ASEAN should open the door to Samouth being able to get employment in a country with decent education. Then hopefully with the higher rate of pay and job security that ASEAN will hopefully provide (?) he will be able to top up his studies and attain the required standard. Even in the UK now it's pretty hard to get an education to degree level let alone beyond. Funding is not there and the loans are crap.

this is a subject i talk about a lot with my friends, as i get people talking to me on facebook every day asking me questions about what its like because "theyve always wanted to do it" but "not brave enough" to cancel their life back home and sail ship, especially doing it alone...

the reasons why i love living abroad, for me its all about the experience, being away from the motherland, i see people in the western world as slaves, slaves to the government and slaves to whats classed as a "normal" life, brainwashed by society...
"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to a job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it."
"Are you really living life, or are you just paying bills until you die?"

I, like maybe quite a lot of people, always dreamed of living in a tropical paradise when i was older, and Its quite normal for people to go on 1 or 2 week holidays/vacations, a break from their hard working life and to relax and enjoy that dream for a couple of weeks, but then they have to come back to 'reality' they go back to work, pay their bills and save up all year for this little break away, and i did that also for a long while, but for me that wasnt enough, id also started going to a lot of music festivals and that sense/feeling of escapism, being out in the middle of nowhere away from all the bullshit, was a great feeling, but it wasnt enough, i found myself going to about 6 a year, i started going to festivals abroad, thats what inspired me to go backpacking, id started saving up for a big motorbike and had a few grand in the bank, and decided to start planning a backpacking trip to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, i didnt really know a great deal about any of the countries before i left, i trained muay thai so had a general knowledge of thailand but that was it, but the more i researched the more excited i got, i flew out alone and met some friends from back home, but decided to go off by myself after 4 weeks, it was the ultimate feeling of escapism that id been looking for, and i fell in love with cambodia from the first day i arrived, i instantly felt like i was home, my personality and lifestyle fit like a Cinderellas slipper here, i ended up settling here for the remainder of my trip living in siem reap with my then khmer gf, until i ran out of money, i then moved back home to work again, but i felt so depressed, i didnt feel like i fitted in back home anymore, i felt suffocated by being there, living in cambodia really changed my perspective of what "reality" was, and what i wanted in life, 2 months after going home i was back over here in cambodia where i stayed for a little bit before going back home to raise some cash to move out here.. been out here for 2.5 years now

back in england im a self employed bricklayer, i earn good money and live a comfortable life, i used to ride around in a 2 seater sports convertible and live a decent life, ive never been a materialistic person i was never spoilt as a kid, ive worked from the age of 13 because if i wanted something id have to buy it myself, i could have easily settled in a nice life in england but living in cambodia opened my eyes, i ended up selling my car and biking the 10km to work everyday, all i could think about was going back so thats what i ended up doing,

BUT... the bad points are all my family and friends ive known for the best part of my life are back home, and while, im an independent person, i do miss them (sometimes), the times when life here gets a bit tiresome or you just need some home comforts, my family is a close family, we eat together nearly every night and do a lot of things together, and when i see them doing all them things on facebook uploading photos and i feel a little left out, but im sure they are equally as jealous of the pics i upload as well haha luckily ive got a lot of friends out here so i never get lonely, my best mate is like my brother so i do miss him a lot
other than that though there is nothing i miss in england to be perfectly honest, espeshially now they sell cider over here im sorted haha the music scene in england i do miss come to think about it, ive missed out on so many good gigs this year its killed me haha

phuketrichard wrote:I like your posts Jamie but

hate to break it to ya but ur not really living abroad;

.....i then moved back home to work again
......in the 2.5 years ive been out here now ive not really done any work at all, when my money runs out every 6-7months id pop back for a few months to see my family and friends and do a bit of work then come back,
,

your traveling overseas and ur a tourist till u run out of money,than u head HOME to work

one time i had to go back to england for my sisters wedding, whilst i was there i did a bit of work sure, i'm going back on monday because my brother has just had a baby, both these things ive obviously known about well in advance so i just spend up and go to england and do some work whilst im in england, as id earn more money in 2 months than i would working a year out here, ive been offered jobs here, ive got some lined up, ive also been doing a lot of research about starting my own business out here also, ive only been here 2.5 years most of my friends have been here for 6+ years, i dont know many people that jumped straight into working out here when they first came out here..
i class Cambodia as my home now, i spend more time living in Cambodia than i do England, so why not, i rent my own apartment out here i dont have my own place back in England, i crash at my parents for a couple of months, im not travelling here, im stationed here, i live here,
just because i havent worked out here yet (because i havent needed to) and i pop back to England to see my family doesnt mean i dont live here...
how i worded it may have came across wrong, it was a long post lol

good story mate

General Mackevili wrote:

Jamie_Lambo wrote:good story mate

It's half true too.

I even believe the half that's not true.

General Mackevili wrote:

Jamie_Lambo wrote:good story mate

It's half true too.

yeah tbh i did find it hard to believe that youve had girlfriends...

I left the UK in frustration. I had a good job, I worked hard and it all came to nothing. It was clear that the housing ladder was being pulled up at roughly the rate my career progressed. Taxes, utilities, etc. meant that going out more than once a week was simply beyond my wallet's ability to bear.

I have never been able to work out how the poor in our country cope with life. A comfortably middle class existence was no great shakes.

So I left in pursuit of money... I found it, it made me happy, then I lost it, and rediscovered the pursuit of it all over again. In essence I'm a hamster in a wheel. Same as pretty much everyone else - all I've really done is keep changing the wheel so the view isn't as boring.