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Leaving Trinidad for good...

this is how we do it.......

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nervewrecker
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Joined: July 31st, 2007, 2:27 pm
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby nervewrecker » June 25th, 2023, 6:24 pm

gastly369 wrote:
MaxPower wrote:
triniterribletim wrote:Another positive of having left Trinidad is the sheer amount of options available to you when it comes to dining out or having lunch or dinner delivered. This is but a small sampling of what a typical weekend getaway can look like for you in a foreign country. All prices are for two person meals, apart from the shrimp which is a three person dish. You begin to see just how much dining out in Trinidad and Tobago was an exercise in extortion and having to endure poor service.


Tim,

Ur sure right about the poor service in T&T, and not only for dining.

T&T, Trinidad especially is becoming overly inconsistent in their cuisine which is due to a careless culture, high staff turn over, poorly qualified “chefs” and poor management. It really is a hit and miss whether it’s buying doubles or at a supposedly fancy restaurant. I have had foreign guests and when taking them out, i literally have to pray the food tastes good and the waiters are pleasant. It really is sad where T&T has reached when it comes to our food. Now don’t get me wrong eh, good cooking exists, but hard to come by.

Yuh better off youtubing a recipe and cooking home.
Give we ah lil sunday menu post nah bro
Giii me some ah Dem food my aunt always sending for you nah.

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gastly369
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby gastly369 » June 25th, 2023, 11:35 pm

nervewrecker wrote:
gastly369 wrote:
MaxPower wrote:
triniterribletim wrote:Another positive of having left Trinidad is the sheer amount of options available to you when it comes to dining out or having lunch or dinner delivered. This is but a small sampling of what a typical weekend getaway can look like for you in a foreign country. All prices are for two person meals, apart from the shrimp which is a three person dish. You begin to see just how much dining out in Trinidad and Tobago was an exercise in extortion and having to endure poor service.


Tim,

Ur sure right about the poor service in T&T, and not only for dining.

T&T, Trinidad especially is becoming overly inconsistent in their cuisine which is due to a careless culture, high staff turn over, poorly qualified “chefs” and poor management. It really is a hit and miss whether it’s buying doubles or at a supposedly fancy restaurant. I have had foreign guests and when taking them out, i literally have to pray the food tastes good and the waiters are pleasant. It really is sad where T&T has reached when it comes to our food. Now don’t get me wrong eh, good cooking exists, but hard to come by.

Yuh better off youtubing a recipe and cooking home.
Give we ah lil sunday menu post nah bro
Giii me some ah Dem food my aunt always sending for you nah.

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Xplode
Riding on 18's
Posts: 1648
Joined: November 11th, 2008, 8:52 am
Location: Miami,FL

Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Xplode » June 27th, 2023, 10:57 am

sachin wrote:Thinking bout Orlando. Any advice from someone who migrated there or FL in general?


Hey I'm in Florida migrated since 2016 and the best moved I made in my life
started 2 business
bought my own property
got my US citizenship
don't let anyone discourage you ,put your mind on it and do it.

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nick639v2
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Posts: 2754
Joined: November 1st, 2016, 9:46 am

Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby nick639v2 » June 27th, 2023, 11:11 am

Xplode wrote:
sachin wrote:Thinking bout Orlando. Any advice from someone who migrated there or FL in general?


Hey I'm in Florida migrated since 2016 and the best moved I made in my life
started 2 business
bought my own property
got my US citizenship
don't let anyone discourage you ,put your mind on it and do it.


Did you go there with empty/minority pocket money??

Did you have a fall back plan or support system like resident family already present?

was your ‘qualification’ or ‘business product’ in demand in the market?

Asking because I’m curious of how feasible it is for a barebone person to consider this fresh start venture

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Xplode
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Joined: November 11th, 2008, 8:52 am
Location: Miami,FL

Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Xplode » June 27th, 2023, 11:29 am

nick639v2 wrote:
Xplode wrote:
sachin wrote:Thinking bout Orlando. Any advice from someone who migrated there or FL in general?


Hey I'm in Florida migrated since 2016 and the best moved I made in my life
started 2 business
bought my own property
got my US citizenship
don't let anyone discourage you ,put your mind on it and do it.


Did you go there with empty/minority pocket money??

Did you have a fall back plan or support system like resident family already present?

was your ‘qualification’ or ‘business product’ in demand in the market?

Asking because I’m curious of how feasible it is for a barebone person to consider this fresh start venture


Sold out everything in Trini had a lil good financial start , my wife sponsored my K1 visa ,nope no qualifications school leaving certify CXC 5 subjects ,yep bodyguard services and then I got a decent contract for the leaf gutter filter system, likely $100,000 USD should be a good fresh start , good credit.

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Rovin
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Rovin » July 17th, 2023, 6:39 pm

d other side of d coin .... :| :| :|

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/07/17/canada ... bqeWNVEkOc

Canada safe, Trinidad sweet

AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Sophia Stone, and my family and I moved back to TT after spending a year in Canada.

I might be the only Afghan Trini. I’m married to Christian Stone and we have two children, Amelia and Zara.

I come from Port of Spain. Diego Martin is where I feel most at home.

My parents were both born in Kabul, Afghanistan. My father’s father was a very high-ranking diplomat and, when the Soviets invaded in 1979, my father was orphaned. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I believe his parents were murdered. At age 15, he had to fend for himself and his (eight younger siblings). He went from living in a palace with many support staff to being all on his own. They took all the wealth. He had nothing.

My father had an internship at the UN, where he met the Canadian ambassador, an avid tennis player. My dad learned how to play tennis quickly and played with the ambassador. The ambassador said, “Get to the Canadian embassy in Karachi in Pakistan (to get a visa) and I will help you.” At that time, you couldn’t just cross the border. My dad crossed the border pretending to be a Soviet soldier.

My father went to Canada first. He was about 25, 26. He had nothing. He was working in a gas station. Every dollar he saved, to bring his family over. So it was seven of them plus my mother all living in my father’s one-bedroom apartment. I was born in Canada.

My father, a trained architect, was working at 7-Eleven. He begged an architectural firm to let him work for free, drafting. He worked his way up, built his own firm. All the uncles have done well.

Growing up in Canada, I didn’t know anything about Trinidad. At age 18, my university’s international centre asked if I wanted to help on a project. I came to Trinidad to help manage the recruitment of Trini students. I had to do an event at More Vino restaurant, (which) my husband Christian was running. My face was on a poster for the same recruitment. He asked for one of the posters and kinda gave me some sweetman lyrics and I fell for it! He came to Toronto and said he wanted to marry me. I said, “But you’ve only known me two days!” So he says, “You’ve stood me up all this time, come to Trinidad!”

I come to Trinidad. He’s living with his brother in this crazy apartment in Glencoe. I lied to my Afghan parents. If they ever knew I had come to Trinidad to see a boy! Christian adopted a kitten from TSPCA to show me he was nurturing, and took me to Tobago, paradise on earth. By the end of that trip, we had spent less than ten days together in total but he was planning what our children’s names would be!

A month later, he flew to Toronto, met my parents, asked for my hand. They said, “We fought to give you opportunities in Canada and you’re running away to another developing nation with dangerous crime?”

I’m an adopted Trini. But I certainly have a Trini soul.

Sophia Stone says growing up in Canada she didn’t know anything about Trinidad now she considers herself an adopted Trini. - Mark Lyndersay

I identify far more with Trinidadian culture than Canadian culture now. Going back to Canada over the last year really confirmed that for me.

It was always the plan that, when our children got close to teen years, we would move them to Canada. It was a fantastic year. We lived right downtown Toronto, fantastic restaurants, walking by the lakeshore. But it just was not Trinidad!

Trini children have respect for adults. In Canada, children will jump in your car and wouldn’t greet you! But, in Trinidad, they still call you Uncle and Auntie. In Trinidad classrooms, there’s still a level of respect when the teacher enters. In Canada, it was chaos.

In Canada, we missed the sweetness of everyday life you take for granted in Trinidad: the sunshine; the mountains; having traffic jams along the sea! The beautiful flowers! There’s so much in the physical environment we don’t realise is so beautiful in TT. And in North America, a lot of the time, it’s grey and dreary and cold, figuratively and literally. People don’t greet you. Nobody gets out of the way for you. Nobody will stop you in a coffee shop to say hello. It’s a completely disconnected life!

There’s a connection, something that binds everybody here in Trinidad that is very special and unique that I don’t think you see in other countries.

In First World countries, you have a better selection in the grocery. But the community of people around you is not there.

In North America, there are a lot of opportunities. But is a fast-paced life. You work nonstop to be able to afford the basics.

Everybody in North America is so tied to their schedules, you have to make a plan to meet up two weeks from now. When I’m in Trinidad, I will say, “All right, it’s 5 o’clock, we going to the park, bring a little Stag.” It’s so much more relaxed and focused on being together in Trinidad. You can’t drink anywhere in Canada, only in bars and restaurants. Already it changes the whole dynamic of socialising. You’re in an institutionalised place where you’re deemed to be socialising. There’s no social life in the streets.

In big societies, you’re just a cog in the wheel.

When we were in Toronto, we spent triple the money we would have spent in a year in Trinidad. And we felt so empty. In Trinidad, you don’t need to spend money to enjoy life. You could go by the beach. In Canada, you have to enjoy things and experiences. Here, you just enjoy people.

When we came back, all our friends were confused. Everybody was dealing with the surge in crime and trying desperately to get out. It’s easy to focus on the bad in Trinidad, it’s very glaring. But it’s also very easy to take for granted all the beauty of this life in Trinidad.

When you wake up and you don’t have the mountains, the sun or the sea, and the doubles vendor who knows your order and will give you a little joke while you’re eating it, those things affect your every day. Loneliness, depression, illness, all of these things become part of your every day. You look back on your life in Trinidad and ask yourself, how many days did crime affect my life in a direct way? In Canada, loneliness, all the things that make life miserable, are there every day! With the hullabaloo of crime, flooding, corruption, etc, it’s easy to forget how truly beautiful and sweet life can be in Trinidad.

A Trini is somebody who has a deep love for this nation and honours it by living life vibrantly, fully and with passion. Trinis are the happiest people alive, as Machel would say.

To me, Trinidad and Tobago is a special little secret: if you know, you know. But most people don’t know. If you take the time to find out, TT is a gift that very few are blessed with. I consider myself to be one of the lucky few.

Read the full version of this feature on Friday evening at http://www.BCPires.com

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SuperiorMan
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Joined: December 1st, 2020, 2:35 am

Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby SuperiorMan » July 17th, 2023, 7:08 pm

Rovin wrote:There’s so much in the physical environment we don’t realise is so beautiful in TT. And in North America, a lot of the time, it’s grey and dreary and cold, figuratively and literally. People don’t greet you. Nobody gets out of the way for you. Nobody will stop you in a coffee shop to say hello. It’s a completely disconnected life!




North America? Only Canada.

Try California. Nothing is better than Cali weather and landscape. Also I've experienced more respect and manners in the US than Trinidad. Each to their own.

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jhonnieblue
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Joined: November 14th, 2007, 10:17 pm

Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby jhonnieblue » July 19th, 2023, 2:43 am

Rovin wrote:d other side of d coin .... :| :| :|

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/07/17/canada ... bqeWNVEkOc

Canada safe, Trinidad sweet

AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Sophia Stone, and my family and I moved back to TT after spending a year in Canada.

I might be the only Afghan Trini. I’m married to Christian Stone and we have two children, Amelia and Zara.

I come from Port of Spain. Diego Martin is where I feel most at home.

My parents were both born in Kabul, Afghanistan. My father’s father was a very high-ranking diplomat and, when the Soviets invaded in 1979, my father was orphaned. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I believe his parents were murdered. At age 15, he had to fend for himself and his (eight younger siblings). He went from living in a palace with many support staff to being all on his own. They took all the wealth. He had nothing.

My father had an internship at the UN, where he met the Canadian ambassador, an avid tennis player. My dad learned how to play tennis quickly and played with the ambassador. The ambassador said, “Get to the Canadian embassy in Karachi in Pakistan (to get a visa) and I will help you.” At that time, you couldn’t just cross the border. My dad crossed the border pretending to be a Soviet soldier.

My father went to Canada first. He was about 25, 26. He had nothing. He was working in a gas station. Every dollar he saved, to bring his family over. So it was seven of them plus my mother all living in my father’s one-bedroom apartment. I was born in Canada.

My father, a trained architect, was working at 7-Eleven. He begged an architectural firm to let him work for free, drafting. He worked his way up, built his own firm. All the uncles have done well.

Growing up in Canada, I didn’t know anything about Trinidad. At age 18, my university’s international centre asked if I wanted to help on a project. I came to Trinidad to help manage the recruitment of Trini students. I had to do an event at More Vino restaurant, (which) my husband Christian was running. My face was on a poster for the same recruitment. He asked for one of the posters and kinda gave me some sweetman lyrics and I fell for it! He came to Toronto and said he wanted to marry me. I said, “But you’ve only known me two days!” So he says, “You’ve stood me up all this time, come to Trinidad!”

I come to Trinidad. He’s living with his brother in this crazy apartment in Glencoe. I lied to my Afghan parents. If they ever knew I had come to Trinidad to see a boy! Christian adopted a kitten from TSPCA to show me he was nurturing, and took me to Tobago, paradise on earth. By the end of that trip, we had spent less than ten days together in total but he was planning what our children’s names would be!

A month later, he flew to Toronto, met my parents, asked for my hand. They said, “We fought to give you opportunities in Canada and you’re running away to another developing nation with dangerous crime?”

I’m an adopted Trini. But I certainly have a Trini soul.

Sophia Stone says growing up in Canada she didn’t know anything about Trinidad now she considers herself an adopted Trini. - Mark Lyndersay

I identify far more with Trinidadian culture than Canadian culture now. Going back to Canada over the last year really confirmed that for me.

It was always the plan that, when our children got close to teen years, we would move them to Canada. It was a fantastic year. We lived right downtown Toronto, fantastic restaurants, walking by the lakeshore. But it just was not Trinidad!

Trini children have respect for adults. In Canada, children will jump in your car and wouldn’t greet you! But, in Trinidad, they still call you Uncle and Auntie. In Trinidad classrooms, there’s still a level of respect when the teacher enters. In Canada, it was chaos.

In Canada, we missed the sweetness of everyday life you take for granted in Trinidad: the sunshine; the mountains; having traffic jams along the sea! The beautiful flowers! There’s so much in the physical environment we don’t realise is so beautiful in TT. And in North America, a lot of the time, it’s grey and dreary and cold, figuratively and literally. People don’t greet you. Nobody gets out of the way for you. Nobody will stop you in a coffee shop to say hello. It’s a completely disconnected life!

There’s a connection, something that binds everybody here in Trinidad that is very special and unique that I don’t think you see in other countries.

In First World countries, you have a better selection in the grocery. But the community of people around you is not there.

In North America, there are a lot of opportunities. But is a fast-paced life. You work nonstop to be able to afford the basics.

Everybody in North America is so tied to their schedules, you have to make a plan to meet up two weeks from now. When I’m in Trinidad, I will say, “All right, it’s 5 o’clock, we going to the park, bring a little Stag.” It’s so much more relaxed and focused on being together in Trinidad. You can’t drink anywhere in Canada, only in bars and restaurants. Already it changes the whole dynamic of socialising. You’re in an institutionalised place where you’re deemed to be socialising. There’s no social life in the streets.

In big societies, you’re just a cog in the wheel.

When we were in Toronto, we spent triple the money we would have spent in a year in Trinidad. And we felt so empty. In Trinidad, you don’t need to spend money to enjoy life. You could go by the beach. In Canada, you have to enjoy things and experiences. Here, you just enjoy people.

When we came back, all our friends were confused. Everybody was dealing with the surge in crime and trying desperately to get out. It’s easy to focus on the bad in Trinidad, it’s very glaring. But it’s also very easy to take for granted all the beauty of this life in Trinidad.

When you wake up and you don’t have the mountains, the sun or the sea, and the doubles vendor who knows your order and will give you a little joke while you’re eating it, those things affect your every day. Loneliness, depression, illness, all of these things become part of your every day. You look back on your life in Trinidad and ask yourself, how many days did crime affect my life in a direct way? In Canada, loneliness, all the things that make life miserable, are there every day! With the hullabaloo of crime, flooding, corruption, etc, it’s easy to forget how truly beautiful and sweet life can be in Trinidad.

A Trini is somebody who has a deep love for this nation and honours it by living life vibrantly, fully and with passion. Trinis are the happiest people alive, as Machel would say.

To me, Trinidad and Tobago is a special little secret: if you know, you know. But most people don’t know. If you take the time to find out, TT is a gift that very few are blessed with. I consider myself to be one of the lucky few.

Read the full version of this feature on Friday evening at http://www.BCPires.com
Delusional, has a myopic point of view cause her skin color light and she lives in the west in a gated community.
Obviously Trini bess for her. She isn't affected by crime, bad roads, lack of water etc. Can't believe the editor was stupid enough to print that.

Trini may have been a paradise, but it's far from that now. More like a corrupt Cesspit.

And all the things she alluded to regarding the how people greet each other etc, I get that and more in Spain all the time. People are even more friendly here than in Trinidad by a long shot.

The world is huge and if you can don't limit yourself to staying in a backwater country like Trinidad.
Good to come back for carnival, that's about it.

alfa
punchin NOS
Posts: 3606
Joined: January 19th, 2015, 4:15 pm

Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby alfa » July 19th, 2023, 7:23 am

Rovin wrote:d other side of d coin .... :| :| :|

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/07/17/canada ... bqeWNVEkOc

Canada safe, Trinidad sweet

AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Sophia Stone, and my family and I moved back to TT after spending a year in Canada.

I might be the only Afghan Trini. I’m married to Christian Stone and we have two children, Amelia and Zara.

I come from Port of Spain. Diego Martin is where I feel most at home.

My parents were both born in Kabul, Afghanistan. My father’s father was a very high-ranking diplomat and, when the Soviets invaded in 1979, my father was orphaned. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I believe his parents were murdered. At age 15, he had to fend for himself and his (eight younger siblings). He went from living in a palace with many support staff to being all on his own. They took all the wealth. He had nothing.

My father had an internship at the UN, where he met the Canadian ambassador, an avid tennis player. My dad learned how to play tennis quickly and played with the ambassador. The ambassador said, “Get to the Canadian embassy in Karachi in Pakistan (to get a visa) and I will help you.” At that time, you couldn’t just cross the border. My dad crossed the border pretending to be a Soviet soldier.

My father went to Canada first. He was about 25, 26. He had nothing. He was working in a gas station. Every dollar he saved, to bring his family over. So it was seven of them plus my mother all living in my father’s one-bedroom apartment. I was born in Canada.

My father, a trained architect, was working at 7-Eleven. He begged an architectural firm to let him work for free, drafting. He worked his way up, built his own firm. All the uncles have done well.

Growing up in Canada, I didn’t know anything about Trinidad. At age 18, my university’s international centre asked if I wanted to help on a project. I came to Trinidad to help manage the recruitment of Trini students. I had to do an event at More Vino restaurant, (which) my husband Christian was running. My face was on a poster for the same recruitment. He asked for one of the posters and kinda gave me some sweetman lyrics and I fell for it! He came to Toronto and said he wanted to marry me. I said, “But you’ve only known me two days!” So he says, “You’ve stood me up all this time, come to Trinidad!”

I come to Trinidad. He’s living with his brother in this crazy apartment in Glencoe. I lied to my Afghan parents. If they ever knew I had come to Trinidad to see a boy! Christian adopted a kitten from TSPCA to show me he was nurturing, and took me to Tobago, paradise on earth. By the end of that trip, we had spent less than ten days together in total but he was planning what our children’s names would be!

A month later, he flew to Toronto, met my parents, asked for my hand. They said, “We fought to give you opportunities in Canada and you’re running away to another developing nation with dangerous crime?”

I’m an adopted Trini. But I certainly have a Trini soul.

Sophia Stone says growing up in Canada she didn’t know anything about Trinidad now she considers herself an adopted Trini. - Mark Lyndersay

I identify far more with Trinidadian culture than Canadian culture now. Going back to Canada over the last year really confirmed that for me.

It was always the plan that, when our children got close to teen years, we would move them to Canada. It was a fantastic year. We lived right downtown Toronto, fantastic restaurants, walking by the lakeshore. But it just was not Trinidad!

Trini children have respect for adults. In Canada, children will jump in your car and wouldn’t greet you! But, in Trinidad, they still call you Uncle and Auntie. In Trinidad classrooms, there’s still a level of respect when the teacher enters. In Canada, it was chaos.

In Canada, we missed the sweetness of everyday life you take for granted in Trinidad: the sunshine; the mountains; having traffic jams along the sea! The beautiful flowers! There’s so much in the physical environment we don’t realise is so beautiful in TT. And in North America, a lot of the time, it’s grey and dreary and cold, figuratively and literally. People don’t greet you. Nobody gets out of the way for you. Nobody will stop you in a coffee shop to say hello. It’s a completely disconnected life!

There’s a connection, something that binds everybody here in Trinidad that is very special and unique that I don’t think you see in other countries.

In First World countries, you have a better selection in the grocery. But the community of people around you is not there.

In North America, there are a lot of opportunities. But is a fast-paced life. You work nonstop to be able to afford the basics.

Everybody in North America is so tied to their schedules, you have to make a plan to meet up two weeks from now. When I’m in Trinidad, I will say, “All right, it’s 5 o’clock, we going to the park, bring a little Stag.” It’s so much more relaxed and focused on being together in Trinidad. You can’t drink anywhere in Canada, only in bars and restaurants. Already it changes the whole dynamic of socialising. You’re in an institutionalised place where you’re deemed to be socialising. There’s no social life in the streets.

In big societies, you’re just a cog in the wheel.

When we were in Toronto, we spent triple the money we would have spent in a year in Trinidad. And we felt so empty. In Trinidad, you don’t need to spend money to enjoy life. You could go by the beach. In Canada, you have to enjoy things and experiences. Here, you just enjoy people.

When we came back, all our friends were confused. Everybody was dealing with the surge in crime and trying desperately to get out. It’s easy to focus on the bad in Trinidad, it’s very glaring. But it’s also very easy to take for granted all the beauty of this life in Trinidad.

When you wake up and you don’t have the mountains, the sun or the sea, and the doubles vendor who knows your order and will give you a little joke while you’re eating it, those things affect your every day. Loneliness, depression, illness, all of these things become part of your every day. You look back on your life in Trinidad and ask yourself, how many days did crime affect my life in a direct way? In Canada, loneliness, all the things that make life miserable, are there every day! With the hullabaloo of crime, flooding, corruption, etc, it’s easy to forget how truly beautiful and sweet life can be in Trinidad.

A Trini is somebody who has a deep love for this nation and honours it by living life vibrantly, fully and with passion. Trinis are the happiest people alive, as Machel would say.

To me, Trinidad and Tobago is a special little secret: if you know, you know. But most people don’t know. If you take the time to find out, TT is a gift that very few are blessed with. I consider myself to be one of the lucky few.

Read the full version of this feature on Friday evening at http://www.BCPires.com

The preceding was a paid political announcement

triniterribletim
Trinituner Peong
Posts: 481
Joined: February 17th, 2020, 3:23 pm

Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby triniterribletim » July 19th, 2023, 12:57 pm

jhonnieblue wrote:
Rovin wrote:d other side of d coin .... :| :| :|

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/07/17/canada ... bqeWNVEkOc

Canada safe, Trinidad sweet

AS TOLD TO BC PIRES

My name is Sophia Stone, and my family and I moved back to TT after spending a year in Canada.

I might be the only Afghan Trini. I’m married to Christian Stone and we have two children, Amelia and Zara.

I come from Port of Spain. Diego Martin is where I feel most at home.

My parents were both born in Kabul, Afghanistan. My father’s father was a very high-ranking diplomat and, when the Soviets invaded in 1979, my father was orphaned. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I believe his parents were murdered. At age 15, he had to fend for himself and his (eight younger siblings). He went from living in a palace with many support staff to being all on his own. They took all the wealth. He had nothing.

My father had an internship at the UN, where he met the Canadian ambassador, an avid tennis player. My dad learned how to play tennis quickly and played with the ambassador. The ambassador said, “Get to the Canadian embassy in Karachi in Pakistan (to get a visa) and I will help you.” At that time, you couldn’t just cross the border. My dad crossed the border pretending to be a Soviet soldier.

My father went to Canada first. He was about 25, 26. He had nothing. He was working in a gas station. Every dollar he saved, to bring his family over. So it was seven of them plus my mother all living in my father’s one-bedroom apartment. I was born in Canada.

My father, a trained architect, was working at 7-Eleven. He begged an architectural firm to let him work for free, drafting. He worked his way up, built his own firm. All the uncles have done well.

Growing up in Canada, I didn’t know anything about Trinidad. At age 18, my university’s international centre asked if I wanted to help on a project. I came to Trinidad to help manage the recruitment of Trini students. I had to do an event at More Vino restaurant, (which) my husband Christian was running. My face was on a poster for the same recruitment. He asked for one of the posters and kinda gave me some sweetman lyrics and I fell for it! He came to Toronto and said he wanted to marry me. I said, “But you’ve only known me two days!” So he says, “You’ve stood me up all this time, come to Trinidad!”

I come to Trinidad. He’s living with his brother in this crazy apartment in Glencoe. I lied to my Afghan parents. If they ever knew I had come to Trinidad to see a boy! Christian adopted a kitten from TSPCA to show me he was nurturing, and took me to Tobago, paradise on earth. By the end of that trip, we had spent less than ten days together in total but he was planning what our children’s names would be!

A month later, he flew to Toronto, met my parents, asked for my hand. They said, “We fought to give you opportunities in Canada and you’re running away to another developing nation with dangerous crime?”

I’m an adopted Trini. But I certainly have a Trini soul.

Sophia Stone says growing up in Canada she didn’t know anything about Trinidad now she considers herself an adopted Trini. - Mark Lyndersay

I identify far more with Trinidadian culture than Canadian culture now. Going back to Canada over the last year really confirmed that for me.

It was always the plan that, when our children got close to teen years, we would move them to Canada. It was a fantastic year. We lived right downtown Toronto, fantastic restaurants, walking by the lakeshore. But it just was not Trinidad!

Trini children have respect for adults. In Canada, children will jump in your car and wouldn’t greet you! But, in Trinidad, they still call you Uncle and Auntie. In Trinidad classrooms, there’s still a level of respect when the teacher enters. In Canada, it was chaos.

In Canada, we missed the sweetness of everyday life you take for granted in Trinidad: the sunshine; the mountains; having traffic jams along the sea! The beautiful flowers! There’s so much in the physical environment we don’t realise is so beautiful in TT. And in North America, a lot of the time, it’s grey and dreary and cold, figuratively and literally. People don’t greet you. Nobody gets out of the way for you. Nobody will stop you in a coffee shop to say hello. It’s a completely disconnected life!

There’s a connection, something that binds everybody here in Trinidad that is very special and unique that I don’t think you see in other countries.

In First World countries, you have a better selection in the grocery. But the community of people around you is not there.

In North America, there are a lot of opportunities. But is a fast-paced life. You work nonstop to be able to afford the basics.

Everybody in North America is so tied to their schedules, you have to make a plan to meet up two weeks from now. When I’m in Trinidad, I will say, “All right, it’s 5 o’clock, we going to the park, bring a little Stag.” It’s so much more relaxed and focused on being together in Trinidad. You can’t drink anywhere in Canada, only in bars and restaurants. Already it changes the whole dynamic of socialising. You’re in an institutionalised place where you’re deemed to be socialising. There’s no social life in the streets.

In big societies, you’re just a cog in the wheel.

When we were in Toronto, we spent triple the money we would have spent in a year in Trinidad. And we felt so empty. In Trinidad, you don’t need to spend money to enjoy life. You could go by the beach. In Canada, you have to enjoy things and experiences. Here, you just enjoy people.

When we came back, all our friends were confused. Everybody was dealing with the surge in crime and trying desperately to get out. It’s easy to focus on the bad in Trinidad, it’s very glaring. But it’s also very easy to take for granted all the beauty of this life in Trinidad.

When you wake up and you don’t have the mountains, the sun or the sea, and the doubles vendor who knows your order and will give you a little joke while you’re eating it, those things affect your every day. Loneliness, depression, illness, all of these things become part of your every day. You look back on your life in Trinidad and ask yourself, how many days did crime affect my life in a direct way? In Canada, loneliness, all the things that make life miserable, are there every day! With the hullabaloo of crime, flooding, corruption, etc, it’s easy to forget how truly beautiful and sweet life can be in Trinidad.

A Trini is somebody who has a deep love for this nation and honours it by living life vibrantly, fully and with passion. Trinis are the happiest people alive, as Machel would say.

To me, Trinidad and Tobago is a special little secret: if you know, you know. But most people don’t know. If you take the time to find out, TT is a gift that very few are blessed with. I consider myself to be one of the lucky few.

Read the full version of this feature on Friday evening at http://www.BCPires.com
Delusional, has a myopic point of view cause her skin color light and she lives in the west in a gated community.
Obviously Trini bess for her. She isn't affected by crime, bad roads, lack of water etc. Can't believe the editor was stupid enough to print that.

Trini may have been a paradise, but it's far from that now. More like a corrupt Cesspit.

And all the things she alluded to regarding the how people greet each other etc, I get that and more in Spain all the time. People are even more friendly here than in Trinidad by a long shot.

The world is huge and if you can don't limit yourself to staying in a backwater country like Trinidad.
Good to come back for carnival, that's about it.


That has to be rose coloured glasses agumented by a gallon of babash. I can understand not wanting the sort of atomized lifestyles that the US and Canada offer, but there are many other countries around the world that have all those things and more, with a lower cost of living, security and actual prospects for societal advancement. Brazil has all of those things minus the doubles man, but the pastelaria has gotten used to my usual order and meat pastels are cheaper than doubles.
This reads like a propaganda piece seeking to stem the bleeding and convince people in the name of joviality and frivolity that the trade offs are not worth the escape, but that's just not true since there are places where you can have it all, and a case of Double Dog for 800 TTD. Plus you don't have to go back to Trinidad for Carnival, since there are endless Carnivals here.

Screenshot_20230719_125730_Chrome.jpg

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leavingforgood
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby leavingforgood » July 19th, 2023, 1:47 pm

jhonnieblue wrote:
Rovin wrote:d other side of d coin .... :| :| :|

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/07/17/canada ... bqeWNVEkOc

Canada safe, Trinidad sweet

Delusional, has a myopic point of view cause her skin color light and she lives in the west in a gated community.
Obviously Trini bess for her. She isn't affected by crime, bad roads, lack of water etc. Can't believe the editor was stupid enough to print that.

Trini may have been a paradise, but it's far from that now. More like a corrupt Cesspit.

And all the things she alluded to regarding how people greet each other etc, I get that and more in Spain all the time. People are even more friendly here than in Trinidad by a long shot.

The world is huge and if you can don't limit yourself to staying in a backwater country like Trinidad.
Good to come back for carnival, that's about it.


I can't lie, there were some points she made where I gave her a huge side eye and I do have some doubts about her reasoning for moving back to T&T. You don't make such a huge move overnight, especially when you are moving closer to family not further (her family is in Canada, not T&T). She was not unfamiliar with life in Canada and moved there anyway, so I am not buying that in 1 year the weather and people not greeting her in the store pushed her over the edge. I think she's trying to avoid mentioning Canada's political climate being a huge factor in her not staying there.

I have "light" skin and live in the West in a gated community and trust me, if my point of view of T&T is myopic, then I feel sorry for those who are outside of my bubble because I have seen more crime firsthand in the past 3 years than I have in the 2 decades of my life. I have seen people robbed multiple times in Ellerslie Plaza in the past year alone and have spoken to an elderly woman and her daughter in St. Clair police station after a man robbed her outside RBC Maraval.

I can't say that my life in T&T is hell but it is FAR from perfect. In the West people have been friendly to me and most rude people I've met locally are usually not from the West or are from "rough" parts of the country so she is right about that. However, I have met friendly people in every country I have visited; even the countries people love to call racist.

Earlier this week I overheard my 'trini to d bone' mother telling someone about how unsafe and uncomfortable she feels living in T&T. For an old person to say that about "sweet, sweet T&T" tells me everything I need to know about this state of this country.

I'm leaving T&T for good this year and I am already looking at houses to get my mother out within the next 3 years. Sophia Stone can stay here if she wants to.

Wolfgang123
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Wolfgang123 » July 27th, 2023, 12:56 pm

Spoke to a real estate agent I usually deal with, according to them a lot of locals selling out their property and migrating.
Anyone here in the process of doing the same and if so what's a good financial start for somewhere such as the US?

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Les Bain
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Les Bain » July 27th, 2023, 1:00 pm

leavingforgood wrote:
jhonnieblue wrote:
Rovin wrote:d other side of d coin .... :| :| :|

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/07/17/canada ... bqeWNVEkOc

Canada safe, Trinidad sweet

Delusional, has a myopic point of view cause her skin color light and she lives in the west in a gated community.
Obviously Trini bess for her. She isn't affected by crime, bad roads, lack of water etc. Can't believe the editor was stupid enough to print that.

Trini may have been a paradise, but it's far from that now. More like a corrupt Cesspit.

And all the things she alluded to regarding how people greet each other etc, I get that and more in Spain all the time. People are even more friendly here than in Trinidad by a long shot.

The world is huge and if you can don't limit yourself to staying in a backwater country like Trinidad.
Good to come back for carnival, that's about it.


I can't lie, there were some points she made where I gave her a huge side eye and I do have some doubts about her reasoning for moving back to T&T. You don't make such a huge move overnight, especially when you are moving closer to family not further (her family is in Canada, not T&T). She was not unfamiliar with life in Canada and moved there anyway, so I am not buying that in 1 year the weather and people not greeting her in the store pushed her over the edge. I think she's trying to avoid mentioning Canada's political climate being a huge factor in her not staying there.

I have "light" skin and live in the West in a gated community and trust me, if my point of view of T&T is myopic, then I feel sorry for those who are outside of my bubble because I have seen more crime firsthand in the past 3 years than I have in the 2 decades of my life. I have seen people robbed multiple times in Ellerslie Plaza in the past year alone and have spoken to an elderly woman and her daughter in St. Clair police station after a man robbed her outside RBC Maraval.

I can't say that my life in T&T is hell but it is FAR from perfect. In the West people have been friendly to me and most rude people I've met locally are usually not from the West or are from "rough" parts of the country so she is right about that. However, I have met friendly people in every country I have visited; even the countries people love to call racist.

Earlier this week I overheard my 'trini to d bone' mother telling someone about how unsafe and uncomfortable she feels living in T&T. For an old person to say that about "sweet, sweet T&T" tells me everything I need to know about this state of this country.

I'm leaving T&T for good this year and I am already looking at houses to get my mother out within the next 3 years. Sophia Stone can stay here if she wants to.


Share your progress here, if you can.

triniterribletim
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby triniterribletim » July 27th, 2023, 7:57 pm

Wolfgang123 wrote:Spoke to a real estate agent I usually deal with, according to them a lot of locals selling out their property and migrating.
Anyone here in the process of doing the same and if so what's a good financial start for somewhere such as the US?


If you have a house in a desirable area, you could put it up for rent, have a real estate agency oversee the property as a liason and live off the rent. Just have the money deposited into your bank account and then pay your credit card with online banking. Of course that would necessitate moving to a country with a cheaper CoL than Trinidad, which not everyone wants to do. Most Trinis also don't want to live in the lower CoL parts of the US, so that takes you to metro areas with higher CoL. That might necessitate you selling your house/property but you'll probably end up paying rent for a long time. Houses are out of reach for US residents, so unless you're rich, you're not gonna be a homeowner. You would also need a job, and a relatively well paying one at that. Unless you already have one waiting for you. You'd need an immigrant visa and work permit. H1B is tied to your job, so you get fired, you get sent back. You need to take all these things into consideration before moving to the US. Canada is actually more unaffordable than the US in all of those areas. Moving is definitely something that shouldn't be considered lightly unless you have a support system already in place. Of course if you move to a lower cost of living country, you could just purchase a house outright, live in relative ease,maybe teach English as a part time gig. You would likely have to learn a new language though, not many cheap countries where English is the primary spoken language, maybe the Philippines? Best of luck getting out of Trinidad. The homesickness doesn't last long.

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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Chimera » July 27th, 2023, 10:09 pm

I eh mind leaving either. The crime too out of control and not getting any better.

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paid_influencer
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby paid_influencer » July 27th, 2023, 10:17 pm

one of my great regrets in life is not fighting tooth and nail to get off the island. now it too late, going to dead on the island

alfa
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby alfa » July 27th, 2023, 11:24 pm

What's the prospects of retiring to a foreign country, assuming your work life is over and your can sustain yourself and just looking for a decent place to live out your days. Do they even give visas for that kinda thing?

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MaxPower
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby MaxPower » July 28th, 2023, 2:11 am

Well the reality is,

If you ketching your ass here, you gonna ketch your ass over there.

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shake d livin wake d dead
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby shake d livin wake d dead » July 28th, 2023, 6:14 am

Wolfgang123 wrote:Spoke to a real estate agent I usually deal with, according to them a lot of locals selling out their property and migrating.
Anyone here in the process of doing the same and if so what's a good financial start for somewhere such as the US?


There is life outside uncle Sam...I have some people looking at Vietnam and Thailand atm

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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Chimera » July 28th, 2023, 7:27 am

Costa Rica, guyana,

adnj
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby adnj » July 28th, 2023, 7:49 am

If cost of living is your stumbling block with emigration, you're not looking very hard. Trinidad ranks about 40th out of 140 countries compared for cost of living.

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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Dizzy28 » July 28th, 2023, 9:43 am

Phone Surgeon wrote:Costa Rica, guyana,


Costa Rica like Uruguay and Argentina are unique in Latin America as having some of the least diverse populations i.e. the most white. I have felt like there is a underlying racism implicit in Costa Ricans towards non-white ppl and worse yet if you are not speaking Spanish.

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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Chimera » July 28th, 2023, 10:21 am

daz small thing

theres enough racism here from half the population towards the other half to be accustomed to it

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MaxPower
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby MaxPower » July 28th, 2023, 10:58 am

Dizzy28 wrote:
Phone Surgeon wrote:Costa Rica, guyana,


Costa Rica like Uruguay and Argentina are unique in Latin America as having some of the least diverse populations i.e. the most white. I have felt like there is a underlying racism implicit in Costa Ricans towards non-white ppl and worse yet if you are not speaking Spanish.


The non-whites tend to give more trouble as proven statistically worldwide.

Racism? Yes, but there is also a difference if people feel uncomfortable around others because of known ethnical behavioral patterns.

A good example is why many whites stay away from blacks…not particularly racism, but the chances of being harmed is increased. In my case, i love my blacks but i am not stepping foot in Maloney or Morvant etc.

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metalgear2095
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby metalgear2095 » July 28th, 2023, 11:16 am

Phone Surgeon wrote:daz small thing

theres enough racism here from half the population towards the other half to be accustomed to it
Both sides are racist here

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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Kickstart » July 28th, 2023, 12:10 pm

MaxPower wrote:
Dizzy28 wrote:
Phone Surgeon wrote:Costa Rica, guyana,


Costa Rica like Uruguay and Argentina are unique in Latin America as having some of the least diverse populations i.e. the most white. I have felt like there is a underlying racism implicit in Costa Ricans towards non-white ppl and worse yet if you are not speaking Spanish.


The non-whites tend to give more trouble as proven statistically worldwide.

Racism? Yes, but there is also a difference if people feel uncomfortable around others because of known ethnical behavioral patterns.

A good example is why many whites stay away from blacks…not particularly racism, but the chances of being harmed is increased. In my case, i love my blacks but i am not stepping foot in Maloney or Morvant etc.
Whites love black and brown people, after all they invaded both Africa & India while stealing their wealth. White people even Stole America from the native Indians

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Dizzy28
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby Dizzy28 » July 28th, 2023, 1:43 pm

Kickstart wrote:
MaxPower wrote:
Dizzy28 wrote:
Phone Surgeon wrote:Costa Rica, guyana,


Costa Rica like Uruguay and Argentina are unique in Latin America as having some of the least diverse populations i.e. the most white. I have felt like there is a underlying racism implicit in Costa Ricans towards non-white ppl and worse yet if you are not speaking Spanish.


The non-whites tend to give more trouble as proven statistically worldwide.

Racism? Yes, but there is also a difference if people feel uncomfortable around others because of known ethnical behavioral patterns.

A good example is why many whites stay away from blacks…not particularly racism, but the chances of being harmed is increased. In my case, i love my blacks but i am not stepping foot in Maloney or Morvant etc.
Whites love black and brown people, after all they invaded both Africa & India while stealing their wealth. White people even Stole America from the native Indians


Well seeing as Indians are from India clearly no land in America was stolen from them.

Also has no other race conquered any territory in the history of man? Look at a map of the Turkic Ottoman Empire in 1776, the year of American Independence and then a map of Turkey today. Are you similarly vex or does the "white man" alone vex you?

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MaxPower
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby MaxPower » July 28th, 2023, 3:00 pm

Kickstart wrote:Whites love black and brown people, after all they invaded both Africa & India while stealing their wealth. White people even Stole America from the native Indians


Whites love who what? Lol

Zoom, forget the past na, the times have evolved. Back then didnt have all the laws we have now.

But blacks and browns have the opportunities now that they didn’t have then, but yet still they are responsible for the most amount of harm and discomfort to their fellow human beings.

triniterribletim
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby triniterribletim » July 28th, 2023, 9:11 pm

alfa wrote:What's the prospects of retiring to a foreign country, assuming your work life is over and your can sustain yourself and just looking for a decent place to live out your days. Do they even give visas for that kinda thing?


They offer retirement visas in lots of countries. You just have to prove you have a certain amount of money coming in per month or have a certain amount in the bank, fill out your visa application and you're set. Brazil requires 2000 USD income per month, Argentina requires only 500 USD per month. There are a lotta places in SE Asia that have similar levels of requirements. Arajet is starting SDQ-EZE soon and Sky High is starting SDQ-POS so getting back to Trini would be cheaper than it currently is at the moment.

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leavingforgood
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Re: Leaving Trinidad for good...

Postby leavingforgood » August 10th, 2023, 12:25 pm

Les Bain wrote:
leavingforgood wrote:
jhonnieblue wrote:
Rovin wrote:d other side of d coin .... :| :| :|

https://newsday.co.tt/2023/07/17/canada ... bqeWNVEkOc


Share your progress here, if you can.


I'm heading out very soon (a few weeks god willing) so you can ask me questions about my journey up to now and I will try to share what I feel comfortable answering.

I've been commenting in this thread for a while now so you can look at my comment history to see if I've posted anything useful for you so far.

One thing I know many people are curious about is getting your money out of T&T and the one thing I would say is, if you are using FCB to save your money you will struggle to get your money out when the time comes. Not to sound too much like Zoom but FCB is a PNM bank through and through. FCB is a good bank if you want to have a local safety net just in case things don't work out for you abroad (although UTC is much better) but if you expect any of that money to be wire transferred to another country, you better be prepared for many frustrating and long delays.

The smartest thing I've done in my Leavingforgood journey has been to work my plan backward. I started with figuring out where I want to go, what legal routes I will need to take to get there, and how much money I would need to save up. Then I worked things back, like how long would it take to reach my savings goal based on my current income, what side jobs can I pick up to increase my savings, who do I know would be willing to help me achieve my plan, etc.

When I initially started my plan looking at my daily life, my goal of leaving this place felt really overwhelming because I felt like I was dividing my hopes and goals in too many directions without a solid plan.

I wanted to get out of this place for over a decade but got serious about leaving T&T 3 years ago and gave myself a 3-year deadline. Although things haven't turned out exactly like I planned (I haven't won the lotto plus jackpot yet but let's see what Saturday holds) I am grateful to say I achieved it in my goal timeframe.

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