the farthest most obscure place you can think of

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the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby bmarx » Mon Nov 09, 2009 6:21 pm

I'm half way through university and I've gotten sick and tired of it. I'm looking to get the hell out, but my parents are going to kill me. Anyone know of far flung places (I'm in north western north america, so far away from here) where I could get a job. My skills are pretty basic, nothing technical, but I'm willing to do pretty much anything so long as I leave this rainy shit hole. Again, I need some place far far away, and hopefully with the promise of a job. Thanks.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby Kurt » Mon Nov 09, 2009 6:29 pm

The way to fail in your plan is to try to find a job first and then leave. People want to hire people they know and not who contacts them. So find a place and go there and then try to get a crap job that pays for your basics. At your age crap jobs are wonderful experiences so go to a place with either travelers or workers around your age and get to know people and ask to work for food/lodging or low pay.

So you do not want to go too far away so you are isolated. Go to some place where a bunch of Australians or other "Western" people have set up a tourist trap of sorts. Do research (never go solely by what you read here) and buy a ticket.

Once again....If you think about a job first, then you will never, ever leave. Get a ticket first and get the job or look for the job when you get there.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby Penta » Mon Nov 09, 2009 6:33 pm

bmarx wrote:I'm half way through university


How about trying it out in the summer vacation? It's worth sticking it out until you get a degree.
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Same here.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby coldharvest » Mon Nov 09, 2009 6:40 pm

What are you studying?
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby bmarx » Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:00 pm

coldharvest wrote:What are you studying?


cognitive neuroscience... and yes, i'd love to just buy a ticket somewhere without a real plan for work, but the thing is when I call my parents up from wherever I end up and say hey by the way I dropped out of university, I'd like to have a plan for something. I think it will go down a bit easier for them. But I am still considering that option if all else fails.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby Aussie TJS » Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:15 pm

bmarx wrote:and yes, i'd love to just buy a ticket somewhere without a real plan for work, but the thing is when I call my parents up from wherever I end up and say hey by the way I dropped out of university

Why are you considering your parents by 'having a plan' so it goes down easier for them but you're not considering them with dropping out of Uni when you say they will want to kill you? I'm not being a smartarse, i just think it sounds a little hyprocritical (maybe thats the wrong word to use, forgive me my English is craphouse)

I agree with Kurt. I'd research a popular place where backpackers go to get jobs for 12 months and then get a ticket ASAP and then when you hit the ground just start looking for jobs. I reckon most of the places where you could get a job arn't even after resumes or contact - they just want people to walk up and ask 'you got a job for me?'

Crunchtime - Buy the ticket or finish your degree. Thats my opinion
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby coldharvest » Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:31 pm

bmarx wrote:
coldharvest wrote:What are you studying?


cognitive neuroscience...

which aspect?
I'd like to have a plan for something

University's a fuckin' cakewalk the only thing you'll ever need to master there is yourself so stay in school you fucktard, the world's not going any place and it needs more smarty-pants then it does dumb-asses.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby redharen » Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:47 pm

Yeah, finish school. And you know, it's not so hard to go see the world *while* you're in school. Most of them have exchange programs that won't cost a dime more than what you're (or your parents are) already paying. So go live somewhere else. Work during school, travel during the summers. Do you have any idea how far you can go in three months? Fly someplace the week after finals, bring a backpack. Bring a bike.

Look, there are people here who've used their summer vacations to walk across countries, ride bikes across continents, and hitchhike halfway around the world. If you don't see the possibilities that are staring you in the face right now, what makes you think you'll see 'em any better in some far-flung fishing village? When I was an undergrad I would knock off school on Friday afternoon, get in my car, and see how far West I could make it before I hit the halfway point of the weekend and had to turn around. I put thousands of miles on my car that way and fell in love with deserts.

Holy cow, you're in New England. So am I. You know what keeps me awake at night? The sheer number of amazing places that are within 12 hours' drive of here. In the span of a weekend, you can drive all the way up into Canada to places where there aren't even any roads. Think about that. Or drive up to Maine and be the first thing the sun hits when it rises over America. Climb Mount Washington and think about the fact that the wind blows harder there than it does anywhere on earth (and hang onto something). Or, I don't know, go drive around and visit the places all those Transcendentalists got all high about and see whether you think they were full of it or not. This is your chance, maybe your best chance to go try to figure out the world. And I guarantee you, if you go get a grasp for the way water runs down mountains and forms its own paths and drains out into the ocean, you'll navigate the paths that run through people's brains a thousand times better than those other yahoos in your program can -- the ones who've read it in a book but can't see how everything is interconnected.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby Hitoru » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:52 am

Finish what you started, and hopefully you will find a career that you really enjoy.
Or else fuck off to the point you are so hungry that you will beg on the streets .
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby Caliban » Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:49 am

"the farthest most obscure place you can think of"

Well given that you are in North Western USA just about the farthest most obscure place you could get to is Kerguelen Island in The French Southern and Antarctic lands on directly the opposite side of the Earth, about three and a half thousand kilometers south east of Madagascar and about the same distance west south west of Perth Australia.

Pretty obscure.

The locals -
Image

Alternatively, follow Hitoru's advice, above.

Hope this helps.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby rickshaw92 » Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:36 pm

I can get ya a job if ya come to Loondon.
Im reallly fuclimg pissed but fespite that I can still hit a tarfet at 1000m plus. mayVRVe bnot tonight but it qint beyond the wit if man. Nowhammy.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby babihutan » Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:42 am

redharen wrote:Yeah, finish school. And you know, it's not so hard to go see the world *while* you're in school. Most of them have exchange programs that won't cost a dime more than what you're (or your parents are) already paying. So go live somewhere else. Work during school, travel during the summers. Do you have any idea how far you can go in three months? Fly someplace the week after finals, bring a backpack. Bring a bike.

Look, there are people here who've used their summer vacations to walk across countries, ride bikes across continents, and hitchhike halfway around the world. If you don't see the possibilities that are staring you in the face right now, what makes you think you'll see 'em any better in some far-flung fishing village? When I was an undergrad I would knock off school on Friday afternoon, get in my car, and see how far West I could make it before I hit the halfway point of the weekend and had to turn around. I put thousands of miles on my car that way and fell in love with deserts.

Holy cow, you're in New England. So am I. You know what keeps me awake at night? The sheer number of amazing places that are within 12 hours' drive of here. In the span of a weekend, you can drive all the way up into Canada to places where there aren't even any roads. Think about that. Or drive up to Maine and be the first thing the sun hits when it rises over America. Climb Mount Washington and think about the fact that the wind blows harder there than it does anywhere on earth (and hang onto something). Or, I don't know, go drive around and visit the places all those Transcendentalists got all high about and see whether you think they were full of it or not. This is your chance, maybe your best chance to go try to figure out the world. And I guarantee you, if you go get a grasp for the way water runs down mountains and forms its own paths and drains out into the ocean, you'll navigate the paths that run through people's brains a thousand times better than those other yahoos in your program can -- the ones who've read it in a book but can't see how everything is interconnected.


And first prize for most henlightening and deep speech goes to..........fuck man, even I am moved by your words, and wanna get off my ass far away too now!!!
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby thewalrus » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:08 am

bmarx wrote:I'm half way through university and I've gotten sick and tired of it. I'm looking to get the hell out, but my parents are going to kill me. Anyone know of far flung places (I'm in north western north america, so far away from here) where I could get a job. My skills are pretty basic, nothing technical, but I'm willing to do pretty much anything so long as I leave this rainy shit hole. Again, I need some place far far away, and hopefully with the promise of a job. Thanks.


Literally, the farthest and most obscure place I can think of? Fly to China, buy a well equipped Land Cruiser, pack a Yurt on it, drive to the middle of the Taklamakan desert and set yourself up a Bactrian Camel Ranch.

Another highly obscure and remote location would be South Georgia Island.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby vagabond » Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:59 am

I would read redharen's statements over a few times and chew on that for a bit before doing anything rash.

Given it's Nov almost Dec, do some quick research on your uni's website and see if they give travel scholarships or call up the study abroad / whoever office.

Coming to a message board and saying "point me anywhere" is kind of asking for permission don't you think? Your major definitely doesn't sound like a cakewalk (or is it grad school? didn't know they offered neuroscience in undergrad...) but sometimes it's better to push through and get something done and reward yourself at the end. You've got holidays coming up, then about 4-5 months of school then almost three months of summer probably. If you need a sanity break, challenge yourself to try something new in your general area every week or take weekend trips to a place you've never been, by yourself, thinking time.

I can tell you from experience that just running away from a shitty living or work situation doesn't help much - you're running away for running away sake and not an actual sense of where you want to go. There's really no such escaping in travel -you actually amplify You and end up doing a lot of reflection and evaluation, for good or ill. Maybe you need that. But after careful thought and not on a whim. Or, you can spend your whole time in a foreign country drunk off your ass and chasing tail. That's a bit more fun but won't help solve whatever you are running away from. I would figure out what you need first (relief from stress or are there deeper problems) then go.

For short-term work, take a look at the WWOOF programs in various countries. You're only limited by your visa. Check EscapeArtist or Transitions Abroad websites for ideas. Go up to Alaska and work if you want. Join Americorps for a year and they'll knock 5k your way. Here's an Alaska Americorp program that's hiring (http://www.servealaska.org/).

Travel can mean change of your exterior but little will change the interior unless you do so yourself. Look around in your every day life in ways to cut out the negative and shit that's not worth dealing with and try to change things for the better incrementally.
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Re: the farthest most obscure place you can think of

Postby coldharvest » Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:39 am

thewalrus wrote:Literally, the farthest and most obscure place I can think of? Fly to China, buy a well equipped Land Cruiser, pack a Yurt on it, drive to the middle of the Taklamakan desert and set yourself up a Bactrian Camel Ranch.

Another highly obscure and remote location would be South Georgia Island.

....which is where you could start a penguin ranch.
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