[Coronita]

Speaking about Europe and France… I stumbled across this….

http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=6353

[quote]
Handing keys back to the bank simply is impossible in France. It would not be a good idea anyway. You cannot personally go Bankrupt in France unless you are a French citizen, or a foreigner whose main place of residence is France. If one decides not to continue paying the mortgage and return the keys to the lender, the latter will initiate foreclosure proceedings and the property will eventually be sold at auction, which could result in the owner remaining liable for any shortfall, including mortgage penalties and auction charges that may not be covered by the auction proceeds. I am unaware whether it is, or not, lenders’ policy to enforce payment of loans/mortgages (the shortfall) against borrowers situated overseas. A Judgment would have to be obtained in France first and the process for enforcing such Judgment in the UK or Ireland, is called ‘Exequatur’. The procedure for this between EU Countries is simplified nowadays. I have little doubt that foreign Courts would accept such requests from a French entity. A UK Judge for example, could not re-assess the case, unless the French Court Order contravenes essential legal principles of UK law, which is extremely rare in financial & tax matters.

Pursuant to the French Consumer Protection Code, borrowers can apply for a ‘repayment holiday’ (deferred payment) of up to 24 months if they are suffering financial hardship. Where the mortgage in arrears is less than 3,800 Euro, a simple Application, rather than a Summons, can be filed with the local Court. This, if applicable, must be done prior to lenders formally issuing a notice of foreclosure, i.e. that the borrower is defaulting on his/her loan repayment.
[/quote]

[Coronita]

[quote=FlyerInHi]To be fair, asking spdrun to love it or leave it is lame. He grew up in here and is familiar with the real estate environment. That’s his home and he’s entitled to his opinions.
[/quote]

Well, again. That’s where I think we have a disconnect. I’m not asking him to do anything. I’m merely asking has he considered living in europe instead of the u.s. because from the previous couple of posts, seemed to imply he would a lot happier if he lived in Europe and from his perspective, Europe seems like it would be much better for the average person. If that was a case, I was curious what are the reasons for not moving.

I think what’s really missing from the context is often when one compares how the U.S. is run to other countries, it’s not exactly the same thing. The U.S. is a 316million people country. Germany is around 81 million. You can’t run a 316million people country the same way you run something 1/4 that size (fairly) in the same way you can run a 10,000+ company the same way you run a startup….

I included “fairly” in the sense that it means you try to take into account as many people as possible. You can of course have a very large country more efficiently run if you throw out democracy completely out the window AND if the ruler(s) that have absolute control have their heads pointed in the correct direction(like 21st century china), but you end up screwing over the majority of the people who aren’t capable enough to be part of the decision making process…

So in many ways, it’s like asking yourself: do you prefer to work in a bigger company (with all the + and -), or do you prefer to work in a startup (with all the + and -)..If you really like the startup company, chances are you’re going to be miserable in that 10k employed company, and vice versa.

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]Not everyone has the same level of health and stamina. Mine has never been good. I burnt out a long time ago, probably in my late 20s.[/quote]

I got you beat. I’ve been on chemo for the past 2.5 years….while working…Actually, for me it was easier to work… Gets my mind off of things…Before that, was out getting a colectomy for a couple of months. Before that, oh never mind…wah wah wah….

Life if is short to be miserable for an extended period of time…(occasional misery is acceptable)

…And that’s what is so great about this country. We’re usually only have to put up with about about 4-8 years of worst case misery if your viewpoints don’t jive with the ruling party!

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]Because I’m too fucking tired and burnt out to use my brain any longer.[/quote]

But you’re probably younger than me!!!! Didn’t you say you were generation Y awhile ago????

Come on man..Not to rain on your parade. But being “too fucking tired and burnt out” is hardly and excuse for you to be perpetually pissed off because you’re forced to live in a place where you can’t stand how the majority of the things operate. I have to commend you that you are able to put up with it. If it was me, and I had to live in a place that I hated that much, I’d go insane.

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]I don’t want to work in IT. Ideally, I’d be a full-time landlord, a carpenter, and/or a plumber. I’m tired of working with my brain — I’d prefer to use my hands strictly.[/quote]

Ok, but in Europe, you also have plenty of foreclosures all over the place. A few pigglords here recently stated they went to France and bought homes in France for a pretty good deal.. Spain is in the trenches right now too. And there’s probably a dozen or so other pockets of high foreclosure rate there too.. You could do the exact same thing there… Do your IT to get your paycheck in Europe, and then use your paycheck to buy foreclosures over there too. What’s the difference?

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]But, unlike most Americans, my main goal isn’t success or money. It’s simply creating a comfortable, controlled environment for myself where I have to do a minimal amount of work.[/quote]

But if that really is your only goal, and by your own admission, Europe has the same equal opportunities, then you shouldn’t *need* america to create a comfotable, controlled environment for yourself where you have to do a minimal amount of work.. In fact, since, by your own admissions, in Europe the public entitlement benefits and social programs are sooo much better than here in America, you should be able to do even less work over there, because after all the government over there will end up taking care of you more than our government does here…And since Europe also has good tech companies, and IT is also in demand there. From your professional perspective, it should be the same there too, if not easier… Right?

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]Because I have family here whom I love. And because there are still a lot of houses under foreclosure on the East Coast. Buy a few more, clean ’em out, and be set with an income for life, able to live anywhere in the world.

That’s what I value above all else. Independence from any prick or cunt telling me what to do.[/quote]

So this is interesting.

You generally hate america. But want to enjoy the financial opportunities america offers, which based on your statement is better than europe. Ok, so what it boils down to primarily is… money….You can make more money in america…

Interesting that you rail against people that are “slaves to an american corporation”, but yet aren’t you saying your pretty much a slave to the american economic system, since it presents you a much better opportunity that you can’t get in europe, and hence why you end up having to “put up with” all the things about america that apparently you really really hate?

Interesting. See, I work for a company right now. And if I really really hated it that much to the degree that you do with america, I would just quit, like I have before…. Can you, though, quit America?

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]I think it would be. It’s much easier, and legal!, to buy “friendship” abroad than in the US. Governments in Netherlands, Germany, and Czech Republic don’t care what consenting adults do with their time and money, unlike the US which is all up in people’s business. Except for Nevada, which is a stinking shithole in many other ways.

Being able to be with a hooker on a weekly basis, no dating game, no commitment would for sure relax me.

But buying friendship is less needed in (say) Germany, since people have enough free time to participate in things like hiking clubs where it’s easy to meet people of the correct gender.[/quote]

I’m just curious though.. If you hate it so much here in the U.S. and think things are really much better off in Europe, why haven’t you moved there yet? You’re probably single and don’t need to worry about relocating an entire family right now. Seems like it’s a no brainer based how you feel and how unlikely things are going to change drastically here in the foreseeable future…

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]Companies are bought and sold all of the time. Dumberican working hours and vacation time didn’t save IBM’s PC business from going to the Chinese either.[/quote]

Well, I think it had a lot less to do with american working hours and more to do with american company’s bloated cost structure too, although much lesser extent than our european counterparts.

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]The French won’t miss another US company that wants to subject workers there to conditions unfit for a dog.[/quote]

Funny, that’s what Alcatel (Enterprise) said too…Until the chinese bought them…too… I guess that’s what happens when your cost structures goes totally out of wack, that your company is no longer competitive and starts losing market share and customers….

[Coronita]

[quote=AN]Last 15 years, we have Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. What does Europe have?[/quote]

On a more serious note. My company closed our office in france… Reason cited was, too complicated labor laws.

[Coronita]

[quote=AN]http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/03/news/economy/2-gas/index.html?iid=Lead

<$2/gallon gas is already happening. Some are predicting $35-40/barrel and <$2/gallon gas everywhere. I hope it stays that low for a long while.[/quote] Less than $50/barrel oil is already here in the U.S. Read this article.. It's pretty interesting... http://www.worldoil.com/Bakken-oil-already-under-due-to-regional-discount.html

[Coronita]

[quote=FlyerInHi]flu, did you read the article about Harvard being unfair to Asian-Americans. There’s a lot similar to the past treatment of Jews.

Maybe you should concentrate your efforts on helping Asian-Americans student bring suit against private universities.[/quote]

Well, it’s really no secret…I’m well aware of this, because it happens not just at Harvard but just about at every other Ivy League school… Even back when I attended my school years back….I was fortunate (unfortunate) enough to be a liason with admissions and incoming student body….Asians, typically had 150 points higher on their SATs, near 800’s on their achievement tests, and most had to have Calculus AP already completed and completed well, all else extracurricular stuff being equal…

I think what you do have though is, is previously asians never complained about it. I certainly didn’t realize there was a race-based double standard until I was in college or started fighting for an internship while in college during a time when the economy was still bad. And at my internship, it was clear there was group A kids that knew what they were doing and group B kids that clearly did not. That company, eventually went under BTW (sold to a Chinese firm recently..ironic)

Now, that is not to say I’m against need-based admissions in general. I’m against race-based admissions practices and the associated zero-sum game wrto specifically other races that often get implemented to achieve race quotas.

If people really want to fix this social/economic issue, they should spend a heck of a lot more time fixing it at lower education levels (jr high/high school level) and address that problem first there by getting more of (insert your favorite underrepresented minority) interested in those areas and help them so they work hard to get there by their own abilities. If the government needs to spend more money at economically disadvantaged public schools in certain areas..fine so be it…And i specifically said economically disadvantaged, because that could easily imply some rust-belt rural hick-town in which no kids have ever gone to college..

BTW: if you’re referring to the lawsuit against Harvard, the lawsuit is funded by Edward Blum.. He’s much less interested in really “helping” address the inequality specifically against asian americans as he is interested in completely tearing down affirmative action.

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]Hopefully there will be another Firestone fiasco. A war in the Middle East after the US frack industry is run out of town would also be nice.

And how long do you think Found on Road Dead will keep making aluminum trucks if economy becomes less of an issue, especially if a GOP Congress modifies fuel economy standards?

Remember that auto makers like trucks because they’re CHEAP to design compared to efficient cars, so they’ll attempt every shortcut in the book.[/quote]

Schadenfreudism again….

The F150 is actually a pretty reliable vehicle btw… And aluminum usage is great because it’s cutting the curb weight down significantly..

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]The only good SUV is one that’s had its crankcase drained of oil and is being revved to 6000 rpm.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-chatter-chatter-chatter-sqeeeeeeeeeee-BANG!

Watching the videos of SUVs being “disabled” for Cash for Clunkers was beautifully cathartic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy3wJWZW5_c (yes, I realize that it would have been environmentally sounder to keep those cars running since making a car costs energy. But still cathartic.)

Yeah, yeah. I know. Personal choice. Problem is that when manufacturers sell more Stupid Useless Vehicles, they tend to drop normal car and station wagon models, thus reducing MY choice of cars that don’t blow smelly goat testicles.

And there’s no FUCKING way in HELL that I’d ever want a G-d damned SUV. If I wanted to drive a truck, I’d get a job at UPS. I’ve never driven an SUV that didn’t have me wanting to rearrange the faces of the flaming assholes who misengineered it after five minutes of driving.

And people like Drevna are blithering, mouth-breathing idiots. The choice isn’t between an SUV and Smart Car. The choice is between an SUV and something like a Passat diesel wagon or Prius wagon. Both of which are actually bigger inside than many Stupid Useless Vehicles.[/quote]

Well, low fuel prices clearly aren’t going to help.. But that said at least the F-150 is using aluminum sheetmetal.. Probably good for my alcoa stock.

[Author]

Posts