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Exploring various expat city destinations involves balancing economic factors, cultural experiences, personal preferences for climate and lifestyle, and logistical considerations like visa processes and cost of living.
The video explores several top expat city destinations, beginning with Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok is highlighted for its economic value, offering a lot for the money, though the city center is becoming more expensive. It's also noted for its extensive global dining options and vibrant nightlife, which is expected to return to full strength post-pandemic. The city's warm climate year-round is another appeal. The host also briefly mentions Phnom Penh, Cambodia, comparing its vibe to New Orleans and noting a more concentrated expat community, making it easier to connect with others.
The discussion then shifts to Latin America, focusing on Cusco, Peru. Cusco is praised for its comfortable atmosphere, convenience, and ease of visa extensions, making it attractive for long-term expat stays. However, a significant drawback is its overwhelming tourist presence, which can lead to constant solicitations. The city is also noted for being surprisingly economical, especially compared to Lima. The host contrasts the cultural differences between Asia and Latin America, finding Asia to offer a more profound culture shock and a distinct experience compared to the US.
The conversation moves to San Francisco, USA, characterized as a meritocratic city that attracts diverse talent in the tech industry. It's described as an open-minded place where individuals can find a sense of belonging, regardless of their background. Despite facing challenges like crime and rising costs, San Francisco offers resources and opportunities for those in the tech sector. The host also touches on personal career goals, the complexities of YouTube monetization, and the desire to eventually live abroad full-time, potentially in Southeast Asia, while balancing financial stability and personal relationships.
Finally, the video delves into the complexities of relationships and cultural differences, particularly in the context of international dating. The host shares personal experiences with communication barriers and differing priorities, such as security versus freedom, which can strain relationships. The Philippines is mentioned as a potential destination due to its common use of English, mitigating language barriers. The discussion concludes with reflections on travel aspirations, including Malaysia and Singapore, and the ongoing pursuit of a fulfilling life abroad.
The best expat city destinations offer a blend of affordability, cultural richness, and lifestyle suitability. Cities like Bangkok provide great value with diverse dining and nightlife, while Cusco offers convenience and comfort for long-term stays with easy visa extensions.
Bangkok is an excellent expat destination, offering significant economic value and a wealth of experiences, from global cuisine to vibrant nightlife. While city center costs are rising, it remains an attractive option for those seeking a dynamic urban environment with a warm climate.
Cusco, Peru, is a comfortable and convenient choice for long-term expats due to accessible visa extensions and a welcoming local government. Despite its high tourist numbers, the city remains economical and offers a unique cultural experience.
San Francisco attracts diverse talent with its meritocratic tech environment, offering a sense of belonging. However, expats may face challenges related to affordability and crime rates, despite the opportunities available.
Cultural differences, especially in communication styles and relationship expectations, can be significant challenges for expats. Navigating these differences is key to building fulfilling personal lives and financial stability abroad.
Ideal digital nomad cities offer a balance of affordability, good infrastructure, and a welcoming community. Destinations like Bangkok and Cusco provide cost-effective living with ample opportunities for cultural immersion and connection.
0:01 Yeah, today I'll discuss some of the best expat cities. I'll mostly focus on ones that I've been to, but I think that maybe some of you are wondering where I've traveled to and what's kind of stuck out. As far as where I'll start, I guess I'll just start with Southeast Asia.
0:25 And I think the preeminent, at least one of them, expat cities in the world, of course, is Bangkok, Thailand. Hey, we got a viewer, good to see you. And I think that, you know, to get in some of the reasoning here behind it, I think economics. I mean, Bangkok offers a lot of value for your money, in my opinion.
0:47 It's really easy to fly into Bangkok from most major cities in the US and then Europe. For me, coming from San Francisco, I'm mostly looking at layovers and like either Singapore, Taipei, or there's a few other choices. But I'd say, you know, when it comes to value, it's just incredible there. What you get for what you're paying is generally very good.
1:19 I will say that the city center has gotten quite a bit more expensive than what has been historically. So if you're somebody that's more budget-oriented, I think it's worthwhile to look in the outer neighborhoods, neighborhoods that may not have a train stop or infrastructure. But you can get good deals. Like I paid, I'm sure the prices have come down, but the last time I was in Bangkok a couple of years ago, I think I paid like 80 bucks a week or so, maybe 100 bucks a week for a furnished studio, and that was really nice.
2:06 And now, that was outside the city center, for fairways, but I thought it was good value. Why else is it popular? You know, I would say nightlife. During normal times, when there's not a pandemic going on, it's well-known for having a lot of dance clubs, music venues, bars, and entertainment. Of course, I think that's somewhat muted, but eventually, it'll come back. I think it's always a popular nightlife city.
2:44 I'd also say dining. I think some people think of Thailand as mostly having Thai food, which is amazing, I love Thai food. But it's not just about the Thai food in Bangkok; you can have food from all over the world. I've looked up a number of different cuisines and was surprised somebody is serving them up. Bangkok, of course, is like 17, 18 million people, so there's certainly an audience and a market for a lot of these things.
3:17 I'm just chatting about some of my favorite expat cities, mostly focusing on ones that I've been to. And I think that it's helpful for me to share with the audience some of the places that are on my mind, maybe doing a little bit more digging into those cities.
3:43 Another aspect of Bangkok, and this made me seem somewhat obvious, is that compared to parts of Latin America or Europe, it's pretty warm or hot year-round. So there's places I went in Latin America that were cold, and of course, I've heard about Scandinavian countries, even the UK in the winter, it can be quite cold and dreary. And then Bangkok, where it's generally warm.
4:10 Oh, thank you, Tony, I appreciate that. Yeah, Cusco is fantastic, I love Cusco. I'll definitely get into Latin America after I talk a bit about some of the Southeast Asian cities, because Latin America is incredible. And Ecuador is high on my list for Latin America. I've been kind of pricing out flights and just having a hard time deciding between going to America and back to Southeast Asia for my next trip.
4:49 For fun, I think Southeast Asia, at least in some of the bigger cities, does feel like more different. If we're looking at just like an experience that's different from my day-to-day experience, Latin America feels more like the US, versus Asia feeling quite a bit different. And so that's another thing I love about Asia: it just feels like such a culture shock when you get there, even though I've been multiple times. I know I'll feel it again next time I go, just because when you get off the plane there, it's like you feel like you're on another planet.
5:32 But let's see. So yeah, I talked a bit about Bangkok. Another city, you know, a lot of people don't like it, but one city I'm a fan of is Phnom Penh. It reminds me a lot of New Orleans in Louisiana in the US. It's got that kind of French-style architecture, that river town kind of vibe, edgy kind of city in parts.
6:05 And really surprisingly, in my mind, a little bit more accessible in some cases than Bangkok, as far as nightlife. And the reason I say that is, there it did seem like there was a higher concentration of English-speaking expats in the sort of urban neighborhoods in Bangkok, where in Phnom Penh, whereas I feel like in Bangkok, the expats are more spread out. You're just as likely to see expats in like Chiang Mai or Phuket, where in Cambodia, it seems like a lot of people were focused in the capital city.
6:37 And it was interesting to kind of have that experience. I also timed the weather perfectly; it was just really mild, not too hot. And I got to meet a lot of cool people. I think because it's more densely concentrated in a few neighborhoods, at least for expats, then it's just easier to run into people. Whereas in Bangkok, I definitely had to coordinate with my friends that live there because they live all over the city and, in some cases, are an hour and a half away from the city center.
7:08 Where in Phnom Penh, all my friends and like were at maximum 20 minutes away, even the ones that lived on the outskirts of the city. So that was pretty cool.
7:21 Cebu, another big highlight. I really liked Cebu. It just felt the closest, like it felt the most familiar anywhere I went in Asia, probably because I can connect with people and you can make jokes and people understand. You know, American sports, people get it. I think culturally, there's a lot of influence there too, like people are really warm and friendly in the Philippines.
7:50 Yeah, I'll dive into Latin America just a bit because I know Sonny was here, and I like to chat about that. Cusco, the way it appeals to me is that it's a place that, in my opinion, has been a really cool place to live for a really long time. And you get kind of that compounding effect where it's a comfortable atmosphere, it's very convenient to get around town, it's not too big.
8:19 It feels so, you know, like everybody that's there really wants to be there, at least as far as the expats. You don't, in my experience, run into sadly a lot of expats that are unhappy with it. I can't exactly put my finger on why. I'll say it through, it seems to make it really easy for expats to stay for a long time without having to, you know, without having to jump through as many hoops.
8:48 Everybody I talked to said it's super easy for them to extend their visas, and the local government seems to support that without much friction. And so that is different than parts of Southeast Asia where it's very difficult to extend your visa, you're having to pay a lot of money, in some cases you're having to jump through all these hoops, and some expats feel like, 'I'm just not being welcomed.'
9:15 Where I didn't get that impression in Peru at all. I got the impression if you're willing to follow the law and pay a bit periodically, that they're willing to have you for a long time. I met people living there for years just on tourist visas and didn't seem to have any issue. I think that Peru likes tourism; they like people coming to spend money, and they want to facilitate that as much as possible.
9:43 Cusco, the only drawback of Cusco I had to put one drawback, and this is ironic, but it is extremely touristy. So it's not a place that you're going to go and blend into local neighborhoods or find a far away spot and it's going to be your kind of island of peace if you want to go to the Cusco city center on a regular basis for groceries or a hardware store, maybe you need a motorbike repair.
10:17 You're going to get bugged by people selling various things. It's really sad, but a lot of people in Peru struggle financially, especially outside of the capital. And so that's a way that they've found to be able to make money is to sell things to tourists.
10:36 So if you're somebody that you absolutely, yeah, absolutely. Tony is chiming in, saying Plaza de Armas is overwhelmingly dominated by tourism. It's true. I mean, even I was, I lived in Cusco for several months, and every single time, even up until I left, if I walked through Plaza de Armas, I would get bugged by people selling stuff. And I can pass for Latino, so in a lot of places I can avoid that, but there they could just see by my style I'm not dressed like a local.
11:07 My hairstyle, etcetera, is not exactly local. I'd say especially having a beard. I think a lot of men in Latin America shave. They definitely felt like, 'Hey, this guy's got some money for us.' And I don't like to buy souvenirs anyway, just because I don't really have space to put them anywhere. And, you know, it's just really not my thing. I'm there more for the experience.
11:31 So it is kind of tough when these people want to sell you something that is, you know, possibly a really cool thing, whether it be like alpaca clothing or some kind of toy or figurine, whatever it may be. For me, I'm mostly there looking for experiences, like visiting, doing various hikes, visiting places in the Sacred Valley. And that can come up a little bit too if you notice an area where they're doing a lot of shuttles, they will like engage and shout you.
12:06 They will engage and shout, "Hey, come on, get on the shuttle!" For me, living in Cusco for several months, it wasn't often that I wanted to jump on a shuttle. I just needed to walk by there to get to where I needed to go. This was in spring 2021, so the tourism industry was especially devastated at that point.
12:31 They would have made more money off me if they just offered me some food or something. I found that people are going to need to eat regardless of what happens. There were restaurants that were suffering a lot, but some, as tourism started to creep back up, seemed to be getting more customers.
12:53 I did my best to support a lot of the local businesses. I tried to avoid supporting like the pizza franchises you're probably familiar with. It's weird, but I went to the mall in Cusco, Hyper Mall, and they had a Chili's, a very popular American chain. They also had Popeyes Fried Chicken, another really popular American fried chicken chain, and Domino's Pizza, or maybe Papa John's, which is very popular in Peru.
13:25 But for me, as much as I could help it, and it's easy there, the food there is so good, it was easy for me to opt for local restaurants. Cusco is actually also really economical. A lot of people told me Peru would be much more expensive than Colombia, but I didn't find that to be the case.
13:43 In fact, Lima was expensive. I will say Lima did seem pricey at times, but Cusco didn't feel that way. Cusco felt much cheaper than Colombia, where I think street food meals and...
14:06 Tony says, "When I was there many years ago, there were no North American chain malls in Cusco." Yeah, I imagine it must have felt especially ancient. I think that it's definitely a place that is at the crossroads of tradition and history and the modern.
14:25 One young woman I dated, I think she was 21 or 22, and she had a brand new iPhone, like the iPhone Pro Max, latest edition, probably a $1300-$1400 phone. That was surprising to me because you go to a place like Cusco that's kind of associated with ancient traditions and doing a lot of things by hand, the old-fashioned way.
14:55 And yet, some of these young people in Peru are really hustling hard and they want to adopt a lot of these Western cultures. In her case, she had a pop-up restaurant in her mom's restaurant, and she also had some other business ventures.
15:28 I'd love to go back, but yeah, Tony, feel free to share anything on Cusco. It's such a cool place. Oh, wow, nice. How is it, Chris? Please share on your experiences in Cusco.
15:43 I'm missing it a lot. I miss my friends there. I have a buddy from Venezuela that lives there with his girlfriend, and they're like, "Man, you gotta come down, crash on our couch and enjoy it."
15:56 I wish I just wasn't so busy with work. I feel like I'm finally starting to make a lot of progress in my career and trying to make as much headway as I can with it.
16:12 How long is the bus ride? I'm sorry to hear you got COVID, that sucks.
16:26 I've heard it's like 16 hours from Lima to Cusco, but I'm not sure. Maybe it's 10 hours from Lima to Arequipa, and then maybe another 10 to Cusco.
16:37 I'm kind of curious to hear about your experiences with the bus. The flight is incredible. The views from the flight from Cusco to Lima are absolutely stunning. You're flying over all these mountains.
16:49 It does feel a little sketch just because the mountains are so tall, but the pilots are great. My flights and Pedro went fine. I'd like to check out Iquitos next time, of course. That'll have to be a non-working trip because I've heard the internet is terrible there.
17:34 A six-day trip? Wow, you got to see China and Arequipa. That's incredible.
17:40 Yeah, that's incredible that you had the six-day journey and you got to see so much. I felt like I kind of stuck to Lima and Cusco, but you really got to see a lot and have a really good experience.
17:52 How is Cusco? I've heard there's some protesting, that tourists are being limited from taking the train to Machu Picchu. A lot of people probably have their money locked in some of these tour agencies. Is that getting resolved, or is there any headway on that?
18:31 That's awesome, I'm glad to hear it's calm. It may be like aliens or, you know, closer to the destination.
18:44 Oh, nice. Which neighborhood are you staying in? Are you in San Blas, or are you outside of San Blas?
18:53 For those who are watching this later or may not be familiar, San Blas is kind of the city center of Cusco and probably the most popular neighborhood for tourists, just because it's very convenient to pleasant enormous and a lot of really good restaurants, hotels, and a little bit of nightlife.
19:17 I stayed in Plaza de Armas for my first week or so. Then I stayed... let me think of the name... just pull up a map here.
20:12 So I stayed kind of like near Plaza Chupaca Maru. El Overlo, let's see.
20:25 Oh, the second area I stayed was basically near, right next to San Juan del Cielo. Cielo.
20:38 Which is neighboring San Blas. Oh, cool, you're in El Overlo. Yeah, I'm familiar.
20:43 So, I stayed not too far from there. And then another neighborhood I stayed in was the Santiago neighborhood. This is kind of in the southwestern corner of Cusco, and it's a beautiful neighborhood. It's really gorgeous. It's near a really cool farmers market.
21:09 I think the farmers market is in San Isidro, which is not the Lima San Isidro. It's different.
21:20 Hey Ron, how's it going? We're talking to one of our viewers about Cusco. He has recently arrived in Cusco. And yeah, Chris is just sharing a... When you're doing a road trip? Well, I did just do a little bit of a road trip last weekend. So I drove out to Reno, Nevada, and I saw one of my buddies, Clinton, from high school. That was really cool. I hadn't seen Clinton in about a year.
21:53 And that was fun. I was doing some looking at houses and just kind of scoping out some homes, but I wasn't totally sold on it. So that was about a five-hour trip each way through the mountains. And I did stop off near Tahoe and enjoy the fresh air. It's gorgeous up there.
22:23 It's super gorgeous. I don't know, I'm hoping. I'm not counting on it. I'm hoping gas prices come down a bit, or maybe I'll swap to hybrid because it's painful to do a road trip at $5 a gallon.
22:38 Clayton Homes? I'm not familiar. Ron, can you share a bit more about Clayton Homes? I think that as far as places to live, I think I'm going to look at Washington State, just because I think there's a good combination of...
22:56 Electric.
23:16 I think I'd recommend, Chris, while you're in Cusco, to check out... Oh, electric car, I see. I'd recommend checking out Garwall if you like Indian food. Barbara is really, really good. Tell him that Alex sent you.
23:35 And yeah, that you're looking forward to it. If you like Indian food, you may not. Yeah, electric car does seem cheaper when you look at the gas prices. Gas has gone up a lot.
23:47 Okay, I'll definitely list out some more because there's so much good food in Cusco. And that city just punches far above its population in terms of good restaurants.
24:24 You know, we might throw in the comments actually after the stream is over. It's not letting me type out a message, Chris, but I can definitely make some suggestions. I think that Thai restaurant you're talking about should be really, really good.
24:41 What kind of electric car are you thinking about getting, Ron?
24:52 I think Teslas look really, really cool, but it's out of my price range for now. But I'm working really hard, so it may be within our price range in a few years. Although I will say, as much as I want an electric vehicle, I'm hoping, in your time span, that I can kind of go abroad full-time.
25:15 It has forced me to try to come to terms with living in kind of a cheap lifestyle or a pretty thrifty lifestyle. And yeah, I think it will be worth it in the long term, even though it definitely helps sacrifice and patience and going without some luxury sometimes.
25:34 I think it'll be really fulfilling to be able to explore the world and not have the chain of coming back home. Guam, I've heard a lot of good things about Guam, and a lot of people, especially service members or former service members, are able to go there for medical treatment.
25:53 Now, that doesn't apply to me, but I think there's something to be said about kind of a more developed or modernized sort of place that's easily accessible from Asia. Like, I'm really looking closely at the Philippines and...
26:07 I go back and forth on them. On one hand, the Philippines has English. That's just hard to beat. Canada, Alaska, that's really cool. If you go to Canada, maybe you'll be able to link with Mr. Darcy. He lives in Canada.
26:26 I personally haven't been to Alaska, but that's gotta be an incredible trip. It looks absolutely beautiful. I know my grandparents used to really love to go to Alaska to go fishing.
26:50 Yeah, really incredible. I guess I'm maybe a little bit afraid of the super freezing weather. And so countries like Peru are a bit more appealing. Also Thailand, and of course, Southeast Asia. But yeah, really, really a lot of great places.
27:04 When are you thinking about traveling next, Mr. Ron?
27:16 Ron, so no, so I'm actually in the hole. You know, you have to hit 1,000 subscribers to monetize. And unfortunately, with my full-time job, I just don't have as much time to put into YouTube as I'd like.
27:27 And I think that it's going to become more of a thing when I have the finances to move abroad full-time and have dividend income and property rental income that sort of pay my bills.
27:47 So even though I'd love to go abroad now, I have a limited amount of time before I run out of finances. Obviously, I don't want to leave my job.
27:56 So that's kind of the challenge there is, as much as I want to go full-time on YouTube and make lots and lots of videos, it's really, really complex and takes a lot of time, way more than I thought when I initially got into it.
28:09 That's kind of why there hasn't been a ton of content coming for me, and why I will struggle to be as consistent with it until I get my finances in the right place. I'm actually in the red just because of camera equipment and stuff like that.
28:31 I'm glad you found it. I did try alpaca meat; I felt like it was kind of overrated. It wasn't bad, but I guess I'm used to steak and fish. I think it's worth a shot, worth trying. If you've had really good steak in a western country, it may be a bit underwhelming.
28:56 I didn't try the cui, the guinea pig. That wasn't really interesting to me. I think the trout, they call it 'trucha,' is really a highlight. They catch it in the mountain streams, and it's really tasty.
29:16 If you want some really cheap, good local restaurants, there are some back streets in the Santiago neighborhood, especially near Pachacutec. Near there, there are some really good restaurants where you can have a fixed menu for a dollar fifty for lunch, about two dollars equivalent, and it's incredible.
29:49 Ron asked if I'm an IT person. I technically am not, but I do work in tech sales. I work in the financial technology industry for a business that's involved in modern money movement. We're helping businesses develop... I don't want to be too specific to protect my own safety, but we're providing financial services, and it's really exciting. I like all the people I work with, and I'm making more money than I've ever made before. That's another big reason why I'm afraid to focus on YouTube full-time.
30:46 I have a lot of potential at this company to make good money and really stack a lot of investments, pushing myself far toward my goals.
31:00 Salesforce still strong? I heard they're laying off. Yeah, I have mixed feelings on them. I don't want to talk bad about people I've never met, but I've worked with some jerks from Salesforce, not in my current company. At least one person I work with used to work at Salesforce, and that person is awesome, easy to get along with, and professional. Of course, Salesforce is such a big company that you can't make generalizations.
31:40 But I did work with a few people that came from there in a previous role that gave me a really bad impression. It's the sales organization of tech sales, so it's like sales squared, where they can just be really aggressive and, in my opinion, a little too pushy. With tech sales, you have to do a lot of traditional sales stuff, but you also have to respect that you're working with busy professionals.
32:13 I think some tech sales people get it in their mind that they can be super demanding and not understanding of the person they're working with. Time is super valuable, and they have a lot of rare skills they put time into developing. Even if you want to make the sale, you have to respect that they are a person who's really in demand.
32:39 There are a lot of people who want to sell them something, and a lot of people know that this person has a big budget just by working in a company of a certain size. So, yeah, I could see them doing layoffs because they spent a billion dollars on this building in downtown San Francisco and are now leasing a good chunk of it.
33:03 Even when it was built, I was like, I don't know. I get it; it's a trophy building in the world's most expensive city, certainly one of the most expensive American cities. But they're in a business that's increasingly remote, and they had to close it within a year of opening due to the pandemic.
33:40 That money could have perhaps been invested in another way. It also speaks to longevity. Dreamforce is Salesforce's big conference where they show off products and educate people on their tools. I think it's super awesome software; I definitely can appreciate it because I use it all the time for providing context to deals really quickly.
34:14 I've heard they are closing a lot of stores. A lot of people have left San Francisco, so SF has not rebounded as well as some other major cities like New York City or Nashville. They've made a strong recovery from the pandemic and have done a lot to spur business growth and reopening. San Francisco is having a really hard time with that.
34:43 They're trying to convince these tech businesses to get their people back in the office, but these tech people are super high-paid, and there's a ton of demand for their skills. It's very easy for these people to build a job, and it's common in tech to leave a company every two to three years. So they're trying to get people back downtown to spend money.
35:08 But they're offering people an area that does have crime issues. It's a major city, and all major American cities right now are dealing with issues of people having lost their jobs, people turning to substance abuse due to emotional hardship. You're also seeing rents go up in a lot of cities, and San Francisco has been unaffordable.
35:39 It is a city that's very tolerant. I think at times the city does tolerate things that shouldn't be tolerated. But it's also important to keep in mind that there's a lot to be said about a tolerant atmosphere to attract the best and brightest minds, people who work in the technology industry.
36:04 It's not like Hollywood or the music industry where you can throw enough money at a group and it works out. Tech is very meritocratic, so it attracts a lot of different people from different backgrounds with solid skills. They want to live in a place where they're not going to be judged because, like me, a lot of tech people grew up as nerds and got picked on for being nerdy.
36:43 San Francisco is an open-minded place in many ways, even with all the harsh criticisms from the news. People can go there and nobody's going to look at them twice or ask about their ethnic background, things you deal with in other cities that aren't as meritocratic. If you have a good tech product, chances are you can find an audience. Nobody's going to care if you're in the LGBT community, if you're a mixed ethnicity, or if you have a weird haircut.
37:30 It's very much about the best of whatever it is. It does have some issues where, because there's been so much excess wealth created, part of that does get spent on services that are lacking in other parts of the country. There's mental health services, physical health services, job services, all these resources that attract a lot of people that are down and out.
38:04 I feel like this city took me in when I was going through a tough time in my life. Not having family back home, I lost my parents at a young age, so I never really fit in where I'm from. I never really found a solid group that took me in as one of their own. I found individual friends to be great, but it's just hard for me to relate to people where I'm from.
38:38 San Francisco's not like that. It's very easy for me to find like-minded people, people with whom I share values. Good to see you, Mr. Darcy. Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying the stream. I hope you're doing well.
38:55 I'm not going to say San Francisco is perfect, but for me, it's been a really wonderful opportunity. I love that it's a gateway to a lot of different places, so if I want to fly to another country, it's so easy to fly from San Francisco to Europe or Asia. The prices are coming down. I've been looking at flight prices to Bangkok.
39:20 My company even reimburses a membership. My only concern is I'm thinking about moving from San Francisco up to Washington, and I'm afraid to get into a year-long commitment when I might have to pay some silly fee to get out of it in six months.
39:43 I do walk a lot in San Francisco; sometimes I'll walk for 10 or 12 miles in one day, and that's pretty good exercise. There are free gyms in the city where you don't have to pay or show ID; you just show up and can work out. That's something I like to do. Sometimes it's a little out of the way, but if I'm going to be in a neighborhood that has one of those gyms, I'm getting in there.
40:07 That has one of those gyms. I'm getting groceries or getting dinner or meeting up with a friend. It's kind of a nice combo thing to do where I go to the city and get a workout and lift weights, and then get groceries because there's some great discount grocers in San Francisco too. The city appeals to really well-to-do people and really poor people.
40:27 I wouldn't say I'm extremely poor, but I would definitely say I'm on the lower end of the economic spectrum. So, for me, being able to fill up my backpack with, like, fruit for 10 bucks is really great. I wish I had joined the military, Mr. Ron. I probably should have done that.
40:49 There were a lot of circumstances that kind of went into that not working out. I'm talking a little bit about personal stuff, but kind of growing up, like, my grandma's a narcissist and she had me on probation for arguing with her. So I was always worried if I tried to get in the military, all that juvenile stuff would show up.
41:16 I never got caught with any bad stuff. I never drank and drove, I never broke the curfew. She just wanted a way to control me, and so she did it through the legal system. So I was worried if I tried to get in the military, they're going to ask me, 'Why were you arguing with your grandma?' Basically, and it might prevent me from having the career I wanted.
41:40 I really lucked out with tech, by the way. It's what my grandfather wanted. My grandfather was in the military, and he made it to E9 in the army. He could have become an officer, but he told my grandma he didn't want to be the lowest officer on the totem pole.
42:12 I don't really agree with that logic. I feel like it's probably a good idea if you can get the opportunity to try to do that. And who knows, maybe I'll join. I'm 29, and so I think the Air Force and the Army are still open, and the Marines are still open. But we'll see.
42:35 It depends on how my tech career goes. Who knows, maybe the tech business will really slow down, and there'll be fewer opportunities, and I'll need an alternative kind of career path. Certainly, I think the military serves a great purpose. I'm grateful to you, and thank you for your service to all military members because they make a really big sacrifice.
42:59 It's hard on, it's hard on. It's not an easy life. I think there's a lot of, philosophically speaking, a lot of things that I can appreciate about the military. Also, it's just a great thing for discipline. I think more young people in America need the discipline to pursue.
43:29 He ended up becoming law enforcement after retiring from the military, I think precisely because he could keep his military benefits and then also get the law enforcement salary. But yeah, I think with law enforcement, same thing. I don't always agree with the way the US handles situations. I also often think they're put in lose-lose situations where they can't really win.
44:01 If they do their job, they're going to have one group of people angry at them. If they don't do their job, they're going to have a different group of people angry. It's ironic because I've seen how bad police can be and how oppressive and frustrating they can be.
44:26 On the other hand, I'm not a person that has all these resources to bend myself from criminal. I'm not in a position where I can just go and afford all this personal safety equipment, like a bulletproof vest. I'm a working-class dude, so for somebody like me, I really do have to rely on and trust in public service, why on various government services, because I can't do them for myself. They're just not within my budget.
45:06 Same with firefighters. I can't afford high-end firefighting equipment, and anytime something bad happens, I can't use it. That's something that I do think is right in line with law enforcement. I think the ultimate contact bots will probably be replaced by AI.
45:29 In the long term, it's going to be a situation where people are not going to want the liability of being a police officer, and the general public is going to be more and more distrustful. I think the powers that be...
46:01 I definitely think there's some really serious issues that are perhaps more complex than what I have time for to discuss.
46:25 Yeah, I find my job's much less stressful. It is complex, but it's not physically complex. I feel like being a fireman, you have to do a little physically complicated stuff, like trying to put out fires. With me, most of the complexities are in my mind and communicating. But yeah, I think we'll probably wrap up here in about 10-12 minutes or so.
46:57 Did anybody have any questions or thoughts? I'd love to transfer to Singapore, and I may be able to do that. I'm not sure. I'm going to have to talk to my long-term goals. My long-term goal would be to move to Southeast Asia, maybe get married and start a family.
47:35 I'm not sure about how if I want to commit to that or not. Really finding a partner there, like a life partner. I like my job, but the satisfaction a person can have from their job cannot match the satisfaction a person can have from a truly wonderful personal relationship with a significant other.
48:21 Most people work because it's a necessity and because it facilitates a good personal life and a good private life. So, I would say that's a big step is just moving to Southeast Asia. That's really the biggest goal that I have, and getting to a point where I can live over there in perpetuity and not worry about bills and not worry about how I'm going to pay for various things.
48:48 In perpetuity. So, a situation where it's not 'I'm going to move to Southeast Asia for two years and then come back and start all over again.' I want to go over there and say, five to ten years, and basically be able to say, 'I'm not coming back to America for a long time,' and only because I want to, and it makes sense due to planning, and not because I have to because I ran out of money or something bad happened.
49:18 I think living over there, being in a relationship, whether it be with a Filipina or a woman from a different Southeast Asian country, and just kind of pursuing that relationship, getting to know somebody, and spending time with a nice lady that's really kind, caring, and supportive, and will help take care of me, look after my well-being, and help me do various things. I can improve their life, and we're not just scraping by and struggling to get ahead, but that we can enjoy things that they might not.
50:00 That's easier said than done. I've made a lot of dumb mistakes when it comes to women. Yeah, so probably some of my biggest mistakes in life have been in relationships with women. It's tough, it's hard to manage. No, yeah, I had to break it off. I was kind of talking to and seeing this Thai woman, and I broke it off with her because she just wanted to get an attitude and argue a lot.
50:35 I kind of told her, 'I'm happy by myself. I'd rather be single and not argue with anybody on a regular basis than be able to say I'm in a relationship but putting up with just constant disagreement, constant argument.' We just perceive things in an extremely different way. She's very much a security-oriented person, and I am very much a freedom-oriented person.
51:05 And you know, she'd ask things that are, in my opinion, not out of curiosity, but trying to confirm that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. So she asked me if I'd been vaccinated. I have been vaccinated. I'll say on the stream, I've taken the vaccine. Well, then that's not enough. Now she's asking what was the date and what kind, and just pushing me for this information.
51:40 You know, that and then, you know, just that would apply to all kinds of things and wanting to argue with me if I didn't give her a sufficient response, and if I didn't feel like talking about it. It's not about secrets or not secrets, it's about priorities. If her priority in a relationship is to get me to comply, that's not a healthy relationship.
52:05 I don't want a relationship in which the goal of my partner is to make me comply with whatever they want to do or whatever they're demanding for me. A relationship is supposed to be a mutually beneficial thing, something where I enjoy their company, they enjoy my company, and not something where you can kind of just get certain things out of it, like a need for control.
52:31 The thing that we're going back and forth on is Asian cultures, and I speak for this as an Asian-American person. I was raised by my grandmother from Japan, often pushing what I call an internal locus of control. That's this idea of personal responsibility. In a lot of American culture, conservative Western cultures, they have this idea of personal responsibility.
52:55 And so, yeah, exactly. It should be fun and stress-free. My current job is just like that, fun and stress-free. The only stressful thing about my job sometimes is I have to get up early. That's not really a big deal. That's probably most people that work a professional job have to get up early.
53:16 But yeah, it was just, and the big thing I think too is just... Yeah, there just seemed like there was not a lot of depth there, and that most of our conversations were like, you...
53:28 There was not a lot of depth there, and that most of our conversations were like you.
53:33 Most of our conversations were like, you know, should always bring up politics and just a lot of stuff that is miserable to talk about. I realized it's like, look, if we're going to argue, if I wanted to argue all the time, there's no benefit there, basically. If you're talking to somebody that's halfway around the world and that time is just spent in conflict, there's, I don't know, it was just not going in the right direction.
54:10 I felt like it was going to be more of that, and I didn't want to waste her time or my time. I'm glad I broke it off just because it was really frustrating. I think some of that too is language barrier. I mean, I'm a native English speaker, and she's trying to learn English as a second language, so there's just miscommunication there.
54:35 I think it is a point in direction in the Philippines, as far as like, English is common, and it's a situation where you don't have that language barrier. You're not trying to kind of translate things like that as much. So that's why I don't know, I am thinking about going to Manila on my next trip to Southeast Asia.
55:02 I go back and forth on it. I wish I could go do four months again, that was a freaking blast. At least a month, but I can't take a month off work, that's just too much time. So I'm thinking more like a couple of weeks, and I'm just trying to decide like, do I want to go to Bangkok or Manila?
55:24 I went to Malaysia and I loved Malaysia, it was wonderful. I haven't been to Indonesia, but Malaysia was really, really cool. I like Singapore a lot as well. Singapore could be pricey, really clean, really efficient, easy to get around. Although I will say the bus was late and kind of slow, and I did have to buy another ticket to Thailand because I missed my flight.
55:55 Maybe I should have taken an Uber or Grab Taxi. That probably should have taken a Grab Taxi that day. Malaysia is awesome. I think Malaysia's like this underrated hidden gem, especially like if you're Western and you speak English like I do. Everybody seemed to speak English in Malaysia, or a lot of people, I'd say a lot of people spoke English.
56:23 You know, for me, I like steak, and there's a sizable population there that eats halal, which is of course in line with Islam. So you can get incredible steaks in Malaysia for a really good price. Beef skewers, they import a lot of their beef from Australia, and I really enjoy eating that.
56:55 Australia and New Zealand are also incredible choices. Of course, they are pretty far from here in the US, and they can be pricey. But I think doing a road trip in Australia or one of the islands in New Zealand would be incredible.
57:14 So did you fast? I'm curious about that if you participated in fasting. It's in the Persian Gulf. Wow, so that's wild. A lot of people think of Persian Gulf countries as more desert-like, and to hear it's humid is really interesting.
58:13 Oh, I like fasting a lot. I find it's really great for my energy levels, it makes me feel better, it moderates my weight. I think my buddy Matt's supposed to go to Dubai, or he may have been recently. Yeah, I've heard Dubai is super, super pricey, that you've got to pay a lot for everything, and everything's super expensive.
58:49 I've heard it's popular among the OFW community. A lot of Filipinos will go to Dubai to work because the wages are higher there than in the Philippines. But yeah, I'm going to wrap up here. Feel free to share some last thoughts, Mr. Ron. I think I'm in jet lag and need to get some food because I'm feeling pretty hungry now.
59:19 Wow, women from Russia. That's incredible to be able to meet and date women from all over the world. That's gotta be really exciting. I've never been to Eastern Europe or Russia, hopefully one day, maybe even next summer.
59:43 Feel free, why don't you shoot me an email? Let's see, it's in my about section. And yeah, I'll send that to you, and that way we can keep in touch. Great to chat, and I look forward to chatting again. Thank you everybody for participating this evening. I appreciate all the great questions, Mr. Ron. That's super helpful.
1:00:19 To anybody watching, subscribe if you haven't already. That's always super helpful for the channel. We'll talk to you later.
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