Vish

Here's my situation: I'm 21 and I left college early about a year ago. Since then I've been playing poker on the internet for a living. I decided to take advantage of the fact that I can work anywhere I have an internet connection, so I moved to Toulouse, France a month and a half ago. While I love it here, I haven't been able to find an appartment or room. The french are rather bureaucratic, and insist that someone who lives in France guarantee payment for me. Of course, I know no one here, so that's a huge problem.

I'm thinking about moving somewhere else in Europe entirely, but am at the very beginning of my research. So I thought, what better place to begin than Fodor's? You guys have been everywhere and know everything.

Where I can live is limited by a few things:

1. I need an internet connection at home for obvious reasons, so I can't live somewhere remote.

2. I won't have a car, so I need either good public transportation or a town small enough that I can walk everywhere.

3. I speak only English and a little French, so I'd prefer a country where they speak one or both. If there were a compelling reason I'd be happy to try and learn German or Italian, though it would be really hard to move to a new country and be wholly ignorant of the language.

The countries that immediately come to mind are Scotland and Switzerland (though for very superficial reasons, because I know almost nothing of either country). I can't live in the U.K., by the way, the exchange rate would leave me in poverty. So are there any cities/countries you recommend I look into? Do you know of any online resources that might help me?

elaine

Considering that your only other posting, ever, here was an inquiry about places to go dancing, I think you've gone from soliciting a casual recommendation about having fun in Paris, to contemplating an enormous change in your life, including employment, language, residency, gambling, finances, and the likelihood at some point, based on gambling probabilities, of becoming broke.

"...what better place to begin than Fodors?"
I think the best suggestion I can make is that first you find a good therapist.
Or, a rich girlfriend or boyfriend.

Intrepid1

"or a rich girlfriend or boyfriend..."

Find BOTH if you're a real gambler!

caroline_edinburgh

What nationality are you ? Presumably that has some bearing on where you are entitled to live ? If I assume you are a US citizen as are most people here, did you not need a visa/work permit to live in the EU ?

Unsure from your wording whether you realise Scotland is part of the UK.

Switzerland is the most difficult place in Europe to be allowed to live in.

Or are you just pretending to be on a long holiday ?

I suggest you look for another website which specialising in answering questions on residency/work permits.

Powell

Compulsive gambling is an affliction not a useful activity. It is always self-destructive. Most people who claim they make a living out of gambling on the Internet or at the race track are self delusional.

I recommend you consider reading "The Gambler" by Dostoevsky and perhaps getting some therapy. You will find few welcome mats in Europe or anywhere else.

Vish

Wow, I did not expect to receive such rude and ignorant responses here. You may not have any familiarity with poker as a profession, but that does not mean it is not one. I've lived very comfortably the last year on what I've earned from poker, and make more per hour than many people twice my age. But of course, none of this really matters. I asked a question about nice places for a young person to live, and got (mostly) ugly, ignorant responses questioning my lifestyle.

Yes, I am aware that moving to another country is a huge change in one's life. If you would read more carefully, Elaine, you would see that I have _already done_ this, and have found it a pleasant and not at all traumatizing experience.

Caroline, thank you for your more cordial response. You're right that I'm an American, and am pretty much pretending to be on a long holiday until I decide to return to school. It's clear that I know very little of the world (I didn't realize Scotland was part of the U.K.!), but that's what I'm hoping to change. Thanks for the advice, I'll look elsewhere.

elaine

Trust me, I did indeed read it all carefully, especially the bit about poker being a profession. I guess France doesn't agree with you. Let's see: living abroad is pleasant if only he/she could find a place to live, 6 weeks later, and maybe there's another country that will put out a welcome mat to someone who doesn't have a job the country cares to recognize.

Then there's OP's accusation of others as 'rude and ignorant' followed by
"It's clear that I know very little of the world (I didn't realize Scotland was part of the U.K.!), but that's what I'm hoping to change."

I would say that there's more than enough rude and ignorant to go around. I wouldn't wait too long to go back to school.

flanneruk

Unless there's something you're not telling us, you've got a much bigger problem than "French bureaucracy" (better known as not wanting to rent a flat to someone who's going to leave pretty soon).

Almost certainly you were given permission to stay in the whole of the Schengen area for only 90 days. So you've only got 45 days left, and can't return to any of the Continental EU (or Norway, or Iceland) for another 90 days after that. If you were given permission to stay longer than 90 days, that'll be a visa specific to France only.

You can stay in the UK for longer (6 months), but you've ruled that out. Ireland gives tourists only 90 days.

And nowhere in Europe will give you permission to stay, except as a tourist, for any longer, unless:
- you apply as an investor (which means investments well into six figures), or
- you can get what governments regard as a real job (which doesn't include gambling). And for a college dropout, unless they're a European or Commonwealth citizen, it's virtually impossible to get a work permit.

Actually, for someone really, really wanting to do a conventional job, it's often possible to network your way to getting a work permit. But there simply isn't a way for someone who doesn't want to work.

Dismiss this as judgemental or anything else you like. But it doesn't alter the fact that the clock's ticking and you almost certainly become an illegal alien in 45 days' time.

Christina

I don't know all the rules about where you can live and for how long, but would suggest you go someplace where you would enjoy living. There is something really really strange about this whole thing -- like why would a 21 yr old who has no job and doesn't speak French move to Toulouse if they want to live abroad because they work on the internet? This is just totally bizarre.

I do know people play poker for a living, I've read some feature articles on folks who do that. Whether you can make money or not, I wouldn't think someone who thought that a fulfilling way to spend one's life would be a very interesting person. I could see it for someone who did it on the side or had to live in Fargo and couldn't get around in the winter, had major disabilities -- or something. I don't understand it at all for a healthy 21 yr old who should be trying to do something at least a little fulfilling with his life, and be more interested in learning something.

How about Monaco, they at least have gambling there. I'd also suggest perhaps the Czech Republic as it was sort of the place for expat slackers to go for a while who had no particular skills. Thus, there are a lot of American expats there and English-speakers. I think some other places have supplanted it in that arena, however.

bellastar

Vish, 3 more days have passed since your post, with only 42 days left, I hope you've had some big winnings and/or some moments of clarity about your situation.

If you have been In Toulouse for a whole 6 weeks, but still say you don't know anyone, this should be a major red flag for you. You ask about online resources.

Here's a website that might contain some reality checks for you, though it's based on living in italy, not France (I'm sure that with your advanced internet skills, you can find a french version)

www.expatsinitaly.com

The basic necessities of carrying out your plan are somewhat more complex than playing internet poker, so you might have to divide your time in a new way.

As a person of 21, fortunately, you may still have time to straighten out some of the priorities of carving out a life in different country, while you decide on going back to finish school.

Not to judge your gambling addiction, and because I think life's a gamble anyhow, I wish you the best of luck in learning well the lessons that are about to open your eyes. It will be a bumpy road, but that's how it is when you're young, a little crazy, and still growing up. It's all about taking chances, but also finding the right chances to take, and paying those dues.

Hope you find something more grand on your horizon than an electronic royal straight flush, which won't keep you warm at night in the long haul.

When you wake up, come back and say hello!

SloJan

Consider Slovenia. English is spoken widely here. It is inexpensive, central to many places and good, cheap, high speed internet access.
Cheers,
Jan

subcon

amsterdam would be ideal...

english is widely spoken, the town is relatively small and it has very good public transport. the dutch are very laissez faire and the possibilities of scoring a work permit (albeit on the scam) are way higher than elsewhere in europe. plus they have legal gambling!!!

don't be put off by those who are unfamiliar with the phenomenal sucess and growth of internet gaming (particularly texas hold 'em poker). and, while i'm not encouraging you to do anything illegal, extending your time overseas is neither impossible nor particularly difficult if you're inventive and resourcefull.

good luck!!!

nytraveler

I can't imagine anyone so ignorant/stupid they don;t know that Scotland is part of the UK (is it college you dropped out of or 6th grade?) would have us believe that they are so brilliant they can make a decent living playing internet poker. (And as for the place having to have internet access - where in the world doesn;t have access - except for some deserted tropical islet???)

I have a friend whose beau does make a living gambling - but he does it by counting cards - and believe me - his IQ is about 5 times yours. And - as with any other type of gambling - anyone who consistently wins large sums (and what's the point of small sums - you can do that working the counter at Mickey D's) are soon ID'd and banned from play.

BTilke

On the off chance that this is a genuine post, your best bet would be to go back to the U.S. and apply for a student visa for your preferred European country. For that, you'd have to actually enroll in an academic program (suggest you pick one with some good geography and history courses) but you could then find housing with the help of their student services. You could keep up with your poker playing "living" as well (although if you really were doing as well as you say you are, then you COULD afford to live in the UK).

However, this walks and talks like a troll post...

seafox

Vish - everything said asie, If you wish to live long term in a single place and do so legally, you may want to consider going home..... if your goal is to move around a lot tham simply make a list of cities/countries and spend no more than six weeks in each. By the by, I understand the frustration about your not being aware that Scotland is in the UK, but assuming you are an American I am certain you are not alone....our education system tends to overlook far too much these days....

suze

The Swiss won't have you. Switzerland is one of the hardest countries to relocate to. While you could look in the French speaking part of the country, finding housing will be even more competitive than what you have encountered in France, and unless you have loads of money to show they won't let you stay.

Muzebiz

Why is everyone so being mean?

caroline_edinburgh

Recent posters note : Vish posted on 16th September & hasn't been back since, so I suppose other people's meanness saw him off.

suze

Being realistic is not the same as being mean, Muzebiz.