Mantas 3 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Yeah, I had a bit of that too. For a couple of years my house was increasing in value at a weekly rate higher than my income. I feel for young people today, I hope I can help my kids in that area. Link to post Share on other sites
mitchpee 10 Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Originally Posted By: Mantas Originally Posted By: Go Native I do suggest you complete your post grad studies. Mantas may not put much stock in education but even if you don't go on to work in a job specifically related to your studies tertiary education opens up a lot of doors and especially post grad stuff really teaches you how to research and learn things. Great skills for whatever you go on to do later. It's not that I don't put stock in higher education, I do and I'll encourage my kids to pursue it. Jobs that were available to just about anyone 20 years ago now require a university degree. It's just that some young people are of the mind set that higher education is the one and only way to succeed in life, and that's far from the truth. One very prominent Australian entrepreneur was once quote as saying. "University degrees are very important, I wouldn't have got any where if I didn't employ people with degrees" I, like you, have been 'lucky' with property and investments, if you call lucky hard work and sacrifice. Believe me, I am not ignorant to this fact. My father started his own business as a high school dropout that knew people and how to talk to them. Sometimes that is enough to make it in this world. Maybe that is for me and maybe not, guess I will find out and Mantas, seemingly worked out really nicely for ya, congrats! Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 My dad though he had mine planned out, but it didn't turn out that way. Link to post Share on other sites
cheeseman 1 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 My life revolves around cheese. I would be lost without it. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Originally Posted By: MitchPee I'm pretty sure most people would call moving to a foreign country where you know nobody, have no secure job, no secure place to stay, and no sense of direction pretty damn spontaneous. Definitely. I came originally for 1 year. I can't quite remember how much thinking about it I did before, I just felt the need to. Somehow. It was very uncharacteristic of me and people couldn't believe I left my job and did it. They still can't! Even I can't now, thinking about it. Perhaps those of us here and settled in Japan forget what a huge move it was, surely in many cases. Turned out good though. Having said that, 10 years ahead? Don't know what that looks like. Anyway the world will end in 2012, right? So we should just enjoy it. Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 MP, I know it can be confusing and I felt a little the same way when I finished school. When I was 22 I left for France with about 500$ and a one way ticket to who-knows-what (all my friends expected me to be back before the end of the summer because I was a hope bum). I lived in Paris for almost 2 years after finding a job at a very prestigious school and travelled all throughtout Europe (a few times) before deciding that I would go to Japan to learn the language (languages where my passion then). Now I've been here for almost 7 years. I have a great job, wife, hobbies and live in an amazing place. I'm also just finishing up a masters degree at the moment. You don't have to have anything figured aside from a confidence in yourself that you can handle anything you come up against. If you heart is in the right place good things tend to happen... enjoy the ride Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Originally Posted By: big-will Perhaps those of us here and settled in Japan forget what a huge move it was, surely in many cases. Agreed it was a hard move, but how many of us came over, without a job lined up, without somewhere to stay or without direction? Jumping on the next plane and moving would be spontaneous in my book. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Yes ok that would be an even bigger thing. But I think leaving a job to go to a country like Japan that you know next to nothing about is still a big thing. It was for me anyway. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Not saying it wasn't at all. All I said was about the spontaneity of it. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Definitely BM. Too many people succumb to the pressure of what society, and to a lesser degree family, expect of them. Only to have regrets later in life (usually around my age) and all sorts of other issues. Depression, divorce, dissatisfied with life in general and unhappy. Get it out of your system now Mitch, your far too young to be worried about your future. Link to post Share on other sites
spook 0 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 yo mitch, jeez mate, you're only 22! i don't think anyone ever really works out what they want to do, and if anybody says they have it all sorted out in life, i wouldn't believe them! i'm turning 30 this year. it's one of those milestone ages where you start to think about where you should be at in life. (and now i can hear all the older people reading this tut tutting about how young i am...) me - i wish i had more assets and was more comfortable. money makes things easier because it gives you choices. but getting money takes away your freedom. it's a balance i think everyone is trying to figure out. but, and it's a big but, i lead a freewheelin lifestyle that allows me to indulge my passions - surfing, snowboarding and travel. many of my friends are doing better in life (whatever that means) but i wouldn't trade places with them in a heartbeat. stay true to what you love. when i was about 22 i was on a surfing trip in the desert. there was this guy in his late 40's, just absolutely ripping. the waves were solid and he was the standout guy. you could tell he spent a lot of time in the water. he was just so in tune with it. i decided then that i wanted to be like him when i was older, and most years i push myself with little goals. i like being comfortable in the surf and i think this reflects positively in my life on land. you can draw a very similar analogy in skiing. whenever i see older people on the hill just ruling it, you can tell they have spent a lifetime doing something they love. thats more important than a fast car or a big house. one thing i loev about japan is the amount of old people cruising around the slopes. the fact that they're out there in their 70's stokes me out big time. the only other thing i would say to you is to get an education, learn a trade or get a skill. i went to uni, realised halfway through my degree that i hated it, but stuck it out and got my piece of paper. it has made getting jobs easier (even jobs in completely unrelated fields - employers can see that you applied yourself to something and finished it). also, if you want to travel and live overseas, having a uni degree makes can sometimes make things easier with visas (eg applying for a highly skilled type visa) but, like mantas said, a uni degree isn't the be all and end all. i sometimes think i would have liked to have gotten a trade instead. people who can do stuff are always in demand. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Spook- You need to get a hair cut and a real job! Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 And maybe learn to use some capitals at the start of a sentence! Link to post Share on other sites
spook 0 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 grammar... bah. i'm gen y GN. i don't need no education i do need a haircut though. i'm pretty much unemployable Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Originally Posted By: spook money makes things easier because it gives you choices. but getting money takes away your freedom. it's a balance i think everyone is trying to figure out. That is so true and it doesn't change as you get older either, even more so when kids come along. I'm more work / money focussed now than I've ever been at any other phase in my life. Although I bitch and moan about the hours I work, I am happy with my lot and I put that down to all the freedom I had as a young guy doing what ever the hell I wanted for years. Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 I just keep hoping my parents-in-law have some unfortunate accident. They're damned rich so it would be one hell of an inheritance! Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 will be up there next week if I can aid in any way? for a small cut of course. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Mitch, You have got quite a lot of really good responses here. Each person is completely different, and what works for one wont always be perfect for the next. Whatever you do - persue it with passion and drive...don't just float along and then wake up 30 years later thinking how in the [inserts crikey so I don't swear] did I get here? I was like Gareth. Married at 20, first of 4 son's born at 22. I am now approaching 41, and he will be 18 next week. The youngest is 10, and we have an awesome life. When I married my husband we both had jobs and not much else - life was a struggle, but we jumped in to it with passion. No holidays for many years, but we took great pleasure in the little things we did together. Now...20 years later...we spend close to 2 months a year on vacation (mainly finding some snow somewhere) and much of it with our kids - which is seriously awesome...I LOVE being that Mum who races her kids down Miharashi. Did we plan to be here? no. But we always made plans - the days plan, the months plan, the 5 yr plan. But the key word is flexibility. Those plans got changed and remade all the time. Just make sure that when you step your foot down it is moving forward - don't get stuck in the past or regrets. And ENJOY! Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Originally Posted By: Go Native I just keep hoping my parents-in-law have some unfortunate accident. They're damned rich so it would be one hell of an inheritance! your supposed to put a after that quote! Link to post Share on other sites
JA2340 16 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Unless he actually MEANS it! in which case the smiley would be wholly inappropriate! Link to post Share on other sites
JA2340 16 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Originally Posted By: spook grammar... bah. i'm gen y GN. i don't need no education i do need a haircut though. i'm pretty much unemployable The trouble with "to hell with grammar" attitude is that it alienates a whole lot of people. If you want people to read what you write (and there really isn't any point writing it if you don't) you need to cater tio the way OTHERS will react. For instance, I tried to read your post, got a little way in and decided "This is too much of a hassle, I'm not going to bother!" If you had anything intelligible, sensible, revelatory to say, I missed it and will likely NEVER know. You may have been the most insightful poster here, but very few people will notice if you don't do some capitalisation,grammar things. Link to post Share on other sites
spook 0 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 err, last time i checked these are internet forums. you know, for casual banter...? it's not like i litter my posts with emoticons and all sorts of crazy abbreviations like LOL etc Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Link to post Share on other sites
gareth_oau 2 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Originally Posted By: JA Unless he actually MEANS it! in which case the smiley would be wholly inappropriate! not unless the means he's currently planning for that "unfortunate accident" to occur Link to post Share on other sites
gareth_oau 2 Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 not necessarily spook, an internet forum is also a wealth of experiences and advice that people choose to share. i seek advice from others where they have had expereinces that I haven't - on holiday planning etc etc As you're here, we can presume that you are wanting to share your views, and the advantage in using grammar, punctuation and emoticons is that there is less likelihood of people misunderstanding what you are wanting to say. i understand that emoticons were originally created to help avoid the the potential confusion created by an emotionless line of text. If I type: I'm going to kill you I'm going to kill you both show a differnt message and without the emotricon you may not understand whether I'm joking or not. Link to post Share on other sites
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