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USD 1 Million? 2 Million? 5 Million? Or just 200.000? Are you kidding me - how can I *retire* now!?
How shall I finance my retirement? I will need *loads* of Cash, Gold, Insurance or Credit! I need my Hummer, the BMW X3 for the wife, my penthouse for the mistress, the Wanker’s Club Membership and my Arian German Sheppard!
Oh really?
Poor you - because if you’re really thinking of retiring early in your life - the question shouldn’t be: “How much do I need?”.
Better ask yourself: “How little do I need to retire now?”. You would be surprised, what answers you’ll find out. You can even retire in your early 30’s, with a little bit of planning early on and just some kind of discipline.
Do you know that owning a house for yourself and several cars on loans is not a sign of financial strength and wealth, but merely a sign of character weakness, dependence tendencies and bar ego extension (not that you have to be a guy for that one).
Basically you are in bed with the banks every day; tightly tied up. But seriously - it’s only you who get f*cked hard until unconsciousness! 
The globalised economies in the US, Europe, Australia and other developed countries these days are built around the so-called “Rat Race“. You are held to work constantly and consume & purchase endlessly - and pay for it. With your life.
Why?
You basically will buy your whole life stupid things you’d never need, but clever marketing of Multinational Companies tells you to do so. Flat Screen TV’s (what’s wrong with the trusted old ones?), “Body-Workout Machines” to trim your fatty tummy, Gaming Consoles, >USD 200-Branded Jeans, Clown Dresses and other Show-Off-Costumes, Dog&Cat-Trainers, Super-Hyper-Multi-Kitchen-Gadgets, Monster-Gas-Guzzling-Cars, Double-Decker-1.000-sqm-Houses, Mountains of Jewelries for your loved ones and “soon-to-be-ex-loved-ones”. You will need to work more and harder to pay for all that stuff. Divorce rates hover constantly above 50% in those countries, you will pay for your divorce as well - with your money, soul and heart blood. Everyone will suck you dry, until dust and debt is everything what’s left. Are you happy to live like that?
On top of that you spend already USD 5 for a coffee several times a day at obscure experience restaurants named “Star*ucks“, “Coffee Boobs” or “Spineless“. Isn’t that crazy?
Don’t bet on your government to fix this b*llsh*t cycle any time soon within the next 150 years or so. In the times of sky-high defence budgets and exploding taxes - they are not on your side. They even want you to work more and longer!
Why not start learning to live with less? Do you really need more reasons for it?
The Caribbean, Latin and South America, South-East Asia or other low-cost regions are waiting for you! Better weather, pristine beaches, less pollution and a way slower pace of life will do a great deal for your health and your quality of life.
Can you still remember how it feels to get out of your bed in middle of the day, just only when your body - not your alarm - tells you to wake up?
You can live in low-cost countries like a King, from what you have right now and what interest, rent, dividends or other income streams you would earn in the future. You can even save on your Healthcare Bills; by simply getting treatment elsewhere - not in your overpriced home country.
Did you know, that you can
-
buy a pair of jeans everywhere in the world for less than USD 15? (If you really need one in constant 100 F-Degrees weather).
-
drink a coffee for less than USD 1?
-
have a meal (I don’t talk fast food here) for 2-3 Dollar?
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rent a (western-standard) house for 200 Dollar a month or less?
- fill-up the tank of your bike for less than 4 Dollar a week?
So, what are you waiting for?
Assess your situation, downshift now, sell all your useless sh*t to someone more stupid, invest in active income streams, find out where you want to stay, go travel and leave the other working drones and your cubicle behind!
Your Life is what you make it!
Easy like that? No? Yes!
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You’re absolutely right. Unfortunately, we are often “programmmed” to do it the other way around and realize too late, that we could have enjoyed life much earlier. Then I guess it also takes a bit of courage to believe that it can be done and then to take the decision.
I have a high respect for those who made it happen and planned early.
I like your approach to life and will keep reading you! Wanna trade links?
i agree — for those people that have discovered the ability to telecommute, the possibilities are limitless for where you can work. but even if you can’t make a living from a laptop on the beach, someone could stop buying useless crap at home, move into a smaller house, and cut the junk out of their life, and be able to live on a smaller income.
LoL We gotta meet up some day, most people have not figured out one tenth of what you wrote
even today I was convincing myself that a new car is something I need LOL & I’m off travelling in 18 months thanks for the reminder.
I agree about that. On how much do you live in Bali?
Makes sense and there are people out there aware of the rat race. I’ve been to some of the low cost countries you infer and would love to live there like a king. But two of the biggest challenges are 1. You parents, siblings, and friends are not there so you are going to want to return to your home country frequently (big $$ and then you have to live as a guest in their home while they are still running around in the rat race) and 2. Once you get out of the rat race it is tough to get back in at the same place you got out…
I m one of those people who keeps thinking how much do i need to retire early while running like a mad rat at the same time.
So wat if i win a rat race, i m still a RAT. Wat a knock in the head!
I have been living overseas for years. And so I understand your philosophy. And I telecommute from an olive grove in Marrakech. But not working just doesn’t seem like an option right now.
I agree with dropping the materialism, but Jay is right, family over rides location. You must be single with no kids or pretty selfish, or young. Who is going to take care of your parents when they get old? Most people in advanced countries with kids want them to be well educated in a western university, which generally takes lots of rat-race dollars. Not to mention the fact that the kids don’t want to live in Costa Rica or Bali either.
Then there is the fact that things just work better in advanced countries. Ever been to Etheopia? or India? What a mess! They need a slower pace of life there so that they can have time to deal with all the inefficient BS that goes with screwed up governments and weak infrastructures. There is a reason people generally move from the third world to the advanced economies - because they work better and provide more opportunities.
I read it over and over again, decide to comment later after I can digest all of it. You’re absolutely right, Chris. But for me, an Asian who is living in a third world country where daily living is a constant survival of the fittest, I can’t make it possible by now.
I do agree with your idea. I wish I can do the same. Personally, I also have a few local areas just nearby in my present location which is my prospective retirement place…. soon…. I hope I can make it….
Guys, thanks a lot for the many thoughtful comments!
I agree that this life isn’t for everyone, as Jay and Jameel put it. Sometimes there are circumstances (especially family) which prevent you from living freely without any responsibilities. But then - you are responsible for your own life as well, so everyone has to find its own way somehow.
Some like Maryam don’t even want to stop working, as traveling for work can be rewarding too. It all comes out to personal preference. It has to fit for you!
Dodong has a good point as well. As a citizen from Europe, US, Australia or any other region with higher salaries and cost of living, I have naturally a better chance to save money and plan retirement in a low cost country.
If I live there already, things don’t look so easy. It could be an option to live a few years overseas and work in a high salary country, saving what I can and book the whole episode as life experience. A few places have low unemployment rates and pay well for qualified staff.
(Rhea and Jure, you got mail regarding your questions)
Moved to Thailand in late 1999. Never looked back! Living on 1/5 the costs of back home (America). I visit for two weeks every other year and can’t wait to get back on the plane to Thailand. I believe so much in this concept that I’ve produced a web site to discuss the pro’s and con’s. http://www.whyretireinthailand.com Hope you will visit soon.
Regards,
Jim Styers
My wife, who is Indonesian, and I spent the first 10 years of our life together in and around Indonesia. We returned to the UK only when the schooling of our daughters dictated it. We always said we would return to Indonesia one day. Our daughters are now 29 years and 22 years and its time to get back to our dream. We are in the final stages of selling our flat, when that goes through we are out of here.
Over the past 20 years back in the UK we have managed to save nothing, the bastards just will not let you keep it, so I guess we’ll end up with a £100k or so from the flat sale. We reckon it will be enough to buy a decent house and start a small business, which will do us.
Its scary, we are a lot older now and far more venerable to life’s knocks. And naturally there are all sorts of emotions flying around, but you just cannot have everything perfect in this life. We do love Indonesia, and have been back to visit often over the years. There are some negatives, but I do think it will be a good life. On the other side, I think if I was to grow old and poor in England, I’d slit my wrists.
Our girls already have their first visit planned this year, we are all going to visit Bali together, and I personally cannot wait to feel the sun on my back and the sand between my toes.
Here’s to life and adventure.
Wow! There is a lot to think about here. As I agree with a lot of the concepts that Chris lays out, I have to agree with some of the other comments. At first glance I would love to pick up, sell all my crap, including my life (like some Aussie recently did on ebay, no joke!) and just “go bamboo”. But there is so much more to consider, like family and friends, etc. But I think there is a compromise in all of this. Live as small as possible. Get rid of all the crap you don’t need that just keeps you bogged down in the rat race, pay off those credit cards and never use them again, and use extra money you have to get out there and do the things you love, like traveling. Make room for the stuff you want to come into your life by getting rid of what doesn’t fit anymore.
I have to make some life changes soon, and figure out what I want from life in very specific ways, but I am not sure what they are yet. It was great to come across this blog to continue my line of thinking on this.
Thanks!
Why even retire with money? I am just dropping out at 25.
Ur so right in many things^^ Im now 36, travelled as well a lot 20-33, America, Asia, Caribbeans, Europe..now I got my own house in Switzerland Zurich (from my mom that died). I set a 2nd base of life in Hungary and Bulgaria (great countries), BUT it feels fine 2 have the finance security and health insurance in Europe, in Switzerland. If u live in the countries u r right now, then it might b great. But I dont c wher u mentioned what u do when ur sick, I mean really sick…so travelling is fun, but only if ur on the sunny side of life:-)Why so many ppl of the countries u mention move 2 Europe/America? Coz they have no future at home. Consider this in ur articles plz, would b interesting 2 read about:-)Best regards
Ivan,
regarding the thing with sunny side and insurance - there we just might have different point of views. Most people (not YOU!) use this excuse to never move.
Do you subscribe to the concept of insurance? I don’t. Why? Because in insurances my experience is that the insurance taker or customer never wins. I can’t recall a single case in my last 35 years, where I, my family, relatives or anyone I know got more out of insurance then what one paid in. Still the insurance companies boast huge profits, was there ever one of them going bankrupt?
So why pay in in the first place? Most forced insurances in Europe/America like health, unemployment, retirement securities or insurances don’t work at all and are always at the brink of collapse. Why support a system like that? For instance health: I’m really not the 100% healthy person, but even though; I can survive better without insurance than with. It’s just a matter of calculation and perspective, no? If you feel better with insurances and else, get them! There is nothing wrong with it.
[...] In Real Estate it’s all about location, location, location. Not here! After all I want to live there for a longer time, without ransacking my life savings, plundering my retirement money or working my *ss off in the tourist industry. We are talking Nomadic Lifestyle, here. Streams of income in hard currency, expenses in weak ones, right? [...]
well, good writing is judge by the emotion is stirred and you stirred up quiet a bit of buzz. I really can’t believe you left everything behind to travel. The good thing is you can see honestly the pros and the cons of many things and that is respectable. I think it comes down to comfort and how much are people willing to pay for it. It would sure be nice to have a washer and dryer in my house but you can’t beat 5dollars at the laundry mat. It would be nice to retire to Colombia, but I dislike the government structure and I wonder how safe the little eggs I’ve worked hard to get will be there. Just a thought, thanks for the add. –clau
Work to live - not live to work.
Hi. I am an Argentinian mother of two. I am 40 years old and have been living in the US for the past 34 years. While I am greatful for living in this country because here I have been able to live and save for my retirement at the same time, my plans are to retire in Argentina. I have not have set a date for such retirement. What holds me back is that I have my two kids(ages 9, 4)….so, it is hard because of the schooling issue. But, I must say that I agree with the idea that is westernized countries life is a “rat race”, and mostly due to consumerism. I have always questioned…”do we need so much”. I’m very much a frugal person and have lived a very little(and for me it was not a sacrifice…it was desired). But when my kids came, the spending got somewhat out of control…you know kids…they want more and more. I am slowly starting to help my daughter who is 9 to understand my way of thinking and I think that she being a person like myself in many ways will come to my way of being. I have personal experience on what life is like in another country because I have the chance to go there and actually experience it. I think what is very beneficial in living in a current country is the currency exchange rates. Coming with dollars, puts you at a great advantage. Being the frugal person that I am, I have done comparison analysis on prices of all types of things between prices here in the US and in Argentina. Let me begin by telling you that healthcare is very cheap in comparison to here in the states. My mother for example pays $50(that is US dollars) a month to have an insurance policy that covers everything(except cosmetic procedures). She has access to top notch doctors at top notch hospitals…….yes, the infrastructure is better here…but upper healthcare facilities over there are very very good. And many Argentine doctors are trained here in the US. My brother in-law that live over there with his wife and 3 kids, let me go through his bills….he pays for example $35(US dollars) electric bill a month. Water they pay every two months(about 30 US dollars every two months….for a family of 5 bid you.)……and life is definately much much slower…you see people strolling through parks, friends gather often at each others homes…family, and friendship have time for each other. The country is not perfect of course…and we know something must be not right for so many people from Argentina and from other countries to be leaving for countries like the US, and Europeans countries. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy???????? if they have it so good do they leave. And here is the reason….low paying jobs, high unemployment and corrupt politicians. Many many leave…but MOST return…after they saved so that money is no longer an issue. I love the USA because I came here as a little girl, and I am greatful, but as many other I am of the belief that money is and material possessions are not happiness. I think that one idea I’m going to work on when my kids are a bit older is starting a website or ever perhaps some kind of a buisness for native Americans with limited or no Spanish and who need guidance on how to navigate the Argentine system so they could live there. Look up Argentina everyone…it is a beautiful country….many call Buenos Aires the little Paris of Latin America.
I can only agree with what you wrote and probably most of the people around you haven’t got a clue on what you are talking about. They are stuck in the Rat Race and will probably work and consume what the Media tells them until they fall into their grave. But this is the way to go for you and me and for a lot of other persons these days.
Work in Strong-Currency-Countries and spend later in Low-Cost-of-Living-Countries.
I also have to agree with your remark about Buenos Aires - even though I was there only once for 2 days a few years back with a commercial business delegation (before the financial crisis).
It *IS* the little Paris of South America, so many small Cafe’s, the vibes and atmosphere and the lively and friendly people - it’s simply great to be there! The climate would be right for me too. I liked the Salsa/Flamenco Bars as well and still remembered my embarrassment when I was asked by a professional dancer to dance a round with her on one’s stage, even though I couldn’t dance at all. Have you seen the colour of a Lobster in cooking water? Exactly! Have to catch up with my Spanish probably for the next trip.
i am 33 and plan on shifting down at 35. i am a american working in brazil. i am in a unique position of earning a very generous salary getting paid in both dollars and reias. i am saving ever dime and investing in hopes of securing a steady stream of work free income. there will always be a challenge to make the dream life match with the reality. its easy to say forget it all but if you knee or back (i have problems with both) goes out expenses can easily go upwards of $20K. I agree its not fair or right but it is the reality. so my plan is to save it all run the race a bit squeeze what i can out of them and then start of on my own. if you buy the used car instead of the new one the little tv instead of the huge one, you can still have nice things in life with out being to wrapped up in in it all. i am confident i can do it all right by 35 and be comfortable, but the problem is family. one day i would like to get married and have kids. and of course provide for them all they need. also as others have mentioned i have parents that will eventually need my help financially and physically. here are some things to think about: cdb’s (equivalent to cd’s in the usa) earn about 14% a year in brazil!! stocks and mutal funds, more risky, earn even more. a investor visa can be obtained with a $50,000 investment in a brazilian business, could be your buisness. i plan to start a small bed and breakfast live in it maybe make money mabey not. surf all day and drink beers in my hammock. ocassional trips to the city to spice it up. i would love to hear more about visa issues, investment/income ideas, etc from others in other locations. i got two years to figure it all out…
[...] Chris presents How much money do you need to retire? posted at nomad4ever. Do you know that owning a house for yourself and several cars on loans is not a sign of financial strength and wealth, but merely a sign of character weakness, dependence tendencies and bar ego extension (not that you have to be a guy for that one). [...]
very nice article! bravo!
[...] Over at Brave New Traveler, which always has great, original and inspiring write-ups about travel in the 21st century, Jenn DiPiazza wrote a great article about the ‘gatherers instinct’, which is still somehow in most of us. The thing is that we collect more and more ’stuff’ during our life, which makes us more ‘im-mobile’ and fixed to a certain location. You amass a lot of useless things, waste plenty of money and end up needing more and more space for it. She learned an important lesson in life when living for a while with Navajo Indian Americans in the middle of the desert. After that she started to prioritize and to live more with less. That’s how she gained flexibility and the freedom of mind to move on to new shores and to explore the world around her. These are the first steps if you are really planning to travel more or even travel permanently, to get rid of all the ballast in your life, downshift or do and purchase only, what really counts in your life and for your self-development. Who knows, maybe you can even retire early, maybe already in your 30s? [...]
Hi All,
Retiring is really about your personal level of contentment. And that again is a very personal definition. What I call contentment, someone else might call laziness. What they call ambition, I may call Greed!! In the end everyone should do whatever they want without worrying about their peers.
I was lucky enuf to work in New York during the good years of the late 90s…..made a little bit of money, not huge but enuf to come back to my hometown…Bangalore, India. What did I discover when I got here much to my shock?? That ALL my peers on average earned a MINIMUM of $100,000 or MORE!!@# Remember, this is India I am talking about, not the US. The economic boom that India is going thru is evident just from looking at my group of friends who were not more than middle-class when I left India. Now, they think nothing of a trip to Europe or the middle east for a vacation. They think nothing of spending $10-15 on each cocktail drink at any of the city’s many lounges 3 day a week. Each meal in a good restaurant in Bangalore costs about $50 for a couple. But in exchange for all this….they all work very very hard….read 60 to 70 hours a week with tremendous amounts of stress, in order to meet the cost saving targets of their american or european bosses. One look at this and I decided….I will live within my means and do something to just earn enuf to satisfy MY living stardards…to hell with keeping up with the Jones’. And its worked out great for me….the kids see a lot of me as I work from home, I get to fight with the wife all day long as we are constantly in each others faces (LOL), never have to wake up to go to work, and every one and I mean EVERY ONE of my wealthy friends is envious of me because they all want what I have, but dont have the courage to take the radical step of walking away from the rat-race. So what was the point of this long rant? Anyone can retire when they want….but be sure that you can deal with the fact that you will have less money for conspicious consumption compared to all your peers.
cheers
[...] Monday Morning Blues? Read here, or here to learn how to downshift or here to see, how much money you need to retire earlier with less. [...]
[...] Chris presents How much money do you need to retire? posted at nomad4ever. [...]
[...] Best Revenue Earning Post: How much money do you need to retire? [...]
Surprise surprise !!!!
I am not the only one who thinks this way. What a relief.
Some people may think this is some kind of negative thinking, but to me this is the most positive thinking.
I have been a big fan of “living simple life” and to some extent admire Mr. Gandhi (Indian freedom fighter, “Bapu”) who would even make his cloths with his own hands using simple home made tools. No dependencies, live as you like to live and not as your boss or others want you to.
But the fact of the life is, you can certainly leave behind people you don’t know or to whom you are not related, such as your boss, co-workers etc. but you can’t… I repeat you can’t leave your loved ones behind. You will be lucky if all your loved ones will share the same thoughts as you and are willing to get out of the rat race and join you, which I doubt. In your early age of life, early 20s or as a teenager, you don’t care much about the loved ones, but as you grow older, you realize how much you love and need your loved ones such as your parents, just as much they love and need you.
Some times “Life sucks and then you die…”
Hey MM, I read your post and I feel like I am reading my own story.
I was in the US for 7 years, came back lasts year and now started my own IT business and work from home.
I fight with wife, become a child and play and fight with my daughter, never worry about getting up early if I think I need 30 mins more sleep, take weekends off and sometimes even take one or two weekday off as well if I feel like. I do work but at my own pace so I don’t get bored sitting idle and feel like a looser altogether.
I came to this post to find out how much money should I really have to retire comfortably and I have discovered more than needed info reading everyone’s opinion.
MM it will be a pleasure knowing you. I am in Mumbai. NautankiDrama@gmail.com is my email
Cheers.
ST, I sent an e-mail to MM regarding your request, if he might contact you. Please check your mail and I would be really happy, if you could continue your interesting discussion here as well.
San, I partly agree with you - it’s hard to leave other people behind, especially loved ones. But then - you are responsible for your own life as well and both, Gandhi and Mother Theresa died already. Some people, including loved ones don’t even want to be helped or see things completely different than you. So why not fulfill you dreams, while watching out for your loved ones from time to time. Too selfish?
I’m not the one that found a good reason to live in working for a company.
I’m also not the one that can live with the “minimum” like poor people do. If I were that kind of person I can find a half day job here in north Italy and so spend my free time doing things I like more than working for a company (considering that you can do really few things if you don’t have good money in the “west side” of the world).
To buy a 80 square meter apartment for a small family the price in the peripheral of Milan is 300.000,00 Euro and this means it needs to make a mortgage of 30 years with Banks and become their rat race slave.
One of the risk in going to live in a poorest country (because this is the only point that makes the difference) so that your saved money can have more value, is that globalization is alligning every countries to consumerism. This means that in few years what in Argentina costs 1/3 in 10 years will cost like in Europe or North America today! So it’s not possible to stop to work also if I move to a poorest country.
Merrill Lynch has calculated that in Milan a family of 4 people can live fine without working only if it owns at least 2.8 Millions Euro and invests them in good different way. This doesn’t mean have helicopter or other kind of luxury cars etc. Just a good life with private school for children and good vacations. With less money they will finish in some years.
On a different scale the same happens going to live in a poorest country.
You start thinking you are rich compared to the life cost and in few years you can’t live without working, earning less money than I did in my own country.
If in Argentina you can live with 1/4 this means I need at least 800.000,00 Euro (1.17 million $) to live there without working hard and with a Family.
Yes, because having a family (wife, children etc.) it makes a big difference!
Suggestions? :-) Greetings!
I Agree about Robert T. Kiyosaki Theory.. he tell me about “pasive income” theory.. that we must do the money so they can working for us, not we working to get money.. and also he said (as i read from the book), dont decrease the expenses but increase the earning..
So for me is how to get financial freedom, and i can life anywhere not only in country with low currency power but i can life in most highest currency country too..
how much we need money to be a retire men? depend.. when we want to buy something and we doesn’t have to thinking where i can get money to get that? you’re in financial freedom step and ready to retire…
If we now already have business, we must find the next leader so we can do travelling around the world and never worried about our business again because we already have people to take care our business..
dexno
http://www.dexno.com
True if you are from wealthy countries (Europe, US, Australia etc) but what about people just like me who are Indonesian or other developed countries..
I am a nomaden since junior high school, now I work for the government in Jakarta (to earn some money for living…
). I love to live in small city or in the village not big city like Jakarta. For 3 years I am not nomad anymore.
I have live in several Indonesia city like Palembang, Cirebon, Cimahi, Bandung, Sukabumi & Jakarta also have travel to many other city. But is hard for me to live or travel to other country (I hope I can do that in the future).
Andi Vicky - I agree. This article I mostly wrote with my fellow western brethren in mind, who work off their behinds every day in their cubicles and believe that it’s the only way they can go until retirement. It’s actually naturally easier for them to let go and do what they want. But still most of them prefer to run in the hamster wheel, because their whole life is programmed like this, by their parents, teachers, society and politicians.
I admit as well that the whole idea behind retirement is much more difficult for someone from developing (most Asian) countries, as there are other problems, values (especially the whole family support topic), the financial and economical basis.
But as Dexno/Iklan Baris Gratis put it, the same rules apply here too. Just the path is more stony…
[...] following post “How much money do you need to retire” is one of the most successful posts of this blog. It received the most numbers of visitors, [...]
[...] while ago we established a concept, that it doesn’t take you necessarily heaps of money to retire early in your lifetime. If you [...]
By the way, great blog you have here!. It’s no coincidence I found your blog. It’s great to find another like-minded fellow who knows it is POSSIBLE to leave this so called treadmill of useless hardwork to compensate for our materialistic lifestyle. It’s something one can actually realize if one stops and think. We know there is a place out there where we could do this and we already planned on doing so, in the Philippines where I was born. Yes, it is possible to retire in your 30’s, provided that you first free yourself as a slave of your house and car(s) and stuff :-). I just started my blog about this last week.
I’ve lived the nomadic lifestyle for several years - working remotely for IT companies while in Spain (when it was cheaper for US citizens) Colombia and Puerto Rico. I dislike the work and I hate the isolation. I’ve completely burned out on it and can no longer force myself to concentrate. The being burned out and isolation from peers contributes to a feeling of isolation from others in general and starts to be psychologically harmful in the form of increasing doubts and anxieties, so be careful how you structure your remote-work life if that’s the path that you choose. Maybe with a wife and kids at home it’s different. After much reflection, I’ve determined that the life of value to me is a life of purpose, not of retirement and withdrawal to some exotic, cheap location. I’ve seen bad and good expats, and the bad are really bad, troubled, desperate people and the good are doing something that they value and are surrounded by people that they love and have the ability to go back to their home country at will. If travel is your purpose for being free, then more power to you. If you want to sleep in every day and do nothing for a while, let me tell you how old that gets. “Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” Nothing truly good is acheived without purpose and dedication, and the whimsical nature of travel doesn’t usually allow for that. Sure with money and freedom you can skirt around the world collecting pleasurable experiences, but if you do it alone you will only share these experiences with transient friends, and you will be unlikely to form lasting relationships, as maintaining them at a distance becomes increasingly difficult as time passes and you don’t visit or have time for adequate correspondence due to focus on your new location. The best life path is having a vocation with clear focus and purpose - to “do what you are” and to grow in ways that you value. Being free is not an end in itself.
mixxy - thanks for the heads up and all the best for your blog! I visited it already a few times and it looks better and better!
Justino - you got a good point there! This life is not for everyone. But then - what life is, if what you do is not what you like and you are locked in your room with few contacts outside your work world. If you can find the right balance though, to do what you like, earn money with/from it and enjoy your life outside work; it might well pay off and work out. I admit it’s not an easy task but once you get to know yourself and find the right way, you would never go back. It took me 14 years and lots of thought, frustration and unhappiness. But finally I realized what I wanted and found the power of just doing it. Never looked back. For me it was more a psychological path towards developing the necessary attitude and confine in myself than anything else. Once you get rid of the fears and worries, it’s easy. You can go out, meet other like-minded people and do your thing, looking back realizing that only your mind played some tricks with you.
Hi–I think you and I have the same idea about life, and not afraid to go out on the limb. Check out my site sometimes. Maybe we could share ideas and experiences. Till next time….
julius p. bantigue, thanks for the heads up! Your site looks very good, plenty of great content and nice interviews and insights. Will read a bit more and yep, maybe we can collaborate on something in the future.