Moving To The Developing World To Wait Out The Recession

Andrew Dana Hudson reports on his experience living and working abroad. After graduating college last year, and having little luck finding a job in the US,  Hudson moved to India to work for Sikkim NOW, an English-language daily newspaper. He now lives well on about $10 a week.

He explains:

In tough economic times, living in the developing world actually makes a lot of financial sense. In the more prosperous 90s and aughties, plenty of educated and highly skilled Indians moved to America and Europe to find jobs. The cost of living there was higher, but if they made even a little above their expenses, that money would translate into a huge amount back home. What I’m doing is a reversal of that. With opportunities for making ends meet so hard to come by in the States, I have moved to a place where a little savings and family support go a lot farther. Globalization can flow both ways.

Making such a jump isn’t easy. Working out visas and permits is always frustrating, and moving to India or Brazil or Ghana won’t help pay off student loans—but then, neither will futilely sending out résumés every day while racking up credit-card debt.

Some parents may be nervous about letting their kids go abroad on their own, but to them I say: Stop worrying. In many parts of the developing world, Westerners are in no more danger than they would be commuting on the highway every day, and if your children are willing to work and give up a few luxuries, the trip will save you money in the end.

Andrew Dana Hudson

The Chronicle Review : “What I Did When I Couldn’t Find a Job”

[via Cryptogon]