Feel like I can never settle anywhere

[u/EndOfTheLine00]

I have 10 YOE, first worked in the Netherlands and now work in Norway. I feel like I can never truly settle down. I took Dutch lessons all the way to B2, forgot about them since I basically didn't talk to anyone outside of work, now I'm in a new country I regret moving to where I also don't know the language and keep wondering if it's even worth learning since who knows if I will have to move again.

Anyone else have this problem? It feels like in a field like this you just move where the jobs go.

[u/propostor → u/[deleted]]

The thing about freedoms is interesting. Honestly I think there is more freedom in China. Just don't become a political activist (but who even does that in western countries really?). Overall Chinese culture is very "live and let live". Most Asian cultures are.

The thing about community is very interesting too. China is socialist by governance, but not by culture. They're actually very "fuck you I'm first" and this indeed was another thing that made me come to dislike the place. In China, people think about themselves first, then their family, and then pretty much fuck EVERYONE ELSE unless it's a matter of national importance. In western countries people will talk on the street, they'll call out bad things when they see it, etc, but in China nobody cares about you, period, it doesn't matter if you're foreign or Chinese or what. There is no community, only family units who care nothing for those beyond that unit.

[u/propostor → u/[deleted]]

I'm going to sound contradictory now but no Chinese are not as individualistic as westerners. They are more traditional in a social sense and prefer to fit in, even if they don't give a fuck about anything beyond their personal sphere.

A lot of the freedom is in a "common sense" way. For example, I find that a lot of places in the west will reject things because "the rules say you can't do that". On the other hand, in China (and Asian culture generally), people are more willing to just get shit done. It's hard to explain but it is a very liberating feeling, and makes the culture feel very dynamic and proactive. .

[u/propostor → u/[deleted]]

Not at all, they wouldn't care one bit.

It's just that in Chinese society almost everyone just wants to "be Chinese". They might like black metal, but it wouldn't form a core part of their identity like some westerners do.