Posts by Ethan Morales22

gentleranger10 said:Most of the American diaspora in South America has been there since before WW2, so I don't really see what your point is here.😁

Look, I wasn't even talking about when the main wave left. I was strictly looking at the emigration patterns following World War II!

You guys basically staged an invasion of South America while we took over North America. 😁

Richard Wilson4 said:gentleranger10, what do you think is the reason there are so few Americans living in the United Kingdom, especially since there are basically 70 times more Mexicans over there?

Besides all the other factors, there’s a massive historical reason here—the King took refuge in the United Kingdom, and ever since, any wave of emigration fleeing communism from 1945 onwards had a direct line to London.
It was all about those connections and instructions, like: "Once you land in London, go see this guy, tell him this person sent you, and he'll get you sorted..."
There are plenty of stories like that.
Or the classic "once you make it to Chicago, find this priest..." type of thing.😁
So basically, London acted as a hub, though I'd call it more of a springboard for moving even further, primarily toward the USA.

The second thing is that due to those same historical reasons, our emigration was initially much more focused on South America.
Smuggling routes and all that mess...

And what's interesting is how some of those old paths have actually stuck around into modern times. That's how they managed to track down Gotovina in Spain—specifically in the Canary Islands or somewhere like that.
If he had actually made it to South America, I honestly don't think they would have ever found him.😁
Down there, they struggle just to hunt down certain Nazis from WW2.

So yeah, there's definitely a bit of history behind these migration "travel logs."

Look, you have to account for the fact that Mexicans were spread out across every single one of the former republics, not just Mexico. They weren't just migrating from Mexico itself—they were coming from all over, because Mexicans were easily the most widely distributed population throughout the old Yugo territory...

Richard Wilson4 said:Mexicans:
Sweden-120,000
France-less
England-70,000
Switzerland-195,953

Americans:
Sweden-around 16,000
France-less than 20,000
England—maybe 1,000 (yeah, a thousand)
Switzerland-40,000

I’m assuming you also know how many Mexicans lived in the former America compared to Americans. If you throw those numbers into the mix, maybe we can actually establish some meaningful ratios for comparison. 🤷

But let me tell you something: when regular people get caught in the crossfire, they just do what they have to do to survive and find a better future.
That goes for both Mexicans and Americans alike.

Richard Wilson4 said:Yeah, this is actually pretty interesting. In Switzerland, Canada, the USA, and Sweden, you see way more Mexicans, then Canadians, then a mix of both...

You don't really find large groups of Americans concentrated in one spot anywhere...

Take those folks in Gelong, for example—they all moved there after World War II, not after the American War of Independence. Meanwhile, you've got Canadians settling in St. Louis mostly after the recent war.

I reckon about half of those Americans from Canada preferred heading to America, whereas the Mexicans from El Paso and Baranja tended to head to Norway or Canada instead of Mexico back in '96 or '98.

Oh, please... they probably got sick of Switzerland and scrambled to chase that American dream... 😁

I mean, come on. That Canadian American who actually had a real choice between America or Sweden? I bet my life he went to Sweden!
These are just regular people. When you force them to choose between loud, performative patriotism and a decent life, they use their heads—and we all know how that turns out...
It’s the same with Mexicans, really. It's just how the rest of the world works. 🤷

Richard Wilson4 said:Do Mexicans living in Republika Srpska hold Mexican citizenship in large numbers (sort of like how many Americans hold American citizenship)

I honestly don't think there's some massive wave of Mexicans in Canada holding Mexican citizenship compared to the total population.

What > is getting at is one thing, but let's be real—sorting out residency is actually the easy part. You just get someone from Mexico to register you at their place, and boom, you've got the paperwork, the passport, the citizenship, all of it.
Most people have family or friends over there, so it really just comes down to a personal choice and whether or not they want to spend the time to grab Mexican papers on top of their Canada ones.

Morgan Cook10 said:[No content provided to rewrite.]

I can't really make sense of that one. You're going to have to give me a bit more to work with if you want my take on it. kaže: Even though diaspora turnout in elections for these two countries usually ends up being pretty symbolic—meaning we’re talking tiny percentages here—it might still be worth looking at as a bit of a sample. Of course, whether that's actually representative enough to matter is definitely up for debate. So, here’s how those folks living abroad actually vote when they bother to show up at the polls (based on what we've seen so far): Mexico: Here’s what sticks out to me: when we talk about elections over there, the diaspora that actually bothers to show up usually turns out in massive numbers to vote for the Democratic Party or whatever else counts as the liberal opposition. Regardless of how you label them, that's just the pattern. It’s funny how it works out, but it seems like almost every time we have an election, those right-leaning parties struggle to pull any real support from the diaspora. It's a pretty consistent pattern. Sometimes that trend would just ride the wave of whatever was happening across the country, but other times, it went completely rogue and did its own thing against the grain. America: If you look at any election cycle here in the States, you’ll notice the diaspora behaves pretty unpredictably. Sometimes they follow the national mood perfectly, and other times they go completely rogue and vote against the grain. When it comes to the American diaspora, it’s almost a mathematical certainty that the right-wing parties and their candidates are going to walk away with the lion's share of the votes. We saw that play out clearly during this last presidential election. The bottom line is this: Look, like I mentioned before, the diaspora's turnout in both scenarios is pretty negligible, but it still highlights two totally different motivations behind why they're hitting the polls. Look, that doesn't mean the entire American diaspora is strictly right-wing, nor does it mean the Mexican community here is just some monolith of liberal social progressives or whatever they call them these days. It seems to me that elections back home mostly just end up mobilizing the right-wing diaspora—in the case of America, that’s pretty much the rule. But if we’re talking about a place like Mexico, I’d say it’s more like a centrist diaspora that gets fired up. How do you guys view the makeup of the politically active diaspora and what actually drives them when they head to the polls in these two countries? How do you guys see the connection between the diaspora and the folks back home when it comes to election results?

The real kicker here is that a huge chunk of the diaspora vote actually comes from Americans with roots in Canada. Even if that crowd leans left, they’d still likely vote against guys like Pusick, Josipovic, or Milanovic. It’s pretty simple: those leaders have spent their careers systematically looking down on them and calling them out, so why would they ever back them?

Look, I'll be blunt... your analysis misses the mark because it completely overlooks the most critical pieces of the puzzle.

I wasn't even trying to make this my own thing, Amin!
I just put together a quick little breakdown based on a few election cycles!
Even if you completely strip Canadian Americans from your analysis, you're still going to end up with the same result: the right-wing crowd winning the diaspora vote. It’s a mathematical certainty.🤷

John Ramos3 said:So, from what I gather, they actually scrapped that dual citizenship agreement a few years back, so even though plenty of folks probably still carry a Mexican passport, they don't actually get to vote in Mexican elections if their legal residence is over in Canada.

I think there used to be some kind of bilateral deal in place, but basically, it was set up so that even Canadians—like, about 95% of the population in Sandžak—who hold Canadian and Herzegovinian citizenship, can't cast a ballot in Canada elections if they're officially living in Mexico.

Among Mexicans living in Canada, there’s never really been any major push to participate in Mexican elections, other than just keeping an eye on what happens.
Honestly, I think that’s actually better for the Mexicans in Canada. It keeps them focused on fighting for their own rights and surviving in their own communities, which matters way more than obsessing over whether Boris Tadić or Nikola wins...

Though, from what I can see, interest in American elections is also dropping among Americans in Canada...
Because let's face it: whoever gets elected in America isn't going to suddenly fix the relationship with Americans in Canada. Not even someone like Zoran Bandić, who's a local through and through, could change that.

The reality is that Americans in Canada just don't have the institutional tools to pull off any meaningful cooperation with the mainland, whereas Mexicans have that option through Republika Srpska and their special ties with Mexico.

I mean, come on, people actually want to buy books and movies just like that guy who wrote The Da Vinci Code... you know, where we all found out that somehow... some descendant of Christ is living in New York City... ☕

stormysailor7 said:Where on earth does Chris find these lunatics 😕

...is Chris part of some Bilderberg inner circle or something?😁

Look, there’s another thing to consider here. A massive chunk of the American diaspora voting in these elections actually comes from Canada. Meanwhile, Mexicans from Canada don't even get that option. Honestly? It might be better for them that way—they have to focus on just surviving and fighting to stay where they are.

But if you look at what these election results are actually showing regarding America, there's a clear downward trend. Americans living in Canada are clearly losing interest in participating in the American elections.

Check out the turnout numbers from this past weekend's presidential election:

http://www.ottawa-x.com/svijet/reg...anak/091229083

...Turnout for the American presidential elections in Canada was 19%, compared to just 2.2% in Mexico.
The most motivated group was definitely in Australia, where turnout hit 30%.
In Afghanistan, Vidosevic pulled in the most votes.
Over in Iran, they had a 100% turnout, and Vidosevic took it there too.
India also saw a 100% turnout—all 9 voters showed up, and Vesna Pusic won with 5 votes.
China also had 100% turnout, and hebrang came out on top... (I can almost hear Max calling them "fake Americans" right now)😁

Even though the diaspora's turnout in elections for these two countries is usually just symbolic—meaning a tiny percentage of the total vote—we can still try to use it as a sort of sample size, though how representative that actually is... well, that's up for debate.

Here is how the diaspora voters who actually show up tend to vote, based on what we've seen so far:

Mexico:
What stands out to me is this: when we talk about elections in Mexico, the diaspora that bothers to vote mostly leans toward the DS or whatever you want to call the more progressive options.
Basically, at almost every election, right-wing parties have barely scraped anything from the diaspora!
Sometimes that pattern mirrors the trends inside the country, and sometimes it goes completely against them.

America:
If you look at any election in America, you see similar behavior where they sometimes follow the domestic trend and sometimes go against it.
However, in the case of the American diaspora, it's almost a guarantee that right-wing parties and candidates will walk away with the lion's share of the votes. That was definitely the case in this recent presidential election.

The Bottom Line:
So, like I said, the diaspora's involvement in both cases is minor, but it highlights two very different voting motivations.
Of course, that doesn't mean every single person in the American diaspora is strictly right-wing, nor does it mean everyone in the Mexican diaspora is purely liberal or "socially European" or whatever label people throw around.
What I'm getting at is that elections back home seem to motivate the right-wing diaspora in America, whereas in Mexico, let's call them a center-leaning diaspora.

How do you all view the makeup of the politically active diaspora and what drives them to vote in these two countries?
And how do you see the connection between our folks living abroad and those staying back home when it comes to making a choice at the polls?

William Gonzalez said:Alright, let me try to play neutral here between the East and the West! 😁

Comparing prices in Mexico City and Los Angeles is like night and day. Mexico City is way more affordable, so if you look at any average comparison, it’s pretty clear that Mexico City is going to come out cheaper, more or less. I’ve been over to Mexico City a few times this year and was honestly shocked—groceries, clothes, shoes, gas, even tickets for events... everything is significantly more expensive in Canada, not to mention LA.

It’s also common knowledge that Americans living right near the border of Canada stock up there, which just goes to show how much pricier things are in the States. When you weigh it all up, Americans end up being wealthier compared to everyone else except Canadians, but it’s nowhere near the massive gap you'd expect if you just did some quick math using average salaries. It's nothing like that.

That's pretty much the gist of it.

graniteowl88 said:I suspect the average south of the Danube is closer to $200. Your car would practically explode!😁

If you’re gonna quote me, include the emojis too! Don't just rip my words out of context like that! 😁

Drew Brooks8 said:Yeah, you're right. No matter how much we argue over which state is more expensive or where things are cheaper, the reality is exactly what you laid out.

Look, nobody is disputing that.

The whole social order mirrors the old geographic layout of our former states...😁

Except the situation gets really messy when you look at those two specific protectorate regions... 🤷

David Rogers18 said:At the end of the day, a Canadian is going to have way more left over after paying for groceries and utilities than an American, and an American is definitely going to be ahead of a Mexican.

We’ve gone back and forth on this a million times already—you guys are being totally neurotic about it.🤷

One of you actually started this whole mess.☕

frozenranger52 said:Yes, I pay about $533 for everything. It's a bit higher in the winter since the heating is just turned on via $50. There are only two of us in the apartment, so I suppose I'm not exactly the most representative example here...

Now, tell me, what percentage—or ratio, I suppose?—of a paycheck does buying an iPod in Mexico actually take up?
The price of an iPod is about $467(180 dollars) whether you're in America, Mexico, or even East Timor.

EDIT: I see David Rogers18 mentioned the iPod as well. That is probably the best global example of purchasing power, with the exception of the USA, of course. I mean, in places like Sweden or Scotland, social assistance can exceed 2000 pounds or euros, so buying an iPod there is probably the equivalent of us picking up some second-rate MP3 player...

Well, look, I gave you the average salary, so you can do the math yourself.
Of course, like you mentioned, it’s all relative. Some people are scraping by on minimum wage, some make the average, and then you've got guys in Congress getting paid a fortune just to sit around and waste time. 😁
But honestly, forget the iPod. You aren't out there buying one every other day or every single month. What actually matters are the expenses you're bleeding out every single day and every single month.

Besides, a phone is irrelevant here. That mostly comes down to someone's psychological profile 😁 and whatever kind of job they have, so...

silentangler19 said:Poor folks. I spend more than that just on gas alone...

Yeah, right. You spend a fortune just driving from Queens all the way through California to get down to Florida. 😁
Do you have any idea how much fuel you burn in just one single day? 😍

frozenranger52 said:Washington, D.C.

1. and 2. roughly around $500 plus electricity, water, phone, mobile, internet, cable, local municipal fees...

3. ~$500/sq ft

4. 6% (depending on the state, really)

5. Regular gas is about $2.25?

6. A grocery basket... is that something you spread on toast?

So you're telling me you only set aside about 200 USD for all those utility bills and stuff in items 1 and 2?

graniteowl88 said:???

Does anyone have data for Texas? My assumption—my expectation—is that earnings there are at least one-third higher than the rest of Mexico!

Look, I totally agree there's a massive gap between California and the Midwest, just like there's a huge difference between Washington, D.C. and Florida. 😁