Europe beckons already! (Part #2 by Jimmy Jackson)

Hi everyone, and welcome back to my new blog! Already up to Episode 2, and still feeling full of energy!

Since I posted my inaugural message last week, I already received two invitations to go visit some potential business locations.  If you’re following me on LinkedIn like you should, you know I got an invitation to “Plan-les-Ouates” – which I’m dying to visit, if only to find out how a town can get such an unpronounceable name.  The other was from a nice Italian gentleman named Giuseppe Saporita. He recommended I check out someplace called “Neuchatel” – but if that’s in Italy, wouldn’t it be called “Neuchatello”?  Already confused!  Anyway, thanks for these two invites! Appreciate mucho!

Many other readers have contacted me to ask, “Jimmy, it’s obvious that you’re an extraordinarily intelligent and cultured man – so don’t you have a certain degree of familiarity with Europe already?” (I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist of what they all said.)

It’s a fair question, dear readers. And I would like to assure you that the level of my knowledge is high.  Very high! Well, pretty high. Like everyone in America my age, I was immersed in history throughout my school years.  King George III, the French Revolution, ancient Greece, Sir Isaac Newton, Cro-Magnon man, the Monroe doctrine… Quiz me on any of these fascinating subjects and I could talk for hours.

And speaking of talking, did I mention that I’m bilingual? That’s right, I not only master English but I also had three years of Latin in high school. Amo, amas, amat! Great stuff!  Now don’t misunderstand me – I know that nobody in Europe speaks Latin anymore, at least not in everyday conversations. (Perhaps in legal documents, I’m not really sure.)  The main reason for mentioning my special talent in this area is that I’m 100% confident that picking up new languages will come to me as naturally as falling off a log.  But then again, it might be nice if I don’t really have to make the effort. Setting up an office somewhere where they understand English could have its advantages.  I’ll definitely put that on my checklist.

So what do I already know about Europe?  Plenty!  Just look:

Europe is a continent[a] comprising the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia,[12][13] located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west,…

Oh, never mind, Wikipedia is just a big bore on the subject.  What I do know is that Europe’s a big hodgepodge of different languages, laws, cultures, tax rates, rules, and regulations, apparently all put in place just to get potential investors like me as confused as possible.  I’m eager to put down some roots over there, but really – could anything be more unhelpful than having to sort out this ungodly jumble of different business conditions from one place to the next? 

The more I think about it, the more I think it would be great to get somebody to help me.  I’m going to be investigating this possibility.

For now, as may new friend Giuseppe would probably say: Chow! 👋🏻