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Topic: Useless Conversation (Read 3441266 times)
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calapine
Terracotta Army
Posts: 7352
Solely responsible for the thread on "The Condom Wall."
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I am not unbiased in this moving discussion since I'd love to meet another F13er, but why not Austria? It's a small country, but has the benefit of a nice, urban capital (pop 1.8 Mio, 2.6 mio inthe metropolitan region). High living standards, low income inequality, English proficiency is not as high in Scandinavia, but better than Germany or Switzerland (hah!). As for the climate: Vienna has an oceanic climate (hovering just below 22 °C in July and August), and features, according to the Köppen classification, a Cfb (oceanic) -climate. The city has warm summers with average high temperatures of 24 to 33 °C (75 to 91 °F), with maximum exceeding 38 °C (100 °F) and lows of around 17 °C (63 °F). Winters are relatively dry and cold with average temperatures at about freezing point. Spring and autumn are mild. Precipitation is generally moderate throughout the year, averaging 550 mm (21.7 in) annually, with considerable local variations, the Vienna Woods region in the west being the wettest part (700 to 800 mm (28 to 31 in) annually) and the flat plains in the east being the driest part (500 to 550 mm (20 to 22 in) annually). Snow in the winter is not uncommon, but rare compared to Western and Southern regions in Austria.
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Restoration is a perfectly valid school of magic!
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IainC
Developers
Posts: 6538
Wargaming.net
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I'd say almost anywhere in Eastern Europe will give you a very good living standards/cost of living ratio. Live in somewhere like Sofia, Belgrade, Bratislava and you get all the amenities of a big city for a fraction of the cost of Western Europe. Live in a smaller town and you still get European Union roads, telecoms, social services, and so on for a lot less than the capital and you get local access to mountains, ski resorts, etc. You probably won't get a high percentage of English fluency but, in my experience as someone who's moved to several countries where I didn't speak a word of the language, you find that you only need 15-20 stock phrases for every day life and the rest will come over time. If you have a friendly local to translate official stuff for you, it's a fairly soft landing.
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Zetor
Terracotta Army
Posts: 3269
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I'd rule Eastern Europe out because of this requirement: f) relatively unlikely to descend into political chaos and civil war The V4 doesn't strike me as particularly stable over the next ~10 years -- the details would probably belong in the politics forum. I'd rate the Balkans even lower. These two are arguable: a) decent health care plus what happens to me if I need some kind of long-term nursing b) reasonably decent law enforcement, e.g., that I won't have my place broken into every few weeks or have to pay a bribe to someone at a checkpoint every time I go someplace
because private healthcare can be pretty good and not that expensive (dental tourism is a thing), but not sure about the long-term nursing options -- don't expect fancy western hospitals. Also, corruption is fairly widespread but you'll probably not get burglarized / kidnapped / murderized too much. English fluency is pretty low in the area in general, though this may change when the post-Soviet generation grows up (and/or the ones who can speak English stop emigrating to Western countries). Living costs are fairly cheap, though expect to pay more for stuff like gas and anything tech-related (f'rex, it's more expensive to buy the iphone x in Hungary than anywhere else in the world [themoreyouknow.png]). Note though that I live in Hungary, so my perspective may be somewhat biased. If I were to move from here (and it's probably a good idea to do so, many of my friends already did), the priority would be something like Canada > scandinavian_country_01 (probably Denmark or Sweden) >= Austria > Germany > Netherlands > Italy. USA would also be up there except for the entire trump thing; ditto UK and Brexit. edit: that said, if someone ever visits Budapest, hit me up, I will share ze secrets. It's a cool city to visit, but not that great to live in...
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« Last Edit: November 12, 2017, 01:15:36 PM by Zetor »
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MahrinSkel
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10858
When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back... she was bullshit!
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Guam looks good in a lot of ways. Mostly English speaking, technically part of the US so no legal hassles, mostly Catholic so unlikely to be caught up by Handmaids Tale dominionist shit if it goes that way. Not cheap (about the same COL as Hawaii), but not insanely expensive. Low political risk, worst case scenario is that the North Koreans turn it into a smoking hole, but that goes for Hawaii and chunks of the west coast as well. Maybe if the US goes full isolationist the bases get shut down and it becomes its own country again. No crime problems worth talking about.
And some of the best internet connections in the world, since most of the trans-pacific fiber cables intersect there.
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--Signature Unclear
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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You ever done business with people on Guam?
I'm going to assume you haven't.
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Sky
Terracotta Army
Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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Maybe if the US goes full isolationist the bases get shut down and it becomes its own country again. No crime problems worth talking about.
Spoiler alert: that's when you get poverty and high crime due to the absence of military money and influence in the community. Milder summers is as huge bonus in my mind. Austria would definitely be on my list, we've been looking at the Black Forest but she's worried about lack of English speakers outside the bigger cities (since we don't like bigger cities).
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IainC
Developers
Posts: 6538
Wargaming.net
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... we've been looking at the Black Forest but she's worried about lack of English speakers outside the bigger cities (since we don't like bigger cities).
I used to live there. It's ... spotty. There are a lot of wealthier, more educated people who retire there (it's basically the Florida of Germany), so there's a lot of lawyers, architects, dentists, etc who speak reasonable English. Then there are the younger people who have learned it at school recently. The problem is the people in the middle, their English classes were too long ago for them to be comfortable speaking it. It is very pretty though and you can be in Switzerland or France with a 40 minute train ride.
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Sky
Terracotta Army
Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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... we've been looking at the Black Forest but she's worried about lack of English speakers outside the bigger cities (since we don't like bigger cities).
I used to live there. It's ... spotty. There are a lot of wealthier, more educated people who retire there (it's basically the Florida of Germany), so there's a lot of lawyers, architects, dentists, etc who speak reasonable English. Then there are the younger people who have learned it at school recently. The problem is the people in the middle, their English classes were too long ago for them to be comfortable speaking it. It is very pretty though and you can be in Switzerland or France with a 40 minute train ride. I'm not worried about it, because I'd pick up conversational Deutsche pretty quickly. The old lady is terrified of not being surrounded by English speakers.
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IainC
Developers
Posts: 6538
Wargaming.net
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Depends on where you are. For sure you are going to hear German spoken around you all the time, but there are a lot of American expats in the region around Stuttgart (which is the nearest big city to the Schwarzwald), because EUCOM (and the SACEUR) is based there and a lot of American veterans retire there because they learnt some German during a tour and liked the region a lot. As you get deeper into the Hochschwarzwald though, towards Triberg and St Georgen, it's fairly parochial. I spoke no German when I landed there and I managed ok in a small town.
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Sky
Terracotta Army
Posts: 32117
I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.
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Yeah, I did some research back when we were talking about that region and liked what I saw.
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Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15164
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I was really nice just now to someone to whom I owe nothing who was being a complete cunt on email. I hope some angel got his/her wings.
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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i'm so excited I'm dumping it here this is coming for our kitchen
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Viin
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6159
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Why would you want a shitty rolly chair in your kitchen?
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- Viin
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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Low counters
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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I was really nice just now to someone to whom I owe nothing who was being a complete cunt on email. I hope some angel got his/her wings.
Nah, you've just taught them that the technique they used works. So, they're now being a cunt to someone else in the hopes of having it their way. Sorry.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Selby
Terracotta Army
Posts: 2963
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In fairness he didn't say he was giving them what they want, just being nice. There's a big difference... Of course if he did give them what they want then yeah...
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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I always assume everyone on here is default nice to everyone, cunt or no. We're all such nice people.
Related note ; I have run out of green.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Yegolev
Moderator
Posts: 24440
2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST
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Belize is nice (enough) and they speak English. They take American dollars. US Dollar = 2 Belize Dollar. They are very proud of their accepting culture. You can have a jaguar lick your head while you feed it raw chicken.
Good, good, good, good, and then you just followed it up with a potential death trap. Nah, it's fine. as long as the chicken has been processed and stored properly, it's fairly safe. I'd wash your hands thoroughly after though, just to be sure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kteC1iJO9rEAround 4:10 if you are impatient.
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Why am I homeless? Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question. They called it The Prayer, its answer was law Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
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Bunk
Contributor
Posts: 5828
Operating Thetan One
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Random question: I need a new suit. The last one I bought was 12 years and 25 lbs ago. What's actually in style now? I have this distinct fear of being that guy that men's store employees prey upon to dump old stock on to.
Not looking to be fancy, just something respectable for holiday parties and weddings.
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"Welcome to the internet, pussy." - VDL "I have retard strength." - Schild
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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sweater black pants
fuck suits
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MrHat
Terracotta Army
Posts: 7432
Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
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Random question: I need a new suit. The last one I bought was 12 years and 25 lbs ago. What's actually in style now? I have this distinct fear of being that guy that men's store employees prey upon to dump old stock on to.
Not looking to be fancy, just something respectable for holiday parties and weddings.
There's a ton of online services that provide tailored suits in a current style with free shipping and no hassle returns. If I was in the market, I'd probably do that.
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Samwise
Moderator
Posts: 19229
sentient yeast infection
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After years of having a standard black wool suit to wear to everything that requires a suit, I finally took the plunge this last summer and bought a cream linen suit. Should have done it years ago. Comfortable AND dapper as fuck.
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"I have not actually recommended many games, and I'll go on the record here saying my track record is probably best in the industry." - schild
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Chimpy
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10619
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After years of having a standard black wool suit to wear to everything that requires a suit, I finally took the plunge this last summer and bought a cream linen suit. Should have done it years ago. Comfortable AND dapper as fuck.
Linen is definitely a lot more comfy in casual situations, especially when warm. If you ever have a need for wearing a business suit occasionally, seriously go to a real men's clothing store (not Men's Warehouse/Jos A Bank type place) and get a wool blend suit that was hand stitched. Shit Bunk, you live in Vancouver, you can probably find all kinds of awesome asian tailors that will be cheap. Of course, if you are planning on losing a bunch of weight I would recommend holding off. I have a super-nice suit that cost a good chunk of change that I got when I weighed around 300 lbs. Now that I am down under 220 the thing is a frickin tent.
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'Reality' is the only word in the language that should always be used in quotes.
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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Come to Austin and there's a food truck that was converted into a bespoke men's tailor.
I hate everything.
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Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15164
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I gave the person part of what they want. But not all of it. They apologized for total cuntishness. I assume this is an installment plan thing.
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RhyssaFireheart
Terracotta Army
Posts: 3525
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Well fuck. I was hoping it wouldn't be so soon, but the husband is apparently now scheduled for his open-heart surgery on 12/4. I mean, I understand that it's a pretty common surgery he's having done and all, but that doesn't make it any easier to think about.
Fuck.
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Polysorbate80
Terracotta Army
Posts: 2044
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Good luck to you and your hubby, Rhyssa
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“Why the fuck would you ... ?” is like 80% of the conversation with Poly — Chimpy
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Soln
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4737
the opportunity for evil is just delicious
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Good luck to both of you Rhyssa.
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HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42632
the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring
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Good luck, Rhyssa. I know how hard dealing with someone close to you going into surgery (and the recovery) can be. I hope it all works out well.
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Polysorbate80
Terracotta Army
Posts: 2044
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My conversation with the dealer's service department after bringing in the pickup for an appointment: Me: "As I said on the phone, it's here for an oil change, to have the check engine light diagnosed, and two of the tire pressure sensors are dead." Service Guy: "Change the oil, engine light, and you say the tire light is on too?" Me: "...Yes, it's on because two of the pressure sensors don't work. Can you please fix them?" (Cut to 2 1/2 hours later) Service Guy: "So with the tire light, what we found is, two of your tire pressure sensors have stopped functioning." Me: "....Yes [bites tongue.] And did you fix them?" Service Guy: "Oh. Did you want them replaced?" Do you ever want to take someone's head firmly in your hands, look deep into their vacant eyes, shake them and ask "Is there someone in there I can talk to?"
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“Why the fuck would you ... ?” is like 80% of the conversation with Poly — Chimpy
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HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42632
the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring
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Almost daily.
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Soln
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4737
the opportunity for evil is just delicious
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My second last service appointment I came pretty close to going to the service manager to tell him to replace his up front monkeys with tablets and an input form. You know like some civilized airlines now do at airports. I don't need a human to look up my address, and then read what I already entered for my appointment. That shit can go right to the car monkeys. At least there's a record of what I asked for before they give their feedback.
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Nebu
Terracotta Army
Posts: 17613
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Hang in there Rhyssa. Hope all goes well.
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"Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."
- Mark Twain
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Merusk
Terracotta Army
Posts: 27449
Badge Whore
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Good luck to you and the spouse, Rhyssa. Surgery always sucks, even when routine.
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The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
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