nice pictures C40! Curious where you will go to next.

Frugalchicos
Posts: 658
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: C40's Journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Beautiful pictures and very inspirational as always. You made me think about my surfing days…can’t wait to be free again.

Happy Holidays and good luck on the next move!

User avatar
RFS
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2018 8:25 pm

Re: C40's Journal

Post by RFS »

Dude, thank you for the updates + pictures! I'm pumped to see your Latin American cities post. I went to Mexico earlier this year, and I loved it. It had refrigerators, fresh food, drinkable water, pharmacies, great weather, compact + bikable city infrastructure, and was fantastically affordable. Down-to-earth and laid-back culture, too.

As for the Spanish learning, I would check out Benny Lewis' Language Hacking Spanish book. I've gotten a ton of value from it, Benny is a total badass.

User avatar
C40
Posts: 2748
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:30 am

Re: C40's Journal

Post by C40 »

Here are some charts showing financial stuff for the year. I've had investing goals this year of pushing my forward yearly income up over 30,000 (without buying super risky high yield stocks), and also to start getting into some speculative price growth style investing. I've made decent progress on both of those, but still have more to go.

A huge chunk of my spending this year was on motorcycles and motorcycle stuff. (about $10,000).. About half that can be recuperated when I sell the bikes. So my effective long-term spending for the year may end up being about $15,000

I’m starting to leave out the scales on some of the charts I post. They matter more for me than you. A large part of why I post the charts is to show examples of things a person might want to track and chart, and scales don’t matter for that.






Image




Image




Image





Image




Image






Image





Image



——-





Image




Image





Image




Image





Image

User avatar
C40
Posts: 2748
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:30 am

Re: C40's Journal

Post by C40 »

Ok, I was preparing to go to Mexico, but now I'm thinking about and planning for going to Asia instead.

My concerns for Mexico were:
- Risk of physical violence
- Risk of theft/robbery
- Cultural preference / cities less cozy (example: IMO, too many streets look like this

Countries in southeast Asia are opening up now. I do have concerns about the complexities of travel there, and the chance of a new covid variant or more spread causing closures again. Before, I thought I would wait 6 months or more after Asian countries open, but now I don't want to.

One thing is for sure: after being back in the U.S. for a while, I've become more certain that I'd rather live elsewhere

chenda
Posts: 3289
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:17 pm
Location: Nether Wallop

Re: C40's Journal

Post by chenda »

C40 wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 10:46 am
Before, I thought I would wait 6 months or more after Asian countries open, but now I don't want to.
Have you considered Turkey ? Very cheap, sunny, friendly, safe. I met a few Americans when I was there. Georgia is another destination popular with the digital nomad crowd.

Other area I'd consider is southern Africa but the high crime rate (in South Africa at least, Botswana is much safer I hear) might not meet your criteria. And the COL probably isn't as cheap as SE Asia.

User avatar
C40
Posts: 2748
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:30 am

Re: C40's Journal

Post by C40 »

chenda wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 11:08 am
Have you considered Turkey ? Very cheap, sunny, friendly, safe. I met a few Americans when I was there. Georgia is another destination popular with the digital nomad crowd.
Yes, I have been curious about Turkey, and looking around online just a little bit. I should look more. It does look inexpensive, and visually appealing. I'd have to learn about the people/culture/society

theanimal
Posts: 2628
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:05 pm
Location: AK
Contact:

Re: C40's Journal

Post by theanimal »

It sounds like you have made up your mind but you may find San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato City or Oaxaca more to your tastes regarding your third point. And fwiw regarding your first 2 points,Mexico is much like the US in that there are certain places you don't go. Most of the country is safe to travel with incredibly friendly people. Anecdotally, my fiancee lived in a medium sized city in Jalisco (as a young, attractive, single woman in her 20s) for over 1.5 years and not once during that time or in subsequent travels to other parts of the country has she felt physically threatened or unsafe.

I'm curious, what aspects of living in the US do you find so distasteful?

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15907
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: C40's Journal

Post by jacob »

Also consider the Balkans. It's adjacent to Schengen which would allow you to jump around Europe/EU with tourist visas. Caveat: Eastern Europe has some of the highest [measured] corona rates in the world => chance of getting infected + chance of getting travel restricted. Basically the opposite of Vietnam,

chenda
Posts: 3289
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:17 pm
Location: Nether Wallop

Re: C40's Journal

Post by chenda »

@C40 - feel free to PM me if you want any info.

I'd also add Jordan and Morocco to your list also well connected to Europe.

Western Red Cedar
Posts: 1205
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:15 pm

Re: C40's Journal

Post by Western Red Cedar »

theanimal wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 12:02 pm
And fwiw regarding your first 2 points,Mexico is much like the US in that there are certain places you don't go. Most of the country is safe to travel with incredibly friendly people.
+1 to this.

It is tough to beat the culture and excitement of travel in Asia. SE Asia, in particular, is really appealing when it comes to budget travel. But, Mexico and Central America also have amazing cultures and really friendly people IME. Mexico has a nice balance of exciting urban areas with colonial architecture and breathtaking natural areas (beaches, canyons, mountains, jungles, etc.).

I'd guess it might be a bit more challenging riding a motorbike or your personal vehicle through Mexico, but it is a very easy place to travel if you fly down and take public transportation to travel regionally. The visa policies and diversity of options for regional travel make it a really attractive destination for pandemic travel at the moment.

I'm guessing wherever you decide to go will be amazing though.

User avatar
Ego
Posts: 6359
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:42 am

Re: C40's Journal

Post by Ego »

Don't forget Colombia and Brazil. Cheap flight to test the waters. $109 one-way on Avianca from LAX - Bogota or $255 to LAX - Brazil. You can buy a motorcycle and explore the continent. Like SE Asia, locals and foreigners intermingle and date.

We enjoyed all of Chenda's suggestions of Turkey, Morocco and Jordan, but it is very rare to see foreign men dating local woman. Interestingly, the opposite, foreign women dating local men, is not uncommon.

chenda
Posts: 3289
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:17 pm
Location: Nether Wallop

Re: C40's Journal

Post by chenda »

Ego wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:48 pm
Interestingly, the opposite, foreign women dating local men, is not uncommon.
This is true. Western women without a male chaperone get a LOT of hassle on the streets of Morocco from men wanting sex and marriage. It can be a very overwhelming experience. Men will step well outside their own cultural restraints when dealing with western women, and of course marriage can be a ticket out poverty.

Jordan was much better in that regard, local men were generally very respectful of western female tourists and on the one occasion I was been followed by a guy some local women saw what was happening and shooed the guy away.

The resorts towns like Marmaris in Western Turkey are of course full of northern European and Russian tourists so @C40 you will be knee deep in tinder opportunities : )

guitarplayer
Posts: 1301
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: C40's Journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Turkey is great I studied there for half a year once. I like the language too, nice grammar. Turkish coffee differs from other types, very finely ground and served in a cup with coffee, I think you are a coffee fan? Otherwise they are a nation of tea drinkers. Some beautiful scenery, though I haven't been to the Eastern part much. There is some FI scene and even one scientific article on ERE / citing ERE resulted in one of my searches some time back. The fact that they are a religious nation but then again pretty secular for a Muslim nation standards can be endearing if you come from a similar background. It is quite romantic to hear singing from minarets and Ramadan when people beat the drums on streets before sunrise. It feels cozy and safe like at mum's if this is a sentiment you fancy. They love traveling by buses and bus service is very well developed with refreshments like when flying. Railway is sadly rather poorly developed but still managed to travel half the country by train.

I was in a uni environment and engaged with some Turkish young intellectuals; Orhan Pamuk is one of the major writers and I enjoyed his book 'Snow'. It's fiction but he manages to well preserve the Turkish feel in the book. Sometimes it can almost feel like the magical realism of the One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Last edited by guitarplayer on Wed Feb 23, 2022 4:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Viktor K
Posts: 364
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2016 9:45 pm

Re: C40's Journal

Post by Viktor K »

Currently enjoying where we’re at in the US, but still know that we want to live abroad again soon, so can really emphasize with you here.

However, the culture aspects of the US aren’t the biggest pushing point. There are things in the US of course that we appreciate and things we don’t. But we can say the same of China, and I imagine any long term stay anywhere will reveal agreeable and non-agreeable local characteristics.

For me it is more of what I am moving towards than what I will be leaving behind. IE I am pulled to live abroad, not pushed to live abroad.

I’m curious, what is it (or is there anything?) that is pulling you to live abroad again? And which is more significant, the push or the pull?

Stahlmann
Posts: 1121
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2016 6:05 pm

Re: C40's Journal

Post by Stahlmann »

gome to Boland :-DDD

User avatar
C40
Posts: 2748
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:30 am

Re: C40's Journal

Post by C40 »

Thanks for all the responses and advice everyone. This group is a great source of info a huge variety of subjects.

For now, I've come back to Asia. I'm currently in Cambodia. More to come soon on how it's going here and next steps. I'm cautiously hopeful about current changes going on (countries opening up, reducing covid entry requirements, etc.)


Viktor K wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 4:45 pm
I’m curious, what is it (or is there anything?) that is pulling you to live abroad again? And which is more significant, the push or the pull?
I think in some ways it could just be 6" of one and half a foot of the other, but to try to answer, it is definitely more of a Pull for me.

Some of my reasons for considering Latin America were a bit more of a push, and thus, the potential drawbacks gave me pause.

I haven't been to or lived in many places, but so far, in enough of the ways that matter, Vietnam feels like <i>the</i> place for me - enough so that I feel willing to accept the difficulties and problems that come with spending time there.


Ego wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:48 pm
We enjoyed all of Chenda's suggestions of Turkey, Morocco and Jordan, but it is very rare to see foreign men dating local woman. Interestingly, the opposite, foreign women dating local men, is not uncommon.
chenda wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 2:56 pm
The resorts towns like Marmaris in Western Turkey are of course full of northern European and Russian tourists so @C40 you will be knee deep in tinder opportunities : )
For now, I don't want to spend much time dating other foreigners. If it's going to be a significant amount of time together, I strongly prefer it to be someone from the country I am in. I'm more interested in a deep dive than a melting pot. Dating isn't the highest priority, so I could still make friends and stuff while in those places. But, it is fairly important, so it makes places like these less desirable for me.


jacob wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 12:23 pm
Also consider the Balkans. It's adjacent to Schengen which would allow you to jump around Europe/EU with tourist visas. Caveat: Eastern Europe has some of the highest [measured] corona rates in the world => chance of getting infected + chance of getting travel restricted. Basically the opposite of Vietnam,
Right now Vietnam has high Covid rates. I'm not really sure how high it is compared to other countries that test less. But they are in their highest spike so far by a huge margin. They have around 200,000 new cases per day, of a population of 100 million. Their deaths are low now though (about 70 per day) https://e.vnexpress.net/covid-19/covid-19-viet-nam

theanimal wrote:
Wed Feb 23, 2022 12:02 pm
I'm curious, what aspects of living in the US do you find so distasteful?
I should come back to this, but I don't have the time right now
Last edited by C40 on Wed Mar 23, 2022 8:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
Viktor K
Posts: 364
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2016 9:45 pm

Re: C40's Journal

Post by Viktor K »

Awesome! Enjoy Cambodia!! 🎉🎉

User avatar
Ego
Posts: 6359
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:42 am

Re: C40's Journal

Post by Ego »

That's great. Hopefully you will be able to get back in to Vietnam soon. I would be interested in your opinion of Cambodia.
Last edited by Ego on Wed Mar 23, 2022 5:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Post Reply