[rodolphoarruda]

I think this is highly dependent on the context you are in. An Italian friend of mine lived for a year in a tiny fisherman community isolated in an island in northern Brazil a decade ago. He told me that after a couple of months we got this full perspective of things as he knew 100% of people, their pains and joys, dreams and realities.

Looking at the other side of the spectrum, what are the chances of an immigrant to achieve the same level of perspective after living for a year in Manhattan?

I believe it is a more productive -- and joyful -- exercise to think about the role you want to have in the context you belong to.