Post: #1

You are exiled from either North America or your home country with nothing but your luggage, essential documents, and $10k with you.

You can never return. But, you can choose where to go and most importantly, you can forge the life road ahead of you.

Where would you go?

What would you do or attempt in order to keep yourself afloat?

What would you miss the most about your home country, besides family and friends?

Should provide for an interesting discussion.

Post: #2

Straight to SE Asia. Probably Bangkok to teach ESL which would keep me afloat at a subsistence level indefinitely.

I'd use the time there to think about the rest of my future. Probably try to find a way to do consulting work in Hong Kong (which is actually a long term goal for myself in real life).

I'd miss how easy everything is here in Australia. Everything is dumbed down enough and wrapped in cotton wool to the point that you have to be mentally ill to end up on the streets here.

Post: #3

I would probably go to Germany or Austria and try to be an engineer. I'm unsure about professional engineer licensing overseas but it's probably not a huge pain in the ass if you're already certified in the US.

In maybe four or five months I could pass a C level language exam so I could apply for work and citizenship (B2 level is all that you absolutely need but I'd want a better certificate). Then I could make pretty good money more or less indefinitely.

I would miss going to gyms that don't suck ass and the availability of consumer products - you can find anything in the US if you have money.

Post: #4

I'd start a small business with that 10k.

That would be plenty for me to figure something out in SEA but i'd head to the country with the best business environment for foreign nationals. I'm confident I could make a small business in SEA profitable with a livable income. While i'm doing that i'd probably do some menial job like teaching english or whatever to stay legal (visa wise) long term and to earn side income.

Then i'd spend the next year or two living below my means and saving more money and building connections then ramping up into multiple streams of income with other low overhead businesses.

While i'm doing all that i'd be planning residency. I'd look into the quickest and most efficient path to long term residency. A lot of residency requirements need an established work history and income requirement. The teaching english gig would satisfy work history requirements and later on when I have a company registered under my name I can later meet income requirements by showing proof of a profitable business.

I'd base out of that initial country first and then start considering other countries in the region when i'm comfortably "middle class."

I'd also find a reliable ride or die type woman who can aid in some language and local issues. I wouldn't rely on this woman but she'd be a great help during those initial steps. I'd also try to learn the language asap and the legal ins and outs of doing business in that country.

edit: I live overseas already and my answer in this hypothetical scenario is the same as the one I have now. I don't miss a goddamn thing about the U.S. Actually that's not entirely true I do miss seasons and the majestic natural beauty of the U.S. but that's about it.

Post: #5

I'd claim refugee status in Germany, hang out there till I made some money and got an EU passport and then either relocate to some other European country or got to South America.

Post: #6

I'd try and join the French Foreign Legion. It is a dream I had since I was like 17. If I get rejected there I'd probably try and find a programming job somewhere in western Europe while trying to get a visa to the US, because that's where the money is.

Post: #7

If you've been exiled from your country, it is safe to assume that you'd be wanted by the authorities.

You might want to avoid traveling to countries that have an extradition treaty with the country you're fleeing from...

Post: #8

(10-15-2015 07:21 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  If you've been exiled from your country, it is safe to assume that you'd be wanted by the authorities.

You might want to avoid traveling to countries that have an extradition treaty with the country you're fleeing from...

For theoretical purposes, let's not worry about that.

Post: #9

With only $10k, I'd go to a place 1) with a very low COL, 2) that is safe, 3) many people speak passable English, and 4) and has a decent internet connection in order to conduct my online business to keep myself afloat.

Thailand seems like a definite candidate, and I have my eyes on that country in my personal 2016 self-exile plan.

I have other possible candidates in mind, but each has a major con to them:

* Philippines - horrible internet connection
* Colombia - worried about safety, and I hear its getting worse lately
* Brazil - lack of either English or Spanish could be an issue, safety also a concern
* China - don't know enough about China to make a good judgement here yet, but want to visit at least a few times

Other than family and friends, what I would miss the most about the US would be the variety in scenery across the country, the four seasons, adventurous tornado/storm chasing opportunities, and the disability-friendly laws like the ADA passed in 1990 that helped me become self-sufficient to this day.

Post: #10

I'd buy 5 Adidas jump suits then go to Sweden.


Edit: 10k is a lot of money. The thread should be 1k.

Either way it wouldn't mean shit to me I can get a job anywhere in 5 minutes.

Post: #11

(10-15-2015 08:16 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  Edit: 10k is a lot of money. The thread should be 1k.

1k? I don't know, man... that barely covers the airfare to a lot of places around the world. What will you do once you land?

Post: #12

(10-15-2015 08:31 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

(10-15-2015 08:16 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  Edit: 10k is a lot of money. The thread should be 1k.

1k? I don't know, man... that barely covers the airfare to a lot of places around the world. What will you do once you land?

Get a job.

Post: #13

(10-15-2015 08:32 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  Get a job.

Like you said you could pull that off in 5 minutes, but I can't imagine being able to do that myself. Maybe I'm just overly cautious.

Post: #14

(10-15-2015 08:39 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

(10-15-2015 08:32 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  Get a job.

Like you said you could pull that off in 5 minutes, but I can't imagine being able to do that myself. Maybe I'm just overly cautious.

I bet a lot of guys reading this are thinking they would move to the cheapest place possible. In reality you move to an expensive place where you can make money. What kind of job would you get in Indonesia? It would be slow and painful but Norway you could be pulling down some coin.

Post: #15

(10-15-2015 07:21 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  If you've been exiled from your country, it is safe to assume that you'd be wanted by the authorities.

You might want to avoid traveling to countries that have an extradition treaty with the country you're fleeing from...

Party pooper

Post: #16

You want to post up somewhere to figure out what you want to do with your life? And you have say 10K?

Two places that come to mind:

- Go to Chiang Mai, lowest cost of living anywhere on the planet where you'd still enjoy a very good lifestyle, while networking with cool people doing cool shit. 10K would last you a whole year if you're careful (i.e. not out every night boozing it up and barfining hoes all the time). In that one year, you'd have enough time to figure things out, learn a valuable skill and build a biz around it.

- Go to China. I've written extensively about it here. Check my China thread and you'll see what I mean. THE land of opportunities par excellence!

Post: #17

(10-15-2015 08:45 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(10-15-2015 08:39 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

(10-15-2015 08:32 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  Get a job.

Like you said you could pull that off in 5 minutes, but I can't imagine being able to do that myself. Maybe I'm just overly cautious.

I bet a lot of guys reading this are thinking they would move to the cheapest place possible. In reality you move to an expensive place where you can make money. What kind of job would you get in Indonesia? It would be slow and painful but Norway you could be pulling down some coin.

El Mechanico's right. If you can't go back to the US because you're exiled (but not for legal reasons, i.e., this is pure fantasy), then go to a place where you can pull down a lot of coin. I know people who've moved to Norway, where you can totally get by with English, and make serious bank as just a food prepper in some company's canteen.

If, which represents reality, you're exiled because you're wanted back home, then it would have to be China, Ukraine, or Russia. Argentina and Brazil may have extradition treaties, but they frown on American authorities meddling, so you probably could go there too. If it were up to me, I'd go to China because there's a good chance that you can make serious coin as an English speaker. Russia and Ukraine are too corrupt to thrive.

Post: #18

So let me sum this up... it all comes down to what you want to do to earn money once you land.

Get a job there? Go to an expensive country with high paying wages. Bank the cash.

Start your own online business? Go to a cheap country with good wifi, and live like a king if your business takes off.

Post: #19

(10-15-2015 09:50 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  So let me sum this up... it all comes down to what you want to do to earn money once you land.

Get a job there? Go to an expensive country with high paying wages. Bank the cash.

Start your own online business? Go to a cheap country with good wifi, and live like a king if your business takes off.

I agree but I might move to a different place after the business takes off.

(10-15-2015 09:33 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  - Go to Chiang Mai, lowest cost of living anywhere on the planet where you'd still enjoy a very good lifestyle, while networking with cool people doing cool shit. 10K would last you a whole year if you're careful (i.e. not out every night boozing it up and barfining hoes all the time). In that one year, you'd have enough time to figure things out, learn a valuable skill and build a biz around it.

- Go to China. I've written extensively about it here. Check my China thread and you'll see what I mean. THE land of opportunities par excellence!

If I was going to start a business I would probably choose Asia also. Possibly Chiang Mai. I would try to connect with some entrepreneurial minded forum members and get ready to hustle my ass off.

Post: #20

(10-15-2015 09:50 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  Go to an expensive country with high paying wages. Bank the cash.

Would do what Syrians are doing. Go to Germany, Sweden or Switzerland. Low unemployment so employers can't be picky. Do jobs that are unpleasant (garbage collector, construction, landscaping) but pay well because local would rather go on welfare than do them (as is the case in much of the US where most construction/landscape laborers are Latin Americans.) Or at least was dishes til Iknew enough of the language to be a waiter and make good tips. Evntually learn a trade (plumber, electrician etc.)

On the pracical side you can't pick your country. Most countries (unlike the US) actually enforce immigration and work permit laws.

Post: #21

(10-15-2015 09:19 AM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(10-15-2015 07:21 AM)The Beast1 Wrote:  If you've been exiled from your country, it is safe to assume that you'd be wanted by the authorities.

You might want to avoid traveling to countries that have an extradition treaty with the country you're fleeing from...

Party pooper

Honest question, it adds a layer of complexity to the whole experiment.

Countries that do not have an extradition treaty with the US:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and

Herzegovina, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central

African Republic, Chad, Mainland China, Comoros, Congo (Kinshasa), Congo (Brazzaville), Djibouti, Equatorial

Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan,

Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands,

Mauritania, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal,

Niger, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé & Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia,

Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu,

Vatican, Vietnam and Yemen.

Russia on that list so good to go.

Post: #22

Exiled from Croatia? And with $10k on top of that? Shit, where do I sign up?

Post: #23

(10-15-2015 08:16 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  I'd buy 5 Adidas jump suits then go to Sweden.


Edit: 10k is a lot of money. The thread should be 1k.

Either way it wouldn't mean shit to me I can get a job anywhere in 5 minutes.

Can you bust out a data sheet?

Post: #24

I'd become a loan shark wherever I landed with my 10k. Minus the cost of a baseball bat.

Post: #25

(10-14-2015 10:25 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  You are exiled from either North America or your home country with nothing but your luggage, essential documents, and $10k with you.

...

What would you miss the most about your home country, besides family and friends?

What happens to my previously established relationships in this thought experiment?

Most people could hit up their family, friends and business associates for money, and it will be forthcoming.

So the $10k starting point can be markedly increased by making a few phone calls.