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Good morning!!
a very brief message. Love the magazine, long may it reign.
Also I loved the (July) cover photo! Have a great life.
Anthony
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..y, a.
Love July's
cover photo. How did you get my sister into the
sidecar.....
Marty
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..w.n living quarters in a huge
Your magazine
has proven to be inspirational for several friends to whom I have forwarded
it and encouraged them to "sign up". They have and love it
as I do. None of these people has yet moved from the confines of
their US borders but at the very least, they can live vicariously!
I myself have lived for about 10 yrs. in the Caribbean away from the US
and love the heck out of it!
A thought:
Many of we readers are single, discovering it's real difficult
to find a
partner who might have the same outside-the-9-dots mentality. What
about a classified
section to help bring us folks together? We could take it
from there.
Thx for being you.
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Someone here
in Santa Barbara, California recently asked me why anyone would want to
"Escape from America". An interesting question indeed; and I am sure
one that many people who have never lived elsewhere are wont to ask.
Why would anyone want to leave the many US choices (between Burger
King and Taco
Bell), the health care system ($300 to $500 a month to be sure they don't
eject you and your heart attack from an emergency room on a dark and stormy
night), the public schools (duh!) and the remarkable system of public transport
(gas nearing $4 a gallon and not a train in sight). Some
Americans'
resistance to "escaping from America" is based solely on a visceral sort
of blind patriotism which saddens those of us who have always lived elsewhere.
If those doubting Americans could feel how much better the quality of life
is in many other countries of the world, they wouldn't ask.
They would
find a way to move away. I am a writer. live in France
and Argentina. Buenos Aires in
Winter. aris
in Summer. oth countries have their advantages and disadvantages.
But neither graduates kids who can't read, deprives its citizens of public
transport or ejects me from an emergency room because I can't afford $300
a month to buy (flimsy at best) health insurance. Suzanne White/Paris
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...
| I read Ms
Kinsella article on Bermuda, with absolute fascination and awe. I
was one of the people who read her original article and came over here
with that in mind. I was brought over by a Recruitment Agency, and
have to say that never a truer word was written. The agency has contributed
to making my time in Bermuda unbearable and unpleasant. They have
no interest whatsoever in the girls they bring over and, like Ms Kinsella,
I know of girls lasting two weeks, purely because of the way they have
been treated. I too, know of an eviction letter being handed to a
girl. Having come here at great expense to yourself, the prospect of full
time work is nil. Surviving on a temp's salary is nigh on impossible,
the manner you're are treated is merely as a commodity and as a way of
making them money. You have no rights, your concerns are not listen
too and if you step out of line, you are punished, either by not having
work or told to leave the accommodation. The number of times I have
had people roll their eyes to the heavens or mention that the agency have
a very, very bad reputation, are too numerous to mention.
Bermuda as
a country is a very strange place also. It exists in a twilight zone,
a country with a fierce resistance to change. On one hand as a God
fearing country and on the other, so obviously in denial about itself and
how visitors view it. Homosexuals have no rights yet it's common
knowledge that a fair few government members and population are homosexuals
or have had homosexual experiences. Which is absolutely fine, but why present
such outrage about it. It is a hypocritical country where there is
a church on every corner, yet infidelity is rife. Because it is a
small island, it has the gossipy mentality of a small village, where, literally
everybody does know your business. If they don't they are creative
enough to make it up. I found this particularly unbearable, especially
from first hand
experience.
If you are
not an outdoorsy person, there is very little to do here and subsequently
people find their pleasure through drink. Especially during the winter
months. I have met a fair few people who have ended up alcoholics.
Because of
this or despite of this, I have some good laughs here, have met some lovely
people. The beaches are outstanding. The men can charm the
birds off the trees, and this is where a lot of ex-pat girls fall by the
wayside. Under the misguided impression that you are "their only true love".
The majority of Bermudian men have their own wives/girlfriends on the side
and a few in between! I know of a couple who almost got it
together until they were told that they actually had the same father!!!
I know of another who managed to sire three children by three different
women in the space of a year.
At the moment
the government are debating whether to go independent from UK. Forgetting
that if this were to happen they would lose about 60% of ex-pat businesses,
if not more. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Bermuda
needs ex-pats but at the same time they do practically everything in their
power to put you off coming here. There have been so many barriers put
up to ex-pats, with companies actively discouraging ex-pats from applying
for jobs, immigration taking over a year to process applications and now
the introduction of the six-year rule where no ex-pat is allowed to stay
longer than six-years unless they can otherwise prove that they are vital
to their job or that a Bermudian can't do the job.
Like Ms Kinsella
I can see some of the positive of the country, but that is being far outweighted
by the negatives. I tell things as I honestly see them. I am
an observer so I watch and listen carefully.
It doesn't
take an idiot to figure out that there is "trouble in paradise", and at
the present time, I too, would not recommend a place like Bermuda.
Holly
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..
I finally
had time to sit down and read some articles, very interesting. Almost
too much info to digest.
As an American
living in Bermuda, I found the young lady's article on Bermuda mostly exaggerated
and inaccurate. Bermuda's not for everyone, but the first piece of
advice is if you are coming here, be a
skilled worker
and employed through a company-not temping. You'll be able to afford
it and the whole process will that much better.
Not sure I'll
go back to America in the same mindset as when I left...and isn't that
what's it all about??
Paul
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| Regarding
this article: "Dream Job-Nightmare Trip Moving To Norway, Or Not… When
Things Go Wrong ~ By Karen Southall Watts".
As a fullborn
Norwegian I truthfully regret the inconvenience that Karen Southall Watts
experienced while trying to work and live in Norway. I am happy that
she still considers Norway a positive country. But I am indeed very
surprised that the company and the locals didn't take more care of her.
Seems to me
that they totally lacked understanding how it is for a family to
move from one country to another, and hence to a small village. But,
on the other hand, as a North-Norwegian I can understand the lack of hospitality.
I regret to say that the understanding of taking care of strangers (read:
foreigners) isn't exactly up in the day. This is mostly due
to the tradition of the peasant communities in the western fjords and the
fact that they in the past used to be kind of stranded communities without
much contact with others - mostly due to the high mountains and long distances
between settlements.
As an explanation
may I add this?
I have met
some Americans living in Tromsoe, the capital on the northern Norway.
Most of them do not want to return to the States after working there for
some years (mostly at the University of Tromsoe). In fact, many marry
Norwegians and settle down for good. North-Norway is well-known for
its hospitality towards "strangers".
The motto:
"You shall never feel alone" is real law up there.
I have, on
the other hand, lived in many places in the western part of Norway and
I cannot say that there is much hospitality. In small communities
they almost lack empathy towards those "from the outside world", being
other Norwegians or foreigners. Ref. the old peasant communities
of Norway. Very exotic communities, but also VERY difficult to penetrate
unless you are really struggling to get yourself into the inside.
By the way:
I have emigrated myself. Well, not because I dislike Norway, merely
because I want to see other parts of the world before I "put the phone
down for good". I now live in Thailand and have had similar experiences,
but I stayed on and tried to cope with it. After some months everything
changed. Now I like Thailand. I like the strange culture and
accept all the odd things that happen to me during a week. I simply
have learned to laugh and take it easy and not stress so much. Had
to, because in Thailand 12 noon means everything between 10am to 4 pm.
Give my regards
to Mrs. Karen Southall Watts. Hope she will go to a Norwegian city next
time. That's where the urbans are. :-)
Kindly regards
Mr. Eivind
Trana,
Bangkok
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