Want to go home!!!
Jun 20th 2010, 11:47 pm
#31
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,111
Re: Want to go home!!!
Steerpike,
I agree with you on staying optimistic and not pessimistic, but one should also be realistic and proactive. Good things can and do 'just happen', but more often than not we set up the groundwork for the positives to occur in our life. I for one am starting to realize that I have to start being more proactive so that my future old lady self doesn't inadvertently find herself up sh*t creek without her proverbial paddle. I've been in avoidance and denial of this so far in my life (I'm sure I'm not alone), both attitudes that were probably exacerbated by the fact that I was raised in a culture that gave us the impression that we could fall back on the welfare state should the need arise. Unlike our adopted culture where it's certainly more of an every man for himself credo.
Anyway - now I have to pay for my earlier lackadaisical attitude towards retirement. I can't just work until I drop (though I'll give it my best shot), at some point I will need support, both financially and through my local community. Both of these needs so far seem like they would be best met in my home country (which has never stopped being "home" to me).
Life seems to get more complex the more I mature. Should I stay or should I go? Is it better here or there? Are the fish and chips really worth it? Or would I rather be surrounded by perpetually smiley happy people? Time to put the kettle on.
I agree with you on staying optimistic and not pessimistic, but one should also be realistic and proactive. Good things can and do 'just happen', but more often than not we set up the groundwork for the positives to occur in our life. I for one am starting to realize that I have to start being more proactive so that my future old lady self doesn't inadvertently find herself up sh*t creek without her proverbial paddle. I've been in avoidance and denial of this so far in my life (I'm sure I'm not alone), both attitudes that were probably exacerbated by the fact that I was raised in a culture that gave us the impression that we could fall back on the welfare state should the need arise. Unlike our adopted culture where it's certainly more of an every man for himself credo.
Anyway - now I have to pay for my earlier lackadaisical attitude towards retirement. I can't just work until I drop (though I'll give it my best shot), at some point I will need support, both financially and through my local community. Both of these needs so far seem like they would be best met in my home country (which has never stopped being "home" to me).
Life seems to get more complex the more I mature. Should I stay or should I go? Is it better here or there? Are the fish and chips really worth it? Or would I rather be surrounded by perpetually smiley happy people? Time to put the kettle on.
). I borrowed heavily and had anything gone wrong back then, I'd have been toast. But as it happens, things worked out and that has helped me feel more secure now. The recent crash of the financial and property markets have set me back maybe 5 years (or more - who knows ...) but at least I'm still much better off than many - and grateful for it. Steerpike, you're certainly right that everyone's experiences are different, but so are people's perceptions.
To me, if there's anywhere in the world that runs on suspicion and fear, this is it. On the one hand, people feel - quite rightly, IMO - that they should be rewarded for their efforts but on the other they seem to waste an awful lot of mental energy worrying about some dark, external force (communism, terrorism, socialism) that is coming to take all their toys away.
To me, if there's anywhere in the world that runs on suspicion and fear, this is it. On the one hand, people feel - quite rightly, IMO - that they should be rewarded for their efforts but on the other they seem to waste an awful lot of mental energy worrying about some dark, external force (communism, terrorism, socialism) that is coming to take all their toys away.
Jun 21st 2010, 1:48 am
#33
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: Want to go home!!!
C
But seriously, I didn't mean to offend, and appreciate your words on Medicare. Having no other relatives here to ask about it I'm not really clear on what Medicare offers and should research it more on line, perhaps doing so will help quell some of my fears. Hopefully it will still exist when I get old enough to need it - I'm sure I will appreciate it then.
But seriously, I didn't mean to offend, and appreciate your words on Medicare. Having no other relatives here to ask about it I'm not really clear on what Medicare offers and should research it more on line, perhaps doing so will help quell some of my fears. Hopefully it will still exist when I get old enough to need it - I'm sure I will appreciate it then.
Jun 21st 2010, 1:49 am
#34
Finally Home!
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Used to be New York, now North Yorkshire
Posts: 3,610
Re: Want to go home!!!
Mine too, but the fact that Bush was ever in power in the first place casts a shadow over the whole thing for me ... it's not impossible to imagine President Palin 6 years from now.
Now that is something that could never happen in the UK. Sometimes British skepticism is annoying, but sometimes it's a good thing.
Now that is something that could never happen in the UK. Sometimes British skepticism is annoying, but sometimes it's a good thing.
Jun 21st 2010, 5:00 pm
#35
Just Joined
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 7
Re: Want to go home!!!
That's probably a factor of being in North Carolina ... where the bible belt meets the conservative buckle perhaps! I'm having a similar experience in Phoenix right now, where they are falling over themselves to worry about illegal immigration on top of everything else you mention ... but when I'm up in Northern CA, I never hear a word of it.
I'm very pleased for you that you've managed to find a retreat from the ultra-nationalism and the paranoia but I still think these are the centrepieces of the national debate here. It's very rarely that you see or hear a news story about a foreign country that doesn't have some kind of negative connotation. At best, it might be a 'cool' place to visit, but more often it's a problem or a threat. Stephen Colbert does a nice parody of this kind of reporting and gets a good laugh from his audience proving - to me, at least - that "there's no smoke without fire".
Jun 21st 2010, 7:55 pm
#36
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,111
Re: Want to go home!!!
I'm very pleased for you that you've managed to find a retreat from the ultra-nationalism and the paranoia but I still think these are the centrepieces of the national debate here. It's very rarely that you see or hear a news story about a foreign country that doesn't have some kind of negative connotation. At best, it might be a 'cool' place to visit, but more often it's a problem or a threat. Stephen Colbert does a nice parody of this kind of reporting and gets a good laugh from his audience proving - to me, at least - that "there's no smoke without fire".
The trick for me is to enjoy the good stuff and ignore the bad stuff. Since this is not my country of birth, that seems easier for some reason.
Jun 21st 2010, 8:58 pm
#37
Just Joined
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 7
Re: Want to go home!!!
I don't think I could watch Fox "News" if I tried. I'd probably need a very large bowl to throw up in and a straitjacket to restrain my arms from destroying my own property. I prefer a few facts in between the injections of bigotry, hate and unreason.
Jul 7th 2010, 5:22 pm
#38
Just Joined
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 7
Re: Want to go home!!!
Back to Steerpike's "sense of struggle" comment. I was over the other side of the pond last weekend to play a couple of gigs with my old band, which involved quite a bit of travel.
Friday West Dorset to Northamptonshire, 4 hour journey, stop-start traffic most of the way there. That certainly renewed my sense of struggle.
Saturday Dorset to Surbiton, Surrey. Promised to be a reasonably easy trip until somebody decided to close a stretch of the M3. Long, slow diversion.
If I do ever go back to England to live, I plan to spend as little time as possible travelling. Driving anywhere in Southern England has become a complete nightmare.
Friday West Dorset to Northamptonshire, 4 hour journey, stop-start traffic most of the way there. That certainly renewed my sense of struggle.
Saturday Dorset to Surbiton, Surrey. Promised to be a reasonably easy trip until somebody decided to close a stretch of the M3. Long, slow diversion.
If I do ever go back to England to live, I plan to spend as little time as possible travelling. Driving anywhere in Southern England has become a complete nightmare.
Jul 8th 2010, 12:29 pm
#39
Finally Home!
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Used to be New York, now North Yorkshire
Posts: 3,610
Re: Want to go home!!!
To be fair, I just checked out that website and it would definitely addle anyone's brain. Makes Glenn Beck look thoughtful.
