I pulled the ripcord, sold my house, and moved to SE Asia in 2015. My biggest expenses by far were flights back to the US to pick up meds not available in asia, said meds, and Western insurance that would cover me abroad (which means non-ACA, thus no med/pre-existing coverage).
By 2017 I needed a job as much for the money as for sanity. Now I have a fully remote one. I still hop back and forth between VN and the US.
I keep thinking I should pick a place and settle down, but I think in doing so I would feel suffocated. When I feel stress about the pollution and corruption in VN, I comfort myself with the thought that Americans have done enough “good” in VN, and I should leave it be. When I feel stress about Trump’s judicial appointments or our fractured culture, I think, “Welp, I’ll be leaving soon. So long and thanks for all the cheese.” (In Asia, I do miss good cheese.)
I worry that this detachment will isolate me over time. I work hard to stay in touch with friends. I often reroute to cities to which my friends have themselves scattered.
My expenses, aside from flights and meds, plummeted. When everything must fit in your suitcase, a purchase must be evaluated in terms of what similarly-sized item you can lose. Only in the past few months did I finally take a one year lease in Saigon. It is cheaper than 5 months of short-term rental. It is nice to finally be able to buy a desk and a proper monitor. But I hurt a little giving up the satisfaction, maybe sense of superiority, in being self-contained.
I don’t know what is next for me. Maybe that is what I like about my lifestyle. But I take comfort in knowing that I have come by it honestly.
Have you learned Vietnamese language? Do you have local friends? Any interest or activities you like that's transcultural - like gearheads, hiking, cooking, arts? Just curious.
I learned Vietnamese well enough to have basic conversations about who I am and what I am doing in Vietnam. I had to study 20 hrs/wk for 3 months, though. Learning VN made learning Spanish seem preposterously easy.
I do have local friends. Some through dates that turned into friends. Some through a running group. In general, I found it hard to make VN friends, though I think that is more about my introversion than anything.
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I pulled the ripcord, sold my house, and moved to SE Asia in 2015. My biggest expenses by far were flights back to the US to pick up meds not available in asia, said meds, and Western insurance that would cover me abroad (which means non-ACA, thus no med/pre-existing coverage).
By 2017 I needed a job as much for the money as for sanity. Now I have a fully remote one. I still hop back and forth between VN and the US.
I keep thinking I should pick a place and settle down, but I think in doing so I would feel suffocated. When I feel stress about the pollution and corruption in VN, I comfort myself with the thought that Americans have done enough “good” in VN, and I should leave it be. When I feel stress about Trump’s judicial appointments or our fractured culture, I think, “Welp, I’ll be leaving soon. So long and thanks for all the cheese.” (In Asia, I do miss good cheese.)
I worry that this detachment will isolate me over time. I work hard to stay in touch with friends. I often reroute to cities to which my friends have themselves scattered.
My expenses, aside from flights and meds, plummeted. When everything must fit in your suitcase, a purchase must be evaluated in terms of what similarly-sized item you can lose. Only in the past few months did I finally take a one year lease in Saigon. It is cheaper than 5 months of short-term rental. It is nice to finally be able to buy a desk and a proper monitor. But I hurt a little giving up the satisfaction, maybe sense of superiority, in being self-contained.
I don’t know what is next for me. Maybe that is what I like about my lifestyle. But I take comfort in knowing that I have come by it honestly.
Have you learned Vietnamese language? Do you have local friends? Any interest or activities you like that's transcultural - like gearheads, hiking, cooking, arts? Just curious.
I learned Vietnamese well enough to have basic conversations about who I am and what I am doing in Vietnam. I had to study 20 hrs/wk for 3 months, though. Learning VN made learning Spanish seem preposterously easy.
I do have local friends. Some through dates that turned into friends. Some through a running group. In general, I found it hard to make VN friends, though I think that is more about my introversion than anything.