u/Artistic_Length_1121

A man I met at a party contacted me. I don't even know when I gave him my Instagram. He says I left my headphones at his house and told me to come back and pick them up. I texted him that I'd pick them up on Thursday. And it wouldn't be strange if he hadn't started asking me if I had a boyfriend and that he really liked me. It's strange because we only talked for a few minutes at most. I've never been in a situation like this before, but it's probably not normal for him to ask me and say things like that. I don't know what to do now because I'd like my headphones back, but I don't want to see him. How do I get my headphones back without seeing him?

Okay, so I managed to fix the worker issue and stop Britain from stealing my wood (thanks again for the tips!). My GDP is still climbing, but now I have a brand new problem: I am literally days away from a Default.

I watched a YouTube guide that said the golden rule of Victoria 3 is "always be building" and to max out your Construction Sectors so your GDP grows faster. So I did exactly that. I have a massive construction industry now.

But my government expenses are absolutely insane. My gold reserves evaporated years ago, and I am deep in the red. I'm paying half of my total tax income just in Interest on my loans!

Here is the catch though: if I pause construction to save money, the prices of Iron, Wood, and Tools crash immediately. My factories fire everyone, my pops get mad, and my GDP goes into a freefall. But if I keep building, I will hit my credit limit and go bankrupt.

I feel like I'm trapped in a giant Ponzi scheme. How do you guys balance government spending? Is running a massive deficit actually good in this game, or did I just ruin my run again?

Hey again. Still trying to fix my USA economy. I managed to get some workers into my factories (thanks for the tips on migration!), but now I’ve hit another completely infuriating wall.

I spent years building up my Iron Mines and Logging Camps because my Construction Sectors and factories were starving for cheap materials. I finally get production up, and what happens? The moment the goods hit my market, Great Britain and France just buy ALL of it.

The prices in my market are still sitting at like +50% or even +75% because the AI is just siphoning everything away. My own factories are going bankrupt because their input goods are too expensive, and my pops are getting radicalized again because they can't afford basic stuff.

I tried to put Tariffs (export taxes) on them to protect my market, but then I realized I can't. I passed Free Trade earlier because a guide said it was the "meta" for growing GDP. Did I just completely screw myself over?

How do I actually keep my own goods in my own country so my factories can use them? Do I seriously have to go back to Protectionism and deal with the angry Industrialists just to stop the British from taking my wood?

Hey guys, me again with my USA run. Still stubbornly ignoring the military and just full-sending the economy lol.

So things were going great for a bit. I was spamming Steel Mills, Motor Industries, and Tooling Workshops like crazy. My GDP was shooting straight up... until it just completely flatlined.

I clicked on my buildings to see what's up, and it turns out half of my new factories are basically empty. The game is telling me I lack "Qualifications" or that there are literally no Peasants left to hire in those states.

To make it even more annoying, despite creating all these jobs, I somehow have over 5 million Radicals now. My most industrialized states are full of Turmoil and my average Standard of Living has barely budged.

I seriously don't get it. I'm literally giving them jobs, why is everyone so mad?

How do I actually get more people into my factories? Do I need to force Mass Migration somehow?

Are my pops just too uneducated to work in modern factories? How do I fix the qualification thing?

Why do I have so many Radicals when the economy is supposedly growing? And how do I calm them down without using the military to suppress them?

Would really appreciate some help, I feel like I completely bricked my economy.

AITAH

I feel like a total failure. I’m a psych student in NYC and the city is literally swallowing me alive. I live in this tiny, cramped room in Queens where the only “luxuries” I have are my old PC and a few Drukhari minis I managed to save up for back when I actually had some savings.

My parents had a nasty divorce when I was a kid. They always fought over money when they thought I wasn’t listening, and it made me feel like a burden. My mom tried so hard to give me a happy childhood, and I hate taking their money because I know how much they struggle, but NYC is just too much.

Everything hit a breaking point last week:

I had to buy a new developmental psych textbook (it costs a fortune).

I ran out of money for food and my electric bill.

Instead of getting a "normal" job—which I'm terrified of because I have extreme social anxiety and I’m scared people will just judge or mock me—I did something desperate.

I started a o.. account. Nobody knows. I talk to my mom every day acting like the "good girl" who just stays home and plays Victoria 3 or HoI4. The truth is, I am terrified of every man who messages me on there. I feel like they all have bad intentions and just want to use me, exactly like my dad used my mom.

When I asked my dad for extra money for the "textbook," I lied because the money I made from Fanvue went straight to my back-rent. I feel so worthless and ugly, especially when I compare myself to the girls on Instagram. I just sit in my dark room, paint my miniatures, and stay silent because the stress is paralyzing.

My questions for you:

Am I the asshole for deceiving my parents about where my money comes from?

Is it normal to be so afraid of opening up to people that I’d rather show myself to strangers online than go on a real date?

Has anyone else been in this situation? I feel so incredibly lonely in this city.

Yesterday I asked you which country I should play, and I finally chose the USA. At the beginning, it was quite pleasant; I was developing the economy, building Railways, Coal Mines, and Steel Mills. My GDP was growing, I was researching new Technologies, and so on.

However, a problem appeared when I wanted to pass Slavery Abolition. The Southern Planters wanted to start a Revolution, so I quickly stopped enacting that law. In every subsequent decision, I made sure to keep the Planters happy, but when I wanted to abolish slavery again, they threatened a revolution once more.

I started doing everything to abolish this law; I tried to decrease the Interest Group's Clout and even built more factories, but it didn't help—in fact, it probably hindered me even more because I couldn't pass Universal Suffrage since the Industrialists became too powerful. No matter what I did, a revolution was about to break out every time.

But then it dawned on me that I don't even fully know why I wanted to abolish slavery in the first place. So I have a few questions:

Will the Revolution happen anyway, or can you abolish slavery without it?

I really don't understand how the Military works yet, and throughout the whole game, I didn't research any Military Tech because I only focused on Production and technologies that gave me more Tax Capacity and money.

Why is it even worth abolishing slavery? What are the pros and cons?

Should I build more Universities to get more Intelligentsia, pass Universal Suffrage, and thereby weaken the Planters to abolish slavery?

What Laws and system are the best to become an Economic Hegemon and have the highest GDP? Because I think that's mainly what I care about.

And is it even possible without wars?