I learnt Spanish like this. Mainly finishing Duolingo and downloading some textbooks and doing a few MOOC courses and listening to slow podcasts, and then watching basic movies.

Once I got to the point I could watch movies and TV, I would watch a movie almost every single day.

It’s a lot of work, but to get to the point of speaking and listening it is necessary.

It took about 2 years in total - and then I started a job working in Spanish.

The coffee and the ice cream are the best things in the country.

Like a mix between the UK and Germany.

The housing situation is also quite bad, it’s near impossible to rent if you move here for work (unless your company acts as a guarantor).

The rent-controlled housing queue system is extremely corrupt and long - at least 8-year queues (unless you’re related to the local administration). Taxes are also insanely high on workers - 56+% income tax, 25% VAT.

The currency has collapsed since COVID so wages are far worse relative to Europe than before (and let’s not even mention the USA).

It’s far from everywhere (you’re not going on holiday to Russia these days), with few direct flights, and long delivery times for imports.

But still the transport is quite good, there are a fair number of new apartments if you can buy a leasehold (it has its own issues with high fees and interest rates though), and a lot of online services.

I’d give it a 6/10.

Tariffs make us all poorer in the long run. Did we learn nothing in the 20th century?

Just use Steam.

I’m sure rewarding Islamic terrorism will have no dire consequences…

Wouldn’t surprise me if Russia funded the organisers.

Hardly, Russia is pro-Islam - they’ve met Hamas and are working with Iran.

They are part of the Islamic Axis of evil.

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The US is doing great though. It’s just Europe getting hammered.

This will continue until Europe resolves the migration crisis, and deals with the growing insecurity and the collapse in living standards.

Then your bigger problem is using Windows…

I never played any of the others so I can’t really comment.

I just really loved the living world - it’s why I tried the game after playing Oblivion.

So few games have that - Dwarf Fortress, Ultima and Oblivion still stand far ahead of the rest.

This is stupid and unenforceable.

• Ultima VII
• Baldur’s Gate 1
• Daggerfall
• Morrowind
• Oblivion
• Deus Ex
• Thief
• Ultima Underworld
• Kerbal Space Programme
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Honourable mentions for Baldur’s Gate 3, Crusader Kings 2, and Tears of the Kingdom.

Sweden has devalued the currency massively (over 20% since 2020) - so it makes for cheap foreign investment.

Spotify Connect usually works really well, I can use it on Linux, it’s relatively cheap.

I don’t see any reason to switch tbh.

But the lump of labour fallacy is wrong - in the end automation makes us all wealthier as goods become cheaper, and people can do more productive work (and be better educated for it too).

But how would they know? It’s like Blade Runner.

This is the new luddite movement.

It really is. Degrowth is destitution and death - just look at Germany.

We need to decouple electricity production from environmental damage - build renewable power and nuclear power station en masse and invest heavily in nuclear fusion.

Have used maybe 2 cheques, bought a condo share but a house is a whole other matter. That said I don’t think it’s impossible, the main issue is just stability, if I had a partner who earnt as much then it would still be tough but not impossible.

But you can absolutely own your residence OP - just look for smaller places, in cheaper areas, and jobs that would offer a good salary : cost of living ratio. You’ll probably have to start with a condo in a HOA, etc. but that’s better than renting.