Thread Drift

[smilingcat]

One of my German co-worker (naturalized American), just to have some fun with his relative in Germany asked if he could apply for refugee status and emigrate to Germany. One of his relative worked in the German government. Reply was USA was not listed as one of the countries where refugee status was given. If you are given a refugee status, I think they'll pay you two years of living expense, a school to attend so that you can learn German and integrate into their society. But their are lot of animosity toward immigrants some have gotten to be rather violent.

Places where I would like to relocate would be most of the northern European countries, Denmark, Netherland, Norway, Sweden (they are also having lots of trouble with immigrants so much so that Swedes are emigrating out). Other places are Pyrenees, because its so pretty or Alsace, is it French or German??

Maybe we could apply for political asylum if you are gay. Pence is vehemently against the gays...

[lph]

I'm half-way between wanting to move (Caliexit? Norway?) (...)
I'm working on a masters of renewable energy.

Sounds like you're all set up to come work with me :-) This is what I do. In honesty though, I don't think it's particularly easy getting a work permit here, and last time we had an opening we were swamped with applications. Still, renewable is just going to get bigger and bigger as our oil production tanks.

I've been thinking about this whole "what just happened"-thing. The general impression here, in the media and among everybody I talk to, has been that there was no way he could possibly win. I've been more sceptical, not that I knew it was going to happen, but I had a bad feeling about the whole situation and wasn't able to joke about it. In general I've been getting more aware about how much I live in a bubble, surrounded by people and opinions I agree with, and how vulnerable that actually makes us.

For instance, social media: on FB I see no pro-Trump comments, not surprisingly, because my feed is basically my friends and family that I like and choose to keep in touch with. On Twitter, pretty much the same. But I noticed that even on Instagram, where I follow quite a few people who are total strangers to me, but post photos I like, often climbing, skiing, mountaineering or just attractive nature photos. Or just humor accounts. But every single one of these ALSO posted "OMG, what just happened, it's a disaster"-photos right after the election. That is actually pretty strange. It may reflect that Trump supporters in general are less active on Instagram, or that my so-called "neutral" interests actually are dominated by people with similar political views.

But no matter the reason, the end result is that every day I go onto the computer, surf around, and feel I've got an idea of what's happening in the world. I haven't. I've got an idea of what's happening in MY side of the world, and hardly any impression at all of how people who disagree with me view the world. I'm in a bubble or an echo chamber, just like I like to complain about the far right being.

Last time I reflected over this I made a conscious choice to follow some people and accounts on Twitter I really dislike and disagree with. It sounds trivial, but in fact it's surprisingly infuriating, to read very strong opinions that go against everything you believe. I will be doing more of this now. It's the only way I can get a small reality check. And I regularly try to join the open debates on the news media, because the first comments often set the tone of how things are discussed. Maybe every now and then I can change somebody's mind, or they can make me see flaws in my own reasoning. If at all possible, it's much better to "win" by making people want to join you, not by shaming and bludgeoning down the opposition.

Anyway. This is the inside of my head right now. Thanks for reading. I wish you all the best :-)

[Crankin]

This is tounge in cheek, but I thought some of you might like this article on the subject of moving.
It kind of echoes how I feel.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle...low%3Afacebook

[Catrin]

This is tounge in cheek, but I thought some of you might like this article on the subject of moving.
It kind of echoes how I feel.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle...low%3Afacebook

Fun! The winter would certainly compare with much of Canada Seriously one of the things I enjoyed about Vancouver (BC, not Washington), was the very moderate winter. Similar to Seattle, of course it changes quickly before you get very far inland.

[Crankin]

Actually, Catrin, our winter, at least in the Boston suburbs is much shorter than in Canada! We typically don't get a lot of snowfall in December. Yes, there have been years we have had big storms in December, but generally not a lot. Our big snow months are January and February, with January being the coldest and February seems to be the snowiest. We are more likely to get snow in the beginning of March, than in December, but because it is warmer and the sun is stronger, even deep snows melt then. So, I generally think of true winter as January and February. Maybe it's because that's when I can usually count on local x country skiing and snow shoeing! The closest local x country ski area is about 8 miles from where I live. I always expereince the same thing every year: around March 5th, I am skiing on the trails there, and in the next week or two I am riding my bike on the road through this area. However, you don't have to go far for extended winter or snow. I live far enough inland where it is a little bit colder during the winter than in the city, but, from the end of March through May, we are much warmer and less windy than towns even 10 miles east of here. I've had enough experience of going into Boston in the spring, where it was 55 degrees and 25 mph winds, and coming home (20 miles) to 65-75 degrees and warm.

[emily_in_nc]

This is tounge in cheek, but I thought some of you might like this article on the subject of moving.
It kind of echoes how I feel.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle...low%3Afacebook

I enjoyed that -- thanks, Crankin! Wish DH and I enjoyed cold weather more. I actually lived in Mass. the first four years of my life. My dad went to grad school at MIT. I love that part of the country (and the people there).

[Pax]

This is tounge in cheek, but I thought some of you might like this article on the subject of moving.
It kind of echoes how I feel.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle...low%3Afacebook

It's pretty tempting. I was born on the Cape and have loads of Family in Boston, Melrose, Medford, etc. Not people I know well, but there's a couple of hundred of them.

[Crankin]

Pax, you would love it. Melrose is an up and coming place for young people. A lot of my peers from grad school live there. My son lives in Medford. If you don't have to worry about schools, you have a wider range of places with less expensive housing (relative to here) that are Ok.

[Catrin]

Crankin - thanks for the info about winter. The winter in Indianapolis gets too much for me as I get older. I just get cold and don't warm up until spring. Oddly enough I still enjoy hikes in the woods in VERY cold temps, say teens or below. I think I enjoy that because the air is less humid in those temps - assuming there is little snow cover so one can actually see where the edge of the trail is. Those aren't the temps to fall into a snow-covered ravine - I'm normally solo on these hikes.

I do admit, if I had the resources and could find a job in my field in a more liberal state I would be out of here in a flash. I do really enjoy my job however, and I like my little community I've found here so I am not crying about that. Perfection doesn't exist anywhere, but it would be very nice to be in a more liberal state. Sadly, I am already hearing about mean-spirited comments being made to people who are obviously not white, or to women who are part of mixed-racial marriage. It's chilling to hear these things - it seems that people are starting to think it's acceptable to say such things now.