Wanting to leave the States

[Photography by Adri]

Have you tried Google, Yahoo, or Dogpile? How about travel and relocation forums (I'm sure there is at least one) rather than one dedicated to photography?

Maybe start at the CIA World Factbook for some basic information on countries (like politics, GNP, population, etc.) If you don't trust a US Government site, then go to the UN web site for a few hours and browse around.

Not sure why you feel the need to be sarcastic with your response. I was asking on a photography forum because I want to find a school with good photography courses, a place that might be a good option for a photographer. Because my photography will have a large influence on the place that I choose. And because I am certainly not the only photographer who has done or wanted to do this. So, asking other photographers didn't seem too unreasonable to me. Thanks for the advice, though - I'll look into those.

 

[Photography by Adri]

Only advice i could give is find out who has done what you wish to do and contact them for the advice you seek.
The best chance for your any plan to work is to learn from the mistakes of those who came before.

Good idea. I was hoping that someone here who had been in a similar situation would have input!

 

[limr]

Have you tried Google, Yahoo, or Dogpile? How about travel and relocation forums (I'm sure there is at least one) rather than one dedicated to photography?

Maybe start at the CIA World Factbook for some basic information on countries (like politics, GNP, population, etc.) If you don't trust a US Government site, then go to the UN web site for a few hours and browse around.

Not sure why you feel the need to be sarcastic with your response. I was asking on a photography forum because I want to find a school with good photography courses, a place that might be a good option for a photographer. Because my photography will have a large influence on the place that I choose. And because I am certainly not the only photographer who has done or wanted to do this. So, asking other photographers didn't seem too unreasonable to me. Thanks for the advice, though - I'll look into those.

He wasn't being sarcastic. He's not like that. He may just have been confused, as your initial post did not make it clear that you were asking about schools with good photography courses. It was much more vague and open-ended. It didn't seem like you were actually asking anything, but just thinking out loud. To wit:

I am still in college, working on my general education at the moment. My goal is to one day make a living off of just my photography, but until then I am wanting to pursue natural sciences/photojournalism with my schooling. I'd like to move to another country to finish my schooling, but that's where I'm stuck. I have absolutely no idea where to go.

Thus the confusion over why you might be writing down these musings on a photography forum - there was the eventual goal of being a photographer and maybe finishing school in natural sciences/photojournalism, but no specific query other than "Any kind of advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated, I feel a bit stuck right now." I am not criticizing your post, but explaining why snowbear may have been confused.

You said that your main barrier is your dog. I think you're mistaken. Your main barrier is language. If you go to an English-speaking country, this barrier is removed and you can focus on your other goals. If you move to a non-English-speaking country, however, be prepared to work hard on your language skills for a couple of years. And no, I'm not making any judgments on your linguistic skills. You may be a very skilled learner, but you will still need time to get to the level you may need to pursue your goals in science and photojournalism. This is why I suggested that the easiest way to at least get settled and earn some money while improving your language skills is to teach ESL. You can still pursue your other goals in the meantime, but it just might be an easier way to make the transition for the first few years as you get to know the language and the culture.

Still, your dog is a barrier. You may want to consider finishing your school in the U.S. and staying with your dog while she's alive. Moving to another country is a major undertaking and it may be made even more difficult with the dog. Many countries will require a quarantine period, and different cultures feel differently about dogs, which might make it harder to find a place to live with her. And if you can't take her with you, it will make the adjustment more stressful than it needs to be. It's already going to be a stressful enough. Out of curiosity, where are you in your education?

Do your research and make an informed decision to make the landing a bit easier perhaps, but ultimately it's a leap of faith that you're just going to have to take. I don't know about the others, but I was never discouraging you from taking that leap. That would be quite hypocritical of a woman who moved to Istanbul with 2 suitcases and a dictionary when she was 27. I was just trying to give you some things to consider for your research and to ask you to remain open to the idea that this might not be the solution you're looking for. Maybe it will be, but it might also make things harder in ways you hadn't anticipated. This is NOT meant to be pessimistic or discouraging; it is meant to help you manage your expectations so maybe you won't be as disappointed if it doesn't turn out the way you hoped.

Look, I get it. I left. And I don't regret it, not for a second. It's really a life-changing experience. My life is forever divided into the Before and After my time away. I did come back to the U.S. after 5 years because I felt that my opportunities were ultimately more limited, but there are definitely things I miss about living abroad. I'm older now, I have ties that cannot easily be untied, nor do I really want to untie them. But I have not dismissed the idea of leaving again at some point - perhaps if I'm untethered again, or don't have the same kind of restlessness or need for different opportunities that I had when I decided to come back.

So go do what you have to do, but just keep it in perspective. I've met a lot of people who got lost in the constant moving, the ever-searching for a better place. I've also met people who moved a lot but were grounded in a clear sense of themselves. Go, find your place, but keep your head about you.

 

[spiralout462]

Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Away from the tourist towns. That's where you may find me one day.

I wish you the best.

 

[AlanKlein]

Wherever you go, there you are.

 

[gckless]

I've traveled a bunch around Asia, and I Japan is where I will live eventually. Guess it helps the wife is Okinawan. Thailand was great, and cheap. The Philippines is great too, and they speak a lot of english. It's not all sun and rainbows though, there are problems anywhere.

 

[waday]

Wherever you go, there you are.

This is a good adage.

 

[limr]

If I ever, as I said, became untethered again and want to leave the U.S. again, my choices are either Canada (preferably Montreal) if I don't want to go too far, or back to Europe. If I go to Europe, my first choice would obviously be to go back to Portugal, but I'm seriously considering one of the Scandinavian countries. So much about their lifestyles and attitudes make me think that they are my spirit people. But the food...yeah, my mind and heart belong in the north, but my stomach belongs to the Mediterranean

 

[The_Traveler]

I lived for 3-4 weeks in a lot of places and for years+ in Europe and Korea. A major difference between you and me is that I already had an education, a career and an income.
I don't know what you are looking for but I can guarantee that any society has some significant drawbacks - socially, culturally or economically and what you see as the ugly, intolerable part of the US may just as ugly someplace else but just not as obvious to our view.
A significant barrier to you moving outside of the country is economic. You can't just relocate anywhere you wish. Every country has visa barriers both for tourists and students - and typically working legally in another country is problematic.
Without education or special skills, you probably won't get a work permit; without a work permit, you'll have to work off the books and that makes you vulnerable to predatory practices and low wages. Countries do not want uneducated, unskilled people siphoning off low wage jobs that would otherwise go to locals.
Going abroad without a degree, without special skills and without an economic safety net should be very, very frightening - and if it isn't, you aren't being realistic.

(My daughter, an experienced attorney, lived in the UK for five months in 2005 before she could qualify as a solicitor and could work. My granddaughter went to college in Paris; while she worked as a musician, she also was at the end of an economic lifeline that she had a tight grip on. I've met lots of young people all over Asia who were coasting on being native English speakers, working for low end wages as teachers and just getting by, not working for any future.)

Hinging your entire life and career plans on a single move to somewhere magical is a recipe for unhappiness if some portion of a complex plan doesn't work out.
Go and do what you can or must but don't expect unicorns and fairy dust anywhere.

 

[Designer]

Not sure why you feel the need to be sarcastic with your response. I was asking on a photography forum because I want to find a school with good photography courses, a place that might be a good option for a photographer. Because my photography will have a large influence on the place that I choose. And because I am certainly not the only photographer who has done or wanted to do this. So, asking other photographers didn't seem too unreasonable to me. Thanks for the advice, though - I'll look into those.

I recommend the South of France. Many excellent subjects/scenes/landscapes there.

 

[bogeyguy]

Occasionally you'll find greener grass, but look around before you decide. Most times the grass is greener where you are.

 

[table1349]

 

[limr]

Can we keep the chest-thumping to a minimum, please?

 

[pixmedic]

Come on guys...keep it above the belt.

 

[table1349]

Can we keep the chest-thumping to a minimum, please?

Come on guys...keep it above the belt.

Umm.. Medic. I hate to have to point this out, cause I figured you already knew, but the chest, it is above the belt.


Dear Florida Paramedic peoples,

It has come to my attention that one of you colleagues is a bit confused with human anatomy. He seems to feel that the chest is below the waist area. It might be good if you were to schedule him for a refresher course on anatomy before he has to perform CPR. That way he does not perform chest compression in the manner exemplified by the attached example.

Your truly,
A concerned citizen.