Discussion What is it like to live in the first world?

[ClaudeCTTE]

I see that the majority of users here are from first world countries or "developed countries." Regardless of mental illnesses, do you like living there? If you didn't have problems or mental illnesses, would you still live there?

Supposedly or according to the internet, my country is considered "second world" or "developing country." However, from my perspective, my country is still far from being second world, therefore, I still consider it "third world" (I won't say where I live). In fact, it's common for people in my country to call it a third world country because they know it's a shitty country. Here, technology and new trends take time to arrive, even more so if we go to small towns (where I live). Also, people have a very traditionalist mindset, and their perspective of life is limited to Catholicism. I can even say that they don't believe in medicine and prefer alternative medicine such as natural remedies, homeopathy, or simply go to someone who specializes in esotericism.

Living in the third world and in a small town is frustrating for me. My opportunities for growth are very limited, and I don't have the chance to move to a city or even to another country.

For years I've been thinking about living in another country, but I think it's something that I'll only be able to see in my fantasies.
It may sound strange, but to be honest, I would like to live in Japan or in the UK, as they are the only countries I like. I like Japan because of the language and anime, while I like the UK because of the British accent and because I always listen to British Rock.
Similarly, I think it's pointless for me to live in a better country because of my mental illness, as I'll still think about CTB. And I don't believe that being a "normal" or "healthy" person will change my perspective of my country...

 

[sserafim]

No because everything is hypercapitalized and I hate consumer culture

 

[Agon321]

If I didn't have problems with myself, I could probably live a very good life.
I live in Europe.

However, the mistake of people from other countries is that they see Europe as some kind of paradise.
This is not true.

 

[damyon]

I lived in first, second, and third-world countries. From my experience, they all can suck if you don't find the right people.

You are correct that you get more opportunities there, but it still depends on the social status of the people you get to hang out with. An exaggerated example: you will not become a president if you move to America.

Moreover, I would argue that living in second and third-world countries provides you with more opportunities most of the time. It is like the Wild West; most of the stuff is not heavily regulated (as, for example, in the UK), and you still have the ladders to go up. (this is not applicable everywhere, but it is quite common from my experience)

~~~
The UK is a cool country, though. But I would advise you to think about whether you genuinely want to live there or just want to visit it as a tourist.

~~~

No because everything is hypercapitalized and I hate consumer culture

Well, I mean... Consumer culture is prevalent everywhere (even in the remote third world); it is just expressed in different forms. What alternatives do you think could address this?

~~~

However, the mistake of people from other countries is that they see Europe as some kind of paradise.
This is not true.

I wholeheartedly agree with this...

 

[PetrichorBirth]

The grass always seems greener on the other side. I live in a first world country, and in my mind i idealize the quiet lives that people lead in small villages and towns. Closer to nature, and in my mind closer connections to people.

I've talked to people from small towns and villages, and saw that many of them idealize the big city life. No one seems to ever be content with the place they are at now.
Maybe that's just human nature, new experiences are what we want.

About what it's like : There are many people. On the surface, in the train stations and many public places, you will see examples of bad, broken, disgusting human beings.
There are so many people, that human connection is NOT based on your proximity to people. You walk past hundreds of people each day, and all of them blur into eachother. The special part is more hidden. Under the surface, in all kinds of hobby clubs, apartments, communities, there are people coming together, and doing things they enjoy. Oftentimes meeting new people in the process. There are dates happening, there is romance happening, everything is happening. The amounts of social networks are more than you could ever experience. But it can be very hard to integrate yourself into these, from scratch. It has to start somewhere, and you can start digging from there.

For some people its easier than for others. Many people end up alone. They live in a sea of people, they can't escape people, but yet they are alone.

 

[sserafim]

I lived in first, second, and third-world countries. From my experience, they all can suck if you don't find the right people.

You are correct that you get more opportunities there, but it still depends on the social status of the people you get to hang out with. An exaggerated example: you will not become a president if you move to America.

Moreover, I would argue that living in second and third-world countries provides you with more opportunities most of the time. It is like the Wild West; most of the stuff is not heavily regulated (as, for example, in the UK), and you still have the ladders to go up. (this is not applicable everywhere, but it is quite common from my experience)

~~~
The UK is a cool country, though. But I would advise you to think about whether you genuinely want to live there or just want to visit it as a tourist.

~~~

Well, I mean... Consumer culture is prevalent everywhere (even in the remote third world); it is just expressed in different forms. What alternatives do you think could address this?

~~~

I wholeheartedly agree with this...

I don't know. I just really hate capitalism and consumerism. I'm from NYC so it's especially prevalent here. Maybe there could be socialism or anarchy?

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I believe that the first world is significantly better than being in the third world. I still think that the place where I'm in is awful (despite being a first world country) but, nonetheless, it's still significantly better and I'd rather be living here than be living in a third world country. Of course ideally I'd rather not live at all but, if I had to choose between a first world country and a third world country, I'm choosing the former

 

[CrazyDiamond04]

Are you Filipino?

 

[passivethought121]

Not really, but perhaps I'm not grateful because of privilege. One's privilege is invisible unless acknowledged. On the spectating end, privilege is perceived as "getting good things". On the receiving end, privilege is "not receiving bad things".

 

[Red Moon]

I'm from the west and a first world country, there's more oppurtunities here and quality of life is better but that's about it.

 

[ForgottenAgain]

I'm from Europe, lived in Portugal and now in England. Thought I'd be happier in England as that's where my dream job was. Wrong. Mental illness follows you everywhere, it doesn't matter how much your life improves.

I actually miss my home country, better health care, food is beyond better in every way, the culture is a big difference too. When you move country you miss the things you take for granted, like the food brands, the way people talk outside, how the people in the news channel talk, the restaurants, the culture.

Unless your country is really terrible, there will always be things you'll miss and there will always be this sense of not belonging. It's been 5 years and I haven't made any meaningful relationships with English people, the culture is different, everyone already has their group of friends, their whole life is done, they don't need me. No one needs the foreigner who is starting from scratch and has no one.

The grass my seem greener on the other side but in reality it is all the same grass and your demons travel with you. I'm as depressed in my house with a garden and bank account full as I was when I lived back home with no privacy and broke. Funny isn't it?

 

[Azarlea123]

It's the overall problem of wanting something you can't have, thus the craving becomes stronger, though you wouldn't worry about it that much if you had the possibility to have it. You're born in a quiet place cut from the world, where someone in Tokyo or London dreams about having what you have. In my opinion the country just increases the chances of having something more than others, for example rights to be a LGBT member in developed countries. But also note that it's less likely to want to be LGBT if you're born in a country that doesn't have it in the first place. You may be born in a third world country and have supportive friends and live freely with your identity, when you can also be born in Europe and have a shitty environment. It's all about the circumstances you're born in, where the country makes some of those circumstances more possible. There're rich people in poor countries and poor in the rich ones. Also one thing is that you're different than the usual masses of your country, that you're not satisfied with what everyone have there. It's a situation where you have to accept yourself and continue enjoying the things which are not easily accessible to you, or change and be a part of the system, doing everything that other people do and are acceptable. In other words either you enjoy the little you have or throw it, otherwise it's a meaningless struggle with unmet dreams and reality. That's why it's a "wish", you wouldn't wish it if you had it, but you can't have everything.

 

[NumbItAll]

it's basically like this

 

[leavingthesoultrap]

Which country you are from?
I am from former Eastern block in Europe and I also lived in northern America. You would be surprised by the similarities between those two places

 

[ClaudeCTTE]

Are you Filipino?

No.

Which country you are from?
I am from former Eastern block in Europe and I also lived in northern America. You would be surprised by the similarities between those two places

I don't like mentioning the country.
I don't want to remember or hear its name...
But I'm from the New World.
One of the countries with the highest homicide rate in the world.
One of the countries where people romanticize organized crime... To the point of making TV shows and music...
One of the countries you're going to see a lot on gore sites...

 

[Meteora]

I live in a "first world country". It's not fun. A lot of hypocrites. It seems good but in reality it is absolute shit.
My father was from a country that is rather "second world", a lot of farmers and uneducated people, poverty. I don't think it would be better to live there....
Best is not to live at all, probably.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

It may sound strange, but to be honest, I would like to live in Japan or in the UK, as they are the only countries I like. I like Japan because of the language and anime, while I like the UK because of the British accent and because I always listen to British Rock.

You really shouldn't be choosing which country you'd want to live in based on music or anime. Both the UK and Japan have a lot of their own issues and Japan isn't well-known for being a great place for mentally ill people to live in.

With that in mind, I happen to live in a developed country but I also come from a low-income family, so we had a lot of our struggles growing up. I did luck out on having grandparents who were middle-class and very willing to help out growing up and I'm incredibly grateful for having them in my life. Still, the cost of living is only increasing where I live and we have a housing crisis going on right now. There are a lot of homeless people and drug addicts where I live and our government is a complete joke. People here can be pretty racist and xenophobic, especially against indigenous people, back people, and Muslims. I remember having a Muslim girl talk to me about how she was happy that I was walking with her because she has people verbally hareass her before for a hijab and she's scared that one day someone will go out of their way to physically harm them.

Point is, developed countries generally come with their host of issues and how nice it is to live in them depends very heavily on your race, religion, whether your able-bodied or not, and class. My mom comes from a developing country and she plans on moving back to her home country after spending years here struggling to get by. Same with my maternal grandmother. I love my country but I also really hate it. The government doesn't care about its citizens and it makes me upset.

 

[Eternal Eyes]

Everyone's experiences in life are relative to what they know and what they have in life. I'll never forget a teacher once telling me that if you were able to switch your bedroom light on at night, you had life easy. It's always stuck with me, because while it's partially true, it really is oversimplifying things and not taking into account what I said about relativity. By that teachers definition, every single person on this forum has it "easy".

It's funny you mention the UK, as often enough, when I tell people I'm from the UK I quickly get told how they'd like to visit, only for me to mention places where I've lived and them to not even have the slightest clue where they are. Sometimes I'll tell them stories they won't believe, or they'll assume I'm exaggerating.

The US and the UK may be deemed "rich countries", but they're two of the most unequal on the planet. I know this sounds vexing and pompous, but people from outside the UK could never grasp what living poor in Britain is truly like. Be it the Postcode Gangs in London, gangs and deprivation in greater Liverpool, gangs in West Scotland/Glasgow and sectarianism in Northern Ireland, poverty, large scale unemployment and deprivation in ex mining communities in Durham and South Yorkshire, deprivation in the rural areas of Wales, the immense and unreal wealth inequality in Cornwall, I could go on and on. People not from here could truly never grasp it. Once again, I know that sounds pompous and dismissive...but that's how I see it. Not to mention how class driven society is. We are probably the most greed driven nation on the planet, we actively seem to pride ourselves on greed "my dad has a better car than you" etc.

Like wise, I will never truly understand places like Gary, Indiana. Camden, New Jersey, and countless dangerous areas of New York, California and Michigan as I've never visited them. I'll never understand mass shootings, the opioid crisis, natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, as I've never experienced them.

tl;dr - Emotions and feelings are relative to what we have experienced in our lives and where we have lived. And no one really has it "easy". Should note that's just my personal opinion.

 

[bieatmania]

I live in Japan and the socio-cultural pressure are unbearable, luckily I happened to be born in a wealthier family so I can withdrawal myself with all socialization with people in my own country.
That being said, I still don't want to live in second/third world country or even some of the developed nation.

 

[madasco]

Well, it all depends on your personal situation. If you're not rich or have monetizable skills, it can be quite bad. Everything costs money, and its a struggle to get it. It sometimes feels like you are a modern slave, plowing relentlessly just to get by. I've lived in a developing country before and people were happier and family ties stronger.
Lucky you... that's unfortunately not the case for most people. If you don't have family wealth, or qualify for social benefits, life can be a struggle in the 1st world too

 

[Rocinante]

21st century 1st world living is more comfortable than being a king of old. If you made it to the west you'd be living more comfortably of min wage trying to make ends meet than you would residing in any third world country. People don't know how bad it really is for non Westerners, or anyone outside the anglo sphere.

 

[sserafim]

21st century 1st world living is more comfortable than being a king of old. If you made it to the west you'd be living more comfortably of min wage trying to make ends meet than you would residing in any third world country. People don't know how bad it really is for non Westerners, or anyone outside the anglo sphere.

How do you know? Have you lived outside the anglo sphere?

 

[GreenOctober]

I lived in first, second, and third-world countries. From my experience, they all can suck if you don't find the right people.

You are correct that you get more opportunities there, but it still depends on the social status of the people you get to hang out with. An exaggerated example: you will not become a president if you move to America.

Moreover, I would argue that living in second and third-world countries provides you with more opportunities most of the time. It is like the Wild West; most of the stuff is not heavily regulated (as, for example, in the UK), and you still have the ladders to go up. (this is not applicable everywhere, but it is quite common from my experience)

~~~
The UK is a cool country, though. But I would advise you to think about whether you genuinely want to live there or just want to visit it as a tourist.

~~~

Well, I mean... Consumer culture is prevalent everywhere (even in the remote third world); it is just expressed in different forms. What alternatives do you think could address this?

~~~

I wholeheartedly agree with this

I lived in first, second, and third-world countries. From my experience, they all can suck if you don't find the right people.

You are correct that you get more opportunities there, but it still depends on the social status of the people you get to hang out with. An exaggerated example: you will not become a president if you move to America.

Moreover, I would argue that living in second and third-world countries provides you with more opportunities most of the time. It is like the Wild West; most of the stuff is not heavily regulated (as, for example, in the UK), and you still have the ladders to go up. (this is not applicable everywhere, but it is quite common from my experience)

~~~
The UK is a cool country, though. But I would advise you to think about whether you genuinely want to live there or just want to visit it as a tourist.

~~~

Well, I mean... Consumer culture is prevalent everywhere (even in the remote third world); it is just expressed in different forms. What alternatives do you think could address this?

~~~

I wholeheartedly agree with this...

It's about who you know not what you know~ Somebody idk

 

[sserafim]

I believe that the first world is significantly better than being in the third world. I still think that the place where I'm in is awful (despite being a first world country) but, nonetheless, it's still significantly better and I'd rather be living here than be living in a third world country. Of course ideally I'd rather not live at all but, if I had to choose between a first world country and a third world country, I'm choosing the former

I guess so. I'm upper middle class and my family is well-off. I have a pretty comfy lifestyle. I received the best education and I've been able to NEET for almost 2 years

 

[Praestat_Mori]

I grew up in a first world country but I live in a third world country since many years and I'm happy. All you'd need are hard currency sources then u get so much more for your money in the 3rd world than for the same amount of money in the 1st world.

In regards of MH issues / illnesses depending on severity probably 1st world and treatment there is better. In the end there are always pros and cons and they r individual.

In the end it's all about money.

 

[moshimoshi]

Even though I'm not too fond of the country I live in, I am very grateful that I don't have to deal with some things people in other countries have to deal with. Like large risk of being killed for being LGBTQ+, or for speaking out against the government. I'm so frustrated and horrified that things like that happen in the world. There's a lot of things I'm grateful for having, and I hate that you have to go through all of the awful things you mentioned in your country.

Like others mentioned it's also the circumstances you are born into, even though I live in a 1st world country I've lived in a house before where the electricity barely worked, mold and spiders everywhere, the place was a huge health hazard. There have also been times where I worried where my next meal would come from, and risk of being homeless as a child. My family has almost always been poor so that probably had a lot to do with it. I also agree with the idea that a lot of times the grass seems greener on the other side, maybe if I didn't live in the country I live in, I would want to live here lol

I really hope someday you're able to move out of your country, you don't deserve to be there at all. You deserve to be in a place you're happy at and feel safe, and don't have to worry about people romanticizing organized crime

 

[Forveleth]

Honestly, in the first world, we have access to more technologies and more people have broader ideas, however we still also have a lot of the same problems you mentioned. There are plenty of people that don't believe in science or modern medicine and subscribe to "alternative" theories. Lots of places are violent and dangerous. Rampant racism. Oppression. Also, there are some areas of the US that compare with third world countries as far as poverty level and even housing (seriously some people don't have phone/electricity and food/doctors are miles away). A good chunk of the population doesn't get enough food every day.

Even if your basic needs are met, you trade those worries for different ones. Social media and all of the mental health issues around that. The pressure to always get the newest stuff. The knowledge that even if you get some money saved up, it takes one trip to the hospital to blow through all of your savings. I agree with what @madasco said. First world countries are only great if you are born into money or get extremely lucky and end up getting rich. Everything runs on money. While our government isn't openly oppressive, it's clear they care more about corporations than people.

Also, there's a social disconnect. Friends and family support in first world society can be severely lacking. Yeah we have a bunch of stuff but we are extremely lonely.

If I didn't have any problems would I still live in a first world country? I don't know. Half of my problems are because of first world society so I'm not sure it would matter. Honestly, I would love to travel the world and see how different people from different cultures live so I probably wouldn't be spending a lot of time here anyway.

 

[Meteora]

I've lived in a developing country before and people were happier and family ties stronger.
Lucky you... that's unfortunately not the case for most people.

That's what industrialism destroyed, simple happiness, family ties. First world living comes at a tremendous cost. Guess there's only few places where solitude is worse than in developed countries.

 

[sserafim]

It's about who you know not what you know~ Somebody idk

LinkedIn lol

 

[sophxy]

It's alright here, maybe even pretty good. I still hate parts of it, and wish it was better, but I try to be grateful unless being grateful stops progress. You know, when you complain and someone says "it's worse elsewhere, be grateful"? It annoys the fuck out of me. Just because it's worse elsewhere doesn't mean we should stop improving. We should try to improve around the world. But hey, according to everyone else I'm just a tranny so what do I know?