"Moving" to Europe

[gtagrl 4317]

While I do have a cozy guest room and would gladly provide the hospitality Massacre mentioned (I also make cakes!), we don't get the same aurora borealis here on the east coast as I remember from the prairies where I grew up.

That said, there's no shortage of winter wonderland to visit in Canada if you want an experience comparable to the Nordic countries.

[TheAnalogKid2112 163]

I never said this trip is going to be 8-9 months. As much as I'd love to, that's impossible. I can only afford a 3 month rail pass. It's fucking almost $1500 not including the fact that many trains require a reservation fee! Maybe by the time I leave in mid-late August it will be a different story, but I'm probably only going to be there 3 months, sadly.

I may just take you up on that offer, gtagrl. I've always wanted to visit Canada and am trying to turn this trip into a US adventure once I return to the states. I am really trying not to live in Nevada by 2015.

[Massacre 7646]

Why would you want to leave Nevada? I mean, Vegas gets boring after a while, but nothing is better than the desert. Danger and desolation around every corner and behind every rock is my kind of place.

I would be living in the Mojave desert right now, if I didn't have a craving for toxic industrial fumes. My ultimate goal is to buy 10 square miles of an abandoned industrial sector in Detroit (which should cost around $12, the way things are going in the area) and convert one of the central buildings into a fortress. You can all come visit.

[gtagrl 4317]

Well Analog, the type of job/work you want to pursue upon your return may offer some interesting options for moving - if you can move anywhere, you can go wherever there are the most open doors to choose from.

[Brian 972]

Daylight in a 3 month period or so would mean around a 7 hour day, a few days in the north would not mean depression. It's also not nearly as cloudy as Cuda makes it out to be, it's not England. Here's an excerpt.

Abisko National Park, a couple of kilometers north of Kiruna, is a prime location for viewing the northern lights. The scientifically proven ‘blue hole’ – a patch of sky over the Torneträsk lake that usually remains clear despite overcast weather in surrounding areas – gives Abisko its own microclimate, which is suitable for catching the lights.

I don't know why people here are so opposed to this region, but it truly is beautiful, from what I've seen and heard from first hand accounts.

Despite my recommendations for Sweden, Tromso Norway is the most famous town for aurora chasing in Europe and is right in the middle of the aurora belt. It's also very easy to get to. Plus, what a lot of people do is you can head to the coast if it's cloudy inland and vice versa.

[cuda 939]

Daylight in a 3 month period or so would mean around a 7 hour day, a few days in the north would not mean depression. It's also not nearly as cloudy as Cuda makes it out to be, it's not England. Here's an excerpt.

Abisko National Park, a couple of kilometers north of Kiruna, is a prime location for viewing the northern lights. The scientifically proven ‘blue hole’ – a patch of sky over the Torneträsk lake that usually remains clear despite overcast weather in surrounding areas – gives Abisko its own microclimate, which is suitable for catching the lights.

I don't know why people here are so opposed to this region, but it truly is beautiful, from what I've seen and heard from first hand accounts.

Despite my recommendations for Sweden, Tromso Norway is the most famous town for aurora chasing in Europe and is right in the middle of the aurora belt. It's also very easy to get to. Plus, what a lot of people do is you can head to the coast if it's cloudy inland and vice versa.

I've been in every single Scandinavian country, most more than once, and never did I see a clear sky.

[Massacre 7646]

I don't know why people here are so opposed to this region

Because the Nordic regions are just like England, Ireland, Scotland, and the Caribbean. As soon as people stopped killing, raping, pillaging, and flat-out stopped having fun, the areas ceased to be worth visiting, and the residents turned into a bunch of irredeemable pussies.

Ireland gets a pass because of the IRA. Love those guys.

[TheAnalogKid2112 163]

Well Analog, the type of job/work you want to pursue upon your return may offer some interesting options for moving - if you can move anywhere, you can go wherever there are the most open doors to choose from.

Yep, that's what's most exciting for me. I really want to check out Colorado and Oregon, two states I've never visited but look amazing. I'm primarily interested in animal-related work so they seem like good options.

We'll see about the northern lights. I'm still doing time/finance calculations for my north to south trip. If it's only three to four solid days worth of travel, I should have plenty of time with a three month rail pass to get back up north for November if I decide to arrive closer to September.

Anyone who's been: is octoberfest worth the stop or would I be better off hitting Munich on my way down to Italy and just getting shitfaced with the locals?

[Brian 972]

If you love being together with a bunch of strangers all having a good time while drinking endless amounts of beer and eating a fuck ton of good food at a bunch of different beer tents then Oktoberfest is for you.

It is more then just the beer and eating though, it has a whole history behind it and is a huge thing in Bavaria. It's one of those things I would love to experience at least once in life. Munich is great for sightseeing too, and just a short drive south you can get yourself to many great lakes in the mountains near the Austrian border.

[Massacre 7646]

Just leave later in the year. You can get to Germany in time for Oktoberfest, and it won't matter that it's winter if you're in southern Italy, Greece, or Turkey.

Of course, I've ignored a lot of this topic, so I don't know if you have a reason for your chosen time frame.

[TheAnalogKid2112 163]

Nope, I chose the time frame so it's not crazy cold everywhere.

[angeal18 138]

Couchsurfing sounds like your best bet if you want to live shackled in the dark corner of a basement and never see the light of day again.

[Massacre 7646]

Nope, I chose the time frame so it's not crazy cold everywhere.

Good news, the Mediterranean region is comfortable all year. By taking a ferry from Italy to Greece, you're skipping the areas that are not. You are missing out by not going to Portugal, though.

[Barrybran 851]

Plane tickets can be stupidly cheap in Europe so don't be afraid to go about your journey and fly in/out of Munich for Octoberfest. You may have to research the flights a bit but it can be done if you don't plan on being anywhere near Munich at the time.

[narcolepsy 581]

The history about the middle east might be good, but I can't see why you'd want to bother going now, there's a gravel car park nearby that's more enticing [or right on par, depends if the burger van is there] to me than the middle east.

If the choice is between a place resembling a car park with some rubble, and a place where I can get internet that isn't stepping into Massacre's basement circa '93, I know which one I'd pick.

[or maybe ill just stick to my moé and bebop]

[Brian 972]

Yeah due to the fact most European countries are in the EU you don't need a passport for travel between them and the flights as said usually are very cheap, you can use local rail too.

[TheAnalogKid2112 163]

My dumb ass didn't even consider a cheap flight with Ryanair after getting set on the train pass. Great idea. Better yet, I will use that option to visit northern Norway after Octoberfest. Might as well skip useless train travel after the extensive southbound trip.

[cuda 939]

If you plan flights now, you can get very cheap plane tickets from Easyjet/Ryanair.

[TheAnalogKid2112 163]

I'd also get yourself a metal detector or something, and go out into the woods in various countries, you can find small treasures from Roman Times to WWII and anywhere in between.

I just pictured myself digging up a landmine and dying in the woods of Germany. Hahahahaha. Glad I thought that one through. Nice try.

[cuda 939]

Yeah, you should really come to Europe and get a metal detector, yeah, ffs Brian.

[Brian 972]

He said he was a history buff, and people actually have other hobbies and like to collect stuff, ffs Cuda.

[Massacre 7646]

When in Germany, repeatedly ask random people (cops, especially) where the concentration camps are. They fucking love it when you do that.

[cuda 939]

He said he was a history buff, and people actually have other hobbies and like to collect stuff, ffs Cuda.

It's your first time in Europe, you don't want to fucking spend your time in some German woods with a metal detector. It literally sounds like something an insane person would do.

[TheAnalogKid2112 163]

He said he was a history buff, and people actually have other hobbies and like to collect stuff, ffs Cuda.

It's your first time in Europe, you don't want to fucking spend your time in some German woods with a metal detector. It literally sounds like something an insane person would do.

Hahahahaha. For real.

If the suggestion was sincere, I thank you. I was interested at first, before I dug up some logic. I just thought that was a funny thought that popped in my head.

Yep, massacre, that's the only German phrase I have learned so far. Gotta find out where the Jew fat candles/soap are stashed.

[Massacre 7646]

If you see a furniture store, make sure you go in and ask if they have Jew skin lampshades.