I'm hoping that I might get a bit of clarity by posting on here.
I recently moved back to the states from the UK after having lived and worked there for many years. While I was there, I did my best to fit in and find things that I enjoyed doing and in general take advantage of living there even though I never felt it really lived up to my beloved Minneapolis, where I am from and have now moved back to.
The trouble is, I put in roots more than I thought while I was there and I'm finding that I miss it a lot. I love it here, I moved back because I missed it here so much, missed friends and family etc., but now I'm kind of feeling the same about the UK. I know that part of being an expat/repat is that I'll probably always miss the place that I am not living but I am wondering if people who may have been in similar situations might be able to offer some insight as to their thought processes which helped them arrive at a decision on where to settle.
A few more bits of info:
- One of the superficial things I really disliked about the UK was the weather - I had serious problems with SAD and depression in general. BUT, it was so easy to get away to a sunny country and to other countries in general (close proximity + lots of holiday time), with so many choices available, whereas here a quick beach holiday pretty much means Florida or Mexico. Plus, Minnesota winters are COLD, so between the extreme cold here and the constant rain there, it may be a toss-up WRT weather.
- I have been unemployed for six months now. The job market is picking up, and I will eventually find something, but it would be much easier for me to find a job in the UK because of my specialised UK qualifications. This is becoming more relevant because between my move back and being unemplyed for longer than anticipated, I have built up a lot of debt, which is in GBP. For several reasons, it would be easier to pay this down more quickly in the UK.
There is also a good chance that I could go back to my old job if I went back. I have an idea of how much I could make at that job, plus I know I would have six weeks vacation. The estimates I've gotten from people who work here is in the range of $70 to $100k but that is kind of up in the air if I will be able to find a job in my field over here anytime soon with only UK qualifications and experience (though I attended university in the US). I work in the field of finance and investments.
- The two things that weigh most heavily on my mind right now are: debt and my age (35). The debt is scary and I have it in two countries (including student loans), but would probably be manageable if I were working.
I feel like I am at the age where I really have to make a decision and I'm scared it will be the wrong one and I will just end up wasting more time in my life and get to the point where I won't be able to accomplish anything because I'm too old. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but it has been weighing on my mind so much that I will get to age 40, age 50, whatever and not own a house, have no savings and nothing to show for myself. I am at that point now and it is deeply depressing. I know my potential for earning money is pretty good but that's meaningless if I can't get a decent job because I'm past my prime. If I had not left my job in the UK six months ago, I would be on a very good career path, which is why part of me wants to run back and start it up again before it's too late.
I guess I have a few questions:
If you have ever lived for a significant time in a place far away from your "home", which you came to love for entirely different reasons, how did you eventually decide where to settle?
At what point should a job be the most important factor in deciding where to live?
I guess that's all I can think of for now. I hope I haven't come off badly in this, I'm sorry if I have, my mind is just a mess and a lot of my close friends have lived their whole lives in one place so can't really offer mcuh advice other than to "pray for guidance", which I can totally respect but which is not really what I'm looking for. Thanks.
The biggest names in the tech industry seem to have collectively decided it's time to make the billions. Sure Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have sold some ads and Foursquare brokered some promotional deals. But with the second wave of IPOs on the horizon and investors' eyeballs getting as round as the tech bubble, the time is nigh for tech demigods to show that they can make money off all those users they've spent years accumulating. And hopefully not alienate them in the process. Today, Mark Zuckerberg inched closer to that dream of a trillion dollars by offering streaming movies — and tanking Netflix's stock. Meanwhile, YouTube closed a deal on a production company presumably to make its very own content. Intel cast a wide net to examine tech companies' latest money-making ventures. Then we looked into our CrystalBall app to see what they might try next.
Facebook
Moneymaker: Warner Bros. just became the first Hollywood studio to stream movies directly on the social network. Facebook has been making a big move toward e-commerce lately, and the fact that you have to use Facebook Credits to buy movies and TV shows could be the tipping point to get users to hand their credit card info over to Mark Zuckerberg. Plus, studios looking for a way to stop Netflix's growth might not make Facebook suffer the same 28-day waiting period for new content.
Downside: At 30 credits (or $3) for a 48-hour rental for The Dark Knight, it will cost you. Plus, you have to "like" the movie or the director to get the privilege. Do you really want hundreds of your Facebook friends to see you "liked" and watched Valentine's Day on Valentine's Day?
What's next: Why should you use a credit card to buy Facebook Credits when you can use Zuckerbills (coming to a U.S. Treasury in 2020)?
Twitter
Moneymaker: In order to make money off its free iPhone app, this weekend Twitter introduced a number of new features, including Quickbar, a "forced trending topics bar" that includes promoted tweets — negating the idea of a service that quickly shows you what's actually trending.
Downside: Pundit John Gruber quickly dubbed the feature "Dickbar" after Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, but Gruber issued the unfortunate nickname on Twitter and it was widely retweeted. Advantage Costolo.
What's next: Can we pay someone to monitor our Twitter feed for us? It's getting overwhelming. Either that or design personalized lists of the best people to follow based on what's important to us, like updates on Libya and breaking bear-cub news.
Foursquare
Moneymaker: At SXSW this week, Foursquare is set to announce a partnership with American Express that will link users' credit cards with their Foursquare accounts. The incentive to consumers? Deals like "spend $5, save $5" at participating merchants. Although Foursquare said its motivation is to increase membership and loyalty and that it won't charge Amex for the privilege, it's hard to believe that will stay the case if it catches on.
Downside: We don't have an Amex card. And (confession) although we use the app for recommendations, we've never actually checked in anywhere. Sorry, Dennis and Naveen! But if they add other credit cards, we would.
What's next: How about a service that warns you beforehand if you're about to friend one of those compulsive people who check in with handfuls of people at name-dropping locales?
YouTube
Moneymaker: YouTube just closed a deal to buy Internet video company Next New Networks, the producers behind Auto-Tune the News, for less than $50 million. Although rumor had it that Google was trying to get into the video-production business, Business Insider reports that the move is actually designed to help existing YouTube partners make "more and better content." Which then leads to more users and, subsequently, more expensive ads.
Downside: Isn't YouTube's strength either grainy weird viral videos or pirated television, movie, and music content? The second could definitely use better quality, but does it even matter for the former?
What's next: How about veering into Hulu territory?
Skype
Moneymaker: Just regular old advertising on the Windows version of its paid video communications service.
Downside: Although Skype says it won't show ads during the video conferencing yet, this could devolve into a Minority Report-style advertising assault.
What's next: Would it be possible to embed microphone/receiver in our brain so we don't have to use the special headset? Just curious.
Update: TechCrunch makes an important clarification. Facebook hasn't announced its own streaming movie service. Rather the movie offering comes from Warner Brothers app that uses Facebook Credits' payment system. But if it proves successful and other studios follow suit, Zuckberg can still count on more personal credit card info coming his way. Someone better go tell Netflix's shareholders.
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