American fled to Ukraine, not to pay student debt in the US

One day, Pennsylvania resident Chad Albright realized that he simply could no longer stand the difficulties of life in the United States. Unsuccessful job searches, depression, mounting bills - he could no longer cope with all this on his own, he writes USA Today.

Photos: Facebook / chad.albright.96

“I had to escape from this debtor's prison. It seemed to me that there was no other way out. America has become a prison for me. So I ran away,” he said.

Albright bought a one-way ticket and flew to China, not knowing if he would ever return to the country he once considered home.

It was 2011, Albright was 30 years old at the time. He started a new life in a country more than 7 miles (000 km) from his native Pennsylvania—far from his family, friends and $11 in student loan debt.

Taking out a loan to pay for college at the time seemed like a sensible financial decision. Albright thought that his academic degree would lead him to a successful career that would ensure high earnings.

The loan debt for training him was quite large. And when pizza delivery was the only job Albright could find two years after graduating from college, he concluded that it wasn't worth it.

“I was expected to pay off the loan by paying $400 every month, but I had no money and no steady income. College ruined my life,” Albright said during a Skype interview.

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In high school, he read classic books about the American Dream such as The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath. If he works hard, it will pay off - that's what he was always told. But Albright says he now knows they were just pretty stories.

“I had no future in the United States. What about the American dream? Yes, it doesn’t exist,” the man is sure.

Student debt in Pennsylvania is higher than in other states. The average debt per student in this region is 36 193 dollars, which is the highest in the country, the average US debt is 28 288 dollars.

How did he get in that situation?

Since childhood, Albright has been told that the college will surely lead him to success.

His father worked on the railroad, and his mother was a cosmetologist. They never attended college, but believed that if their son graduated, wide opportunities would open up before him.

Albright began delivering pizza immediately after high school to save money for college, and he continued to work full-time even after he began his studies. He was 25 years old when he finally decided that he had earned enough money to go to Millersville University.

Albright admitted that it was not easy for him to be older than his classmates. They practically did not communicate with him, moreover, it was difficult for him to balance the burden of training and full-time work.

“I wanted this diploma, and I was willing to work for it. Everyone always told me it was worth it,” he said.

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As expenses began to pile up—tuition, books, rent—Albright came to the conclusion that taking out a student loan was a worthwhile decision.

But, to his horror, finding a job after graduation was not so easy. His bachelor's degree in public relations did not open as many doors as he expected.

Photos: Facebook / chad.albright.96

Albright graduated in December 2007, at the very beginning of the economic crisis that would become known as the Great Recession, the longest period of economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Millions of people then lost their savings, work and home. Far from an ideal time to enter the labor market.

At each of the dozens of interviews, Albright heard the same thing: “Sorry, among the applicants are people who have done this for 10 years and have just lost their job. We have to choose someone who has 10 years of experience. ”

“But the last thing they said to me was, ‘Don’t worry, your day will come,’” Albright recalls.

Returning to work at a pizzeria and at his parents' house in Lancaster, Albright was deeply depressed. He had late payments on student loans, and he still could not find a job.

“Two years of continuous interviews and nothing. I’ve had enough,” Albright said.

“My life got much better when I left. Why should I come back? ”

After two years of searching for work, Albright finally saw a glimmer of hope. During classes at the gym, he saw a woman on CNN, telling about his work as an English teacher in Hong Kong.

"She said, 'I have no desire to go home.' That’s when I became interested in teaching abroad,” Albright recalls.

He told his parents about his idea, and, to his surprise, they supported this decision. According to his mother, Leslie Mullin, they saw how much their son was suffering, and they wanted to see him happy.

“As a parent, you just want your child to be happy. So even though I was worried about him being so far away, I wasn’t going to stand in his way,” Mullin said.

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Albright came to China in 2011 and began teaching English in Zhongshan. According to him, he enjoyed working with children and he developed teaching skills.

In addition, he first felt that he was doing something meaningful in his life.

Photos: Facebook / chad.albright.96

According to Albright, he earned only $1000 a month in China - not much in the grand scheme of things, but the company paid for his housing. And since the cost of living in China is much lower than in Pennsylvania, Albright was able to live well on the money.

He went to restaurants with friends, traveled to other cities: “Things I never had the opportunity to do in America because of my student debt. My life became much better when I left. Why should I come back? Albright said.

Eventually, Albright returned to the United States, but only to visit his mother. After teaching in China for several years, he moved to Ukraine, where he now has permanent resident status and works in sales. For nearly eight years, he has never checked his student loan account.

“I almost never think about it,” he said.

“Just because you are not in the United States does not mean that loans have disappeared.”

According to expert Mark Kantrowitz, vice president of research at Savingforcollege.com, leaving the country to avoid student loan payments is not a very effective solution. There are ways to refinance loans, get income-based repayment plans, so there are other options to deal with debt.

“To cope with large sums, you need to take small steps. Eventually you will pay back that debt, eventually you will find a solution. Just because you're not in the US doesn't mean loans disappear. In reality, this way you are only digging yourself a deeper hole,” the expert explained.

Student loans can be dangerous for some people. You cannot declare bankruptcy, as is the case with a credit card or gaming debt. Student debt may be recovered from salary or social security.

“Not committing will make life even more difficult. Also, think about everything you're losing,” Kantrowitz said.

Albright understands this. Since he did not fulfill his loan obligations, his credit rating was badly damaged, which makes it impossible for him to make any “major purchases”.

“I’m 39 years old and I couldn’t even buy a car,” Albright says.

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Living alone, Albright realized that he would never get married, start a family or buy a house - a fact that was especially frustrating for a man who always wanted children, he admitted.

“I'm happy to be away from my duty, but most of the time I'm lonely. I don’t have any other options yet,” he said.

What can be done to solve the problem

Albright is not the only person who has fled the country to avoid student loan payments, although this is not a very common tactic. Other graduates shared similar stories on Facebook and Reddit, seeking advice from colleagues or simply sharing their problem.

The increase in student loan debt is a matter of concern for a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Downe Kiefer and other lawmakers. The head of the US Department of Education, Betsy DeVos, said it created a crisis in higher education.

“The student loan program not only buries students in debt, it also buries taxpayers and steals opportunity from future generations,” DeVos said at a November conference.

Kiefer suggests that the solution to this problem may not lie in the legislative plane.

“I think it's bad advice to tell kids that if they go to college they'll be successful. Maybe there is a better option, or maybe you just need to go to trade school and study what you want to do,” she noted.

At the same time, Kefir stressed that in some cases a college can indeed be the best investment a person makes, and in this case a student loan is a great solution.

But students need to be more strategic about choosing majors that will lead to jobs that can pay off their loans, she said. They can also find ways to cut costs elsewhere, such as attending local college and living at home, saving on rent.

“What it comes down to is that potential students need to be aware of their options and be practical,” Keefer said.

If Albright could start all over again, then, he said, he would have abandoned college. He would take an online computer programming course.

“I accepted the fact that this is my life now. College completely ruined my life, and the way I live my life is a constant reminder of that,” Albright admitted.

After the delay in payments over the past nine years, as well as taking into account interest and fees that have grown due to non-payment, it became clear that Albright will not return to the United States in the near future.

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