Comment by chinese_dan | Hacker News Reader

Comment by chinese_dan | Hacker News Reader

It sounds great in theory, but if you aren't careful, you will come back with less motivation and skills than you had before you left.

I lived in Asia for a few years as a digital nomad of sorts. My only means of income was freelance software development.

It only worked for me because I have excellent discipline, but most expats I met had a lifestyle of: drinking, partying, smoking weed, and not doing everything possible to not have a regular job. The long-term expats (more that 5 years) were a pretty miserable bunch a well.

While this is fun, it's a rude awakening when you have to come back to the real world and actually make a living and you have been left in the dust. I know a few people that had to move back in with their parents because they couldn't find work after their travel experience.

..and involving your kids? A bad idea. Many governments do not offer you the same protections and rights that you have in the USA. It's hard enough with couples, nearly impossible with kids.

The long-term expats (more that 5 years) were a pretty miserable bunch a well.

Yeah, what's the deal with this, anyway? It's something I've noticed as well.

The worst case seems to be US Expat Surfers living in Central America, preferably owning property there. None of those guys seem to have been surfing at all in the last month, but they're certainly quick to make sure you know you're not welcome intruding on their waves or taking up a table in their personal favorite bar.

I was actually considering setting up shop down in Nicaragua at one point, but that factor quickly put me off.

Check out the Expat Climbers you find in SE Asia for the counterpoint. Mostly nice folk leading pleasant lives in a pleasant part of the world and getting out on the rock all the time. Figure out what's causing the difference between those two groups and you'll have the secret to happiness.

surfers are actually more uptight than soccer moms (contrary to popular opinion)

i came to say pretty much the same thing... so true

Our VP of Quality used to be a surfer, so this comes up as true.

So true! Source: lived on the water in Newport Beach.

I wonder if particular gut flora[0] in those who swallows ocean water influences[1] the personality type dominant among surfers.

[0] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/18/superbug-surfer-stu...

[1] all the recent studies linking gut bacteria to brain functions, like http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/06/gut-bacter...

I did the expat thing for just under two years. Leaving behind your old life isn't the least bit appealing if you like your old life. If you don't like your old life due to temporary circumstances, then you'll go back home after a few years when circumstances change. IME, the people who stay significantly longer than that have more internal problems than external.

It's also possible that they're either more interested in deeply exploring another culture or simply more flexible than those who spend nearly their entire lives in one culture are.

It certainly is possible, but in my experience not very common. The long-term expats tended to stick to the expat community, which was mostly about creating a tiny bubble of "home" in the host country. Or at least a television-inspired approximation thereof.

The ones who really did want to explore and immerse themselves in another culture usually did that for a few years before moving on to explore another culture.

Expat divers tend to be pretty cool too.

> Figure out what's causing the difference between those two groups...

Have you ever been surfing? I find it frustrating as hell. Rock climbers I can relate to, though.

I'm sure there's more to it then that. Maybe the surfers left to get away and the climbers left for the destination.

Riding the face of a wave is one of the most amazing experiences you can have. Make those wave faces larger and more powerful and the experience is even more intense. Unlike other board sports or rock climbing, every wave experience is different. The water is constantly changing under you depending on the tides, wind, wave size+direction, ocean bottom, the list goes on.

Part of the pull is also that you simply cannot go surf whenever you want. You have to wait for waves. Every surfer is also an amateur meteorologist for this reason. Even when waves finally show up, you have to paddle out and wait more. Surfing is not a group sport, even though you may see many surfers in the same location. They are all jockeying for position to catch the next wave and get a hit of the drug they all crave.

The only times I've gotten hurt surfing was when idiots who who had no business being out in the conditions have hit me. So yeah, surfers can be jerks if you are new and have not proven you know what you're doing yet.

Japanese expats are also pretty surly but I think in their case it's because the reality eventually sinks in that Japanese people are always going to treat you like a tourist no matter how long you're there or how well you speak the language.

> The long-term expats (more that 5 years) were a pretty miserable bunch a well.

i've known a lot of ex-pats. the ones who go overseas for real jobs do just fine. so do the ones that start an actual business, i.e. one that they have to work at least a couple of hours every day, while overseas.

of course you'll be depressed and crazy if you do nothing but dick around for 5 years. you can't really do that anywhere, home or abroad. not even if you have a trust fund (maybe especially not if you have a trust fund).

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