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Finding Greener Pastures

So recently I came across this saying that goes, go where you are treated best.

This is in reference to going against the human grain where most people live and die in the same place as they were born. That’s part of it at least owing to the fact that most of us are born and raised in a small corner of the globe. We did not move from city to city, much less country to country during childhood, which is why we have what is referred to as a hometown.

Of course there is nothing wrong with this, but the problem comes when we perpetuate everything in our upbringing saying that it is “all we know.” That is the limiting, scarcity mentality. Normally when a person’s formal education ends, many think that that is the end of their learning cycle, that is, they know all there is to know. What this fails to consider is the “what if.”

As in, “what if there is something better?” Not finding out sounds like a recipe for regret. And circling back to going where you are treated best, which refers to finding the best place to live, there is only one way to do that.

Going out & seeing what’s out there.

The 3 P’s

Sure you can watch video testimonials, read articles/blogs, listen to podcasts and what not, but the only way to be certain is to have boots on the ground.

People, Politics, Property. The only way to be definite about these 3 and whether they align with your situation is by actually going out there.

And I’ve been to many places, countries and continents. Along with these in person observations, I’ve found that when you do what few are willing to do, you stick out like a sore thumb. Which is not always a good thing.

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For instance in Latin America & here in Africa (Tanzania), I get catcalled/heckled on a regular basis. That in itself doesn’t bother me much and the stares I get oft times I find amusing.

But thinking long term, when decades down the road and I’m holding the hand of my child. I wouldn’t want them to hear the calls of “chino” in Latin America or “cheena” in Africa, nor would I want them to ask why we were refused service when entering a store/restaurant or being perceived as being invaders.

I don’t know how to explain this behavior to children, nor would I be able to protect them from it…

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Of course I wouldn’t have known this unless I looked at different places up close. So another way to put this is, before you can go to where you are treated best, one must find where you are treated best.

As for me? I’m still searching.

Kingston S. Lim

November 4, 2020

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania