Why are you here?

Just wondering what makes people get up and go and live on the other side of the world?
Are we adventurous/stupid/weird?
Do you think that you are different from the average person who wants to get up, go to work, do his 9-5 and then come home and watch tv?

Just wondering what makes people get up and go and live on the other side of the world?
Are we adventurous/stupid/weird?

There's an old joke that there are only three types of expat -- missionaries, mercenaries and misfits.

It has more than a grain of truth, especially if you generalise the terms a bit so "missionary" includes people trying to bring modern thinking or democracy, not just religion, and "mercenary" includes people who find they can live better on here despite their income being much lower than at home.

It can be amusing to sit in an expat bar and try to assign these labels to everyone you see. 

Do you think that you are different from the average person who wants to get up, go to work, do his 9-5 and then come home and watch tv?

Yes, of course.

I'm a born traveler, yet not independently wealthy, so this was one way I could combine my love of travel with a money making solution.

And yes, of course we are different than the average 9-5 cubicle worker. We made a big change. But once you are here I feel that many people do have similar lives. Go to work, watch TV, go out to eat, buy things. The only difference of course is that we are doing it in China!

I think you can often give people both "misfit" and "mercenary" labels.

Definitely a misfit, with perhaps just a touch of that missionary (in the broadest sense) naivete sprinkled on top.

we are here to destroy your life

god sent us

The economy in the USA ain't so hot right now, and plus being over 50 isn't helping at all.

With no job, no bills, no wife, children, no common sense and a plane ticket, I be here now.

And yeah: misfit + mercenary

Great so now I feel right at home.
Definitely misfit (rebel?) and obsessive traveller. Have hubby but he does what I tell him ( ) and kids are grown up.
As regards the missionary I don't think I can really use that one since I don't believe in anything much except music (can I be a music missionary?) I certainly don't want to convert the locals to anything I might represent (dog forbid)

 I saw myself doing the same job and having the same day over and again for the next 25 years and decided that wasn't the life I wanted. I require a lot of stimulation, and felt that teaching English overseas was the best way to have stimulating new experiences without having people shoot at me.

Graduated in the social sciences, not particularly employable and with no clear idea of what I wanted to do, except travel a bit.  Someone told me I could teach English abroad and ten years later I am still doing it.  I went home for a bit in the middle and worked in an office, and that totally sucked so I was back in Asia after a couple of years.  Mostly misfit I guess!

I've always been interested in cultures and languages, ever since I was a kid. In high school I took all the Spanish I could possibly take and since I'd skipped a level I ran out of Spanish in my senior year and took Japanese instead. In college I dropped the Japanese after a year and picked up Chinese instead and after 3 years as a film major I realized I'd taken so many Asian Studies electives that I could graduate quicker if I majored in Asian Studies than I could if I stuck with film. I studied abroad for a semester in Kunming and was hooked, I was nowhere near ready to come back home and made plans to return after I finished up my degree and here I am, 8 years later.

People who knew me back home, including my family, always figured I'd end up somewhere else. I love travel and new experiences. I'm sure I'm different from many folks back home in that I am not afraid of change and relish new experiences. Honestly I think lots of people back home would love to get up and move to China or France or Jamaica but most are too afraid or the prospect seems too daunting. I don't think it is because most people just really love the 9-5 desk job life that much that they don't leave, you know?  My parents are planning a move out here next year and they're in their early 60s -- most of my relatives think they're absolutely nuts. There are all these "what ifs" that people keep coming up with and I suppose it takes a certain kind of courage (that most people don't have) to just go for it.

Interesting,Local Dialect. I also took French and Spanish at school and then a BA in French and Spanish. In my day people didn't really do "exotic " languages very much. I remember there was a girl in my year whose boyfriend took Japanese and everyone thought he was crazy. Of course he got a job much quicker than all those who did French,Spanish and German.
My parents also took early retirement and switched countries and they always said it was the smartest thing they ever did. Learning a new language and a new culture stopped them from getting old.I remember when my dad told his patients he was leaving the country they thought he was joking....

thought provoking reply, TLD

I'm sure I'm different from many folks back home in that I am not afraid of change and relish new experiences.

I'm sure that's true fro most of us. Higher tolerance of uncertainty, less fear of the unknown.
Plus possibly less to keep us chained to our cubicles. Seen'emallonce:

With no job, no bills, no wife, children, no common sense and a plane ticket, I be here now.

Hey, those could have been my words as well! But I quibble about the no common sense part. Don't know if its common or uncommon sense, but knowing that one is on a fast track to nowhere and deciding to get out of the rut and do something different is certainly sensible. 8 and change years later, my life definitely almost kind of makes sense.
Piglet: I'm a missionary without a doctrine. Dog doesn't forbid my telling other people how to run their lives, homes, businesses or countries because I have no idea how to, don't want to and don't even begin to try. (Dog only knows, and being a bitch she ain't telling) I do however try to live my own life according to certain ill-formulated principles, and as such I am a (poorly wrought) model of some of the things I believe in. That's not a conscious decision, its just the way it works out
Your parents (and TLD's) are onto something. Change and challenge do keep you young. 

right on,latefordinner you seem to be a sane individual to me.I hope to continue in my parents' tradition by constantly reinventing myself for as long as it's physically possible.Not scared of committment, just scared of boring myself.Life is too short to become boring and staid.

I have no idea why I'm here. I don't usually spend anytime thinking about it. All I know is that I feel more content here than in Canada. I may complain, but I love the chaos, the uncertainty, the feeling of being slightly off kilter and especially my own ignorance. I have no idea what's going on most of the time and so I have this great thirst to learn. Everyday, every relationship, every conversation is fascinating and as I make progress in understanding the language and culture, I feel alive. Don't get me wrong, I don't actually study or anything just the osmosis of it all. When I visit Canada I feel bored and then somehow that turns to anger. This is not a better place but it seems to suit me more. I've always preferred the dive bar to the posh pub.

I do wonder how much the lack of being targeted is important. I mean product advertising, politics, entertainment that sort of thing. It all makes me so tired in Canada. I'm not the aim of any of this here.