Moving Abroad - Why or Why Not?

[jut703]

Same sentiments. I wish I had the guts back then when I was younger. It gets harder when you reach 40 and you have a family to feed. Migrating to another country is a huge challenge. I admire those who have the guts to delay the present but short gratification for a better life elsewhere. No regrets though for deciding to stay here in PH, but for those who want to pursue a better life outside this country, that is definitely a good choice. PH will always be among those countries at high risk of instability, no matter what we do. Natural disasters (this is a huge factor), political uncertainty, the odds will always stack up against this country. Don't get me wrong. I love my country and I prefer to live here until the very last breath, but the reality is that there are many factors that will make it difficult for this country to become like Singapore, or even surpass the quality of life at Malaysia or Thailand.

Kung saan ka masaya is not enough. Even those below the poverty line will say that just to pat themselves at the back and convince themselves that life is good.

The Philippines as a whole will definitely not reach the level of Singapore or even Malaysia in our lifetime. But then again it doesn't have to. I was idealistic when I was younger, but the reality is that there is high income inequality in the Philippines. As long as you're in the upper income percentile, you can enjoy the economic advancement of the country that the majority of Filipinos don't.

If you want to be part of a society with a functioning government, decent social services, and first-world living in general - there's no other option but to leave.

Now as to your point about happiness not coexisting with poverty - I have to disagree. That's the point about happiness - it's not as much about the money as it is about contentment.

In my line of work, I have seen people who live day by day not knowing if they can make their rent payment for the month yet have a happy and contented disposition. I have also seen multi-millionnaires who never seem to be satisfied and are filled with insecurity and have troubled relationships.

Yeah the poor will probably die earlier with little access to health care and they probably wouldn't have been able to live their life to the fullest because of the limited opportunities available to them. But contentment and happiness is internal and isn't solely dependent on those. So they can still die happy.

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[jojopad]

Now as to your point about happiness not coexisting with poverty - I have to disagree. That's the point about happiness - it's not as much about the money as it is about contentment.

In my line of work, I have seen people who live day by day not knowing if they can make their rent payment for the month yet have a happy and contented disposition. I have also seen multi-millionnaires who never seem to be satisfied and are filled with insecurity and have troubled relationships.

Yeah the poor will probably die earlier with little access to health care and they probably wouldn't have been able to live their life to the fullest because of the limited opportunities available to them. But contentment and happiness is internal and isn't solely dependent on those. So they can still die happy.

I wasn't implying that happiness and/or contentment cannot coexist with poverty. One can be happy despite the horrendous living conditions one go through. If given the choice and the opportunity to pursue better living conditions, they'll definitely opt for it. For those who don't have those choices, telling themselves to be happy is the only antidote for suffering and misery. Perhaps happiness is a false gauge. The stoic's question"are you living a good life?" is probably a much better gauge.

[jut703]

I wasn't implying that happiness and/or contentment cannot coexist with poverty. One can be happy despite the horrendous living conditions one go through. If given the choice and the opportunity to pursue better living conditions, they'll definitely opt for it. For those who don't have those choices, telling themselves to be happy is the only antidote for suffering and misery. Perhaps happiness is a false gauge. The stoic's question"are you living a good life?" is probably a much better gauge.

It will always depend on the circumstances and you can't prescribe to someone else your own definition of a good life.

Many people have gone abroad because of the promise of "a good life", only to come back home because they realized that the fulfillment of being with their family cannot be matched.

Joy - OFW #ShareAMomentOfJoy - YouTube

And if you apply that logic to someone who's fairly comfortable here and chooses to forego an even higher paying job abroad, is he living in misery simply because he didn't pursue the "best opportunity" possible?

It's condescending to assume that people are just patting themselves on the back and feigning happiness because they're shortchanged with opportunities. It's like a rich person saying that all these people who aren't earning a million pesos a month are just telling themselves to be happy and they haven't really lived a good life.

Of course people will pursue the better option if they feel that it is indeed a better option overall (i.e. all things considered, not just financially). But what might be a better option in your eyes might not be a better option in someone else's eyes if they value things differently.

At the end of the day, different strokes for different folks.

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[uls]

PH has much lower number of suicides than rich countries

says a lot about rich countries no?

[Ry_Tower]

Iba-iba talaga per person since we value things, relationships etc differently. Pinag-usapan namin ni wifey ito kahapon. We think na it is also better to prepare our son to be able to have an education and a career that would enable him to move to another country with relative ease para if the situation in the country does not improve in say 20 years and it really stinks, he could help us move out.

That is not saying we will not try to save up just in case of a really drastic change in situation. Hoping still for our countrymen to realize the folly that is Dutiti. Afterall, we all want whats the best. But happiness and contentment now is achievable, hindi pa sobrang pangit nga Pinas para iwanan ko. hehe

[remzam]

The Philippines as a whole will definitely not reach the level of Singapore or even Malaysia in our lifetime. But then again it doesn't have to. I was idealistic when I was younger, but the reality is that there is high income inequality in the Philippines. As long as you're in the upper income percentile, you can enjoy the economic advancement of the country that the majority of Filipinos don't.

If you want to be part of a society with a functioning government, decent social services, and first-world living in general - there's no other option but to leave.

Now as to your point about happiness not coexisting with poverty - I have to disagree. That's the point about happiness - it's not as much about the money as it is about contentment.

In my line of work, I have seen people who live day by day not knowing if they can make their rent payment for the month yet have a happy and contented disposition. I have also seen multi-millionnaires who never seem to be satisfied and are filled with insecurity and have troubled relationships.

Yeah the poor will probably die earlier with little access to health care and they probably wouldn't have been able to live their life to the fullest because of the limited opportunities available to them. But contentment and happiness is internal and isn't solely dependent on those. So they can still die happy.

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^^
Definitely agree on this one re happiness.

Key to happiness is contentment. That is something money can not buy. Happiness lies within you. To be content and not wanting more.

Satisfying a particular want simply leads to another want. But alas, that is the nature of humans. Learning how to break away from that, is what I think we should strive for.

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[travajante]

By staying grateful, the route to happiness is short, quick & easy. Rid expectations & see no frustration. Happy are the shallow.[emoji4]

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[Aira Advincula]

No.

MODERATOR SNIP

[Gumusut_Amige]

That's an awesome suggestion bro. I'll drop by sometime soon, looking forward to picking up a thing or two from your wisdom and experience. [emoji106]

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*bro jut, please pm me first before dropping by... a bit of unforeseen hiccup that trickle-down my 14/14 cycle right now.
will let you know once my countdown is set.

[Trippin]

I wasn't implying that happiness and/or contentment cannot coexist with poverty. One can be happy despite the horrendous living conditions one go through. If given the choice and the opportunity to pursue better living conditions, they'll definitely opt for it. For those who don't have those choices, telling themselves to be happy is the only antidote for suffering and misery. Perhaps happiness is a false gauge. The stoic's question"are you living a good life?" is probably a much better gauge.

I can see your point of maximizing one's opportunities as a means to measure happiness.
As the value of family, relationships, and country varies wildly from person to person and from culture to culture, the only somewhat quantifiable and visible gauge of happiness is one's living condition, albeit of course not all encompassing and to some can be shallow. One can argue that his contentment does not rely on what he possesses but what he believes in to matter and he would be right.
Personally though I have yet to meet contentment (if you're here and reading this, dm me).