The place where you live can change your status completely.
Last year I moved from Belgium to Spain (If you had read my profile you would have known that already!).
When I was still living in Belgium, I couldn't find a job. I was without a job for more then a year, and if I had still been living there now, I probably would have been without a job still.
I was a computer programmer like so many, without that extra knowledge or experience to stand out from the rest of them.
I had 2 college degrees in engineering, but that was of no importance in the computer business. I spoke four languages, but in Belgium that is common knowledge. We need experts, not the average programmer. Next!

Then I decided to move to Spain. So the first thing to do was to look for a job there, obviously. In less then 3 weeks time I was offered a job. They asked me how much I wanted to earn, and they gave me some more than I had asked for.
I have been living here for almost a year now, and the people give me respect. I speak a fifth language now (Spanish that is), and in Spain speaking 5 languages is like being supernatural. The 2 college degrees in engineering only seem to confirm that to them.
My boss once said to me: what are you, an infiltrant from the CIA?
To the recruiters here, I am a completely different person than the person that I was to the Belgian recruiters.
That feeling of getting respect helps to build your self confidence and your self esteem, I can tell you that. But I still know that back there in Belgium, I am just like all the rest of them.