Tldr; I love my job, hate the Netherlands, want to move somewhere warmer but where and how?
Basically that. It's time for a change. I love my current job, and I wish I could stay in that role for years to come, but a. It's temporary and b. Good god do I hate living in The Netherlands. To a point where something's gotta give.
I'll be slow posting in this thread today, not sure how many toots. Feel free to mute me if this thread becomes annoying. 🫶
1/n
And by slow posting, I mean slowwww. In between playing Majora's Mask with two cats sleeping on me ❤️
2/n
The problem with NL is that it's cold, grey, wet and miserable. Unless you like cycling through the rain (gas costs 3 dollars a liter and forget about parking), you'll be inside your house for 8 months out of the year. Even during the 2 weeks of summer, there's no nature to enjoy. We basically have 3 nature parks, which you can walk in a day. And that's it. The beaches are shit, the food is flavorless, everything looks the same. It's grey and bland every day.
3/n
All of that was somewhat tolerable, because at least most of us lived a decent middle class life here. But that's starting to disappear as well. I don't know what's happened the past few years, but life here has gotten ridiculously expensive. Groceries, taxes, rent, incidental expenses, everything increased. To a point where it regularly starts to eat into my savings. It doesn't make financial sense to stay in The Netherlands. It's just not worth it anymore.
4/n
That's not even mentioning the pension age that they raised to 72, the houses that on average cost over €500.000 (for a rijtjeshuis btw), the insane cost of being single instead of a couple, and the right wing conservative parties consistently dominating for the last 20 years leading to a hollowing out of every collective utility from healthcare to energy to housing. The Netherlands is a boomers paradise.
5/n
Clearly it's time to go (even though I'd be willing to stay a bit longer for a ~particular role~, in case my boss is reading this 😂), but the question is..
..go where?
Australia was a contender, but I haven't heard back from my visa application. Finding a visa sponsored job also hasn't led anywhere. Plus, it feels like Australians are dealing with their own financial challenges, especially aspiring home owners.
6/n
The US isn't an option for obvious reasons, Canada too cold, Latam too far, South Africa too murder-y, and Thailand doesn't seem convenient careerwise.
So that leaves Southern Europe.
The biggest issue is where and how. I have two cats to haul along. Do I buy a campervan and rent out my house? Where do I go?
Also, I love my work atm, can I keep doing that for as long as possible while figuring this out? And will I find a new role in the same field again?
7/n
At this point I'm pretty convinced I need to buy a campervan and just travel around 😅 I've only seen a fraction of the continent.
I can't think of any scenario that doesn't come with a cost. Every scenario means digging into my savings.
8/n
The saga continues. 🥲
We've established that I need to move abroad. I still don't know where to. And I have two cats to bring along.
The problem is that buying a campervan will easily erase 1/3rd to 1/2 of my savings. And I need those savings to buy a house or start a business. It would be much cheaper if I just knew where I wanted to live and moved there, but noooo. 🙄
I'm worried about spending all my money on travelling and then not having any left to move.
9/n
I'm also very unsure whether I'll like travelling by campervan. It seems equal parts fun and ghetto. 😂
Btw this would be across Europe. The question is where (but I'd def want to include France, Austria, Slovenia, Greece and Turkey).
10/n
What I could also do, instead of buying a van, is take short city trips by plane during long weekends all over Europe and try different places.
But that would limit me to big cities. While I think I might prefer smaller cities or even the countryside. But still with an expat vibe. And good coffee places. And quiet. But also lively. Sigh. 🤦🏼♀️
11/n
Kay, I've found a few options in the €35k to €45k range. What do we think?
12/n
@Gina I assume you have the right driving license for these things.
Those are essentially converted delivery vans. Generally very reliable, but everything hinges on the engine. Look them up, get one that runs half a million km, not all do. The rest is just a box that should not leak and have the conveniences you desire (bed, galley, toilet, the showers suck anyways). It will break and you will fix it or pay twice for having it fixed.
You got the rest right, part fun adventure and part ghetto and a bonus part of "you can't stay here we're calling the cops".
And getting very excited about finding a manhole you can pry open with a hook so you can dump your toilet tank into the hole without having to carry your collected excreations around in a sloshy tank.
@Gina I can tell you from liveaboard experience, there is a definite progression in this life.
You start out inexperienced and spending too much money on the wrong things and then you have some adventures and learn a lot about a huge variety of things and people and places and in the end you never bother with a lifejacket anymore, know all the good places to repair, all the beautiful, free hangouts away from the noobs and you learnt how to fix anything. The newcomers look at you with a mix of admiration and wrinkled noses. All your clothes are worn paper thin and have holes and you know this doesn't matter as long as you keep one set of fancy clothes for when you have to briefly return to the world of ignorance to do some paperwork.
Gina
Y⃒̸̷̝̜̙ͥͥͥngmar