Posts by Ronald Castillo5

jadebear9 said:I've heard from two different sources that this actually makes sense and is worth the investment. They weren't specifically talking about the person... especially once we join the USA and start dealing with all those new regulations we don't have right now.

True, but it takes the person about 30 years before those trees really start producing properly.

So yeah, it's definitely a looooooong-term investment...

If the advice is free, how does that advisor actually make a living?

Just stick to protein and creatine and you're set...

To answer your question...

Are you kidding me? Since when does Ivo Sanders get to dictate how banks should operate...

Let him try bossing around a bank that he actually owns...

But leave other people's capitalism alone...

Well, you might as well just set it up like this...

If you're dealing with people like that, who would actually trust them enough to lend them money?

Unless they aren't scammers, in which case... they'll definitely pay you back eventually.

Everything's cool, man...

But could you explain a bit more how you think it’s actually possible to live decently here in the States with $1667.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, I just want some clarification on how that works...

Do you even pay rent or something?....

That's a great observation, but this space is a bit too small to really define someone's lifestyle, which depends so much on individual values and priorities.

You sacrificed, and continue to sacrifice, the best years of your life to chase the American dream.

Instead of "sacrifice," I’d use the word "leveraged." You leverage your best years when your potential is at its peak to actually get things done. After 40, you're playing catch-up...

Maybe you'll achieve it—or maybe you won't—when you hit 50 or 60. But the real question is whether you'll have the health to enjoy it, or if you'll actually be happy and satisfied as an old man. Everything comes with a price tag.
Working just for a paycheck in the long run, without being able to socialize, express yourself, or find emotional and creative fulfillment through your work, feels like a path toward modern slavery.
Automation. An illusion.

First off, besides energy issues, the biggest economic threat facing humanity is the pension crisis. You're going to read tons about this over the next decade or two. Why? Beyond inefficient government systems, the biggest fault lies with millions of people who didn't maximize their potential while they had the chance to secure their own retirement. And trust me, nothing is worse than reaching your later years and having to rely on crumbs falling from someone else's table—whether that's the government, family members, or the Red Cross.

And secondly... the American dream isn't the point. Quality of life is. You can't measure quality of life solely through money. You need a holistic approach to living. That means investing in your physical, emotional-spiritual, and mental well-being. That applies no matter where on the planet you live. Honestly, your last sentence sounds a lot like something I've heard from the older generation of expats. They lived exactly how you described. But the expats from the 90s were a different breed. They were a generation that moved abroad to get a top-tier education and fully assimilate into society; they loved to travel and go out... they weren't just working themselves to death to build a massive house back home.

Here is a quick look at my own philosophy on life and how I try to live it, regardless of where I am in the world:

Essentially, it's a holistic approach: physical, emotional, and social satisfaction...

Physical: I'm constantly educating myself to stay ahead in my career and adapt to whatever economic shifts come my way. I invest in myself, but I also make sure my money works for me, rather than just me working for the money... which allows me to:

Emotional-spiritual: Alongside business, I studied theology and philosophy. I also love diving into history and religion as a hobby. I invest time there too, simply for my own sake. There's no profit in it, but I truly believe it helps maintain my mental balance and overall quality of life.

Social: I hit the gym five times a week because I take bodybuilding pretty seriously for a hobby, and I play soccer with friends once a week. I don't drink or smoke, and I stick to a very healthy diet, so I'm not worried about aging... and I'm certainly not burning myself out through work. The beginning was physically grueling, those first few years... but laying the foundation is always the hardest part, especially if you're digging into solid ground. But that's how you build a house that won't fall down the first time a strong wind blows.

All of this involves plenty of socializing with the people around me. At the end of the day, family is what matters most.

Happiness and fulfillment aren't just gifts dropped from the sky. They’re built. You have to step into them. Quality of life is something we craft with our own hands... Every day gives us 86,400 seconds, and in every single one, we face a choice about how to use our potential and where to invest it.

You're spot on—living without a plan is basically voluntary slavery. There are really two types of people out there: those who take the wheel of their own lives, and those who let the cycle spin them around until they become victims of circumstance.

Money becomes the whole point and the entire lifestyle. In the end, it's the only source of excitement (adrenaline) or stability (peace). But what happens if this inflated bubble, this American dream, finally bursts?

When the money dries up—or when drugs take its place—restlessness and discontent set in...
leading to internal conflict and societal friction. We see more aggression and exploitation, which is really just...
sophisticated fascism.

Oh, absolutely... you hit the nail on the head. If money is treated as an end in itself, then that's exactly what happens. However, if the goal is a holistic quality of life, then lacking one specific thing shouldn't dictate a person's happiness or satisfaction.

Personally, I think people should be motivated by money, but not for the sake of the cash itself. It's about the freedom that money can buy. Most of us are born into a system where we have to work just to buy back our free time. Chasing that freedom is a noble goal. If we truly value our downtime—the time we want to spend with family, kids, and loved ones—then we have to figure out the best way to secure that liberty. At the end of the day, money doesn't have intrinsic value. It's just a medium of exchange. People trade currency for things that actually matter to them. For some, it's a Ford... for me, it's free time. You have to pay for both. Everyone chooses what's worth their price.

Knowing how to spend (or invest) money is a much greater art than simply knowing how to earn it. Most people just don't get that...

Back then, we had cheap student housing for about $7,500 a year, and utilities were extra. My wife was working just as hard as I mentioned. If I’d grown up with a wealthy father, things would have been different... But looking at the math, she was pulling 70-hour weeks while I worked 35 hours during school and more than that during breaks and summers... We were hitting about 90 hours combined every week. We managed to bring in maybe $2,000 to $2,500 a month, which was actually enough to cover our bills and still let us travel and enjoy ourselves a bit...

Do those numbers make more sense now?

Look, Mada, you have to realize that even out West, the working class—those folks mostly punching a clock for someone else—constantly expects the government to step in and look out for them. They’re tied to the national economy. An average person doesn't have the wiggle room or the mindset of a capitalist, so their quality of life is pretty much at the mercy of whatever happens with the US economy...

It really varies by country. The capitalist systems in places like Scandinavia or Germany have way more socialist elements baked in compared to the US or the United Kingdom, which are pretty much pure capitalism...

Capitalist nations are stuck with the reality that regular people expect something from the state. Since politicians rely on those voters to stay in power, they have to deliver. In about 15 years, the biggest voting bloc will be retirees. That’s going to be tough on the working crowd, because politicians will be busy catering to seniors just to secure their votes...

In my view, seeing young people who actually see a future here in America is a huge plus, and there's definitely potential. The real hurdle is knowledge. Not knowing how to build things, but rather, knowing how to navigate and adapt within a capitalist system...

If you know how to play the game in a capitalist economy, you can get a lot done. We're seeing more and more Western trends popping up all the time—things like Big Brother, MTV, and whatnot. Western markets are totally saturated, while the US still offers so much room for expansion. Companies try to sell us everything, and it works. It's inevitable, and you have to learn to adapt to it. If you do, the market grows and jobs follow. It isn't like Americans don't know how to create things or take an existing idea from abroad and tailor it for the local market. There are plenty of ideas out there, and driven young people can always make something of themselves...

Yeah... adaptation needs to happen fast. But even that could take a decade or more. By then, many of these "young" people won't be so young anymore. It honestly surprises me when I hear kids say they have all the time in the world to wait for things to change...

And the big question remains... what if after ten years, things haven't improved, but actually gotten worse? And the youth were just sitting there patiently waiting for better days...

I think part of adapting to capitalism is realizing you can't just bank on a better future or a better government. You have to take matters into your own hands and do what's best for yourself... sometimes, that means moving abroad...

Ronald Castillo5 said:I never said I wasn't willing to help.
I'm just waiting for someone to finally meet us halfway and make things easier...
Look, you have to look out for yourself and your family first. The government is just a mechanism, and the best way to help it is by helping yourself!

And there we go...

I see people posting about how we all need to step up for the country. It’s a noble goal, sure... but I'm not convinced it's the smartest move.

Here is why.

Working solely for the good of the state is a hallmark of socialism, not capitalism.

Personally, capitalism isn't my favorite thing either... I'd much prefer it if people were conscious enough to live by the principles of Participatory economics.

But what can I do? The people in my home country and the country where I live chose capitalism as our economic system.

Even though I lean more toward socialist ideas, capitalism is my reality. So, it makes sense to live by its rules.

I think people in America should follow that same logic. We need to understand the mechanics of the system we actually live in—capitalism—and act accordingly.

One of the core tenets of capitalism is looking out for number one.

Those who still think they owe everything to the state need to wake up. Socialism left this part of the world about fifteen years ago. It's gone...

There is no such thing as a capitalist nation where the government hands things out freely. People take care of themselves first, and only then does the state have anything to gain from them.

It's sad, but it's the truth... the only reality we have is... capitalism.

Sean Grant85 said:I'm trying to draw a parallel between locals and newcomers. When people move to a new country to start over, they aren't usually out spending money on entertainment; they'd rather save up so they can really enjoy themselves back home. I totally get why you and your wife spend more when you visit the US. It makes sense, though I'm not sure if people in the UK have quite the same kind of fun as Americans.

I’ve heard things about how it works in Sweden. Young people there want to travel the world, so they look for partners who can keep up. In that kind of Western lifestyle, friendship becomes a bit more selective based on resources. If you don't have much, you hang out with similar folks, but if you have money, you find someone to travel the globe with...
That's where the British similarity comes in. Young people travel everywhere to meet others, and that isn't cheap. They live by the motto: Enjoy life while you're young!

It's also possible that you and your wife just have a different way of having fun. You probably prefer keeping more of your money rather than blowing it. I understand that, and I'd do the same thing if I were in your shoes. But then again, some people always say money isn't everything, so they head out and spend it all away...

A former colleague of mine once bought a video camera back when they were incredibly expensive—it was a huge investment. He told me he wanted to actually experience life instead of just saving money his whole existence. A year later, he moved abroad. Naturally, he spent a lot more and didn't save a dime. Still, he lived a little, whereas I felt like I missed out... though I ended up more satisfied, while he was constantly chasing a bigger paycheck out West...

And there it is... we arrive at the idea that money isn't strictly necessary for happiness...

I agree, though many Americans (not an exception here, of course) don't see it that way. For them, a good time requires cash, because their weekends consist of drinking, partying, and just going hard. To them, that is what "living" means while you're young.

Personally, that wouldn't be my lifestyle even if I were a millionaire. We might go out occasionally, but certainly not every single weekend... we'd much rather visit new places than hit the pubs... and since I'm big into fitness, my version of enjoyment is the gym and healthy eating.

For me, "living life while young" means one thing, while for someone else, it's hitting the bars.

To each their own.

The point is, you can't have your cake and eat it too. You either have one or the other.

And one more rule... you can't be above average if you live exactly like the average masses.

Just because a certain lifestyle is typical for the majority doesn't mean it has to be for an individual.

If I lived like the masses, I'd end up with the same results they do.

If someone wants different results, they have to go against the grain.

And so...

Gary Cox72 said:Unfortunately, you can't just jump straight into those perks if you're a young person moving abroad without any family there to back you up. Often, you find yourself stuck waiting years before you can actually enjoy the high standard of living that locals—like people in Germany, Austria, or Italy—already take for granted. That's my point. It’s never black and white, especially since countries like Italy or Austria are much wealthier than America...

Essentially, moving to the West doesn't mean an instant upgrade in your quality of life. You have to put in the time first, and during that transition, your quality of life might actually be lower than what you had back home in America...

To get access to those low-interest loans, banks want to see a solid income history, which requires living there for a while. If you haven't been around for at least two years, you're usually out of luck unless you have a strong guarantor. For someone moving solo, that's incredibly tough. Finding a guarantor takes time because you have to build trust. Nobody is just running up to you offering to help...
Anyone who moved abroad without a massive nest egg will tell you the same thing...

I hope you don't think they'll just hand a loan to an American just because they're American...

The rules are the same for them too—bank history, credit scores, ability to pay, and so on...

Like I mentioned, the average American lives as a renter for ten years before buying a home, and the average age for a first-time buyer is about 34...

Now, sure, there are always exceptions...

But when I bought my first place as a foreigner and then again as an American, the mortgage requirements were exactly the same both times...

But you and your wife are home all the time anyway, and you're making money while doing it...

Come on, what's your deal... if only things were actually like that. We travel back to America two or three times a year, and sometimes we even pay for family to come visit us. And whenever I go to the States, I end up spending way more than I would on an all-inclusive vacation in Barbados. We've traveled plenty of other places too, not just America...

I find it a bit depressing seeing retirees along the coast looking so old and frail, filming and photographing our scenery like they're squeezing out their last bits of fun. I honestly think they should have done all this when they were younger instead of waiting until now.

And how can you be so sure they didn't? Everything a person loves doing when they're young, they usually love doing when they're old. Why shouldn't they travel and take photos in their later years... it's better than them relying on social security because they didn't plan for retirement and just "lived it up" while they were young... man, if only you knew how many people are like that. Just yesterday, Bush came out with a statement saying that if things don't change, the pension system is going to go bankrupt. And mark my words, that's going to happen across the entire Western world... because people just don't look ahead...

Look, I'm glad things are fine for you right now, but you aren't exactly a kid anymore... I'm talking about the young people who are finishing high school or college and finally heading out into the real world...

Quincy:

We’re talking about a young person trying to find their footing in a totally new environment, but one huge factor is being overlooked here. We have to assume that an American deciding to move abroad doesn't usually have a massive pile of cash sitting in the bank.

That was a great post... honestly, not because everything you said is perfect, but because there is so much to unpack here. I'm not saying you missed any real-world scenarios—I'm sure everything you mentioned happens, and probably worse things too... but what I really want to emphasize is that there are no set rules. It all comes down to the individual and how they handle themselves. There are better paths available, depending on how someone chooses to push forward or slip back...

My goal with this thread was sort of to see the gap between my own perspective and how people view moving abroad versus how things were in the US back in '94, and how young people look at it ten years later.

When I decided to head out, my plan was to go exactly where I am now—to get an education... but I had zero money. Back in '91, I was making about $1 an hour, and then I spent two years back in school. My wife and I eventually worked out a plan to spend the summer in Germany; she did house cleaning and I washed cars, just to scrape something together. We managed to save a few thousand dollars over two months, which we borrowed so we could afford the trip to the United Kingdom and cover my first semester of tuition. Since we weren't citizens, we had to pay the full price upfront...

Quincy:

A young person from America arrives starting from scratch, and that initial difference in quality of life isn't even visible at first. Living expenses are incredibly high, and it takes a long time to save any significant amount of money. Often, it takes years just to reach the standard of living you had back home.

Exactly... and of course, we can't compare apples to oranges. I didn't know the language, I was taking classes during the day and working the cheapest possible jobs at night... my wife did the same. But the point is, you have to realize that nothing happens overnight. It feels like kids today want everything right now—cars, apartments, designer clothes, all the gear—but you have to stay positive and look years ahead. If you have a clear goal and can see the potential, that becomes the motivation to work 50 hours a week, working nights and going to school by day... working seven days a week doing whatever it takes for a few years. It's doable. Anyone thinking they'll strike it rich overnight usually ends up chasing a high instead...

For me and my wife, the priority wasn't saving up a fortune; it was getting our education. And while you're paying those heavy tuition bills, saving money isn't exactly happening, so we went into it with eyes wide open.

Quincy:

Eventually, anyone deciding to live abroad needs to think about buying a home rather than dumping huge amounts of money into rent. The first solution is a mortgage. But it's hard to turn rent payments into mortgage payments right away. Why? Because nobody is going to give a loan to a foreigner who hasn't been in the country for at least two or three years and established a solid income. Without owning property, it's tough to save enough for a down payment when rent is so expensive.

Everything you're saying is completely valid and needs to be considered. However, again, there's no single rule and it all depends on the person. It could be exactly as you described, it could be worse, or it could be better... the important thing is that the opportunities exist to achieve what seems impossible at first glance. I truly believe the West provides a fertile ground where a person can stretch their intellectual and physical limits, push past their comfort zone, and really tap into their full potential.

At the firm where I used to work, there was such a huge influx of people from the former America over the last thirty years. I actually ended up being the very first one there to buy a house while still a student. Of course, it took about four years to make it happen... but who honestly expects to have everything figured out on day one? It’s just not realistic unless you show up with a massive bag of cash...

Everyone thought it was impossible—who’s going to give out loans, how will they afford it, and so on. But get this: Americans and others in the European Union don't pay tuition because of those subsidies... plus, they take out bank loans just to cover their living expenses while they study. I had to pay my own way through school and work at the same time to survive. Most students in the UK come out of graduation buried in debt, maybe $5,000 to $15,000, which they spend years paying back. Meanwhile, I finished my studies with enough cash to put down a 15% deposit on a house. People from the UK practically lose their minds when I tell them that...

What I’m trying to say is that things are tough at first, and yeah, you might start out behind the curve... but since we actually value the opportunities we get here way more than people born into them, we can take those setbacks and turn them into something incredible. We don't even have to be geniuses... it's just that we come from places where nothing was ever handed to us on a silver platter, so we fight harder than the locals. My peers back in the UK are just now starting to save for their very first home, while I'm already looking ahead to my final mortgage payment...

The average Englishman spends about ten years renting before finally buying their first home. For most first-time buyers, that age is around 34. It just goes to show that even for locals, life isn't all sunshine and instant gratification...

Quincy:

I’ve put together a few realistic scenarios that young people often face when they first decide to move abroad. My main point is that you can't realistically compare the financial benefits of moving overseas against the economic power of America versus Western nations...

Look, you can't really compare apples to oranges here. I think what matters way more is how young people view their own perspective and how far ahead they’re looking... The ones who try to grab everything right this second? They rarely get anywhere good, and honestly, they struggle to find any real happiness...

At the end of the day, happiness isn't really about how much stuff you own...

Quincy:

Moving abroad isn't some magic fix for everything, even if you land a high-paying job right away. If you show up somewhere totally on your own without any local support system, things get complicated fast. You won't have access to the same housing standards or those favorable loan rates you might be used to back home...

It didn't happen overnight, but I managed to buy my own place after five years of being a student... And honestly? It looks like I’ll pay it off way before my boss, who’s been at his firm for 25 years while I've only been around for 18 months. Of course, once this one is done, I'll just move into something bigger and better and take out another mortgage... At the end of the day, everything comes down to the individual... what you choose to do with your capital (your brainpower, your time, and your cash). It often isn't about how much someone earns, but rather how they spend it—or how they invest it...

Quincy:

Personally, I’m not much of a fan when it comes to taking on massive debt, but I can see why people out here use it so much... since the rates are actually pretty decent...

Whether you're living abroad or right here in the States, the rules for loans remain exactly the same. There’s such a thing as good debt and bad debt...

A solid credit score... Think about it this way: an investment only makes sense if the returns actually outpace the interest you’re paying the bank... Or, if you're looking at a mortgage, it's worth it if owning beats the massive cost of renting in this market. At the end of the day, the total amount of the loan doesn't really matter as much as whether it's a smart move...

A bad loan is basically when you borrow money just to fund liabilities—stuff that drains your bank account rather than building it up. Think luxury cars, fancy vacations, or anything else that loses value the second you buy it...

If you really need to borrow, my advice is to keep it small. We all hit those moments where we have to cover an unexpected expense or a necessary need...

Now, if you absolutely have to take out a large loan, make sure you're setting it up so someone else is covering the interest through smart investing.

Whether you're living in Afghanistan, the US, or Western London... if you don't follow these basic rules, you're going to end up in a massive hole and life won't be pretty...

hiddencrane18 said:Hey, Ronald Castillo5 — long time no see...

1.

Look, I’m an optimist by nature, and I truly believe in this country. Not necessarily the government as a machine, but the people who make up the nation. This current situation we're facing here in America is, I am deeply convinced, just temporary. I have both the patience and the will to wait it out..........................................

2.

I feel like no matter where you go, you're always viewed as an outsider who is somehow stealing someone else's job or their slice of the American Dream. You can never fully assimilate simply because people refuse to accept you.

Hey there, sijuxica...

I'm also an optimist at heart, deep down, but looking at things from the outside, I'd prefer to be a realist.

I don't quite get how you can separate the state as an institution from the people who run it. To me, they're one and the same... the people running the country choose the local and national officials who shape the institutions into what they are today.

You say you have the time and the will to wait for this "temporary" situation to change. But do you have any actual idea how long that wait might be? 5, 10, 25, 50 years? Man, once you put those numbers on paper, everything looks a bit different.

Let me set up a hypothetical based on your post, which I've split into two parts: your take on America, and your take on living abroad.

What do you think about the possibility that your comments are:

1. Regarding America — way too optimistic, or rather, unrealistic.

2. Regarding living abroad — way too pessimistic, or rather, unrealistic.

As for being abroad, I'm not saying there aren't places where you'll always be a stranger and never truly fit in, but where I am, I haven't felt like an outsider since day one. It's because foreigners aren't treated differently... everyone is just a customer, and customers are valued.

Actually, there are plenty of expats here from all walks of life and all over the world. I manage some British guys at work, and my boss happens to be a foreigner too... and we all get along regardless of where we're from.

Think about it this way... here in England, I can tell anyone where I'm from and it's an interesting conversation with zero issues. But if I were in San Francisco and said I was from Washington, D.C., I might get a different reaction. In a sense, as a native American, I feel more like an outsider in certain parts of my own country than I do as an expat in England.

So, maybe your perception of life abroad is slightly off, and perhaps your view of America is too, because there's often much more exclusivity and "us vs. them" mentality in our small corner of America than you'll find in England.

Please don't take this the wrong way; I think it's perfectly fine to have your own perspective on America, and I really do hope you do your best to make things better...

Gary Cox72 said:Actually, I spend five days a week out on the road, and then I'm back home in the States on the weekends.

How do you even pull that off?

If you’ve got a secret formula for managing that kind of schedule, let me know... I'd be forever in your debt. I'll even cover the beers whenever we're hanging out in the States...

Yeah..

I really hope people are moving past that old idea of the West being some kind of "El Dorado," where you could just wander through parks and pick up hundreds of dollars or euros just lying on the ground..

Back when I was heading overseas for training, knowing I’d eventually have to earn my own way, I fully expected to be pulling 12-hour shifts every single night at some greasy deli, just spreading mayo on sandwiches... because that's what a few of my buddies ended up doing....

And honestly, I was ready for that life... yep, let's go... no problem at all... working 12 hours a night, then hitting class during the day...(mandatory classes, otherwise you lose your visa).

But lo and behold... I didn't actually have to pull those 12-hour shifts every single night... I managed to get by and pay my bills working just four nights a week...

So, I felt pretty lucky and satisfied with that...

Meanwhile, some folks who came over from the White House to the United Kingdom... they were constantly complaining, saying things like, "What is this? I hate this, I hate that."

But me? I'm loving every second of it, day and night... cleaning toilets, washing dishes, painting, landscaping... everything... all while trying to soak up every bit of English I can...

Anyway... that's why I started this thread... the circumstances in my life and in America ten years ago were so different than they are today, so I'm curious about what people's perceptions are now. How do you view the West versus America today, and how do you compare your chances, desires, and aspirations...

Yeah, I'm with you on that...

I’m definitely not an expert in the scientific community, so I can't say for sure how much room there actually is—not just in terms of money, but for real academic ambition—for people coming over from back home... but I have a friend who spent 20 years studying here in the United Kingdom... first undergrad, then a master's, and finally an eight-year PhD grind.

Anyway, he's still stuck doing basic office work morning and night because he just can't land a real position... he worked briefly, but the students checked out after ten minutes... I guess he's just not cut out for teaching, even though he's brilliant... probably read the entire library three times over...

On the flip side... I know someone else who did incredibly well back in Chicago...

He owned 17 different properties that he used for rentals... some in the city, some at beach houses, flipping them and all that... made great money...

But now, he's moved to the United States and is working on even bigger projects... and that's saying something.

So... it makes me wonder...

Are there enough people with that entrepreneurial spirit who want to take their talents abroad rather than staying local, thinking they might actually find more success overseas??

I totally agree that this isn't just about people from one specific area... it's more of a general thing.