Congratulations on your 3-year anniversary in Portugal! You and Denise were two of our first friends here and we are grateful for our friendship. Meeting new people from so many different places and backgrounds, and sharing experiences have been some of the greatest gifts we have received!
Nancy, I'm so glad to hear a voice from you that is centered, philosophical, and happy. You and Denise have taken risks in life, like your move to Portugal. Your spirit of adventure clearly pays off.
Hello Nancy, I really look forward to your experiences! They’re like a great big gift with a bow arriving in my inbox. We spend time in Lisbon and Funchal each year working towards settling in PT permanently - currently reside in Cape Town. Love your spirit of adventure! Love that you take the time to share. You and Denise have certainly worked hard, taken risks and deserve the wonderful lifestyle you’ve created.
I moved to Sweden in 2019 with my family and my perspective has shifted in a similar way. We got rid of almost everything and the only thing I miss is my sweet little car, which I don't need here. Now I have a grocery cart instead and each trip to the store is 2,000 steps and so I can promise you that I shop more carefully. It's a different life.
I thought it was pretty...Remember mine was red with white top. I still have the key for it. My ex hit a lamp pole with it...unfortunately he was okay but the car was totalled and the lamp pole cost me.
I take this statement to be the oft heard indictment of the scourge of soulless materialism that permeates Western culture, of which the US is the incarnate pinnacle. Main topic for r/AmeriExit! We're really talking about product cycles, consumption, and how identity gets mapped onto those surfaces.
And we do it all the time. Possessions provide rich windows to experience-- my bicycle, my tax paid roads, my computer, my paintbrushes, my education, my body, my collection of 17th century taxidermy manuscripts. I argue those favorite cars were valuable experiences you got to enjoy. The cars disappear yes, but they are the thing needed to have the experience.
Let's not triumph Things like we're above them or they are not us, then we get a tyranny of Experiences, another invention to sell things packaged as temporal events, then to make them instagramable as you pointed out. A quick search of the last 20 years shows the Experiences Economy ranks well for capital exploitation. Metaverses, Digital Twins, Simulacrums, VR, Livestreaming, etc are those experiential offshoots.
Pithy dictums contain some kernel of truth, yet what purpose do these reductionistic bumperstickers serve? As relatively wealthy first worlders, we enjoy the benefit of taking Things for granted. I'm am grateful for Things insulating me from the Experience of poverty. The privilege of travel, geoarbitraging wealth and lifestyle, i'd argue is from the benefit of Things as well.
Congratulations on your 3-year anniversary in Portugal! You and Denise were two of our first friends here and we are grateful for our friendship. Meeting new people from so many different places and backgrounds, and sharing experiences have been some of the greatest gifts we have received!
Couldn't agree more - it's the experiences that mean the most. Happy new year and here's to a year full of new experiences!
Nancy, I'm so glad to hear a voice from you that is centered, philosophical, and happy. You and Denise have taken risks in life, like your move to Portugal. Your spirit of adventure clearly pays off.
I could not love this (or agree with this) more. Thank you for sharing!
Hello Nancy, I really look forward to your experiences! They’re like a great big gift with a bow arriving in my inbox. We spend time in Lisbon and Funchal each year working towards settling in PT permanently - currently reside in Cape Town. Love your spirit of adventure! Love that you take the time to share. You and Denise have certainly worked hard, taken risks and deserve the wonderful lifestyle you’ve created.
I moved to Sweden in 2019 with my family and my perspective has shifted in a similar way. We got rid of almost everything and the only thing I miss is my sweet little car, which I don't need here. Now I have a grocery cart instead and each trip to the store is 2,000 steps and so I can promise you that I shop more carefully. It's a different life.
I thought it was pretty...Remember mine was red with white top. I still have the key for it. My ex hit a lamp pole with it...unfortunately he was okay but the car was totalled and the lamp pole cost me.
Great message anytime, especially for the new year’s period.
Fabulous perspective. Wishing you and Denise a healthy 2024 filled with wonderful experiences!
Hugs Kathy and June
Intense agreement!!
AMEN!
Yes! The experiences I have lived all outweigh what I have owned. Happy New Year to you and Denise.
Great piece! Completely agree about the experiences! That’s what makes life rich.
All the best to you and Denise in 2024!
Nancy, I have so enjoyed reading about your experiences in Portugal and find your writing rich and thoughtful! Parabéns on 3 years in Portugal!
Can't wait to start collecting our experiences. We've just moved here, so here we go!
Bem-vinda
I take this statement to be the oft heard indictment of the scourge of soulless materialism that permeates Western culture, of which the US is the incarnate pinnacle. Main topic for r/AmeriExit! We're really talking about product cycles, consumption, and how identity gets mapped onto those surfaces.
And we do it all the time. Possessions provide rich windows to experience-- my bicycle, my tax paid roads, my computer, my paintbrushes, my education, my body, my collection of 17th century taxidermy manuscripts. I argue those favorite cars were valuable experiences you got to enjoy. The cars disappear yes, but they are the thing needed to have the experience.
Let's not triumph Things like we're above them or they are not us, then we get a tyranny of Experiences, another invention to sell things packaged as temporal events, then to make them instagramable as you pointed out. A quick search of the last 20 years shows the Experiences Economy ranks well for capital exploitation. Metaverses, Digital Twins, Simulacrums, VR, Livestreaming, etc are those experiential offshoots.
Pithy dictums contain some kernel of truth, yet what purpose do these reductionistic bumperstickers serve? As relatively wealthy first worlders, we enjoy the benefit of taking Things for granted. I'm am grateful for Things insulating me from the Experience of poverty. The privilege of travel, geoarbitraging wealth and lifestyle, i'd argue is from the benefit of Things as well.