tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post6669533462034058659..comments2024-01-19T11:46:53.109-04:00Comments on The World Needs A Stronger Blog...: Why Are We Paying $89 A Barrel for Earl? It's Not What You ThinkUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-31807320282734908332007-10-19T15:53:00.000-04:002007-10-19T15:53:00.000-04:00Very smart observations here, you're right-- this ...Very smart observations here, you're right-- this shocking, painful jump in oil prices has been a pain chiefly for Americans due to the dollar drop, not for Europeans.<BR/><BR/>It's interesting, I've been seeing a lot of my old colleagues and co-workers in the USA or Australia-- especially the smartest, best-educated professionals-- packing up, learning a European language (esp. German or occasionally French) and migrating to the Eurozone, permanently, living there, raising their children there.<BR/><BR/>It makes sense why-- in the USA and also places like Australia and Canada (which are following the US lead in many respects, on their economic policies), they're working grueling hours for diminishing salaries as outsourcing cuts their compensation, *and* now they're forced to deal with the inflation that inevitably comes with a plummeting currency. Very hard to raise families, very hard to start businesses, very hard to get their kids educated as US intrastructure and schools also crumble.<BR/><BR/>Whereas in most European countries esp. places like Germany, Austria, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, they can work more productive but still reasonable hours, have time to start their businesses, get their kids educated in top schools even at the university level for low cost, and most of all draw a salary and save it in Euros, an automatic turbo boost to their earning power.<BR/><BR/>(The UK isn't an option, its banks are having runs, its debt is in the stratosphere and it's also mired in Iraq.)<BR/><BR/>So German's probably the best language to know now, especially for any kind of techie in electronics, physics, chemistry, engineering, metallurgy or the trades. The best literature is again being published in it, even within American tech companies, those with some German knowledge now have an edge. Of course it's also a big boost to a work permit request for somebody e.g., working in Hamburg.<BR/><BR/>For my part, I just love having another excuse to learn French or Italian. I'm half-Italian and wondering if I could use that to help get some nice flat in Milan. Nice to have a plan in mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com