Would you spend significant time/move overseas?

[Platypus]

I learnt more in the four months I had in South America than the four years before it. Just don't go to a tourist mecca or a western nation for a 'long holiday'.

As for moving, I plan to. Melbourne will aloways be home, but I'm coping with my third year in Canberra, and I know I could cope with three years in Chile, or the US, or Panama. I think you could too.

[Platypus]

My next trip is Chile as far north along the Pacific coast as I can go. I'm hoping Alaska, but thinking Panama is more likely. Ideally i'd do it by hopping jobs - teach english in santiago, tour guide in cuzco, volunteer in ecuador - but I don't know how practical that would be because of visas.

I also want to lose some of this flab and do thye cross-country Sri Lasnkan trek, from Colombo to the east coast. Apparently it is the most beautiful two weeks you'll ever experience, but it'd only be two weeks. I'm not sure why but the idea of spending any significant time in Aisa doesn't appeal to me at all. I know plenty of people who have, including my Dad who spent almost a year in India, but I just don't get the 'Asia' vibe. Africa would be interesting, as long as I was living like a colonialist. But yeah, Latin America is where its at for me.

[Platypus]

Of course.. I already am. I moved here seven months ago to stay permanently. It's a little different though, I moved to get married and live with my wife. That's different that already having an American family (besides parents/siblings/etc) and moving or studying abroad. I miss a lot of my friends and family back in the States but we still manage to keep in touch and hopefully I'll earn enough money to fly back and stay for a month or so every few years. You do feel out of the loop, though - it's even more difficult to stay informed on news and stuff back in the States. But you enter a whole new circle with different issues and people as well so it can be refreshing.

Your story would be romantic, if it didn't end in Cranbourne