[tasogare]

Let’s be real 30 seconds, while it’s possible to live in a foreign country without speaking the language, it’s inconvenient to do basic daily activity (ordering at a restaurant, opening a bank account, posting a letter, etc.) when knowing jack-shit about the local language. It’s also extremely hard to form a social circle.

I speak from experience. I’ve lived in a central Europe country where I cannot speak anything and it was annoying outside work; I felt like an idiot most of the time. Now I’m living in a country I can speak the language and I can interact with people, do complex things alone (moving home), and it’s way more nice to live like that.

[stevekemp]

There's a fair bit of truth in that, but even people who "speak no Finnish" soon learn the names of foods, how to ask for coffee/beer, and their numbers.

There's just a big jump from simple things that will get you by to actual fluency.

[em-bee]

this depends on your personality, and how you make friends. i lived a year in latvia, and i had no trouble despite speaking neither latvian, nor russian. i made friends through the local linux community and other communities i was part of. i also have no problems in china. yes, some things are more difficult. eg. calling a plumber needs the help of a friend who speaks the local language. but for every day stuff, i was actually surprised how easy it is.

[shusson]

> while it’s possible to live in a foreign country without speaking the language, it’s inconvenient to do basic daily activity

I think there are a few exceptions in Europe, e.g The Netherlands.

[olegp]

Helsinki, Finland is another such exception.