155 miles away might be a short distance for someone, but to me that distance is pretty significant. Where I am from, that 155 miles away translates as moving to another culture, another language, another environment, and becoming a stranger in a different land. For almost 10 years, I started life in another environment and culture. I spent my last teenage days and early 20’s surviving in this place. As a background though, I grew up pretty spoiled and never really had to lift a finger. Everything I did growing up was voluntarily but when I moved on my own, life became a survival I had to learn the hard way.
By the hard way, I really meant it.
A lot has happened in the last decade and just a few days ago, feeling sleepless, I decided to book a one -way ticket to go back to my apartment and close it for good. For someone who has been a digital nomad, this apartment should have been closed a long time ago but I kept on dragging and dragging because it was still my safe haven. Whenever life went awry, I would hide from the world, right inside my apartment, isolating myself from the world. Lately, I have nothing to hide and things that I always feared of are being so insignificant. Even if I need a place to hide when I am tired of life's humdrum, I get to pick and choose a country without worrying about a long term rent commitment.
Having to call a place home is something new to me but if that would mean, I would not pay rent ever, why not? I only got into my senses that night even after a few years listening to people telling me I should just close the apartment. Afterall, I don’t spend a lot of time there and in a year, I only live there for 3-4 months at max.
While cleaning up the space, I realized a decade is pretty long. I glanced through my stuff and the first lesson I learned was, never accumulate too much stuff & Being attached to it. As someone who considers themselves a minimalist, I don’t think I am minimal at all. There were a bunch of stuff that I probably didn’t need that I bought just because it was trendy and on sale. I definitely regretted it.
I rented the place without any furniture and I bought everything from scratch, one by one. I bought them with my hard earned money only to not use them full time. One of the reasons I also kept dragging was because I got too attached with all the stuff that had so many memories. In the end though, I did give some of them away and only shipped furniture that can be shipped in a box.
I went through so much character development in this place. When I first moved in, I didn’t know how to do laundry, how to cook, how to go to the dentist, how to file a police report, and all the things that I only came to know because I lived on my own. I had my worst moment here as well where I just couldn’t see the meaning of life. In the end, I came through it. Maybe life doesn’t need a fancy meaning & life can be suck, but we gotta survive. That’s my 2nd lesson from this place.
Perhaps, it’s me growing old but I came to realize, my family matters a lot & I have a lot of people that care about me. It’s funny because I was the one isolating myself while in reality, my friends and family were all there, just waiting for me to come out of my life crisis. I came out of it and spending time with my family & friends has been a lot more enjoyable and fun.
Family is everywhere and it doesn’t have to be blood related. That is my 3rd lesson from moving miles away from my actual family. I would say, I have a pretty great relationship with my landlord and even their extended family. I heard a lot of horror stories about the tenant-landlord relationship but mine was nothing but excellent. I consider them as a family and they have children that I even watched them growing up. I certainly feel extremely sad about moving from the place but I know, if I ever visit once in a while, they would still be accepting of me. The family has been super tolerant towards me & it has been a great experience living with them.
Being comfortable with the uncomfortable. That is my 4th lesson. Have you ever been in so much pain without anybody helping you? most wouldn’t and I experienced it a few times while living in this place. I am bad at asking for help and most of the time, even when I am almost dying, I have to go to hospital by myself. One of my memorable experiences was going to the hospital at 3 AM in so much pain by myself only to find out I was short on money while trying to pay the bills. I called up my family and Ray, but they didn’t pick it up. Long story short, it was resolved but I had to wait a few hours before anybody woke up. Strangely, I didn’t panic at the time, just calm and collected, swallowing my embarrassment.
Money is everywhere. That is my 5th lesson. One thing I learned about money and wealth is that they are everywhere. A person can start with 0 connection and rose to the top. Obviously, the way isn’t easy but living in another province without much of connection, I learned that making money is possible. I had a dropshipping business, import-export business, and all the entrepreneurship endeavors in this place despite starting 0 in terms of connection. Now, that I am moving back home again, I believe it is the same thing. In fact, if I am moving back home is another privilege because I didn’t start with 0 connections, I have connections.
Last but not least, I learned so much about the idea of self-limiting beliefs. From this place, I learned bout opening up myself and mind to new possibilities and ideas. I am not confined with geographical locations. I will always be trying new things and even if I end up failing, that’s pretty okay too. I can start all over again and fix what didn’t work. Sometimes, it’s OK to take some breaks and start again.
Anyway, see you in my next life’s adventure !
 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 . 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. |
The great experienced you have Ma'am will help and serve as a stepping stone towards success. Those are great challenge in Life, and in that way you can do whats the best to make the life better and better. ☺️
Thank you so much @thelivingworld 😊 I hope it does
You're welcome Ma'am. ☺️
Ah yes, the wisdom we have that comes from a lived experience or two. Best wishes on your fully digital nomad adventures.
Thank you @epodcaster, should've done that a long time ago. I guess, when it clicked, it just does.
Happy Monday Mac. What a nice post, I think we are going through quite similar moments. Moving out of your comfort zone and from the shelter of your loved ones always pushes you to learn things on your own. Living alone must be quite an experience but it is what ends up making you independent in the end. And I liked your thought that money is everywhere because this is exactly the case. A friend also told me the same thing: money, accommodation and food are everywhere, and understanding this broadens your horizons and gives you incredible freedom.
I hope many new adventures continue to appear in your life. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Daily Blog ❤️.
Yes! if you think they aren't everywhere, something needs to be done. A few people in my family would think otherwise but thanks to living alone, I learned that you can find them just anywhere. As long as we tried, nothing is impossible.
Congrats on the next milestone in your life! I'm curious though because I don't know for sure while reading, was this apartment a rental or your own? I think you're so brave for daring to travel that much and being a digital nomad! I wish I'd done that in my younger years and see what's out there but I made different choices lol.
I hope this new chapter in your life is filled with tons of opportunities and good people surrounding you to inspire and help you where needed!
<3
It's rental and I spent too much on it xD but I guess, it was how my life was unfolding. I am happy to have moved on and gonna be free of rent haha. Thank you so much, I really hope this new chapter is going to be a little more exciting hehe.
Sometimes you need to figure some stuff out before you can let go. I too have decided several times that I don't want that many stuff anymore and declutter (in fact I'm again at that stage now lol) but there's usually a reason while I let it come to that point before it gets better..
It's not always easy to say goodbye to things filled with memories, is it? Big furniture is something that hasn't been our own since years as we rent furnished and when we moved from Budapest to Spain again, we had no furniture with us lol. Only a few boxes with mostly not useful items.
In your case, I think rent is much less than it is in my end of the world and with some Hive earnings, I guess covering that would have been easier than for someone in Europe or the US.. so in that case let's say you paid for the experience :)
When I think back about all these stupid mistakes I made in crypto for example, I just say, you paid for the experience to make it feel lighter..
I wish you all the happiness and adventures in the world!
I love how you worded it, I have similar approach too. Honestly, rent here increased quite a bit and the quality in this particular region is mediocre. When I was moving around, I learned with my monthly rent, I could have lived in a better areas and even outside the country. Now, I am free of this long term commitment and it's just so freeing hehe. There are also more places to see! thanks for checking out, have a great week :)
You really had great experiences, living alone is not easy, i learnt this when i left my family to another state for my National Youth Service. It was really hell for me, i had to try my best to get acquinted with my environment and the awkward people there. It wasn't funny, i passed through a lot of things.
For sure, living alone is not that easy but I think it helped us grow a lot! I hope you have a great week!
Yeah
Fascinating! I moved 2091 miles from one side of the country to the other. The changes are more at the subcultural level but generally the culture remains similar throughout Canada (except perhaps Quebec, which is French).
Right on and happy trails in your new adventures.
We have so many languages, ethic and customs here that even moving just 50 miles away feels like a foreign place. I used to have a friend living in Quebec and was surprised they didn't speak English really well but french 🤣 thank you! I am definitely a lot more excited with this new adventure.
It's difficult to comprehend. We have cities where certain ethnic populations are predominant (e.g., South Asians, Chinese, Italian), but it generally feels like a single unique Canadian culture that happens to be mixed. Quebec is different and very interesting because of the French. I visited Montreal once, and it felt like visiting a different country.
I want to congratulate you for your incredible work and dedication – your efforts truly inspire and elevate our entire community!