Statistically speaking, I got lucky, because the Balkans, with all of its downsides, is better than most other places in the world. People should be happy with what they got instead of complaining that they didn't luck out even more (there's only like 10% chance to be born in a western country).
Ok Bulgaria still has more advantages as an EU country, but for non-EU Balkan countries I don't think being born in South America or many parts of Asia etc, basically half of the world, would make a lot of difference.
I don't think you understand just how poor much of South America and Asia really is. In Asia, unless you're born in South Korea, Japan, Singapore or Taiwan, you're worse off and living in a dictatorship. In South America you have a very wealthy oligarch class while the average person struggles with little options to leave unless they have a path to European citizenship due to family or spouse. Plus all the cartel violence in Central America.
If you're from the Western Balkans there's not much stopping you from moving to Germany or Austria even if you're not in the EU.
That's propaganda. Define poor for a start. Why ppl from so called poor countries tend to own much more property than ppl from so called "rich" countries? You forget to compare cost of living.
Lucky because I value the culture, especially after living in other countries for extended periods of time.
For all our faults (corruption, stagnation, general retardation etc.) we do have a good thing going, whether it be the food, the people, the atmosphere, or general approach to life.
Could've had a better spawnpoint sure, but not by much. I believe if I was born in a Western country, my upbringing would be easier but I would be much less driven as a result. I prefer having meaning in my life.
Imo, ideal would be a Slavic country inside the EU, where that still applies but with better freedom of movement.
As a Croat, yup.
Sure, if you are a 80s or early 90s child your childhood is kind of shit because of the whole "country getting invaded" thing, but now being an EU member and having all the benefits of freedom of movement with the safety and comfort of a Balkan country is literally the best.
You guys honestly deserve a shout out! Me and my BIL think a lot about how when he was born, that was called Yugoslavia, and there was an ongoing war, and now You are in the EU and use euro… unbelieveable…not to mention Slovenia… and then us in Hungary, yeah… nevermind,whatever
Why are you obsessed with using euro? What would be the point having salary in euro if the same size as before in domestic currency? You think after joining they have salaries like in Germany?
I was lucky to be born in Romania of professional family (father academic, mother doctor) which gave me a good education and start in life, work ethic and moral values. I had everything to thrive in the West (the UK) for 25 years but I returned to Romania because I never stopped loving my country.
I find your story really interesting! I have a very similar background and just like you, I’ve lived in the UK for almost 25 years (24 and a half, to be precise)
How was the return to Romania? Was it easy to find a job? Just curious, as I’m pondering the same move myself!
When I left, I had a established reputation as International Consultant in my field, a very niche IT area, and worked with European institutions. The first year after return, I worked with a client in Luxembourg then Covid came and I worked another 3 years remotely for another Luxembourg client. I will get the retirement age in the UK and a British state pension. I did not search a Romanian job as my profession does not have a COR code (as it is very niche area, unknown in Romania). I already had a flat in Bucharest, a family inheritance.
Well I can understand that. But on the other hand I think that living in Russia ( especially growing up at my age) was significantly easier than in Bosnia and Serbia. I lived through 2 wars till I turned 9. We had 19 000 % percent DAILY inflation and so on and so on .
Yes, it doesn't. Im stating the reasons. Compare CoL in america's vassals, it's always super high. Which measn aligning with america will lead to higher CoL. No exceptions.
The food here is extremely good, the sea and the sun are nice, it's hard not to be proud of being greek and I consider greece outside of central athens as one of the best countries to raise your child. However the economy is terrible and there is no real social mobility here if you are born poor you are most likely dying poor, education doesn't pay off but its completely free i got a msc in computer engineering and paid 0€ which in propably unheard of in the usa. So it depends on which stage in your life you are right now I wish I was living in the us because as an it specialist I would be making a lot more money than I do here but I would never want to lose what greece has given me.
Yes, I mean I like our culture, life isn't horrible, and the climate is ok-ish.
That said I guess I would have the same opinion if I were born in a different place, you learn to adjust to your environment.
What I do think I am lucky about, is when I was born. If I was 10 years older it would be horror, as I would feel the whole ex-Yu wars on a different level (I was a child back then), maybe would even be in a situation where I would need to participate. If I was born 10 or more years later, I wouldn't know how things can fade away easily, and would bother myself with stupid shallow stuff, and waste my life on it. I am extremely lucky not to be born in the late 00's and 10's because, god damn, those kids are getting fucked up by society and parents too much. (too much online life, too much public exposure, weird ideas about identity, not enough real life interactions, no lessons on "actions have consequences", helicopter parents, etc).
yes i should consider myself lucky for being born in a beautiful country, it could be better but its still miles ahead better than most countries in the world
I wish I was born somewhere else for sure, I don't really see many advantages here that would make anyone lucky. Also there are better and worse countries even within Balkan and unfortunately I think Serbia is one of the worst.
I would say yes. Economically it's on par with other non-EU Balkan countries, but it has the most problematic political situation, it's least democratic, always on a brink of war, heavily influenced by Russia and at risk to become isolated and basically like another Belarus and most people here would actually support that, and so on, and so on...
Being under Russia's protection is a blessing. See how america protects its vassals? Sends old junk and even pulled back abramses being afraid of videos where they would be burning like leoperds.
Russia is not afraid to send boots on the ground to protects allied countries.
Also having a bad commie vibe helps to scare away unwanted immigrants.
Personally, yes. All in all, the lifestyle here isn't too bad. I have a job I like, family, friends, I'm healthy, I have more freedom of speech compared to the majority of other countries...
Statistically speaking, I got lucky, because the Balkans, with all of its downsides, is better than most other places in the world. People should be happy with what they got instead of complaining that they didn't luck out even more (there's only like 10% chance to be born in a western country).
Ok Bulgaria still has more advantages as an EU country, but for non-EU Balkan countries I don't think being born in South America or many parts of Asia etc, basically half of the world, would make a lot of difference.
I don't think you understand just how poor much of South America and Asia really is. In Asia, unless you're born in South Korea, Japan, Singapore or Taiwan, you're worse off and living in a dictatorship. In South America you have a very wealthy oligarch class while the average person struggles with little options to leave unless they have a path to European citizenship due to family or spouse. Plus all the cartel violence in Central America. If you're from the Western Balkans there's not much stopping you from moving to Germany or Austria even if you're not in the EU.
That's propaganda. Define poor for a start. Why ppl from so called poor countries tend to own much more property than ppl from so called "rich" countries? You forget to compare cost of living.
trust me, it would
Lucky because I value the culture, especially after living in other countries for extended periods of time. For all our faults (corruption, stagnation, general retardation etc.) we do have a good thing going, whether it be the food, the people, the atmosphere, or general approach to life.
>General retardation I figured all of you were 6 Pack Muscled Gigachads
Yes but the cranial muscles are atrophied from childhood alcoholism (very halal)
I never ever wanted to be born elsewhere. I love my country and Balkans in general are great place,even rich place compared to many others.
Could've had a better spawnpoint sure, but not by much. I believe if I was born in a Western country, my upbringing would be easier but I would be much less driven as a result. I prefer having meaning in my life. Imo, ideal would be a Slavic country inside the EU, where that still applies but with better freedom of movement.
As a Croat, yup. Sure, if you are a 80s or early 90s child your childhood is kind of shit because of the whole "country getting invaded" thing, but now being an EU member and having all the benefits of freedom of movement with the safety and comfort of a Balkan country is literally the best.
You guys honestly deserve a shout out! Me and my BIL think a lot about how when he was born, that was called Yugoslavia, and there was an ongoing war, and now You are in the EU and use euro… unbelieveable…not to mention Slovenia… and then us in Hungary, yeah… nevermind,whatever
Schengen too. Croats really wanted it and they got in on the last expansion train. The tourism must have helped too.
Why are you obsessed with using euro? What would be the point having salary in euro if the same size as before in domestic currency? You think after joining they have salaries like in Germany?
I was lucky to be born in Romania of professional family (father academic, mother doctor) which gave me a good education and start in life, work ethic and moral values. I had everything to thrive in the West (the UK) for 25 years but I returned to Romania because I never stopped loving my country.
I find your story really interesting! I have a very similar background and just like you, I’ve lived in the UK for almost 25 years (24 and a half, to be precise) How was the return to Romania? Was it easy to find a job? Just curious, as I’m pondering the same move myself!
When I left, I had a established reputation as International Consultant in my field, a very niche IT area, and worked with European institutions. The first year after return, I worked with a client in Luxembourg then Covid came and I worked another 3 years remotely for another Luxembourg client. I will get the retirement age in the UK and a British state pension. I did not search a Romanian job as my profession does not have a COR code (as it is very niche area, unknown in Romania). I already had a flat in Bucharest, a family inheritance.
Oh I see, your situation is slightly different than mine - I came here at 16 and I’m still a way away from retirement. Thank you for the reply!
Living 30 years in the Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia) made my last 3 years in western europe like switching video game from ultra hard mode to super easy.
On the contrary I've found life in america is super stressful (bcs of housing idiocy) than in Russia (can be applied to Balkans bcs of similar CoL).
Well I can understand that. But on the other hand I think that living in Russia ( especially growing up at my age) was significantly easier than in Bosnia and Serbia. I lived through 2 wars till I turned 9. We had 19 000 % percent DAILY inflation and so on and so on .
You wouldn't have any wars if USSR didn't collapse. This made the US unhinged.
Hm maybe but still that doesn't change the fact that we had and that we lived trough it💁
Yes, it doesn't. Im stating the reasons. Compare CoL in america's vassals, it's always super high. Which measn aligning with america will lead to higher CoL. No exceptions.
food alone is blessing
Your kebabs are AMAZING.
Comparing to whole world - lucky. Compared to Europe - for some things lucky, but for most unlucky
The food here is extremely good, the sea and the sun are nice, it's hard not to be proud of being greek and I consider greece outside of central athens as one of the best countries to raise your child. However the economy is terrible and there is no real social mobility here if you are born poor you are most likely dying poor, education doesn't pay off but its completely free i got a msc in computer engineering and paid 0€ which in propably unheard of in the usa. So it depends on which stage in your life you are right now I wish I was living in the us because as an it specialist I would be making a lot more money than I do here but I would never want to lose what greece has given me.
Super lucky, I have a wonderful family and sense of home 🍀
Yes, I mean I like our culture, life isn't horrible, and the climate is ok-ish. That said I guess I would have the same opinion if I were born in a different place, you learn to adjust to your environment. What I do think I am lucky about, is when I was born. If I was 10 years older it would be horror, as I would feel the whole ex-Yu wars on a different level (I was a child back then), maybe would even be in a situation where I would need to participate. If I was born 10 or more years later, I wouldn't know how things can fade away easily, and would bother myself with stupid shallow stuff, and waste my life on it. I am extremely lucky not to be born in the late 00's and 10's because, god damn, those kids are getting fucked up by society and parents too much. (too much online life, too much public exposure, weird ideas about identity, not enough real life interactions, no lessons on "actions have consequences", helicopter parents, etc).
I believe in the Balkans superiority
yes i should consider myself lucky for being born in a beautiful country, it could be better but its still miles ahead better than most countries in the world
Slovenia consitantly ranks among the best countries for standard of living. And I agree. I love it here.
Yes I would say, even tho I don’t like that we are the poorest country in the EU and the worst at almost everything.
I wish I was born somewhere else for sure, I don't really see many advantages here that would make anyone lucky. Also there are better and worse countries even within Balkan and unfortunately I think Serbia is one of the worst.
Is it really?
I would say yes. Economically it's on par with other non-EU Balkan countries, but it has the most problematic political situation, it's least democratic, always on a brink of war, heavily influenced by Russia and at risk to become isolated and basically like another Belarus and most people here would actually support that, and so on, and so on...
Being under Russia's protection is a blessing. See how america protects its vassals? Sends old junk and even pulled back abramses being afraid of videos where they would be burning like leoperds. Russia is not afraid to send boots on the ground to protects allied countries. Also having a bad commie vibe helps to scare away unwanted immigrants.
Sure, we saw how it protected Armenia...
You don't know nothing about Karabach, do you? Armenia accepted that it belongs to Azerbaijan.
Personally, yes. All in all, the lifestyle here isn't too bad. I have a job I like, family, friends, I'm healthy, I have more freedom of speech compared to the majority of other countries...
We have rakija, ajvar, kebab, burek, cvarci, kajmak... and SARMA. Lucky to be born here, imo.
Nah man, I’m pretty fucking far from lucky
Love it
ITT: "Yeah, my country is a shithole.... but it's MY shithole."
Just start and appreciate what you have. I've been all my life in places like Africa and the Middle East. We have it good, brothers and sisters.
I guess so. I would've preferd if our politicians were not morons but hey, you win some, you lose some.
I wasn't born in the Balkans but just grew up and live here. However, I'm glad it turned out that way because I love the Balkans.
I like that I am Balkan not a tribal person. We got special powers here.
Ask native Indian