Escaping debt

[Batmansvoice]

Could moving to another country for good wipe out student debt?

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[Shazzam]

 

[txaggie03]

You're dept doesn't disappear when you move. It just becomes more difficult to collect.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/23/pf/college/student_loan_fugitives/index.htm

 

[Cold Front]

Could moving to another country for good wipe out student debt?

I think the papers you signed when you applied for your "federal" loans explains what happens when you default on your loan, and if you leave the country without informing local officials, it would be considered "treason" by the government.

Tax payers money = Your loan = You can't just walk away after taking the money.

 

[NDPitch]

Could moving to another country for good wipe out student debt?

Haha, maybe? But you'd be considered a traitor and a cop out.

 

[7 Iron]

Chris left the country to help pay his debt, not to avoid it. But when that didn't work out, he saw his foreign address as the only way to escape.
Chris (who doesn't want his last name used) graduated with about $160,000 in student loan debt with a master's degree in music.

Oh boy... this is sad...160k is manageable as a dentist, but what about as someone with a "masters in music"??

 

[txaggie03]

Oh boy... this is sad...160k is manageable as a dentist, but what about as someone with a "masters in music"??

Yup. Too many people believe all education is created equal.
That isnt even true within the same career. One needn't look further than our own field.

 

[yappy]

Education is only part of the equation. I know someone with a communication degree earning more than most dentists/physicians. Education is an investment in yourself - are you worth it?

I think many people over invest in themselves. For example I meet people going to school for business who say they don't enjoy leading or presenting. They'll end up being employees not leveraging their education at all.

OP: Would you really leave the US to avoid debt? I cannot believe starting over in another country would yield a better life than just buckling down for several years to pay off your debt. Especially once the CIA starts launching drones looking for you

 

[shulk]

I guess if you moved to a country that had poor relations with the US you would be escaping the debt, but only if you stayed there the rest of your life, AND nothing happened that would make it easier for debt collectors to access you. It's really not an attractive option.... I think in almost all cases, it would be preferable to stay here no matter how high the debt and make payments that you can afford. If Standard is too much, there should be other repayment options for you. Now... if those other options vanished, we'd be looking at a much worse situation for those people with high debt/low income.

 

[SoulPower]

Yup. Too many people believe all education is created equal.
That isnt even true within the same career. One needn't look further than our own field.

Yea ns, we need engineers not liberal arts degree in art/speech/philosophy. These have not and never will be highly sought after careers. I have no idea why people get degrees in such and expect to get hired doing who knows. If you have inspiration to do that major; that's awesome but expect to build your own career. Don't plan on getting a job with art as your plan.

 

[shulk]

While this is just conjecture, he may have gotten a master's in music with the intent of eventually getting a DMA in music which would allow you to teach at the college level. Unfortunately, while a lot of people plan on doing this, only a small number of people can actually do this, leaving you with a basically useless degree. We need people in every field to make a functioning society... however we need a LOT more engineers than concert pianists. It's too bad every degree costs the same.

 

[Batmansvoice]

I am in no way advocating doing something like this. I personally feel it is cheap and despicable to escape on your debt commitment just because you did something stupid like got a Masters in uselessness or overspent while in professional school. I feel though that this may be a problem with the future generations of dentists and grad students though if debt load becomes higher and the economy keeps sucking. There may be a massive wave of educated people heading to Antarctica.