Lioness,
Why not OBJ?that handsome.young and good looking man.

@ Sage,

Yo man u must be a freaking liar if u claim u save $3000 a month and u are a student, i live in the U.S too fool, stop lying to the masses, Now answer these questions,

1.what do u pay for rent, ?, and if u live on campus how much is your tuition and boarding,
2.u own a car right, how much is your car note and insurance,
3.cable/cell phone bill,
4.what of food, groceries, clothes,

Common man, even full time workers find it hard to save up here, anyway as my people dey say 4 naija, who no go, no know,

I work full time, and i pay $650 and month in rent, minus water,heat,light, now even if i make $20/hr, thats just $800 a week, take taxes out, it comes to about $620, x 4, is $2480, then take out my other expenses, then u see what i mean, not to talk of money i send home to my people in naija,

anyway people here just dey run thier mouth, i am going back to naija, next 3-4yrs, settle in abuja, and live my life to fullest, if i wan travel i go to u.k, fror shopping or vacation, If u stay yankee long enough u go tire, and people here know it, i have an uncle, medical doctor making about $120,000 a year, but him dey pack go back naija go set up, him don tire for the rat race, my boi just got his masters here, been here for 5yrs, he just went back to naija to settle, so if u wan die for here, goodluck, besides all the people i grew up wit all my tight bois dey for naija or u.k, any way na my own be dat,

Another thing people dont talk about in America is debt, u live in a house but u dont own it until u pay it all off in 30yrs, meanwhile in that period your bank can take over and sell your house if u fall behind in payment, so if u loose your job its over, u have $20,000 IN CREDIT CARD debts, maybe as many as 5 or 6 credit cards charging u 20% interest yet u dont have $1000 to your name in the bank, that is an average american by the way, it could be worse, american savings rate has been running negative for years,

Life may be better abroad, but dont let pictures and tales of America deceive you. You work hard to get a dollar, and you pay taxes and bills. When you buy a house, most times, you are in debt for thirty years, and a drawback is that if you fall behind on your mortgage payments, as paddylo wrote, the bank is at liberty to possess it. Now, even after paying off your mortgage at the end of thirty years, you would still make payments for property taxes, which varies froms tate to state. Dont let anybody deceive you. Yankee is fine quite alright, if you work hard, you are most certainly sure of three square meals a day, but life is isolated here, people dont take the time to exhale the simple aspects of life. Some people are always in a hurry trying to make ends meet. Conversations between pals is conducted mostly on telephones. You cant go out with your friends to a nearby spot to have dinner with, especially for a newbie, because you are always working.

I dont know how it is in Nigeria now, because I left home in the 90's. But during my stay there, it was for the most part, smooth. Pops and Moms made it smooth for me. But to be frank though, food wise, yankee definitely beats Nigeria hands down.

paddy lo,
it is just how expensive you chose to live that makes it hard in the states or wherever. life sure is hard abroad.

As hard as it is hard to fathom the possibility of saving 3k on a student expenses, be it for a month or three months, I have realized that only enormous sacrifices are involved to accomplish this feat. However I am not going to embark on that length to save that money. I mean, for what? To build a house in Nigeria that I wont even live in till the next decade or so? I live my life for the moment, dine out, and enjoy myself now and then. I wont live a cheap or miserly life, just for the heck of hoarding money. What's the point in working in the first place??

Note please, I am not directing any criticism at anybody here on their lifestyles. My opinion is that it is not worth it, sacrificing oneself to save up money especially if it involves some basic necessities.

150 Million people and you guys are making noise, Nigeria is a Manufacturers paradise . I can count more than 15 people that are millionaires in Kano state, thanks to Pure Water. When they started, People where laughing at them.

I know a man that owns a two story building (15 3Bedroom Flats) in Kano, guess what he does. He is a Car Battery Charger.

If I continue naming people that have made it in Nigeria by starting their own SME (Small Medium Scale Enterprise) I will not stand up from this computer.

Most people that are complaining that they don't have jobs are just Lazy. I can remember when I offered one of my friend back in Kano in 1999 a Brand new Motor-Cycle to do Okada work and make money. Guess what he said (I wll put it in his own words). "Chimaze how can I be an okada man, I am a graduate O".

Imagine person wey hungry dey fire wey no get work, no money, nothing they select work wey him wan do. Not that that money isn't good, Okada Riders make ab average of 500 naira a day then. (in 1999 $1 is about 86 Naira).

Guess what, I gave the Motor-Cycle to another person. Right now that Guy owns more than 5 Buses doing transport for him and my friend who I gave the Bike first to, is still broke and complaining of Naija. PEACE 2 U ALL.

This is sure one of the best and most educating threads on this Forum and i want to take out time to thank the OP of this thread and all who have contributed to far.A big kudos to those who were able to prove a point against the belief that "life abroad is really better abroad" and this respect goes to the likes of Akolawole,metroman,hotstepper just to mention a few,

I am very much against this general belief that life abroad is really better than life in Nigeria this belief might really be frowned upon by most folks who are in nigeria,but would you blame them Hell no, why?"Because who no go no know"and how about those abroad who hold this view as well??i would say these are folks who lack self confidence,who do not believe they can do better than what they presently have,living a false life and so to speak settle for mediocrity forgetting that you can be whatever you want to be if you really work hard at it,

If i knew what i know now believe me i would have rested my ass in Nigeria than come here and be faced with what i never bargained for but still had to make see it as an opportunity to raise some capital to start up something for myself and be self-reliant (WORKING FOR A BOSS??GOD FORBID).I've noticed that most people in here who argued for this belief are mostly the U.S based nigerians and believe me i am not suprised at all, why because most of them think they've gotten into heaven and as such it is bye bye to Nigeria and when it finally dawns on them that this is afterall not the heaven they thought it was they would have spent like 10 years there and would have just realized how they've been living a fairy-tale life in a bid to correct this a plan would have been hatched at this point to start buttoning up to meet up with his peers back home who took their destiny in their hands in their own country and before you know it they've clocked another 10 years trying to meet up but still swimming in the same position without realizing it while the gentleman in Nigeria within these extra 10 years has gone a notch higher, when eventually they find out its a lost battle to correct their mistakes they then finally settle into the system iAbroad and if God helps they might be visiting Niger once in a while and all you get from them is their slangs and big big grammars,

Life in Nigeria is not without any hiccups yes i know but tell me where on this planet is there a country close to or been called heaven without it's own fair share of hiccups,
What most of us tend to forget is that no matter how blue or whatever color your passport is the fact remains that you are a "transplant" wherever you are presently so long as you are Nigerian because home is home come what may"Aju o da bi ile, "

The main problem with most of us is that we are often scared of taking on our problems and destiny head on and make the best of it instead we are happy limiting our capabilities and believing what we have presently is the best we ever can achieve (as for me i refuse to settle for mediocrity),

I've got a friend who was living here but after some years decided he has had enough went back to Nigeria finally because he realized and believed it earlier before us that he can live a real better life in Nigeria, he comes around once or twice every year and you need to see this guy spending euros like he works in a european bank,

How is life abroad really better than life in Nigeria when i will be close to having no savings on a 1500 euros per month pay check and on a 1000 euros pay check in Nigeria im sure of saving at least 500 euros with the same level of comfort you can boast of abroad (yes i repeat same comfort)

The bottom line is this, most people still in Nigeria just don't want to hear that life abroad is not what they think it is and i really do not blame them because i was a victim too but now i know better, Has anyone on this forum here ever called home and been told by his or her family members that Mr so so and so who just left nigeria 6 months ago just came back home to buy house in VGC this and that believing afterall its same abroad this Mr so so and so went is the same abroad you are in and havent achieved such feat, they don't understand that some guymen come in here and within 3 months make more than the amount of money most people work legitimately for like 10 years to save here, In a case like that i understand there is nothing you can tell someone who's bent on leaving Niger that the life here is not what he or she thinks because he sure will think you are an enemy of progress,

I have read some folks here talking about saving 3000USD or 4000USD in about 3 months and buying a house and all what nots, the question is this at what cost where you able to save this much in about 3 months and how many hours of work did you have to clock in to achieve this feat, Buying of house abroad, you can only tell this to people in Nigeria who do not know how the system works and they will envy you not me because i know how it works, Its simply just like a tag that you are taking a mortgage and the house in real fact is not yours until after about 30yrs and you dare not default within these years or else you are phucked,

Got a whole lot to write in here but got to go now will be back to remodify this post,

Abeg i dey go Niger go contribute my own quota employ the number of people i fit employ make we dey struggle dey go small small

I came,i saw and i've realized life is not really better abroad,

A WORD OF ADVICE FOR THOSE PLANNING ON TRAVELLING OUT OF NIGERIA

Please if you intend to come hustle illegally and all that shait if not for the purpose of studies please have a rethink because you will sure regret this decision, its just not what it seems the life here is so planned that you can't even survive on one job and the goverment knows how much you are supposed to have left after paying all of your bills this is why it is easier to track down those involved in shady deals,

ABEG USE THE SMALL MONEY WEY YOU WAN TAKE RUN COME HERE TAKE START ONE SMALL BUSINESS AND CONCENTRATE ON AM AND SEE WHERE YOU'LL BE IN LESS THAN 3 YRS,

One love peeps

Patriotism is a nice virtue to have as much as love for one's roots.

Running away from threatning situations especially like those to be found in naija should never be construed to mean betrayal.
I lived 90% of my life in Naija and I know what to say about this case. 10% of my life lived abroad has been better than those I stayed in naija.
I love my country and will definitely go back there but I will never agree that life in naija can be compared to yankee.
anyway everything depends on your as status. The secret is coming here legally and organising yourself properly.
No amount of economy and organisation in naija will save you unless your brother is the governement.

For those who still doubt it or are feeling too home sick, take a trip to naija. You will start regretting from the airport when the touts start extorting money from you. What of the armed robber who will trace you to your house from the airport?

I really think it depends on what you have doin, like a job or something, if you don't have anything doing abroad, i won't advice you to go there, coz life just might be better at home
like they say
EAST OR WEST, HOME IS THE BEST

i really agree wit u guys that there is no place like home,sweet home but come to think of it.u can not compare like Nigeria to any country in europe,America( power failure,security,economy and other soial amenities)
if u hav any genuine of travelling abroad either to study or wotever u can do dat but always remenber home na home.
na 4 9ja efizy dey sweet ooo!!

Depends on how much money you have - if you have alot of money then most places are fantastic! But I think in terms of satisfaction and enjoyment Naija has more to offer. Also there is something to be said about being around your people. Even if not all of them are good sometimes it is just depressing not being around your brothers and sisters. I find Naija people are warmer, funnier, more beautiful, more intersting, more like yourself. I can't leave london now as I am still studying.

I have lived in london all my life and still consider myself a true Nigerian as I always make efforts to be around my people and learn about my culture. It would be hard for me to adjust in Nigeria (every holiday in Naja I fall ill). But I will live in Nigeria one day just waiting to finish my studies and get some dough. HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS.

take it from someone that has been there. life abroad is not all gold.

As I dey go naija for xmas, na networking I dey go do ohhhh as I dey graduate June 07, I no wan stay abraod, diz place ain't meant 4 me at all, Preferenceeee

@ topic: not really, depends shaa on how lucky u r abroad

if u have a good job at home, home is best. but if not, my dear u may have to come over to sweat for bread here in europe and bear the consequences. if i can earn up to £500 a month in nigeria, i will run back home and live peacefully.

heheh sorry o. u don hear am

well i disagree with most of u all, i have been in hte US for almost 11 years now, and i go home often, and i still feel that the US is better than nigeria, dont get me wrong, the food, parties and environemtn is ten times better in naija, but what type of future can one have in nigeria, where by u stya in school for 7 years for a 4 year course, or u are educated and cant even work, worse some idiot is just waiting to shoot u or throw juju on u because of jealousy, due ot the fact because they cant achieve what u have. look home is home i know that, that is why i go home to chill see family, but what will nigeria offer me, just to end up with soem fat ugly rich man, who thinks he is God's gift to women because i cant get paid properly as a professional. i respect my self too much for that nonsense, so i give america two thumbs up and nigeria only one thumb up. there has to be some mighty improvements before i even consider living permanently in naija.

see i know some people who live in hte US and hate it becuase they are not successfull or things are hard, but yet they keep bringing thier family to the US. go figure. look for any true bred nigerian overseas will never be home, but it beats the crap people have to deal wiht in nigeria anyday.

Can you imagine going for three months without getting paid in Nigeria? And someone comes in here and posts that Nigeria is better than yankee.

Hard to believe that.

I was almost tempted to re post my earlier post months back when this topic came alive. It is not a question of location but How people respond to the location and environmnt they find themselves. Every nation has its challenges and the people who dwell and prosper in them must be people who recognise how to excel against all odds.That is what separate ordinary people from the extra ordinary people.

As an enterpreneur, Naija is a dream land.Any true enterpreur will tell you that. So many of my freinds see problems but I see the chance to create and sell solution and if you all observe the new generation of business owners, they are doing just this-using the very same institution condemned on this thread to make head way and succeed.-

to be continued.

if u feel naija is paradise, pack and go back there.
dont come back after six months to this forum moaning about :

power failure
armed robbers
having to bribe everyone for almost everything
agbero at the motor pack
Complete state of anarchy in the streets
etc etc

For some of us who just escaped from these vices, you can imagine how funny it sounds when a home sick guy fantasises about naija.
I have met people who travvelled home for the first time in many years after a bout of nostalgia. Many vowed never to go back. That is to say, spend a long time home at a time. Ask these people what they saw there. Am sure its not hard to locate one of these people.

Anyhow, East or west, Home is best.

Yes in terms of organisation, abroad is better I must agree this is purely due to politics, if we have one good president and cabinet, things go betta. I know some people on this thread say they find it hard to believe why people miss Naija. It is because if the people mostly. When you are abroad u feel isolated, there is no real sense of community. If someone dies in England, friends and family will mourn, in Naija the whole neighbourhood will come out. Yes there is jealousy and envy in NAija with Juju too (but I believe Chirst conquers all so scratch that). There is also jealousy abroad, except here it is more hidden ur people will bitch - yes, but the oyibo don't have time for that, no instead they collaborate to hld u down. Of course not all oyibo are like that, in the same way not all Naija are like that. Also I do think it is easier to be an entrpreneur in Naija and the possibility for an intelligent person to be a millionnaire entrpreneur is real. People can set up there own businesses, ideas etc.

Also I get what one poster is saying about marrying fat ugly rich men who think they are all that cos they are rich - it is true alot of Naija men act like this (not all though). But who do u think u will marry in Yankee, skinny poor cute man who thinks he is all that because he is giving u the privilege of being with ur own instead of marrying oyibo or someone who lives in Naija still - who may one day still leave you. You can very easily be husbandless in Yankee (especially if u want Nigerian or even any black man only), law of averages suit u better in Naija. But don't get me wrong u can find the one abroad, many have!

Anyway, I think all people on this topic agree Naija will be a better place if there is less corruption and more political organisation directed to benefit the people and the land. Whatever, my idea is to make money here, then go back to Naija to spend it (i.e. start a business with western and Nigerian ideas mixed), I can always come back to England. But I just want to ask a question cos most people seem to compare being poor and jobless in Naija with being ok with a job abroad - in which case abroad will win most times.

BUT IF U WERE RICH ABROAD OR RICH IN NAIJA WHICH WOULD U PREFER?
Bearing in mind u can buy a generator, security, u will have status so u don't need to bribe as much and when u do u will have money to do so anyway, u will have ur own cars, u can invest in ur local community (charity and business) and be the brother and sister of everyone in your community. What I am saying is if u make a million pounds overaseas is it more enjoyable to spend that million overseas or in Naija?

I aint going to condemn Nigeria, I love my country very much, but I have to expose its shortcomings. I grew up there and my experiences for the most part, back home was memorable. But economically, the odds of making it in Nigeria is lesser than America. Look at sucessful entrepreneurs in America, like Oprah, John Johnson of Ebony magazine, Bob Johnson, all the tech guys and ask yourself, "Would they have succeeded in Nigeria"? Of course the answer would be No. I just don't like the state of affairs back home.

The Red tape back home, the protocols and bureaucracy can be frustrating. In yankee, nearly everything is smooth. Let me give you an example of one's weekly paycheck. Back home, your parents work for three months, and they don't get paid. In yankee, you get laid off from your job, and automatically qualify for unemployment benefits. It may not be much, but half a loaf is better than none. If you have a job you are certain of receiving your paycheck. You take a trip to the grocery store and see all these array of foods, quite affordable for the common man. They even have sales on grocery items, buy one, get one free, and you stock it in your freezer. Who really complains of high cost of food in Yankee? Very few that I know of. In naija, it is a different scenario. Look at housing, your income can also work wonders. If you are low income, you may be qualified for affordable housing, complete with low cost health care. Public education is free, which means that the money you would have paid for junior school's fees can be chanelled into another productive venture. And if junior is as smart as his parents who always took the first position in their class , he gets a free ride into college.

I wont sit down here and condemn America. The country has treated me very well. I grew up in Nigeria, and I have nothing but love for my country. Life, for the most part was smooth back home, courtesy of my parents. Now, I just don't know how it would have turned out to be with the high cost of living.

But the bribery in Nigeria is way too much. When I moved out here, my mother applied for my transcript at my alma mater, and I never received it. For four years, I waited in vain for my transcript, therby temporarily abandoning my plans of furthering my studies. So, when I visited home for my mom's funeral, immediately, I went to my almamater, after the funeral and requested for my transcript. The usual story and I was directed to the bursary office to pay 500 Naira for a new application. I paid the sum of money, went back to the admissions department, and guess what, the transcript that my mother had applied for me 4 years earlier was inside the drawer of one of the attendant. And from my guess, it had been there for four years. I went back to get my refund, but the bursar would only return 450 Naira for me. I did not really care, got my transcript and departed from school. Now, if I had not been home, my chances of furthering my studies would have been met with frustrations. If this could have happened to me, then think of what our parents had to go through with daily challenges for all each of us, including our siblings, from primary schools, visiting days in secondary schools, anxiety of shut down in the university, worries over your child's safety in college because of cults, navigating the murky worlds of landing a job after graduation. Perhaps, that accounts for the high rate of hypertension in Nigeria.


Still, I wont swap Nigeria for any country in this world. Let our leaders ameliorate the dire situation back home, and I am sure that some of us would be returning home in trickles.

www.nigerianamerican..com

Hi Fellow nairalanders,
my question for all of you that agianst Nigerians travelling out of niger to seek greener pasture is;
1. are u saying most nigerians abroad re not finding it easy or is it because most nigerians aboard live there illegally?

2. How many foreigners in Nigeria are finding it rosy am not saying foreigners from other continent am saying our neighbors from niger,benin,ghana,togo etc?

3. And isn't it better to experience than to here about it becos i ve heard a lot of people say dis n dat about travelling abroad n nobody seems to come back home.

Let to give u my own view, fine there is no place in this world like ur own country. that IS A FACT BUT WHEN UR OWN HOME MAKES U FEEL INFERIOR, U DONT FEEL SAFE, HUSTLE TO LIVE EVERY DAY, U ARENT SURE OF MAKING 40, u work n no pay,look tell me how many working nigerians can work n buy a car? rent a standard house look how many instances do u want me to give to you?

The fact is dat u cant go to somebody else's land n have the orientation that every thing will be given to you on the platter of gold. If that is your skool of thought then u w\missin it.

na wa oh!! been watching this thread, men theres nothing as good as home .nothing!! this country is promising, i love NIGERIA,AND ALL THATS IN IT.

yeah right

dont let nobody or nothing kill ur dream. Who said life was easy? life is all about risk so take it get rich or die trying

travelling to yankee to make a living does not in any way portray a lack of love for naija.
lets get that stright.
Only a fool would miss an opportunity to better his life even if it means travelling abroad.
The issue is clear, the economic and social situation in yankee is 100 yrs ahead of that in naija. chikena !

Nigeria is not a bad place to leave in any way. I am enjoying my life in Nigeria. Before i go abroad, it must be for  a course, vacation, conference, seminar and after much hesitation for a good and great oil and gas job either in Oman or Arabia or Canada. Under one condition that I will always be in this county at least once in three months.

It's not easy being a Nigerian but I LOVE BEING ONE ALL THE SAME.

To those complaining about living abroad-  na by force, why una no come back?

To those who want to go abroad- why not? Carry go, make the dollars come back and spend it in naija

For me I see real opportunities in naija everyday, I'm not in a hurry to leave. How I go survive sef?  I no like oyibo food, I hate their wheather so wetin I wan go do? I go be misfit for there, the only thing wey go carry me go na acada or vacation(few weeks and I'll run back)

Above all I can stay in naija and make cool dollars without travelling abroad, thanks to the internet.