WC 1M Post Challenge - You Ready?!

[N_LaRUE]

That's interesting and amazing that both of you were able to marry and travel so much at your ages.

Most people who travel abroad frequently do so either when young and single on student visas, or once they are married but well-off retirees.

I guess I misunderstood citizenship and residency in Commonwealth nations. I had thought that persons who were citizens of a Commonwealth nation could easily move to another Commonwealth nation or even to the UK easily. For example, I would have guessed that MIA could have moved to the UK and become a permanent resident or citizen there easier than moving to the USA and becoming a permanent resident or citizen here. I also thought that you would have been easily able to move from Canada to Australia.

Before 1970 I believe this was the case but as countries diverged more from the old British Empire and new immigration laws came in all this disappeared.

For me to live anywhere other than Canada means going through immigration. Other than having a direct ancestor to a country I'm subjected to those laws.

I did look into possible British ancestry citizenship but it's too far back and I don't think my mother is interested at her age to get hers so... Not sure it would pass down through my mother to me either.

Also a British passport wouldn't help me now anyway with the EU. It would just complicate things.

So in general, if you meet someone overseas and you want to be with them it means working out how to get at least a year together and show you're in a committed relationship before applying a partner visa. It's complicated the older you are. Also countries have age limits and medical requirements as well for this visa. Typically younger than 45 and in good health.

Keep in mind this is a partner visa not a retirement visa or other type of visa. They all have other conditions.

As for the EU. My wife got her Finnish citizenship and I as her partner gets to go with her. I do have to apply for residency still and there are conditions depending on the country. Being an EU citizen will make life a lot easier. Just need to work on the language thing.

I should also point out we got together in our early 30s. Too old for working holiday visa but still young enough to work things out though still difficult.

 

[Rose640]

This is the part where I interject and state as that as a woman she may likely "prefer" to carry around half of Bosnia in a shoulder bag/tote vs lugging around a gaming laptop (even though they're plenty of women who like traveling light) . I think I remember hearing her state she doesn't want to carry around a heavy machine in her EDC (everyday carry) kit.

They're no LG Gram, but some of them aren't that heavy. I mean, a dedicated GPU and a bigger battery are definitely going to add up to the mass. Even so, there are some on the list that aren't really that heavy.

Half of Bosnia isn't all that much people to be honest, or the land as a matter of fact.

 

[Rose640]

This is helpful, thank you! I appreciate the time you took to find these and tell me about them. I could do that with the webcam, as long as I have enough USB ports.

There should be enough of them on those gaming ones. Honestly I think that's the best solution.

Good luck.

 

[Rose640]

I just realised how cheaper laptops on Amazon and Newegg (forgot to mention Newegg, they sometimes have cheaper prices than Amazon, so you can check them out too libra) are than in the shops in my country.

On top of the all import taxes I have to pay, the dealers takes just too big of a cut. So instead of paying. So an 800€ laptoo would cost me around 1900BAM here. As you can see, huge difference.

 

[Rose640]

What a show the US run for a president office has become. Just visit shop.donaldjtrump.com. Nothing else to say here.

 

[N_LaRUE]

I just realised how cheaper laptops on Amazon and Newegg (forgot to mention Newegg, they sometimes have cheaper prices than Amazon, so you can check them out too libra) are than in the shops in my country.

On top of the all import taxes I have to pay, the dealers takes just too big of a cut. So instead of paying. So an 800€ laptoo would cost me around 1900BAM here. As you can see, huge difference.

Taxes here in France are a bit high as well so things cost a bit more. It's the reason why a lot of British people here still buy things from the UK instead of France.

Once brexit happens things may change but who knows.

It's a bit frustrating. You see prices in the UK for the same item quite a bit cheaper than here and the Euro and Pound are not the different to make it that much cheaper so it's obviously taxes.

As the UK is still in the EU there's no import tax currently. That may change. Especially if they go no deal which still a strong possibility.

 

[N_LaRUE]

What a show the US run for a president office has become. Just visit shop.donaldjtrump.com. Nothing else to say here.

I don't think I'll go there. I have a hard enough time not puking every time I see our hear him.

 

[N_LaRUE]

In tech news the most recent update to my phone, May security patch, appears to have made the fingerprint scanner better. There a new UI as well.

Still not perfect but it may be that I didn't register the finger correctly so I'll try again.

 

[Rose640]

Taxes here in France are a bit high as well so things cost a bit more. It's the reason why a lot of British people here still buy things from the UK instead of France.

Once brexit happens things may change but who knows.

It's a bit frustrating. You see prices in the UK for the same item quite a bit cheaper than here and the Euro and Pound are not the different to make it that much cheaper so it's obviously taxes.

As the UK is still in the EU there's no import tax currently. That may change. Especially if they go no deal which still a strong possibility.

Taxes here vary from 17-23% on import goods. It doesn't help either that 1€ = 1.96 BAM.

 

[Rose640]

I don't think I'll go there. I have a hard enough time not puking every time I see our hear him.

Wise choice.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I don't think I'll go there. I have a hard enough time not puking every time I see our hear him.

We all have that favorite, you know the one we like so much that we projectile vomit when we think of them...

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Man, I'm tired.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

They're no LG Gram, but some of them aren't that heavy. I mean, a dedicated GPU and a bigger battery are definitely going to add up to the mass. Even so, there are some on the list that aren't really that heavy.

Half of Bosnia isn't all that much people to be honest, or the land as a matter of fact.

It sounds like you've clearly never properly picked up a fully loaded woman's tote bag/work shoulder purse to understand how much those things weigh.

Laptop weight is relative. Remember, we don't know what else she has as her EDC. So she's got to factor that stuff in to balance what she needs weight and performance wise from her laptop.

 

[libra89]

There is another possibility to think about.

You could just find the best laptop for your price range not worrying much about the webcam, speakers and microphone. Make sure it has at least one USB C port.

Get a USB C hub. Buy a webcam and headset. Have them plugged in at home ready to go.

If you're out and need the webcam for some reason the laptop can suffice in that situation but it looks like the webcam and microphone are mostly at home thing?

That's the way I'd approach it anyway. I just assume all webcams, microphones and speakers on laptops are still rubbish for the most part and care more about the other parts of the laptop more. Battery life, WiFi, CPU, etc.

Since I rarely use a webcam it's never a consideration for me and with all the calls I've made on Skype and Zoom I've learned that a headset or using a USB microphone and the laptop speakers is the better solution.

Just using the laptop built in stuff isn't that great. At least in my experience so far.

Haven't tried the wife's new laptop yet for calls so maybe it's better.

Hmm, I didn't think of that. Thank you for the suggestion.
Yes, you're correct. The microphone and webcam are for home use. I am using speakers all the time, with or without Zoom/Meet/WebEx. I watch a lot of videos and listen to music. I'm not as advanced as Rose in this area lol.

You have given me an idea to possibly modify my search.

Keep us posted on that when you do.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

EDC conversations are always interesting. For me pre COVID-19, mine was:

Galaxy Watch 46mm, Fitbit Alta HR, V50, Fiil T1x, some cheap leather old school billfold, Timbuktu messenger bag with whatever books and spare clothes I'm using for crazy home visits, Ray Ban sunglasses, small umbrella, work iPhone 7 with holster case, silver chain, a back up Bluetooth headset and a pair of wired headphones. The Flex 14 fits nicely into the messenger bag and doesn't add too much weight there. If it's a situation where I need something smaller, I pull out the Asus T100 to take along instead of the Flex 14.

Have one of those slim wallets but haven't transitioned to it yet as I still like having cash on hand more easily.

Weekend EDC is just the phone, watch, Fibit, wallet, chain and sunglasses. Usually the t1x is in there but sometimes I don't want to listen to music when traveling.

 

[libra89]

There should be enough of them on those gaming ones. Honestly I think that's the best solution.

Good luck.

Thank you, I'll need it. Lol

 

[libra89]

I just realised how cheaper laptops on Amazon and Newegg (forgot to mention Newegg, they sometimes have cheaper prices than Amazon, so you can check them out too libra) are than in the shops in my country.

On top of the all import taxes I have to pay, the dealers takes just too big of a cut. So instead of paying. So an 800€ laptoo would cost me around 1900BAM here. As you can see, huge difference.

That is a huge difference. Wow.

I totally forgot to check out Newegg, thank you.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

There is another possibility to think about.

You could just find the best laptop for your price range not worrying much about the webcam, speakers and microphone. Make sure it has at least one USB C port.

Get a USB C hub. Buy a webcam and headset. Have them plugged in at home ready to go.

If you're out and need the webcam for some reason the laptop can suffice in that situation but it looks like the webcam and microphone are mostly at home thing?

That's the way I'd approach it anyway. I just assume all webcams, microphones and speakers on laptops are still rubbish for the most part and care more about the other parts of the laptop more. Battery life, WiFi, CPU, etc.

Since I rarely use a webcam it's never a consideration for me and with all the calls I've made on Skype and Zoom I've learned that a headset or using a USB microphone and the laptop speakers is the better solution.

Just using the laptop built in stuff isn't that great. At least in my experience so far.

Haven't tried the wife's new laptop yet for calls so maybe it's better.

Agreed 100%.

So when I picked the Flex 14, I did something similar. I wanted beefy stats because I keep my machines for eons. It's why I decided 16GB RAM & 512GB SSD were my floor. I had an opportunity to grab one of the early 10th Gen i7s, so I took it because the cost savings to go to a 8th Gen i7 wasn't as much in the configuration I wanted. I looked at Port selection, battery life and keyboard. Flex has solid port selection, the keyboard is very good and the battery life I could work around. Having used the keyboard daily, I'm glad I didn't compromise there. Think the battery is also replaceable too (and cheaper to do vs a Surface). I got a USB hub anyways eons ago for my T100 and that still runs well to give me more I/O. 3.5mm jack is good.

I didn't care about speakers because for audio I'd use headphones. I didn't care about the mic because by Sony cans have a built-in mic and they work great with the laptop. I didn't care about the webcam because most are trash. What I cared about was a physical kill switch for the webcam though and FPS for Windows hello. Once I tested out the webcam on a business call this week, I'm glad it's solid enough. If it were total trash, I'd buy one. For my current work meetings, webcam is off.

So yeah, prioritize certain features and see what you can get as externals to best fit your uses. I just chose an ultrabook because I need lighter and more portable in my current living and work spaces. Otherwise weight doesn't bother me and I would have gotten a regular laptop.

 

[libra89]

In tech news the most recent update to my phone, May security patch, appears to have made the fingerprint scanner better. There a new UI as well.

Still not perfect but it may be that I didn't register the finger correctly so I'll try again.

How's the UI? Any thoughts? I'm glad to hear that the update has helped with the scanner, that's a start.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I'm so glad I got the Flex 14 when I did. In being pressed into working at home I didn't have to scramble to get a machine as my T100 couldn't have handled this workload.

It still freezes daily. I'm going to order a flash drive, do a back up and wipe it and start over. I think it took a bad driver update within the past two months. The first three weeks of working from home it was flawless. Fortunately I don't have much work saved on the machine and a total wipe isn't a super loss.