Sounds like Poland was a nice place. What you chose to make of it is for you to interpret. As I read this, I find myself thinking that the US is an absurdly expensive place to live and that I’ve lived in cheaper parts of Europe with a way better quality of life. The sense of community was there as well.

Ultimately, I came back to the states for family, friends, and to tie up some loose ends.

As life gets more obscene in America (higher costs, lower standard of living), the allure of Elsewhere gets stronger. Heck, even some of my darkest days overseas were nothing compared to what’s going on stateside right now.

I wonder how many Russians were able to find greener pastures before communists took over... it’s never too late to leave until it is.

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True words, but remember our paths and experiences shape who we are, and they are not all bad. My favorite pastor ended every sermon by saying take that which resonates, and leave the rest behind (or sometimes, take only the good, and reject the evil).

Poland may have been a place you visited when you were being particularly sinful, but it's not a particularly sinful place. It's a very beautiful place, and a much more holy place than America, on the whole.

European cities are created for man to rejoice and be social. And they were also designed around the church as the major social focal point. Most Latin America cities are the same: giant plazas with enormous churches where the people congregate every day. In America, the church is often a place one only sees on Sunday, if at all, sometimes even located in a strip mall, but in EU and Latin America, the church, its visitors and parishioners are seen coming and going through the most visible and public part of town.

Did any of your Polish experiences lead you closer to God? Did the separation from your family make you feel guilt or longing to reunite with them that helps you value and cherish your family more now? Did the beautiful city inspire you, even if you didn't realize at the time the cities were designed and built by godly men who were doing their best to glorify God with beauty and architecture and city planning that would inspire future generations long after they were dead?

Is there any meaning to the fact that you chose a sinful life while living in a beautiful and more religious culture (where you could casually meet virgin girls) and that now, in a sinful and ugly locale, you are choosing a life of godliness?

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Great write up. However, perhaps ironically, this article has now made me want to visit Poland. I do completely understand why you would associate Poland or any other Country you stayed in for a while, like Ukraine, with sin. It reminds me of how I associate the town I went to college in as Sodom & gamorra, even though I’m sure the natives of that town see the town in a completely different way(quiet, scenic, country) My worst days of fornication and degeneracy were in that town so of course I will have nothing but “bad” memories of it. However, even through the bad, that town opened my eyes and led me to this moment where I am today. This is why I agree with Max Roscoe above.

I don’t want to reveal much of myself on this forum, but I too, am a second generation immigrant like Roosh with only a small, immediate family. My parents uprooted themselves and took away what could’ve been a poor, but fruitful life spent with my native people and most importantly, family and culture. While I love the United States and very much appreciate the good that has come from being born here and raised in the States, I would be lying if I said I felt like this was “home”. And no, im not making it a racial thing. There is 0 sense of community here, on top of me living in a liberal state. I can barely connect with people on a political level (right wing) as they are hard to find, and the church I go to is the only traditional church for miles. There is no culture unifying anyone here, I can’t relate to a group of people and have to settle for “stragglers” like myself. Meanwhile, I went to Europe sometime ago and it was completely different... completely. It wasn’t the rose-tinted glasses skewing my view either. This particular country had history, a culture, an identity. Everyone just “got” what the other person was saying, as if everyone was “one”. I felt immense sorrow returning to the United States because I realized how deracinated our country truly was at that moment.

Poland has a fighting chance to be a major Catholic force in Europe and to me, that is very inspiring. Seeing the photos and videos this past year of them fighting against Globohomo, their Zeal for God, etc has always made me curious about the place and now, I really want to visit now that I am a full-fledged Catholic. I will go to visit their numerous churches, and get to know their wonderful culture, which is the way travel is supposed to be. And yes, I know they have their issues as Roosh has pointed out himself the past few years, but again, they are in a position to retain what they have.

I have thought of either moving out of state or even out of the country(but there’s no way in staying in the state I’m in) , and if that’s the case, so be it. After all, we’re in, but not of this world, so why does it matter where in the world we are located as long as we have Our Lord’s light illuminating us, guiding us away from Sin?

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This is a heartfelt and very evocative piece. Two questions occurred to me as I was reflecting on it:

1. What if the author had gone to Poland (and Europe more generally) not to seek casual sex in the context of a large number of transient relationships, but an excellent wife?
2. Is the United States actually capable of giving the author what he is now searching for? As the above contributors have pointed out, the US is a highly atomized country regardless of which side of the 'left-right' divide you happen to be standing on. Aside from anything else, most of it is not really built on a human scale; if you have drive two hours just to get somewhere, there is probably something wrong with your location.

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"One can never cross the same river twice"

If you visit Poland now, it will be different, because you are different.

The "fantasy" is that in any foreign country you will just be accepted by the locals and be able to build a community when you didn't grow up there or have shared experience with the majority of the population. You might still be an outsider.

It is absolutely true that there is no guarantee of one being accepted by locals in a foreign country.

However, in the United States, the chances of being acutely alienated even from people with whom you share the same nationality and many formative experiences are still exceptionally high. In fact, given the state of contemporary American culture, I would almost worry if you didn't feel a profound sense of disconnect from that psychological milieu.

Conversely, there are probably around 75-100 countries where you can have a dramatically higher overall quality of life than in the United States, and where the women are, generally speaking, significantly more religious and beautiful: solid wife material, in other words.

When confronted with that reality, what should the correct response be?

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