Thinking of Expatriating!

Boulder, CO. It's like another country and you'd be very employable in my neck of the woods.

There would be an untold number of benefits. ;) It's a lovely city. Lots of hiking, climbing, biking, good bars, great local music, and the sort of birkenstock/spandex/yuppy atmosphere that's more fun than most places.

Kurt,

Where ever you go (My vote would be for Sydney, Australia--can't go wrong there, especially when it comes to the fairer gender), I'm sure you'll be fine--but please don't get a roomate; shipping expenses to Australia (or wherever) are just god-awful...:D

Originally posted by c.c.r.
Cate, if I dinna know better, I'd think you were flirting with me! *blush*

Chris, hehe, duly noted, good sir!

TKS, uh... yeah... I hear England's nice. Your sidebar says you're from the Netherlands... that's actually near the top of my list!

Aww that's cool! The netherlands is a good place to live I suppose... It's like.. dutch.. lol..

I dunno I'm just kinda bored with it cuz I've lived her all my life and all..

wouldnt reccomend it tho, it doesnt really have pretty envirements imo.. well maybe it's just me and being bored with it.. I dunno (i think france aint all that either sooo... i dunnooooo)

Overall (from my experiances anyway) the people are really accepting and nice tho, so that's a plus I suppose. They're a little boring imo tho... And our music is ####ty! But you'll be listening to the same music anyway im sure so that probably dont matter..

And we have subtitles for english programs on tv, so that might be annoying for u..

just so u know france and spain and italy (i think) and some others (germany 2 I think) dub most of their tv programs, so that might be a turn off??

u might wanna considder going to a long vacation somewhere before actually moving there?? i mean it's a big step??

Well of course there are a lot of reasons to choose mainland Europe

1) It is the home of great trip-hop-and-all-the-alternatives that exist
2) All the big names give regular concerts (dare I say I saw portishead in concert with p.j. harvey and sofa surfers all in one gig!)
3) Austria is extremely safe - no paranoid locking of doors, car alarms or burglar proofing (yes, sob, less criminality)
4) great coffee houses
5) progressive-minded people especially in IT - we are all techie freaks here
6) the cultural life is tops (museums, ancient cities, history)
7) For nature buffs there's the alps to ski in, woods in walk in and lakes to swim in
8) great urban spaces with architecture to die for
9) cheap and good international cuisine (including an invitation to my house for a good curry if you like)
10) PROXIMITY to all the great other cities there are in Europe - my hubby and I choose a city to explore every year. We've done Amsterdam, London, Budapest - btw Venice is 6 hours away!!!

there are probably more reasons but you'll have to discover them for yourself :-)

Mexico? So far away yet so close? lol

To be honest, Australia is nearly my #1 choice, for a number of factors. I'd totally be up for Austria (but not Germany... dunno why, just a gut feeling, hehe) or Iceland too.

My #1 choice so far would be to move to Ibiza and forget that the rest of the world exists. Sigh... Don't think that'll ever happen though.

Though there is the far-off country of Boulder, CO... :)

Seeya tomorrow folks, I'm outta here!

Ok, going to take Timmy's points in order (Oh, BTW, this is not intended to irritate the Canadians in any way, shape, or form, except for one or two French canadians, who weren't very nice to me the last time I was in Canada--you know who you are...)

1. Strip Clubs: It's a well known fact that as you travel north, the average weight of the population increases proportinately. I live in Wisconsin, where the average person weighs 437 pounds. Extrapolate this to Canada, and I think you begin to see the potential danger at a strip club, where swinging appendages have been rumoured to leave patrons of such establishments unconcious for hours, and sometimes days, at a time.

2. Their Music: Ok, Canada does has some pretty wild polka bands, gotta concede the point here...

3. The beer: Did you ever see the movie "Strange Brew?" Since that movie, I've pretty much sworn off Canadian beer...

4. The mountians: Those are all fake. I saw this special on 20/20 on how the canadians put up all these fake mountains to lure american tourists--I mean there's no smog or nothing--obviously fake...You guys really need to come up with something better, like we Americans--you know, something like the "Corn Palace" in South Dakota, now that's true beauty...

ROFLMAO!! to both Chris and Adam. You guys are great.

Chris, there are some of those strippers that are overweight, but they are still pretty hot!! ;) :D

OK, Chris, you've got me beat. The Corn Palace reigns supreme.

I like the idea of the rentin' a room in the Corn Palace too. You know that oil has other uses Kurt. Makes a great, er, *ahem*, lubricant for like, well your tractor or somethin. ;)

Adam

Sorry to burst your bubble there Timmy, but I believe I saw your nuclear potato at the Corn Palace last fall...It was in the exhibit booth right next to Adam's stringy ball thingy...

The only thing is that you will be away from your kids. Won't that bother you?

Originally posted by c.c.r.
[B]Hehe, I should get the 'net at home for no other reason than to keep Adam, Timmy, and Chris on-topic. :D



You accusing ME of hijacking threads? I defy you to find a single post of mine not on topic. Um, ok, I defy you to find more than five posts of mine not on topic. Hoo boy. Ok, I defy you to find more than 60% of my posts not on topic (that would still give me a .400 batting average, which is pretty darned good you'd have to admit, no comment on wether I've been corking or not..).

I dread the day you have the net at home again...If you only knew what went on here when you're away--we have entire after hours threads here devoted to nothing more than Kurt jokes (Man, that one Adam posted about Kurt, the sheep, Martha Stewart, the llama, and Hillary Clinton--now that was classic) but we delete them all before sunrise...:D

Originally posted by dmt1
...(Man, that one Adam posted about Kurt, the sheep, Martha Stewart, the llama, and Hillary Clinton--now that was classic)...

Oh yeah that was a good one! Also remember the one about the priest, the rabbi, and Kurt...? :D

####it i'm going off topic again. Go ahead Kurt give me the lashing I deserve.

Originally posted by c.c.r.
Well, I'm off to home again.

I can, however, take comfort in the fact that while I'm offline, I'm off womanizing, boozing it up, and having a heckuva time whilst y'all are huddled around your monitors, typing. I can live with that.



Ahh, but we are womanizing, boozing it up, and having a heckuva time too, while huddled around our monitors, typing...So if you think your effort to belittle us was successful, well, um, I suppose it was...:D

...and looking around he spies an empty chair at the bar, next to this beautiful blonde.....

Well we know Chris has WAY too much time on his hands. :)

Originally posted by c.c.r.
[B]LOL!

You guys are gonna get me in trouble here... my boss is sitting over there wondering what the heck I'm laughing so hard about. Freakin' tears in my eyes!


Well, it's my goal to get you to wet yourself in public. When that goal is accomplished, then, AND ONLY THEN, will I cease and desist...(and you can tell your boss I'm not paying to any resulting damage to your chair, or for depends...).

Where the devil have you been for so long, Jacko? I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost in cyberspace.

Aye, thanks for that post, Jack. The whole idea of picking up and moving is still, at the end of the day, just a lark. It'd be nice to see Europe, though.

I agree on the language part for sure. Germany is pretty darn close to the bottom of the list for this reason in particular, even though I know that much of the world speaks English, I couldn't live where everyone's speaking German. French, maybe, Italian maybe, but not German. :D (No offense, Prithvi!)

Ok Kurt, you win, I give up...Call off the dogs man!! I will never make fun of you ever again (at least until the next time). My ipod blew up yesterday (I'm averaging one ipod every three months, thank god for the Best Buy PSP), and rumor has it you have a dmt1 voodoo ipod doll that you're sticking pins in...Please, please stop!!

Oh well, should have a gen3 30 gigger by Teusday, so it's not all bad..

Originally posted by dmt1
and rumor has it you have a dmt1 voodoo ipod doll that you're sticking pins in...Please, please stop!!


I swear I'm not the one who told him, Kurt! Honest!

Originally posted by c.c.r.
<snip>

Just remember that if I can make 'em blow up, I can make 'em fly out of car windows, too.
Ouch!

I wouldn't go there if I were you Kurt.

Remember what happened to the last guy that did that? :D

Tom

No expert on these things but, as per usual, Jackonicko's advice seems sound.

For what it's worth I spent a 6 month round-the-world trip taking in Thailand, Oz, New Zealand, Cook Islands, US and Ca(Que)nada, though a little outdated being nearly 8 yrs ago (ouch, Father Time's hitting hard etc.). Of the places visited NZ's South Island was the most beautiful, picturesque place I visited.
However, Sydney was the only place I considerded I could live in: one of the few places in the world where you have a decent metropolitan lifestyle and all that entails (culture, bars and yes, highly presentable ladies [and lads]) whilst being surrounded by the outdoors and beach life.

Further to those long memories I've lived in London (5 yrs), NYC (2.5yrs) and my girlfriend lives in Berlin.

I loved and still love London. Fantastic cultural possibilities, very cosmopolitan and despite the stereotype the weather's actually pretty good (far milder than the freezing lows and humid highs of NYC, for instance).

NYC's been very close and an easy cultural shift from London. Bars, music scene and oodles of attractive ladies - this place has it all if you don't mind living in a shoe box with a view of the next appartment's exterior wall.

Berlin would've been way down my list. However I'm really sold on it. The standard of living for a highly paid IT fella like yourself would be good: you could bar it every night of the week, live in a spacious bachelor pad overlooking the River Spree and update your iPod at every whim . The atmosphere is very open and easy going. The language wouldn't be a problem either: most people you'll come into contact with will have good conversational English, and more than happy to practice their stuff, unlike the hardened Parisians. The winter's, however, are harsh (though not really much cooler than NYC) and long (4-5months basically).

Personally, my thoughts are turning to San Francisco (again a pretty good music/club/bar scene, culturally OK and stunning natural beauty all around you) but this is only based on a couple of shorts stays. Tokyo sounds interesting, cultuarlly mind-exapnding for a westerner, and with your potential flexibility could be sampled for a year and then decided upon at the end of your triall year.

Phew, sorry so long ... hopefully more help than heavy eye-mud to trudge thro' ... all the best with your decision process.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada! The Greatest City in The World!
Kurt, I can think of no place better for you to move than Calgary. The friendly small town atmosphere full of big city amenities is just the beginning of all that Cowtown offers. We are one of the sunniest places on earth (more sun than any other Canadian location) with the most beautiful spring, summer and fall weather anywhere. And even winter isn't half bad, especially with our world class skiing and snowboarding. Banff is barely an hour away, Canmore even closer. And you can see the beautiful mountains from downtown. Calgary also boasts the highest educated populace of any Canadian city (more people with university degress than anywhere else) and Alberta is one of the best educated provinces or states in all of North America. So you don't have to worry about meeting any dumb blondes here.;) If you're into sports Calgary has professional hockey, football, triple A baseball, a lacrosse team, and even a soccer team. We have world class skating facilities thanks to the Winter Olympics of 88, and more parks and green spaces than any other major Canadian city. The music scene is very vibrant. Right now we're in the middle of our annual Folk Music Festival-with artists ranging from Elvis Costello to Ani Difranco. And if you like to eat, Calgary's new seafood eatery, Catch, was recently named Canada's best new restaraunt. We also have an extensive array of ethnic restaurants ranging from Indian to Morrocan to our famous Chinese establishments. And of course there's our famous Alberta Beef, certified Mad Cow free, of course.:)
The job sector here is excellent with the lowest unemployment rate in Canada. The low taxes, i.e., no sales tax are also an attractive incentive. And don't worry about fnding Mac stores, Calgary has a bundle.
And of course there's the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth, The Calgary Stampede, where we show off our city's great western past.
If your're looking to fit in with the locals, Calgary is home to more Americans than anywhere in Canada. 8% of us hail form south of the border. So if you ever get lonely, you'll have tons of other Yanks to reminisce with.
If all this doesn't impress you, remember, there's always Free Health Care!
Come to Calgary, and be happy! I am.:)

Yeah, yeah, yeah...Corn Palace, we've already been there, done that...As well as balls of string and nuclear potatoes and inflatabale Duncans..:D

Ha ha. Chris said nuclear potatoes.