If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I’m starting of today’s post inspired by today’s prompt. And that was really an interesting question that got me thinking, this is both because in general it’s an interesting question to ask and because lately I’ve been a bit philosophical about life choices and what if’s.
Firstly I need to start sorting some thoughts, I think I have three alternatives that I need to analyse further. Those being Australia, Thailand or Italia. Of course based on me spending quite a lot of time in all of them, so without further ado, let’s get to it!
A life as an Aussie
Let’s take this one first as this is somewhere I already have lived, just for a year though, but it could serve as a good teaser to an Aussie life. When I lived there I only saw it as a student, not too strong on the economic side and basically spent my time at school. However, living in Australia, I’d obviously choose the same place as I studied. Gold Coast in Queensland.
The place was Southport/Surfers Paradise, and I can picture myself working at some local surf or creative shop, or maybe doing something related to studying. Enjoying the Australian weather and finally learning to surf. All my travel plans would be within the country itself, except for Xmas holidays when I would go home for some weeks to visit my parents and friends.
I would revive the interest for photography by finally having lots of vibrant colours and interesting animals to discover. There will be a lot of pictures in my life if this would be my life, also I would make sure to regularly visit Rottnest island, to be with Quokkas.
It would be a nice and tranquil life I think, but the downside would be the distance to my past life, all my friends and my family. Of course I’d get new friends, but I don’t want to lose my current ones. So while writing this, maybe Australia really won’t win this.
A life as Falang
Yes second country up as an option, Thailand, the land of smiles. And yes this is quite a different one, on both culture and language. I have spent a lot of time in Thailand as a tourist, but I haven’t learned the language and I don’t know too much about the culture.
For the language I have to be honest that it doesn’t seem like something I do prioritise to learn, unless I get a Thai girlfriend, that may change it. This is due to the Thai language being vastly different from the languages I’m used to, and for now I have not got much use of it. I would most likely get an international job, within travel on focus for English or Scandinavian tourists. Most likely a Norwegian based company with work locations in Thailand.
Of course, my place to live would be the island of Phuket, probably buy a huge apartment there with a private beach. If you decide to live in paradise, then you have to make it extra paradise-y. I most likely would have a much healthier diet since I love Thai food and it includes a lot of rice and vegetables. It’s a lot more healthy than the fastfood that I often tend to eat today with my current lifestyle. Days off would be spent at the beach, going to explore the vast areas the country have to offer.
I know I would love it, but there’s the issue of language and culture that I think would make me feel homesick. Luckily it’s not as far away as Australia, but still too far to just go home now and then. The time difference is less than Australia as well, but it would be difficult sometimes to connect with the people home in Norway. So, maybe Thailand won’t work in the end either.
La dolce vita in Italia
Allora, already by starting to write this I think I found my winner, but hear me out anyways.
Italia is a country I just recently (last two years) started to visit, I have been there multiple times when I was younger also, once in Roma with my dad when I was a teenager. And once with mom and dad when it was my 30th birthday. But last year and this year I have been there many times and visited many cities and areas. I have always enjoyed pasta and pizza since I was a kid, so the country has a lot to offer me foodwise. In terms of language I do not speak the local language, but I am putting in an effort to learn it, since I really love the sound of it, and it can grant me access to a lot more depth of both the country and the culture.
Italia is very diverse and has a lot of ancient history to offer, stories of the past in unification with modern times. It piques my interest in history just to visit and wander around the many cities. Another thing that I think is great is the location, it is not more than a few hours flight away from Norway and we are in the same timezone so it means keeping in touch with friends and family will be fairly easy. This is a huge win-point actually, because even though it would be nice to live somewhere else, I do not want to leave everything else completely behind.
Another con with Italia that I think is important is the fact that they rarely have snow, they are in general warmer. I do not like snow that much and when I live in Norway I rarely do stuff in winter besides staying indoors, it would be nice to actually get to spend 4-6 months more of the year rather than to just skip it by being indoors. Losing the option to build a snowman or go skiing is something I could live with, no problems at all. A different case in Italia is the question of where, both in Australia and Thailand, I know where I would live, but in Italia I have no idea. Maybe I should investigate that further for another post. Consider it a second part to this “What if” post.
And the conclusion…
When I started this post I initially really didn’t know the final answer awaiting at the end, but as I wrote and thought about the first two alternatives it became clearer to me what the cons were and also why in the end those places wouldn’t work. Australia’s biggest con is distance from Norway and timezone differences making it very difficult to keep anything from my old life. Of course it scores more on being an English speaking country, but yet in the end it is just too far away.
Thailand on the other hand is almost like paradise on earth, warm temperatures, good food, good people, and a great place to find peace. The most obvious cons here are a language that I will struggle a lot with, and a culture quite different from the west and Nordic culture I grew up with. I feel that even if Thailand is closer to family and friends at home, it’s still quite far in distance and timezone. The language part is what breaks the deal here.
Italia wins in so many ways I wasn’t even thinking of when I started to write this post. Firstly it wins by being in the same timezone, and not too far away from friends and family in Norway. It would be easy to go home for weekends if I’m homesick, and people can come visit me too without too much hassle. The food, the culture and the language is per now something I really want to learn more about. At the moment I’m already learning Italian, and I will let you know it’s my favourite language, it’s the most beautiful I think. Also I love the food, pasta and pizza in over hundreds of varieties. It’s also quite central to a lot of things concerning travels in Europe, which also is nice.
(It has to be noted for all these three, having a partner from the respective country of course would have altered the answers in favor for that country a bit. But currently I’m just me, so this is my current true answer.)
The winner of this thought is Italia, that’s where I would live if I didn’t already live in Norway. Who knows maybe someday I’ll be lucky to say I live in Italia, speaking fluently Italian and having grown a pasta shaped body. Who knows, it’s would be a nice dream come true!
Ci vediamo!
-Owlando-
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