One of the biggest mistakes a digital nomad, or any location-independent person can make is holding on too tightly to their old culture and friends. This can be difficult, and it’s a lesson I learned the hard way. For the first 3 years I spent abroad, I held onto some of the aspects of American culture. That’s because I didn’t leave America totally by choice. Now I live in a country that I did actually choose to move to, but it’s a lot poorer.
I’ve written a lot of articles, and soon it’s going to be time to start thinking about leaving home. While I won’t be abandoning my closest friends and family members, I think I should definitely abandon the culture and lifestyle which inspired me to make the decisions I did.
People in wealthy countries/the west have different career expectations
In my country, the top 10% of people are earning between $2,000 and $3,000 per month before taxes. This might sound like a tiny amount of money, but it buys a better lifestyle than what people living on $8,000-$12,000 per month can get in wealthy countries in the US or Canada. If you’re under the age of 27 or 28, it’s unlikely that you’re really location independent. The only exceptions I’ve encountered were YouTubers and software engineers. Both of these careers are quite challenging, and they take a decent amount of skill to do properly. If you’re earning $1,500 per month in Canada or the United States, you’re failing hard. You might be well on your way in a country like Thailand.
How much money you make doesn’t dictate how much you matter as a person, but it definitely impacts how you live on a day to day basis. If people don’t have the same career goals and financial expectations as you, you’re going to find it very difficult to relate to them. This brings me to the next part of the article.
People living in North America and other wealthy countries have no understanding of what you’re up to
I’ve always said that if I grew up in the South of the United States, I probably wouldn’t have ended up leaving. But I didn’t grow up in the South, and now that I’m gone, making the effort to uproot my life doesn’t seem worthwhile to me when I can achieve a good result where I am with a bit of elbow grease. People from North America and Western Europe have no understanding of how much more expensive life is in their respective countries. Talking a lot with these people is pretty much pointless. Two completely different worlds, with little to no overlap.
Anecdotally, you may have found that people in wealthy countries wonder if life can really be good in poorer countries. This can lead to a lot of confusion and a massive disconnect. No point in experiencing this when you’re on your own path.
There’s no advantage to having online friends
Online friends can be quite problematic, for a variety of reasons. But honestly, the main reason not to have online friends isn’t because of the havoc they create, but because they simply aren’t as useful as having friends in real life.
Online friends don’t know your living situation. They don’t know your culture. They can’t bring you food or help you in the event of a medical emergency. Generally speaking, online friends are fake and fleeting. Keeping online friends from North America will only serve to kill your vibe.
The Western Lifestyle Isn’t The Lifestyle You Chose
For whatever reason, you’ve decided you’re going to leave your country and live a different life. So live a different life! Having one foot in both ponds is a different way of dwelling on the past. That’s a big “L”, as they say.
Being an expat is hard, and it doesn’t work for most people. But if you’re going to do it, embrace the path you’re on wholeheartedly. Immigration is hard enough as it is. You don’t need anything messing with your mind, especially not in the first 5 years overseas. Ironically, I think people coming from “poor” countries already knew this. ☺
Work hard and follow your dreams!
Thanks for paying attention.
By Rising Current on .
Exported from Medium on November 8, 2024.
