Advantages of Living Abroad

[00:00:00] Hey everyone and welcome back to another edition of Rhythm and I'm your one of the hosts Paul and I'm with my team co-host Benef and Trecia, how's everyone doing today? Yeah, thank you. Thank you for another another great episode today and of course as you guys already know

[00:00:21] our podcast is all about where we discuss our travel adventures and explore culturally cultural differences and similarities, misconceptions and all that crazy stuff in between kind of thing. So guys today we have another great discussion topic that we're going to dive into a bit more

[00:00:45] and I can relate and probably Benef and Trecia you guys can also relate to as well and it's more on the advantages of living abroad. I actually started for this one being an expat myself currently right now living abroad

[00:01:03] here in Paris and you know I wanted to just jump right in and kick it off, you know hey why do we do it? Why choose to live abroad? I would hold my comments and hear what you guys got to say first because I could take

[00:01:20] all day if I start. Yeah well I'll stop by saying that I haven't really lived abroad outside of the umbrella of the military which is which is different because we have the support of the base which is like a little US on-clave.

[00:01:37] So I haven't had to live on the economy like completely alone having to figure things out myself and I think that is a totally different experience just being the only expat around

[00:01:51] trying to navigate everything you need to do to find a home get a bank account, get a visa, all those things. I didn't have to do any of that so what I choose to do is jump at that.

[00:02:04] I guess it depends on the key things I feel like some countries might be harder than others and if I don't know the language you know or how they they work things or if they've got

[00:02:17] like a really bureaucratic system that takes ages to get anything through or it's like you know they're open from 10 to 2 with a 2 hour lunch break nothing can get done. It could be very frustrating so that aside just to experience a new place I think would be the

[00:02:39] reason to do it. Well I think for me it's a dream of mine. I always wanted to live abroad and you know I pester you know my husband lately. I've spoken to you you and I've spoken to my wife about you know the transition and making this happen

[00:03:09] and I mean I've done a lot of research myself and I know that there's still a lot of research to be done. I'm a planner by nature so you know I know that a lot of these things are not done

[00:03:21] at least for me would not be done lightly. I would have to continue to do my research but I hope to do it within the next year or two that would be that would be ultimate for me.

[00:03:31] That's good. And it's because I mean for the very reason you're research obviously. Well I have and you know the fact that we're in a position to be able to do that because you know our children are grown. It makes things easier.

[00:03:51] Yeah it definitely does so you know and I think it's because we are the age that we are we're I say we are prime. We have a first of all the attitude right? The ability to want to do that.

[00:04:08] The finances meaning that you know yeah I mean could we always have more money? Of course we could but the whole purpose is to keep it right so we're trying to look for places to move to you know

[00:04:19] that we would be able to stretch that out because the United States just isn't it anymore. Or ever was for that bad. Yeah I don't know. So yeah so that's kind of the big push for us but

[00:04:34] yes that's the draw I know for for my husband and I. Okay no but it's interesting just here yours, Trisha and Benet's. Benet's point on it is two two different ones as well as when I say mine

[00:04:52] is also different so that's great because that's another reason why with this podcast I've been different you know Benet your word more about the frustration you Trisha you know you could

[00:05:04] your research and go to one do it and let's do this let's gain play this right now kind of thinking the next two years whereas I actually I want to say I feel like I have a little bit of Trisha

[00:05:15] and I have a little bit of but you've been up because obviously I started my travel and living abroad when we were working together in the government so my experience was under that umbrella like you said

[00:05:29] and then once that umbrella we left that umbrella and and and got to civilian world sort of speak. I it was a little bit interesting for me I knew I wanted to go back but I felt like I needed an

[00:05:44] umbrella that I did it with was instead of with the government this time was with corporate yeah and yeah and then of course don't forget we had COVID doing around the time that I decided to just go ahead

[00:05:58] and do it and I knew it was going to be a different experience than what you know Benet you and I have experienced where all we do show up and they tell us where to go and our bags are magically there right

[00:06:10] and stuff like this and then which is right I mean that that's exactly what it is yeah it's been done for us a lot they do exactly and saving a base in most places yeah absolutely absolutely

[00:06:23] you know I can I know that's a huge safety net yes but but when we talk about so I lost that safety net so now the interesting part was even though I get it on the umbrella of corporate America

[00:06:39] even though they did assist it was not like they held my hand no it was like okay we're going to give you this but you're gonna have to figure shit out on your own okay we're gonna give you this to

[00:06:50] make sure that they can help you fill out the paperwork but you're gonna have to go to the immigration building yourself I don't speak French you know I think there was the frustration part Benet

[00:07:01] where you said there was a lot of frustration I think you guys stuck in that do live of like the address bank account yes and that was the other frustration where you know when I got here and

[00:07:13] what I started out you know obviously in Luxembourg City but that was easy because there's a tiny city us tiny country but then I went to Paris and it was just like the rules of regulations you had

[00:07:25] other than I'm telling you the bad negative parts first but that promise you it gets better you know where they kept telling me okay in order to rent the house you need a bank account

[00:07:36] this is like day two that I'm here and then I'm like okay I go to the bank I go get them a bank account or excuse me I go try to get a bank account then the bank person says oh no wait

[00:07:46] you need to address before you can get a bank account I was like well how am I supposed to do both of these if you're telling me these are the laws how is it x fat supposed to work this

[00:07:55] clearly the laws are not talking to each other and I'm just frustrated as though until we have to figure something out and then obviously we figured out an answer that really isn't an answer which I have my

[00:08:08] agency use her address which is yeah probably not ideal but clearly it seems like I've done it before because yeah it's stuck right and I think that's where I was with the frustration I think you know

[00:08:23] granted I did take some French glasses and all the stuff that's the exciting part right is in mercenaries self into the culture now and whatever you had to yeah no go ahead

[00:08:34] no no no well because you mentioned COVID and I want to bring that up because you have you'd gill yeah I was just about to get to the day and yeah so he said and we can listen to him but

[00:08:46] COVID was his right I'm that type of person now very spontaneous and I just became like really spontaneous where I'm just like I'm not gonna just do you know I do the research about to a little bit

[00:09:01] just enough to get me you know where I made it and going that's it and and ever since I played my cards that way I feel like it's it's worked out to my benefit same thing with Gill who you

[00:09:15] in I interviewed and great person he's from Paris but he ended moving over abroad to South America to several different places in South America and a lot of interesting things here

[00:09:30] this day so my name is me oh my god Paris okay I lived in Paris for not all my life but almost until the 117 then I would say something that you don't know I moved to whoo so I I lived in

[00:09:45] nomad for oh yeah I finished my studies in nomad and so I worked in music I've been in tennis teacher as well you know then they think one of the most important points of was the that

[00:10:03] changed my life was the COVID oh because the music when I was working closed yeah so I couldn't keep on working and I thought about a lot of things about what I wanted to do in my life

[00:10:15] and it's at this moment that I really consider to move abroad and so for America the main idea for me why did you pick South America as a place to move to and where in South America did you

[00:10:31] end up okay yeah it's it's funny well I always been tracked deal by this continent because I like this culture women are very nice that's the reason why that's one of the

[00:10:47] reason not only one and I was attracted and it was also pretty different from France and I really knew a bit of Spanish even if it was really not a lot and yeah it was just the

[00:11:01] place that was attracting me the most the music the vibes of this continent seems very pretty fun to me and I was like being an expert because that's basically what you were

[00:11:14] where you moved of there so I was thinking about where to go first I was thinking about Colombia Chile and Uruguay as well I think Uruguay was interesting because it's the it's a unico country it's the most European countries of America probably I did that know that

[00:11:31] yes it's very calm very safe as well and for me I never traveled to South America yet I think it was good the first country to go so I moved to Uruguay and I didn't know I didn't

[00:11:47] have no idea what I was going to do there but I just wanted to leave there and see things things that are going to we're going to happen or not and this was this was after COVID okay so

[00:11:59] I moved to actually I wanted to go really quickly yeah and I wrapped to you but we thought any expectation and I have no idea what was it was an adventure for me and you weren't working

[00:12:13] at the time. I had no job I was we got any job I had a bit of an economies yes so I knew I could have had a little money to do whatever yeah so as you can hear from

[00:12:25] this is point and stuff like that so I thought it was pretty interesting too as well yeah what you guys think yeah well I I thought it was pretty interesting Paul I mean I see the the similarities

[00:12:37] between Gilm and yourself is that you both you both moved during COVID now you know it's also a little bit about that experience because I'm thinking during COVID there are a lot of things

[00:12:49] that might have not been available or closed so was it more difficult to move during COVID or is it or in your experience now that things are open would have been easier for you now.

[00:12:59] Heck no I say no no it was the worst experience ever doing it from just even being in New York because they have to get me my temporary visa from New York in order for me to even fly

[00:13:16] and that was through the not on America side but at the time I was moving to Luxembourg City and it was the heart of it which was 2020 and I just remember showing up at the airport and they were

[00:13:28] like you can't fly your visas is incorrect because of COVID whatever and then I have to literally contact the agency that was helping me and they have to end up going to the embassy and all

[00:13:42] it was just a night room I would never want to do that again and that each country has their own different rule but wait not the country that they're flying to but any country that you because I didn't

[00:13:54] have a non-stop flight I had a flight to Frankfurt and natural so you have the to go for it. Like the worst airport no the administration seat does not exist in the Korean foreign airport.

[00:14:04] Let me tell you you have to follow their rules of landing in Germany for current which is totally different than Luxembourg I had to deal with issue there where I was quarantine for no apparent reason

[00:14:19] and so let's hope. Let's hear me. Let's help from this experience then because I mean globally we got a very good we got a very good lesson on what's used me on how our crisis management

[00:14:33] works on a whole so let's hope that someone has some crisis management in place because that's true I mean think about that if you didn't have a non-stop flight each country had their own

[00:14:46] different regulations of where and how you could travel and how you could enter and like what timing of your COVID test and you know whatever the circumstances were I mean we're only just

[00:14:58] just realized how intricate that was so you know how did anyone travel or go anywhere it's behind me. It was obviously I mean we all that was the thing no one actually obviously traveled

[00:15:10] as much but when I actually got on to country you know it didn't just stop it was just it was even worse because nothing was open so the experience was not the best experience obviously but I

[00:15:22] knew you know by me keeps saying this two-shell pass and we'll get better and stuff like this and it obviously ultimately got way better and stuff like that but I still wouldn't change

[00:15:36] you know the fact or of living abroad I think it's one of the the most best experience I'm continuing to have and there's so many advantages I don't remember if it was you been at

[00:15:49] or Trisha mentioned about cost and so on the cost is way better yeah so we do need to caveat that that the cost is better for an American that's making great damn good salary also getting a

[00:16:08] correct so you do have no that can have that there no if you do because remember and you just spoke with you about this they do not make as much you're right to an extent I don't

[00:16:22] it does make it more comfortable obviously when you're the retirement and you're you know having another job it's a bit of a major course yes yes yes it does but I'm just saying if you weren't

[00:16:33] all of that you would be okay still with because for example when the average cost of living even a Paris for example is it's expensive but it's not as expensive as New York City cost of living

[00:16:47] average in New York City for someone to live in New York City probably that's the average is probably anywhere between 150 to live comfortably 150,000 to maybe a higher whereas you can live literally comfortably here in Paris on 3,000 dollars a month

[00:17:07] all right which they don't they don't make that's what he was trying to tell you yeah right for the American yeah yeah so I mean definitely I mean let's let's put that out there definitely

[00:17:18] if you're coming from or you're within American company you have an American you know you have that job and you have that corporation and you have that money even if you're you know you're using

[00:17:29] you know that your income the the exchange is definitely a lot better on this side but I don't want to scare people off and say if you don't have that big pay that's going to be daunting for

[00:17:41] it because that's not true with enough with enough preparation and I think with enough planning yes you could you could make that happen and you could actually find Gainesville employment and

[00:17:50] be able to you know absolutely because we have to you know we have to keep in mind that your pins or Asians in general they do not live they do not live the way that Americans do

[00:18:01] no one is like the Americans do but it's very materialistic to an extent so I mean well your pen life style is very minimalistic so yeah yeah the other thing so you work like balance

[00:18:13] well you had the support of a corporation so Gio did not he didn't have no job and I was just like I'm going like completely solo no support network just flopped himself in Uruguay because that was

[00:18:27] European like city I mean that's that's crazy yeah I chose Uruguay because as a poll you and you didn't know that it was the most European countries of all and I didn't know exactly

[00:18:40] what to expect in South America because I never been there before yeah actually I never traveled so for a long time so far from my from France just visit the United States but for short trips

[00:18:53] okay okay as well okay and all the trips in Europe that South America was totally new for me but it was really a huge adventure personally and a huge challenge as well because I didn't know

[00:19:03] how we'll be able to manage my life there if I maybe I will come back really to really deeply in France because everything was possible and so yeah it was a huge experience challenge for me so Uruguay was the Chile's country maybe to start my adventure that's why

[00:19:23] I chose it and to the culturally you you felt comfortable oh I know issues yeah I think I kind of done myself pretty well so I never felt I felt really welcomed in Uruguay people are

[00:19:35] really friendly in Uruguay so really friendly country very chill people are really educated okay um this is a safe French safe country of course in South America so it's not safe by you like Europe but I never felt comfortable in the history it's interesting yeah it's interesting to

[00:19:53] hear that and like I love talking with them because I honestly can relate in some capacity like I said with the things that he would run he uploaded yes I then had the corporate company but he just said

[00:20:05] and then and doing that in South America is probably the best continent to do it versus just uprooted just go somewhere but he did it know how he was going to manage I mean that to me is scary like

[00:20:16] I'm not sure that I would have done that at his age well I'm assuming he had kids but you know I'm assuming he had fun saving but I don't know what he would have had to let's one thing something

[00:20:29] yeah but still but something has to be said though for the you know for the the gumption or the fortitude to be able to do that and and to and first of all you know him not having you know a

[00:20:39] chicken or a child to be able to about the country that way that's that's the other similarity that you and you know you and Gilm had is the fact that you're two males you're not married you don't

[00:20:49] have children so you had you know you had the ability to be able to move about the country so we have to put that out there yeah everyone don't have the lifestyle obviously that I probably was

[00:21:01] able to you know live as I am here now in Paris you know with work and every other thing else like goes on but I don't want to make the notion that that's what it needs to be because you know

[00:21:17] I think everyone's lifestyle is totally different right and yeah I'll just give the example like Gilm had said and we use France for that matter someone that's making anywhere between two to

[00:21:29] three thousand euros a month is an average here and you know you take someone from small town America you know small town Kansas or somewhere like that that's making you know to most places in America

[00:21:43] I think two or three thousand dollars a month was probably considered poverty level or something like this whereas if you were to decide to go overseas like Austria or somewhere like that you would probably live

[00:21:56] you know a little decently comfortably where you can Spain actually you could go in or Portugal yeah and live great on three thousand dollars a month oh yeah you're assuming that their job will transfer because if it doesn't they don't have to get right perhaps they can

[00:22:14] get there or they can for that yes that is true that is that you're going to get a job better you can transfer or something like this yeah the better the better opportunity for you would

[00:22:25] to would be to work for an American company in overseas I mean obviously that will not speak another language or you might as well get to language we can already identify

[00:22:36] Americans or lacking in that area but right we did say that and but I do would get a job here to speak French but I but I'm not as attached as you are so yeah I'd have to wait a couple of

[00:22:51] years for my daughter to graduate like what Tristan is doing right now yeah right but I did you know when the last couple years ago when we visited Portugal in Spain you know we did ask that question

[00:23:02] what was the average you know the average income for for the you know for you know the average person say in Portugal and I was thoroughly amazed where they said they they make about thousand

[00:23:16] dollars yeah a month it would be a blessing expenses I guess because the socialized medicine yeah everything is a lot cheaper every time it was I know I'm lazy thousand dollars

[00:23:29] thousand dollars a month and I was like and here here we are and I'm like I mean yeah like ten times that at least to try to make a decent living I'm like sign me up

[00:23:43] yeah you know how much I love Portugal yeah yeah so the other like finding a job right so if you do if you don't have a retirement income like Paul like you and I do how are you gonna find work

[00:23:57] if you're not already working for an American company that just happens or you know to have presence overseas and I think the biggest thing that COVID gave us was the online

[00:24:08] oh yeah remote working on these yeah and Gio talked about that too about how he was able to find work so you moved to these countries and obviously doing the COVID period and stuff like you said

[00:24:19] that you didn't you weren't working so what did you end up doing for job in both those countries okay so actually I didn't find a job in Uruguay near the Argentina I was looking for an online job that

[00:24:31] I can do anywhere I want and I was thinking what are my qualities so what kind of job can I do and I love to teach yeah I've been a tennis teacher in France I've been a particular teacher

[00:24:44] as well so I know that I have qualities of I know how to explain stuff I have a good quality of so maybe teaching French online for foreigners was the best option for me okay and so

[00:24:57] I started to register on flat flat floor platforms for teaching online okay teaching French online and basically my activity grew as I was in Argentina and I'm starting to get my first students and then more and more students and then I ended up by doing it

[00:25:17] a one-time for the teacher and one of your students is actually the co-hosts but not on on on rhythm and Rome so I just have to plug that in of course you're right yeah and it's a fun job it's not

[00:25:30] so then make your own hours you can't beat that or most yeah but you do add up myself to my students too but yes it's a super big job so I was in Argentina doing this job I was doing a few

[00:25:43] traveling sometimes our I've been to Igua so I've been through all the cities in Argentina so that's was my professional situation but this all situation was creating because of this trip to South America because if ours in France I would probably do another job yeah

[00:26:02] presidential job and maybe I wouldn't even think about doing that so it's the this trip creates other opportunities that I didn't expect and I'm pretty happy about that and that's amazing

[00:26:13] to be a no matter and be able to yeah so all the centers and get the experience that you're getting and stuff like that yeah so so many opportunities I could live I've been to Brazil as well

[00:26:22] and I was keep on working it's amazing it's very cool and yeah for the mayor fact and he actually I mean I mean I mean but now he's your French teachers so I know that I mean I found out online so that's

[00:26:34] that's what he did and it was interesting to hear his perspective on how he found work and stuff like this too as well so I guess if you don't have like a retirement income like we do then

[00:26:47] you know the other way that you could live abroad besides getting a job would be to go to school because a lot of universities are free from what I mean assuming you're totally but there are some

[00:26:58] no there's so many things yeah that are like reduced like super reduced price and they are here or well like there's the Peace Corps which I haven't heard about since like I don't know like the 80s

[00:27:11] 90s it this totally there there's still work this still like yeah still a good opportunity or this might sound funny but people have been doing nanny you know work and stuff like this too

[00:27:25] oh right yeah well that's the old pair program is how people from other countries come to the United States I never thought about it I think I think the other ones and similar programs as well but then

[00:27:36] yeah so believe it or not if you go back into education again I just wanted to mention some other streams there I know for a fact through the university that that I attend they offer the opportunity

[00:27:48] through a scholars program where if you're wanting yourself wanting to learn a language they want you to at least have some type of beginner or intermediate and I know particularly because I was looking

[00:27:58] at the one in Portugal because you know that's one of the places I'm thinking of landing they actually offer program where if you you can teach at the at the school as like a TA as a

[00:28:09] teacher assistant if you will at the university and in turn you'll learn the language but then you also speak English like you teach English English class or whatever it's a nine month program that

[00:28:20] you do that and it actually goes towards you know you're undergraduate or your master's program so even while you're still attending school so it's a really great way for you to be able to

[00:28:30] to have that experience abroad if you're still wanting a little safety net if you will right no and then yeah and then there was another opportunity that I found in front of mine

[00:28:42] she almost took the advantage she almost took advantage but decided not to is if your gift is again through education but working with where you have where is the where they call it special needs

[00:28:54] here or where they call it special education so you know children that they have autism or behavior issues or whatever they really don't have programs like that in Europe and so Europe

[00:29:05] is still trying to develop those things and since the US has all of those things in place where they have all these different plans and special you know you know lessons plans and curriculums

[00:29:16] and different things they really like teachers who are studying to be teachers to work with to special needs or disable and bringing those programs over to Europe so you actually have

[00:29:29] an opportunity to do there and actually teach yourself so you could do it to your own student teaching you can do all of that abroad and then you know be able to learn within their schools so it's

[00:29:39] actually really neat I mean there's so many differences well I do want to say I want to acknowledge for our listeners we have been very Western centric on this episode yes we have no points about

[00:29:51] South America let's make that point Asia any of the Asia's South West Southeast future yeah so that's that's a good way to go to South Africa or Africa shoot man anyone

[00:30:04] oh Africa big time yeah you've got knowledge please comment or let us know well there's a lot of opportunity to talk about they do know that yeah so like you said the net there's a lot

[00:30:17] of opportunities to be afforded the opportunity to move abroad specifically I know we've been you know Western talking movement to Europe kind of thing is stuff like that because that's where

[00:30:30] majority of us said you know more experiences stuff like that but there's other ways we can do it and we'll definitely try to post you know those links to some of those areas in the different

[00:30:41] continent but focus heavily on Europe because I'm living but I could tell you just from my point of view and my expertise living abroad now as a normal person not in the government or anything

[00:30:55] like that I didn't feel scared doing it I embraced it and I think this is the way people need into think about it regardless of what your annual income may be I want I love my experience

[00:31:13] I mean so far I'm not hating it and I think a big big reason now for me is because I feel like I'm not being in my face judged like I probably would be in America what do I mean by that

[00:31:27] I'm tomorrow race I'm not saying that there's no hate here but it's not like in my face every single day and no one and I believe you know I asked the question to give you know and asking does it matter

[00:31:44] or anything like this like and that's how I truly do feel sometimes but people are not in your face like you know here about that and it's beautiful that I see

[00:31:55] lots of diversity here and stuff like that too as well hey I guess so we come to the end of our discussion now and I hope you were able to get something out of it if you guys have any feedback

[00:32:08] or anything like that please buy all means do that and don't forget comment like subscribe and all that jazz so thank you guys again for tuning in listening to us or watching us and as usual we'll see you on the flip side thanks again