Comments on: 5 Reasons you might NOT want to become an expat

By: Bruce E.Van Bel

Bruce E.Van Bel — Mon, 30 May 2011 18:45:52 +0000

I’ve read the above and couldn’t agree more.I moved to Peru almost 16 years ago and paid my dues here including fine tuning spanish which has taken me the many years plus to learn and what I already knew for quite a while to re-learn with no professional teachers to assist..For what was spelled out in the problem areas was not entirely my case as much of the situation my security was already there in place and taken care of.Basically,I’ve not had to worry about much with exception of on going status issues which I don’t consider only but a threat to my health in the head ache department.There is always something that these latino’s can conjure up to make Enron look like a picnic and the reality is only that they are hungry for money to extort like monkeys stealing banana’s.My wife and I had no trouble with putting our boys into a private school,nor have we had problems with housing which has been available since we’ve been here nor have we had to put up with many of the things most expats had reasons for leaving their own countries..No matter what anyone tells you…there is absolutely no perfect place on the face of this planet even if you have all the money you can spend.Each place has it’s own idiosyncrasy’s and although you may be comfortable at first,take the time to really analyze whats really hiding in your immediate surroundings,study the language well,know the government policies and know the customs and the neighbors as the locals are the ones you will have to live with and believe me they can make your life miserable without even doing much.Remember when in Rome,do as the Romans do and that applies to anywhere you want to live…Yes,you wanted to run away from your home,well folks,you better be emotionally and financially prepared and if in a foreign country do make sure you register with your country’s Embassy and follow the rules as the country you are visiting or residing in can always bend their own laws to suit them but not you so periodic updates are always a wise investment…feel free to contact me if you have any questions as I’ve been traveling since I was 3 years old which was almost 60 years ago and that should give me a little credit…Good luck……

By: Spinster

Spinster — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:19:09 +0000

Agreed. I went into this knowing that not everything would be perfect in my current location. Things here can be quite annoying, but being realistic instead of idealistic has helped me a bit. Coming up on 1 year since this move and shockingly, I’m still alive.

By: Julia Simens

Julia Simens — Mon, 23 May 2011 11:45:43 +0000

Excellent things to ponder, one thing that we often forget is ‘things are not always the same’. Sometimes as an expat we seek out the person who has already done what we want to do and we gleam words of wisdom from them but expats are not the only people who move so our well thought out plans go wrong because someone in the local organization moved.

Example: getting the paper work for our son to legally ride his motorcycle – first year we were loaded down with copies of passports, birth certificates, money, doctor certificate that stated he did not have color blindness or elephantiasis (among other things) and his notary form from the Embassy that he lives at the address we live at. We are all set. It goes like clock work with a very lovely Khun Oil to help us.

This year we arrive back at the same place with all the same things PLUS the original driver license and original motor bike tag permit. Khun Oil is missing and now we need permission from his father since is not 18. Interesting we did not need permission when he was 16. We returned with the handwritten note and a copy of his father’s passport the following day as requested. But, we needed to have this notarized at the embassy to make the form legal. We asked if Dad could just bring him in with all the paperwork tomorrow and was told now the actual form had to be on file. Where is Khun Oil when you need her? Note: no money was asked for any transactions and clarification from a local driver stated this is ‘not normal to need permission when you already have a permit’. Hummm.