Kyle Hepp

25 Comments

1. 

   You should probably move to San Francisco and scope out all the best bars and restaurants and other things that Chileno-gringa couples might like so that when Rodolfo and I move there in a few years we’ll have a seamless transition Just a thought.

   Comment by Emily — July 24, 2008 @ 5:21 pm

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2. 

   There actually is hope for that Emily. If I ever lived anywhere in the U.S. it would be California or Florida so who knows…

   Comment by Mamacita Chilena — July 24, 2008 @ 5:23 pm

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3. 

   I vote for California….just one state away from me

   Comment by Rachel — July 24, 2008 @ 7:11 pm

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4. 

   I´m struggling because I´m already living in the one city I´ve most wanted to live in, the city that when I came for a short study abroad I thought “I will live here”. And this is the closest thing I´ve ever gotten to your Tampa feeling. But now I´m living it, getting up and going to work everyday, living the day to day and now I´m thinking of elsewhere. It´s not that the grass is always greener. It´s just that I´m not meant to spend my entire life in one place. I know that about myself.

   Comment by Bluestreak — July 25, 2008 @ 1:53 am

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5. 

   You know, in another life I could’ve been you, I think. I could have moved around to different cities and just decided, “Hey, I could do this,” and plop down roots for a few years or forever. Not that I don’t love what I have now, because I do, but I’ll always wonder what would’ve happened if I’d joined the Peace Corps, or saved that money and traveled Europe … it could’ve been really different.

   Comment by Kristen — July 25, 2008 @ 5:46 am

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6. 

   I totally understand what you mean although to be honest I haven’t reached a point where I WANT to settle down somewhere. I think I’m having the exact opposite reaction: I feel I don’t ever want to set up roots because no matter where I’ll go, I’ll never truly belong (it’s the age old equation that keeps bugging me: I’m 50/50 mex/american so I’m 100% nothin’).

   The way I see it, I want to move and live in different parts of the world 3/4 years at a time… I’m getting bored and restless here… who knows???

   What I was going to say is that I don’t think Brussels is such a good idea tho… I admit I haven’t read your article yet, but things in Belgium are pretty hot at the moment. The conflict between Flammands and Wallabies is getting quite strong and provoking a lot of racist brouts whithin the country. At least, those are the reports we’re often hearing about here.

   On the other hand: French fries, Waffles and Chocolate!!! Hello? Totally sounds like paradise!!!

   
   Fned.

   Comment by Fned — July 25, 2008 @ 10:09 am

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7. 

   Acutally, going back and reading Bluestreak’s comment is like wow! She took the words right out of my mouth!!!!

   Fned.

   Comment by Fned — July 25, 2008 @ 10:11 am

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8. 

   I’ll admit I know nothing about any conflict in Brussels. But anywhere we move won’t be for another 3-4 years (1.5 years until we leave Chile and then 1.5-2 years of round the world travel until we’re ready to settle down). So maybe they can work things out by then

   I guess Fned, maybe I haven’t been an expat quite long enough to realize that I’ll never be fully at home anywhere either. But I am willing to give it another try. I’m also thinking way ahead to the whole settling down thing, since I’m hoping I’ll have my wanderlust out of my system after our RTW trip!

   BlueStreak, it’s good that you know that about yourself. You can move when you get the itch so that you never become unsatisfied.

   Kristen, in another life, how about in this life? You don’t have kids yet, what’s holding you back from traveling if you want to?

   Comment by Mamacita Chilena — July 25, 2008 @ 10:14 am

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9. 

   Great post. I feel just like you. A and I definitely won´t be here long-term. We have no idea where we want to settle down yet though, I suppose we´ll just go with the flow and when the opportunity arises…grab it!
   It´s such a shame Santiago lacks a certain something…it´s just too far away from everything, too backwards in many ways, too this, too that….good for now…a new experience and A makes living here completely worthwile.

   Comment by Girl.Meets.Chile — July 25, 2008 @ 11:28 am

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10. 

    Settle some place exciting because one day I’m going to come visit.

    Comment by Ordinary Girl — July 25, 2008 @ 12:25 pm

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11. 

    I can totally relate to that feeling! I am having serious issues. I can’t sit still anywhere. I have only been here 4 months. I came here thinking I would live here forever and now I already want out. It is much more problematic since we have a child. He is worried if he goes to Japan that he will have trouble finding work and my job future is pretty dead-end here. I have no idea what to do. What is your RTW trip itinerary?

    Comment by kumichan83 — July 25, 2008 @ 12:49 pm

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12. 

    fned – you are a 100% yourself though! Don’t divide that 100% 50/50 between Mex / American. Spread your 100% over both halves!!

    When I was 23 my husband and I got transferred to a different city. We were told it was a temporary move, that we’d only be there for 6 months. So I made the mistake of not getting involved because I thought I was in temporary quarters. We ended up being there for 3 years. So I vowed that I would never make that mistake again so every move after that I made with a completely different mindset and tried to embrace the new places no holds barred.

    I certainly understand that itch to go places and do things but I think there needs to be a healthy balance between wanting more out of life and making plans to do more but making the most out of where you are under the present circumstance.

    Comment by Rita — July 25, 2008 @ 6:53 pm

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13. 

    I have never lived in any one place longer than 3 years since leaving my parents’ house at 18 years old. We bought a house in 2005 in an area with good schools and low (for NJ) taxes that was close to the mountains for mountain biking, etc. but also close to Manhattan. We really thought we’d stay there.

    Now I’ve realized that home ownership might not be for me. I really like living in places- more than just traveling. I want to really experience the culture.

    We may sell our house soon, but we’re not going to buy something in Mexico. I am weary to make that same mistake and end up moving on from here in another year or two.

    There’s a lot of pressure in the US to “settle down.” We just didn’t fit the mold no matter how hard we tried to force it.

    Comment by mexpat — July 26, 2008 @ 6:37 am

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14. 

    You wouldn’t be able to handle Brussels in a million years. “Spoiled” little american girls never can… :-/

    I very much enjoy your blog, but Brussels is not for you.

    (I’m an expat in Brussels – 9 years and counting.)

    Comment by Anonymous — July 26, 2008 @ 7:28 am

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15. 

    I always liked Barcelona!

    Comment by Clare — July 26, 2008 @ 12:58 pm

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16. 

    Try Buenos Aires – or London if you’re feeling strong!

    We’ll buy you a drink in a real London pub!

    Wembley

    Comment by Anonymous — July 26, 2008 @ 1:41 pm

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17. 

    Spoiled little American girls? How predictable.

    Comment by EvilJoy — July 26, 2008 @ 2:07 pm

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18. 

    Brussels? I’ve heard good things about there!

    (Forget the Negative Nelly who poo-pooed the idea!)

    Jayna

    Comment by Anonymous — July 26, 2008 @ 2:15 pm

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19. 

    You should move to Indianapolis We’ve got…corn?

    Comment by PastaQueen — July 27, 2008 @ 1:41 pm

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20. 

    Wow I’m shocked by the ‘spoiled’ comment. Imagine if they met you -they’d be eating the biggest slice of humble pie with a filling of their words.

    Anyway, what I was going to say was, I too was watching a programme about lovely Brussels yesterday. My uncle lived there for years and adored it and i’ve got lots of friends loving it there now.

    As you know R and I have got the same issue but were seriously sussing out ESPANA (my persuasion is working!!!) yesterday. It’s strange, it’s like I KNOW that’s our place.

    But then again, China was one of the three places I never ever wanted to go back to (India and Russia being the other two). Situation necessitating, we did end up living here and I am IN LOVE WITH Shanghai. I don’t want to leave.

    It’s the best feeling ever and my wonderful London is less missed as a result. Although still my Tampa of course.

    Comment by Raybelles — July 27, 2008 @ 5:13 pm

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21. 

    Ritaville: I see what you mean and I do try and see myself belonging to all the different cultures I’ve been lucky enough to get to know so far. The thing is, you sometimes can’t avoid them “overstepping” their boudaries. Like my mexican side giving an opinion on a french issue. Or my american way of doing things influencing how I do things in France…

    90% of the time this doesn’t bother me, on the contrary, it only adds to a more tolerant and open approach and this is mainly why I want to continue to travel and live in different parts of the world. To aquire an even broader point of view of things.

    But sometimes there’s still that 10% of me that wishes I belonged in all levels, on all repects, in all ways to one single place/culture… that I belonged to such an extent that I could understand it to its maximum without any hesitations coming from experiences aquired elsewhere.

    *long sigh*. Basically, we’re never happy with what we have.

    Fned.

    Comment by Fned — July 28, 2008 @ 1:42 am

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22. 

    Can you comment more about why you love Tampa so much? I am originally from Florida and would like to move back one day. Other than flying in and out en route to my parents’ house, I haven’t spent much time in Tampa. I’ve only heard negative comments about it (such as that the main social activities are boating, watching football, tanning, drinking cheap beer and uh, tanning.) Can you elaborate on your love of Tampa either here or maybe in a future post? Thanks!

    Comment by Magnifique — July 30, 2008 @ 9:47 am

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23. 

    Magnifique, one of the huge things I loved about Tampa is it’s basic proximity to everything. I loved that you have major baseball, football and hockey teams all within a half an hour of the city. You can drive a half an hour outside the city and find great biking/hiking trails. 30-40 minutes and you’re at the beach. There are also a lot of great museums and restaurants. Another favorite part of the city for me is the Latin neighborhood which has great little hole in the wall restaurants with AMAZING food and if you drive down Armenia on a Fri or Sat night you’ll see all the street cars out, music, people dancing outside. The Latino/Caribbean culture fusion has a strong influence in Tampa.

    If you’re a party person I guess Ybor and Hyde Park are good. I’m not very into the scene, but I did enjoy clubbing back in the day.

    The cool thing is that it’s not so huge that it’s hard to get around. It’s great in that it has a lot of the benefits of a big city without feeling too overwhelming.

    Of course there are those who don’t take advantage of all that Tampa has to offer and just drink cheap beer, watch football, and tan all day long…but if you want to make the most of it, it’s a great place to live. I loved it for the 4 years I was there.

    That being said, I was always lucky enough to live in really nice neighborhoods. Tampa certainly has it’s parts that aren’t all that nice like any city.

    Hope that helps. Feel free to email me if you want to talk more

    Comment by Mamacita Chilena — July 30, 2008 @ 12:27 pm

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24. 

    Tamsin, you hit the nail on the head. Santiago just lacks that certain je ne sais quoi.

    O.G., you are welcome to visit no matter where we end up! We’ll always have a futon with your name on it!

    Kumichan, isn’t the job issue so hard? It’s like if a country’s job market is good for one half of the couple, it’s not for the other half. Seems that’s how things always work out. Our round the world trip will start sometime next year (we have a guestimation, of leaving between the months of July-December, depending on $$$, job stuff and weather).

    Mexpat, you’re so right about the pressure to settle down. It’s almost overwhelming in the U.S. and here. I can’t speak for any other countries, but I always feel this pressure on my shoulders of people who think that since we’ve been married a while we need to OWN a house. Is having a giant possession really that big of a deal? like you said, ownership may not be for everyone.

    Haha, to the first anonymous poster. You’re funny. I’m sorry if you think I come across as spoiled on the blog, but I’m confident in real life that you would have quite a different opinion of me.

    Wembley, I’m taking you up on that offer. when we fly into London first thing we’re doing is meeting up with you for a cold one. There are some “pubs” here but I have a feeling they don’t compare to the real deal.

    Clare, I’ve heard nothing but good things about Barcelona.

    Joy, update your blog, bitch! Haha, I LOVE YOU!

    Jayna, I’m not settling down until you do…

    PQ. Yeah, I’ve done the corn thing in Michigan. *Ahem* it was SUPER fun.

    Rachel, it’s funny that you’ve had that feeling about Spain for so long. But who knows, maybe that will just end up being your family’s Tampa. I’m so glad that you’re totally loving Shanghai though!

    Comment by Mamacita Chilena — July 30, 2008 @ 1:34 pm

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25. 

    i`m in the same situation here !! i lived in connecticut for a while and LOVED it there but i had to get back in canada for some reasons ..but i do hope one day to back and live there for the rest of my life so KYLE( !!!) don`t give up and it`s totally understanable not to like a beautiful country .. i`m so with you

    Comment by sweet kiddo — August 4, 2008 @ 12:08 pm

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