Fleeing the United States due to Student Loan Debt

Flee The Country.  It is advice that is given out regularly to those with deep debt.  Some will take it, others will not.  It's an interesting piece of advice.  Some ask: why should I feel that I have to leave the home I was born in, the land of my fathers, and his father?  Why should I have to leave this land that I tried so hard to give back to through my education (making me a smarter and more productive member of society)?  Some state: I would rather live debt free in a place like Costa Rica or Thailand than have to work the rest of my life in the United States paying a massive chunk of my earnings, not being able to buy the kind of property that I deserve, or being able to actually earn enough to have a couple of kids and a spouse. 

Caught with his hand in the honey pot.  Sallie Mae's "honeypot" was deep, and I could not resist.

I am sure most people who have had debt that approaches or passes $150-200,000 have pondered the idea of leaving the United States.  Such debt may seem unmanageable and impossible.  How did I get this debt? one asks.  It seems that such huge debt comes out of nowhere.  And it's growing each and every day.  I could pay it off, slowly, over the next 20 years of my life, or I can run, run forrest run, and forget about it.  I could live scot-free in another country, where the cost of living is lower, where I could use my knowledge to land a good job, and where I could forget about the deep enfeebling debt of my past. 

Some consider this stealing.  They would state that the runner has took off, leaving his burden for the taxpayer to pick up.  Others will say that it denies their children and perhaps their grandchildren the chance to get college loans.  If people run, run forrest run, they say, then the gubment is gun get wise and not let my child borrow for their ed-kay-shun. 

This leaves me with an interesting predicament.  If I can not find the law job that pays enough $$$ to let me live a quasi-decent life, do I run, run, run away?  Or do I do my "duty" and stay?  After all, I signed those forms saying I would pay Sallie Mae back.  As a lawyer, I should, after all, be an upstanding citizen and pay back that which I borrowed.

Unlike some, it's not fear of the 'non-United States world', also affectionately called the 'third world' by some, that keeps me from fleeing.  It's the idea of being a thief.  A stinkin' no good thief.  I have been to some places outside of the United States that I honestly consider one day retiring in.  I would love to live in Chiang Mai, Thailand, debt or no debt.  The same goes with a place like Holbox, Mexico.  That being said, what would I do there?  I would still have to make a living for myself?  Who would hire me?  Would I be employable at all? 

I may (probably will) go teach English abroad.  I would probably take advantage of IBR if I did so, as long as it still existed.  I don't know how long this IBR is going to be around, but I figure it should still be there next year. 

Some say run.  Some say stay.  I will see how well I do on graduation day.