Post: #1

2Wycked: I don't follow this subforum all that much, so if this topic is a dupe, I apologize.



It's a simple question really: For those of you who have moved abroad, how much do you follow your home nation's news and culture?

Is it difficult or taxing to do so? Do you find your interest in issues in your home country wane as you live longer abroad or in one, foreign location? Do mainstream issues in your home country seem tawdry and insignificant from an outside perspective?

Any perspectives you would like to share?

Post: #2

Not much, but I don't follow the news when I'm back home either. I stopped following sports completely.

I get most of my news from the RVF, any important things that happen in my hometown I see on Facebook.

I do check my towns newspaper online every so often though. Mostly to see if there are any new murders, and check the bookings to see how many people I know have been getting arrested. Guy whose brother pulled a baseball bat on me when I was 17 got stabbed at the bar on NYE. I chuckled.

Post: #3

I follow America's international politics, but seldom do I check in on America's domestic politics. If I'm back visiting family then I'll become aware of local news, but stop following it as soon as I leave.

American issues don't seem tawdry per se, but I generally only care about American foreign policy just because it interests me personally even if it's not affecting me directly. If I see that Obama is putting American troops on the ground to fight ISIS, or that Obama wants to lift the embargo on Cuba, then that'll catch my eye. Gay rights, however, or the Ferguson riots, don't compel me. I can see how they can be relevant to people living in the US, because a lot of conclusions about where American society is headed can be drawn from these issues of domestic politics, but I don't feel the need to stay up to date with them.

Post: #4

I rarely do, but when I make it a habit, I feel a lot more connected to the world. In Southeast Asia especially, it's easy to kind of lose yourself in the background and fall into a simple life where you exist in this bubble and the rest of the world is...well, you don't really care.

An example of this is that when I lived back in the U.S., I'd go crazy if I wasn't always on my way out of town for some trip or party or event or adventure. I'd start getting melancholy and depressed staying in one place.

Here I can stay months if not years in one place and rarely, if ever, leave the city. It really sucks you in, and you start losing track of time too.

The seductive quality of the simple life is good in some ways and bad in others. In any case, the news and whatnot doesn't feel as stressful from your little fantasy world and it's nice to know what the real world is up to sometimes. Keeps you a bit more grounded and in touch with what your friends and family care about.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #5

Generally I will hear about significant news events only, normally through social media. Social media and forums like this are great for filtering news. I don't actively follow news/culture from the country I previously lived in. It's just one among many.

Post: #6

I follow the news daily. It is so easy to just jump on news.google.com and catch up. Not really much effort to stay on top of things.

I am 100% with RioNomad on no longer following sports. I used to be all about college football and basketball but now couldn't hardly tell you anything about it or even care.

Something I have realized is that American news is almost now world news. You talk with anyone who is not American and they can tell you 10x the amount of things about what is happening in the US compared to what is happening in their country. When chatting with a guy from Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, etc... I can have an in depth discussion about what is happening in the US, but I just have no idea what is going on in their country. Kind of crazy how much the US dominates the world news and media.

Post: #7

I'm not following news anywhere, basiclly from the same reasons the OP in this thread:
/thread-34680.html


Great PDF file on the subject:
http://dobelli.com/wp-content/uploads/20...1_TEXT.pdf


Anything important I will get to know about anyway.

Post: #8

I follow international news with some regularity, and while I don't particularly focus on US news I do feel slightly more invested in it. That's partially because posts on social media show me what people back home are thinking and talking about. My perspective has changed since going abroad but it's hard to quantify. I will say that certain grievances do seem far more trivial and the gullibility of the public is a lot more obvious (people's opinions on something suddenly shift in concert). Also, when you discuss things in the states people usually expect you to take one of two sides in any issue...now I feel zero obligation to even entertain taking a side, so it feels more natural approaching things independently.

Culturally I'm almost completely out of the loop...which is quite nice, actually. Once in awhile I'll find a popular or semi-popular musician from the US whose music I like, and I probably see an American movie once every few months, but that's it for mass media. I keep an interest in sports, but it's become a passing interest.