Wanted Abroad?

Many years ago I worked in a building 2 miles from my home.  I saw my colleagues everyday that I was at work.  We socialised together - within my terms as an introvert obviously, no clubbing or dancing.  My whole world was very small back then.  Over the years my jobs changed, I moved firms.  My colleagues and I worked in different buildings, over time in different countries.  My parents retired to continental Europe.  My world gradually got bigger although I hadn't physically moved. 

Today I work everyday, over the phone, IM and email, with friends in at least 6 countries.  If we are talking about colleagues rather than friends then that is more like 20 countries.  There is a saying that the world is a much smaller place these days. At the risk of sounding like Sheldon - no, the world has not got smaller.  Travelling just got quicker.

My job is global but the world isn't. Global is a philosophical concept not a map location.  This has been brought home to me these last few months...

I went to the US in November and had to spend a fair while at border control answering questions about the purpose of my travel.  I was simply going to meet, face to face, people I work with every day.  Seems that I need a visa to do that, something about protecting US jobs from folks overseas...I was confused.  The act of being in the same room caused the drama.  Banned from re-entry pending a visa.

My husband is looking for work here.  He has a visa that permits him to work in Ontario, but finding a role is hard because whilst he has the paperwork that says it is okay, there are now laws that restrict firms from hiring temporary foreign workers.  It is to do with protecting the opportunities of more permanent folks, and we get that, but the grit in the wound is that we are being taxed on our Worldwide income...so our logic goes "not keen for him to work here, and contribute, but happy to tax him for work elsewhere.

There are borders everwhere and it is all about tax and $'s. I know that it is for security too, but not at this level.  As my knitting friend said to border security when they questioned her having knitting needles on a flight "I am knitting a jumper, not an Afghan!" 

I have been listening to the BBC this week - they are all afeared of Romanian invaders.  For folks in Europe, debating being in the EU and fearing an influx of folks I say "come live here for a few months, and remind yourself what the borders mean...they prevent you doing what you take for granted; they see you paying huge taxes accross a border; the import taxes of food stuffs is enormous; paperwork and beaurocrachy slows things down and you end up supporting people who are taking out of society whilst preventing them from contributing.  You kind of get the thing you are trying to avoid.

When does it start getting like Star Trek where we all work on the same blue sphere?