Let's Move Abroad
Hiyo from Bangkok!
The durian season has arrived. My aunt has a durian orchard and loves to bring in durians of different varieties. We fully embrace the opportunity. This is probably the most durian I have ever had in the past 10 years.
I am generally happy, except for one problem. It is also in the middle of a covid outbreak. Eating too much durian can make you sick. When that happens, is it durian or covid? 🤷🏻♀️
Let's Move Abroad
On May 1st, ย้ายประเทศกันเถอะ (Let's Move Abroad) Facebook group was created. The group was initially started as a joke. However, it catches on pretty fast among young Thai people. Within three days, 500,000 people have joined. Now, the group has more than one million members.
Image credit: https://www.bbc.com/thai/thailand-56973078
Let's Move Abroad has become a place where people share their experience of living abroad, the pros and cons of living in each country, different ways to move to that country, etc. There are even some free organized language/skill classes to help members.
Why would someone want to leave their own country, casting aside an environment that has formed their identity?
Perhaps, the grass looks greener on the other side. 8.7million Americans live abroad. In 2020, an info website on how to leave the US has seen a 1,605% surge in search for which country to move to. It seems young people in Korea also find their country unbearable.
Or perhaps, people see something wrong (social immobility, inequality, injustice) in their country, find it hard to change the status quo, then decide it is easier to leave?
However, we don't know for sure until we see the data. Immigration is not novel. Our ancestors have moved from one place to another until they land where we are. Given that there is nothing particularly wrong with the place they are staying, how many percentages would move? This could be a fun model to build. If you have a suggestion on where to get the data, let me know!
Quote
"Experience is what you got when you didn't get what you wanted" -- Howard Marks
A quote to keep in mind when analysis paralysis stops you from doing something.
Fun-finds
Hate Tetris If you think your life has gone too well recently, try Hate Tetris. The game intentionally gives you the worst piece at the moment. Just because it can.
Have you ever shared an article without reading it? 🙋🏻♀️ Facebook is testing out a pop-up that asks you to open an article before sharing it. It is not foolproof. You can choose to continue sharing. Yet, it might work just like how people install a fake webcam in their house to drive burglars away.
Nassim Taleb's probability MOOCs. I have only watched just one video so far and like how he explains the concepts. Statistics is one topic I have meant to revisit to truly understand.
Until next time!