Life doesn’t always go according to plan… or ummm script. Really, if you rewind the tape to just a few years ago (or even in the summer of 2016 when I more or less decided it was time to pursue early FI full-time), I couldn’t have predicted that I’d be in the situation that I find myself in currently…
Personally, I think the unpredictably of real life is what makes it all: exciting, interesting, and hopefully something you’d want to tune in to way later down the road, if you’re ever forced to have to “re-live” your entire life on the big screen, someday…
That’s pretty much in a nutshell how I’ve tried to “embrace” life these past few years… You know: traveling around a lot, living out of a suitcase (more or less), experiencing new things that were previously completely foreign to me.
Along the way, there’s been many highs and lows…
Right now, I’ve sort of reached a phase in my life where I’m looking for somewhat more stability… As many long-time readers had previously commented to in the past, a lot of the times, once the novelty of island hopping and wanderlust starts to set in a bit, it’s a rather natural progression, in some ways, to want to plant some roots (again)…
Over the last few years, yeah, I’ve realized more or less that I really do have a preference for kind of sticking around near SE Asia for a good portion of the year… while spending (ideally) a few months back home in the Bay Area so that I can hang out with my family and closest friends…
Why am I so fond of SE Asia?
Here are a number of important factors which draw me to the region:
Affordability and relatively low Cost of Living (CoL).No tax, no tip for stuff like shopping, eating out (generally speaking).Warm weather (whether we are talking about Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.). Even a place like Hong Kong is much warmer than say Northern California.Lots of diversity. Many countries are only ~1-2 hour plane ride apart from one another, but the cultures, norms, customs, languages, etc. are vastly different which keeps things always interesting.I spent the first ~30 years of my life living out in the west (i.e. California) and well, I’ve appreciated and embraced the change to a different time zone.I’m nearby to some other relatives and dear friends…It’s just different…Etc.Yeah, sure, if I wanted warmer weather (which I do, for my own health reasons), I could always elect to move out to say Nevada, or Arizona, or something like that… Definitely, it’s a lot cheaper trying to make early FI work in the Southwestern United States, as opposed to Silicon Valley, no doubt… But, for the most part, I don’t think the culture would differ all that much from California (it’s still America), so maybe at a later point in my life…
Just not for me yet, at this juncture…
Anyway, as I alluded to in the last post, I’m working on locking down a primary residence in Manila, and hopefully I’ll have an exciting update for you all, very soon…
Nope, not saying I have the future all worked out and planned for, but sometimes you just gotta follow your heart and chase your dreams…
Yes, I do realize that my actions are rather unconventional, and I totally understand if some of you think I’m batshit crazy and doing something that makes zero sense at all…
To that, I really don’t have any counters (or answers), but I’ve kind of learned to live life more along the lines of:
It’s your life… Nobody else knows what you think, feel, want, desire, experience, etc.
It’s so very easy to try and play Tuesday Morning Quarterback, ripping apart other people and shitting on them without having walked a day in their shoes (to this day, I still suffer from severe chronic pain every moment I’m awake, but who really gives a fuck?).
Sadly, altogether, too many peeps do this nonsense and don’t think twice about it… Flip the script, and I’m sure these same folks dishing out all the HATE wouldn’t want to receive such scorn and ridicule when they’re contemplating making some “big” life decisions of their own…
Life is too short, so really, if you’re gonna second guess every decision you make and let random strangers on the internet bully you and dictate how you’re supposed to live your life, then, well, you’ve kind of already given up and lost…
Conformity is comforting (obviously), but is that what YOU really want out of your one and only life?
I’ve stopped caring for a long while now… Otherwise, I never would have left the Bay Area (it almost feels taboo to do so, you wouldn’t believe the amount of hate one gets for telling peeps you don’t wanna be there 24/7, all the time; you’re like instantly pegged this “loser” who couldn’t hack it there… sighz).
No, I’m not saying Manila/Philippines is suitable and meant for everyone out there (it definitely isn’t), but it’s a place that has helped me find happiness.
And when you really realize how finite and short life is, once you strip away all that bs: ego, pride, greed, the never-ending pursuit of MOAR $$$, so on and so forth, happiness is kinda all that matters in the end…
I just wanna be happy, like everyone else on this planet…
So, I’m doing what I think needs to be done for my own unique situation.
Lots more details to come once things get hashed out, but right now, I’m one step closer to making my dreams a reality.
Thanks for all the support, well wishes, and encouragement! I’ll keep on pressing on…
Fight On!