We Love Our Country So Much That.... (Part 2)

Hello!

It's been over 2 years since I last wrote, and it feels quite strange how crazy my mind seems when I look back at my writings.

So this is the updated version of a blog post "We Love Our Country So Much That...."

https://biliventa.wixsite.com/atnevad/post/we-love-our-country-so-much-that

In that post, I was sarcastically saying that people can love their country so much that they want to change the whole country according to their liking. For example, policy, dominance, etc. Now, I have another view of how people see their country.

I have some questions for you.

1. Are you happy with the way you're living now?

2. Are you comfortable enough to live your daily life?

3. Are you able to project yourself in the future?

   
   

Everybody knows now in Indonesia (as of January 2025), there are certainly a lot of things going on with the President and political changes, policies, taxes, inflation, and many more. It seems like day by day, those changes burden our minds, and we can't really enjoy our daily life as usual anymore. Especially, concerning money.

Money: The foundation of security

Ever since COVID, people in my generation have faced eye-opening tragedies related to the economy. It turns out that we will never be comfortable our whole lives and should be able to anticipate tragedies like that. Would we still be able to survive for 2 years without stable work or economy? Now, things are catching up, but our country seems to "backlash" on us.

Our country continues to have a lot of debt, living costs are rising, job requirements are becoming increasingly competitive while opportunities are tightening, and businesses are struggling to survive, even the big ones. We can't just keep working year after year, and after all, eventually, we still can't buy a house for ourselves. This kind of stress is affecting many generations, from baby boomers to Gen Z.

Compared with other countries, we have far fewer policies that make sense to the citizens. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines have the highest VAT (12%), and it's not comparable apple-to-apple since we have to look deeply at the salary rates and living costs. It seems like more and more reasons to move out to another country.

Moving abroad. Is it the best solution for this economy?

Migration has been happening from a long time ago, but nowadays, with social media and technology now, it has been treated differently. People are starting to open up and promoting their changing life now since migrating to other country.

Migration (based on UN immigration), includes:

1. Temporarily

   by holding work visa, study visa, etc

   
   

2. Permanently

   by holding permanent residency or becaming citizen

Of course, it is not an easy thing to do, and your life can either be worse or better. I know some of my family members that has migrated permanently, and faced a great challenge after moving, and being apart of your own family is one of them. By holding PR or citizen, there are lots of things you wouldn't be able to do in the origin country.

You can look up information about the challenges of moving abroad, which I believe is harder to find since people are much rather romanticizing the benefit instead of the disadvantages. This comes down to the main point of this blog:

The over-romanticizing of living abroad

When I wrote this blog, I wrote with my full confidence and based on real-life experience because I've been in the position before. I once traveled across Australia to live my dream of studying abroad (check out my blog about it! click here). My main goal is to get as much experience and knowledge as possible before my visa ends and get back and continue to contribute what I have in my own country. Trust me, every single person I met there always asked me "Why do you have to go back? or Why do you want to?".

To be brutally honest, while I was living abroad for 1.5 years, there was plenty of temptation for neglecting my goal of going to Australia in the first place. I was in a very good condition. I am able to pay rent and live my daily life by myself. I have plenty of savings. I don't have to worry about my health, and I don't bother not having a car. There are plenty of reasons to stay, but I chose to come back.

I can just continue living my life there, and then what? I just forget that I actually was born in Indonesia by an Indonesian mother and father? While I was there, I observed the immigrants and I always wondered, why is it so easy for them to decided or change their mind to stay? Do they hate their own country that bad?? Do they have a big problem and the only solution is to move abroad?

The questions kept piling up until I got back here, and it seems like folks here feel the same way. A lot of people are keen to move abroad, looking for a better life instead of sticking around here.

"I want to have a better life by living abroad"

It's crazy how social media can make millions think that moving abroad is the magic fix for life's problems. I'm getting tired of all these posts from people comparing life abroad to their home country. A lot of them don't really tell you that it comes with a lot of risk, responsibility, and challenge. The truth is, living abroad doesn't get rid of your problems; it just gives you new ones. People are making moving abroad sound way too good, and it's causing more dissatisfaction and resentment towards their own country.

The challenges of moving abroad

Based on my experiences, here are the things you have to deal with:

racism, survival abilities, big tax, competitor, modal, and being apart from family.

Racism.

I chose Australia because it's one of the friendiest country, that has been living in harmony as diversity between aboriginal people, immigrants, and refugees. The simplest thing, on every beginning of presentation or lectures, it always starts with: "I would like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather today, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and pay my respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging."

It's like realizing that we are all immigrants anyway, and they are the true origins of this country and we should not mess it up. Singapore is one of the friendliest but I would rather go somewhere else with less Indonesian people, but not that less.

But that culture, doesn't stop people from being Rasist. I felt how horrible it is to be treated differently, as we are expected to always be perfect. However, I was realy grateful that I was surrounded by very supportive Australians there. Which could've been different if I was somewhere else or in different community. My point is, rasism is unavoidable and anyone can be a victim.

Survival abilities

When you are there, imagine you're building your life from zero. It's like you just start a new character on Sims. If you don't have the adaptabilitya lecture in your own country, you would hardly survive abroad. Some people "failed" to adapt there, had difficulties juggling between studies and jobs, were unable to pay tuition, own debts, etc.

Competitor

If you are trying to find a job there, imagine you are competing against other immigrants and the citizen. What can you offer that they are not. As immigrants, we don't have much choices, and ended up working in hospitality, retail, or trade, smaller chance of working in corporates.

Being apart from family

If you have to choose, who is the person you trust the most? Most of your answers would most likely come from your own Family. It's pretty reasonable when I was applying for a student visa, they need you to have someone you know, who can help you in case of emergency. When you have a family there, you can't just ask your mother to watch your child while you're working. Or, moving your parents with you could give you a lot of trouble.

There are 2 types of people when going abroad

1.) People who hate. their country so much

These people somehow have a really big problem that they need to run away from. So they use all of their potential to contribute to another country, get satisfied with themselves with a lot of money, and never want to return to their homeland.

They always say, "Oh, I miss going back," and never go back for years. The worst thing is, they provoke other people to hate the country too and lure you with a lot of benefits you can get by moving abroad.

2.) People who hate their country less

An individual like this possesses a patriotic spirit, despite being an ordinary person. Their true motivation for working or studying abroad is to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible, so they can apply it in their own country.

They recognize that their country has imperfections and is missing many elements, yet they wish to contribute by discovering what defines a developed nation.

Which type of person are you?

To people who read this, please don't be the type 1 person.

No country is perfect. As a result, it's rare to find individuals who genuinely embrace the imperfections of their nation. Every day, I find something to criticize about this country. Nevertheless, I was born here, and I still love Indonesia.

Relocating to another country won't resolve your issues. It will certainly transform your life, but are you prepared to face the risks and challenges? Once you decide, there's no turning back. I think that if your intentions are good, God will guide you. Otherwise, life will overwhelm you.