The Official Repatriation/Moving Abroad Thread

[Elle Driver]

I loved Addis. Stayed in Bole

Good people out there

Pros:
- Very safe compared to other African cities. I could stroll home at 2am. Nairobi on the other hand was
- Little overt corruption unlike other African cities. Makes it less stressful if you're not being shaken down for money everywhere you go
- Good weather (might have been just the time of year I went)
- Good food. Nice cafes serving great coffee as well as local food

Cons:
Poverty. It's very sad to see so many poor people begging.
Not as free as other places. I had no problems but the fact that I was in a pseudo-police state had me



Btw Elle, there is unrest at the moment and I don't know how serious it is. Look into that. You don't want to be like that family in the movie No Escape where there is a revolution as soon as you touch down

What issues? expand pls

 

[Trajan]

There's an African Spring going down

http://www.thecoli.com/threads/ethiopia-protests-thread.453174/

 

[Trajan]

What issues? expand pls

Dozens killed in Ethiopia protest crackdown

 

[Elle Driver]

Dozens killed in Ethiopia protest crackdown

*cancels trip*

 

[Primetime21]

To be honest I can't contribute a ton of info at the moment. I have not yet traveled to Africa, the Caribbean, or Latin America, but am interested in possibly moving within the next 3-5 years.

I seem to have ancestral ties to Nigeria and Cameroon. Cameroon is a dictatorship and I don't speak French, so it is out of the question at this point. For me, in West Africa, I'm thinking Nigeria and Ghana are my only good options. Liberia could also be a possibility, but I'm troubled by the history of settler colonialism there and not sure that I want to step into that.

In the Americas, I'm mostly considering Belize and Barbados. Jamaica is lower on the list and USVI is at the bottom of my list. With the Caribbean, I am concerned about hurricanes, especially moving forward as climate change gets worse. So I'm thinking it'd be better to not be on an island. I'm leaning towards Belize. Also with a lot of the smaller Caribbean islands, they only have one or two industries (tourism is one) and jobs are tough to get, even for locals.

If I brush up on and improve my Spanish skills, maybe Colombia and Esmeraldas in Ecuador are in play too.

You ever considered teaching english? Unless you have a self-sustaining business like e-commerce, finding a job is one of the biggest hurdles to moving/living abroad. There's always a demand for english teachers, especially native speakers, so if you get your TEFL certificate that could be an option for you. I recently got mine but I'm not planning to move for a couple of years, although that could change.

it's kinda hectic in Brazil right now but if weather/climate is a big concern for you something to note is hurricanes are very rare there, same with earthquakes. Costa Rica has a sizeable black population on the caribbean coast, area of Limon. The cost of living is very cheap and they're routinely ranked pretty high on those "happiest countries in the world" lists.

 

[JahFocus CS]

You ever considered teaching english? Unless you have a self-sustaining business like e-commerce, finding a job is one of the biggest hurdles to moving/living abroad. There's always a demand for english teachers, especially native speakers, so if you get your TEFL certificate that could be an option for you. I recently got mine but I'm not planning to move for a couple of years, although that could change.

it's kinda hectic in Brazil right now but if weather/climate is a big concern for you something to note is hurricanes are very rare there, same with earthquakes. Costa Rica has a sizeable black population on the caribbean coast, area of Limon. The cost of living is very cheap and they're routinely ranked pretty high on those "happiest countries in the world" lists.

I looked into a bit. I was turned off by how much the certifying agencies wanted to charge, but I may revisit it. It's a surer bet and a good cert to have. I will have an internet-based business (consulting) by the time I'd be moving though.

Costa Rica

I can't lie though, I'm not really built for a hot climate even these summers in the U.S. be killing me. Might have to suck it up though and do it for the cultcha

 

[Smashius Clay]

For those of you who need to tunnel into the U.S. here's an decent service. It won't help you with watching Netflix or Hulu (they've got their entire IP range blocked on both services).

Anonymous VPN Service From The Leaders | Private Internet Access

What this will help you with is if your employer stay checking your email headers or if your ticketing system logs your IP and geolocation.

If all you care about is streaming video, check here:

Which VPNs Still Work With Netflix?

 

[Smashius Clay]

Another note: Banking.

There are no international fees with a CapitalOne credit card. So your best bet is to use CapOne as your main card and pay it using online bill pay every month.

If you need cash just get a large sum to keep you good for a couple of weeks. Those international fees add up.

Finally, I'd recommend a PayPal account to accept online payments if you're (like me) doing freelance stuff on the side, plus it's just a good failsafe in case of an emergency and you need cash quick. Transfers between PayPal accounts occur in realtime.

The Xoom app is also real good for transferring money.

 

[Fox]

http://country-facts.findthedata.com/compare/5-23/Senegal-vs-Cote-d-Ivoire

Senegal has lower infant mortality rates, lower homicide rate, better income distribution, better democratic institutions, lower crime rate, higher literacy rate, longer life expectancy, lower HIV rate, more access to the internet, better air quality, more forest area than Cote d'Ivoire by this data.

Although the Ivory Coast does seem to be headed in the right direction.

 

[Supreme HD]

Another note: Banking.

There are no international fees with a CapitalOne credit card. So your best bet is to use CapOne as your main card and pay it using online bill pay every month.

If you need cash just get a large sum to keep you good for a couple of weeks. Those international fees add up.

Finally, I'd recommend a PayPal account to accept online payments if you're (like me) doing freelance stuff on the side, plus it's just a good failsafe in case of an emergency and you need cash quick. Transfers between PayPal accounts occur in realtime.

The Xoom app is also real good for transferring money.

Hows colombia treating you?

 

[Smashius Clay]

Hows colombia treating you?

Not there yet, but getting close. Became a master of Craigslist selling all my shyt this week.

One more week.

 

[JahFocus CS]

Not there yet, but getting close. Became a master of Craigslist selling all my shyt this week.

One more week.

Hablas espanol con fluidez?

 

[Smashius Clay]

Hablas espanol con fluidez?

Si, aprendi como hablar espanol cuando viajando a mexico y republica dominicana.

I also took online classes via skype a couple years back when I was starting out. Duolingo is that shyt too.

 

[Supreme HD]

Not there yet, but getting close. Became a master of Craigslist selling all my shyt this week.

One more week.

I thought colombia was notoriously racist?

 

[Smashius Clay]

Institutionally? Yes, worse than I've ever seen anywhere. The country is very much segregated with whites living in the mountains and blacks living in the coastal areas (mainly in Choco). These coastal areas have been largely neglected over the years and the poverty seen there is unlike anywhere else in the country. However, the current president is making strides in investing in these areas.*

With that said, the average Colombian a) doesn't perceive race the same as americans do (they all see themselves as colombian) and b) don't see americans (black or white) as Gringo. I've never had issues with my race there.

EDIT*