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The problem with being a long term expat

Discussion in 'Expat Section' started by DavyL200, Oct 27, 2016.

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  1. DavyL200

    DavyL200 DI Forum Luminary ★ Global Mod ★ ★ Moderator ★ Highly Rated Poster Showcase Reviewer

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    After 15 years,and life on the road which took her to Japan, Singapore and Australia, Helen Maffini felt it was time to return home to Canada. But, it took just a fraction of that time for her to realise she had made a mistake.

    “We moved [back] to Canada in 2013 because we thought we wanted to settle down,” she says, via email. “We realised after a year, we did not! Me, especially. I found it hard to fit in again, I felt very different and things had changed a lot. We found the long winter very hard and it was pretty quiet compared to where we have lived before.”

    Such long absences can play havoc with a person’s sense of identity, a feeling that is intensified by the length of time away and how often they visit home

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, Maffini, 46, an education consultant, this month, moved to Cambodia, where her husband, an Italian chef, is taking up a new position.

    Maffini's experience is not unusual, particularly as the expat demographic has shifted over the past 20 years. Traditionally, an expat posting involved a professional being transferred to an international office by their company for what would typically be a one-off three-year deployment. A lucrative package of incentives would often sweeten the deal. The problem with being a long-term expat
     
    DavyL200, Oct 27, 2016
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  2. Show Pony

    Show Pony DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster Showcase Reviewer

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    Interesting article. She's spent time in mostly first world countries and feels displaced. If they had been third world countries could you imagine her trauma?
    She should fit into Canada just fine, listen to her whining. I have not lived in Canada for almost ten years. They have serious problems like not every road is a super highway. The racist nation to the south has hockey team and baseball teams with names like Cleveland Indians, Washington redskins,,,,don't get me started on the Dallas cowboys (white privilege for sure). (sarcasm).
    The writer has already found something ever so small to whine about. She's going to fit in just fine.
     
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    Show Pony, Oct 27, 2016
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  3. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    The only problem I'm having is this *sshole sitting next to me at the bar smoking weed. I have a drug test next week and can't have that second hand sh*t in my system when I go to p*ss. They need to place some restrictions on this legalization crap. I don't care what other people do/smoke but if it fucks my job/security clearance they need to do that sh*t at home.

    Other than that the only difference i see is that the guys dress and act more like gays than they did 10+ years ago. I see that more as a bonus as it seems the women aren't really attracted as much to the girly-man crap.

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
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    Rye83, Oct 27, 2016
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  4. cabb

    cabb DI Forum Patron Highly Rated Poster ✤Forum Sponsor✤

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    Maybe he has a medical issue. Where's your compassion? :wink:
     
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    cabb, Oct 27, 2016
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  5. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    Being an idiot is not a medical condition that smoking weed can fix.
     
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    Rye83, Oct 28, 2016
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  6. Edward K

    Edward K DI Senior Member Veteran Navy

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    Hey Dustin, interesting reading your post, although i'm a bit confused where that came from. I read the article linked in Davy's post, and am still trying to find the reference of the bar. We've been here 5 months, first two visits over the last decade were a month each, and our lease is at least thru next may, so the "...returning expat..." conundrum interests us, far and above the weather consideration. I am curious where your US contract might be, as a lot of the US, especially urban areas where i spent the last 40 yrs, are a lot more diverse and non-discriminating than many posters on this board. Of course small town midwest (where i grew up) and parts of the south are still as discriminatory and homophobic as some of the threads here.
     
    Edward K, Oct 28, 2016
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  7. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    As with many of my recent posts, alcohol was involved. I'm in Savannah and i see absolutely no discriminating behavior here...actually quite the opposite: everyone gets along quite well regardless of race. The race of the person smoking weed was is really irrelevant...an *sshole is an *sshole.
     
    Rye83, Oct 28, 2016
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  8. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    Btw, i thought the thread was about expats returning to their home countries after a long stay overseas and feeling as if they don't belong in their own country. If i read the op wrong and commented inappropriately my apologies.

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    Rye83, Oct 28, 2016
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  9. Edward K

    Edward K DI Senior Member Veteran Navy

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    Hey good luck, didn't realize you'd left already, you should read or see "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." Chablis is quite a character. Young people today "millennials" seem to have a very interesting viewpoint of the LGBT community. In the armed services, apparently, nobody under 50 seems to give a d*mn about sexuality. It's the old farts that are freakin out.... Just sayin, the US is amazingly changed. If i stay here 10 years, it will be very interesting to see if the changes are as great when/if i go back as have occurred in the last 10 years.

    Also, I'm curious what is the problem with legalization of cannabis ?? Alcohol is a far more dangerous drug than C, causing far more deaths and ruined lives. And alcohol is almost as bad as shabu / meth. It seems that meth is currently destroying middle small town america, which makes Obama's criticism of Duterte more of a joke.. . And apparently now that corporate america is primed to take over the weed market, legalization is allowed to go ahead. (see even i have my rants and hates, corporate america. God forbid if Duterte allows corp amer to buy over 50% of Philippino companies, then we're REALLY screwed)... THAT's what expats have to go back to... Now go to sleep, it's almost 2 am in Savannah. You need sleep for your interview.
     
    Edward K, Oct 28, 2016
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  10. Rye83

    Rye83 with pastrami Admin Secured Account Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Army

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    The problem with legalization of weed is the second hand smoke for those of us that have to take drug tests. I personally don't care if someone is smoking meth/weed/crack/heroine, that second hand sh*t will cause me to fail a drug test though. I can't have that. Do it at home, do it on the corner of the street, do it anywhere except 2 ft away from me where it gets in my system and causes me to pop hot.

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
    Rye83, Oct 28, 2016
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