Why People are Leaving Rich Countries
Affordability, stress and opportunity are making expats out of Americans…
The American dream used to be all about getting the house with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids. More recently, the new American dream is about getting the American paying remote job and then getting out of America.
In this last decade or so, we’ve seen many people from rich, developed countries move to cheaper developing countries. We have seen the rise of digital nomads and multiple countries offering digital nomad visas.
Why is this?
When you think about it, it’s kind of strange. But there are 3 logical reasons to do this.
The first reason is that the developed world is no longer affordable. If you are reading this and you live in a rich developed country, you know that there is a cost-of-living crisis where you live. You’re living in a moment of time where everything is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Rent, groceries and cars are all becoming progressively unaffordable.
The developed world is nice and luxurious, but most people can’t afford to live in it. Most people can’t afford a good quality of life there. They are choosing to move abroad because their money will go a lot further.
People are thinking ‘I can’t afford the American dream in America, but I can afford it in another country’. The dollar in many other western currencies goes extremely far in many other countries. Many people are thinking that their only option for a better life is leaving the developed world.
This is ironic for me as I left Cuba with my parents in 1969 to the US looking to the US as our only option for a better life.
The second reason is that the developed world is too stressful. Because life in the developed world has become extremely unaffordable, it has become extremely hard to live there. Life is busier than ever and feels like a grind.
The average American is extremely stressed out and people are looking at these more developing countries where life is simpler and more laid back. Not only are you living a simpler slow life with less stress, but your money goes much further.
The third reason is that it’s never been easier to live abroad. There are so many remote jobs that allow you to work from anywhere. The price of a plane ticket to most underdeveloped countries has never been lower and more and more of those countries are offering digital nomad visas.
If you have a remote job and want to live abroad, all you have to do is sell your stuff and buy a plane ticket.
Is the “American Dream” now defined by escape, or is it simply evolving to fit a changing world?
Are you Making your Life HARDER than it Needs to be?
Life can get hard at times. Let’s not make it harder than it needs to be…
I think we’re all a little guilty of putting too much on our ‘to-do’ lists. We live with the pressure to always be busy, always have stuff on our schedule and feeling like we have been super productive.
However, it can be really disheartening and demotivating to see our expectations not meet reality when the end of the day swings by and we’re not even half done with the things on our list.
So, if you’re constantly finding yourself feeling overwhelmed with the number of things you’re not getting to, it might be a good time to sit back and reflect on the things you actually can take off your schedule. The things that you know aren’t actually that important in the grand scheme of things.
Overloading your schedule often leads to burnout.
Perhaps you’re saying “Yes” when you want (or need) to say “No”. This is one I’m still working on myself because it’s easier said than done. We’re taught from such a young age to always be polite, to always say ‘yes’, to go the extra mile, to never simply say ‘no’. This is just not sustainable.
A big part of living a minimalist life is learning to set boundaries and practicing saying no when you need to. Even if you’re not a minimalist, there’s immense value in knowing your limits and saying ‘no’ when needed. You shouldn’t feel pressured into saying ‘yes’ to something when you know it will come at the expense of your own mental health. Try it! I’ve found that it makes life feel lighter each time I do it.
Even if you’re bringing in a good amount of money and have a stable job at the moment, you might be making your life harder by not using a budget. It’s important to know where your money is going — no matter how much you’re making. It’s important to plan out and be intentional with how you’re going to reach your future life goals.
The case for having a budget is even more stark if you don’t have a stable job or a consistently good income at the moment. It’s important to plan and need your money to go.
I heard someone say recently that part of being an adult is asking over and over again ‘ what should we have for dinner tonight?’. Not planning your meals and trying to figure out what to have for dinner — especially when we live with others- is a constant struggle and it can lead to decision fatigue.
Take note of what foods you always gravitate towards that are healthy, time efficient, budget friendly, and easy to make. Food is one of life’s greatest constants. Plan your shopping and your meals around them and save time, energy and money.
You might be procrastinating and not doing the most important things. If you find yourself procrastinating or pursuing something big and important in your life, it’s almost always better to just start. Stop stressing yourself out and pushing things down the road. Procrastination makes life harder than it needs to be.
If you’re not checking in with yourself daily, it’s easy to shut your brain off and go on autopilot. The lasting effects of not checking in with yourself and getting to know yourself on a deeper level means life can slip by without important learnings or lessons sinking in.
Personal growth comes from reflecting on your daily thoughts and actions and observing the outcomes. By checking in with yourself, even for just 5 minutes every night, makes all the difference about how your brain retains information about you and your hopes and dreams for the next day.
You might own too much physical stuff. The more stuff you own, the more stuff you need to care for. The more you need to clean, dust, organize, manage, rearrange, etc. Less clutter means less stress. Clutter is anything you don’t love, need or use.
Even if you’re not a minimalist, clutter is clutter and absorbs your time, energy, money and attention.
Hopefully, I’ve shared here some simple ways you can shift away from doing things that resonate with you that complicate your life or making it harder than it needs to be.
Let me know with your comments if you have any other ideas or methods you use.
How to Cut the Costs of Living Alone
Save money and still have a comfortable lifestyle…
It has gotten really crazy in the grocery world lately. People are saying that getting a full cart of groceries is a luxury these days.
In a time when groceries are so expensive, you have to be very intentional about buying food. You have to be really mindful when we’re adding things to that grocery cart, so you don’t go over your budget.
You can opt for grocery pick-up. When you’re making your order online, you can see when things are on sale. If I see toilet paper, coffee, or berries on sale, I get them. If I see ‘buy one get one free on items I use (I don’t see these much more), I get them. Shopping for groceries online and picking up prevents you from impulse buying extra groceries you don’t need.
Make simple meals. When you live alone, you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want. There’s nobody asking for food, there’s nobody criticizing if you overcooked or undercooked something. You have the luxury of choice and not being disturbed.
There’s no need to be elaborate. You can have simple meals -eggs and toast, a tuna sandwich or grilled cheese. Simple, easy, delicious. Make the most of the leftovers. For those who don’t like to eat leftovers, they need to recognize that ‘leftovers’ is just another name for food. We need to remove the stigma from this.
Be ruthless about what you say ‘yes’ to. If you’re trying to save money and cut the cost of living alone, you can’t accept every invitation that comes your way. You have to know what your goals are and say ‘No’ to some things that are not going to serve you when you’re trying to save money. You have to do the things that really spark a “Yes”. It’s important to reduce your commitment in order to get what you really want.
Build a budget buffer. A budget buffer is one month of your expenses sitting in your bank account at all times. It is a ‘catch-all’ for when things get messed up. This is going to prevent you from throwing your budget out the window when you make a mistake or something unexpected happens. This keeps you calm and prevents a lot of emotional stress and financial drama. This is a beautiful safety net that you can have at all times.
Have a ‘no extras’ week. This is not dramatic in any way, but it can give you a little sampling of what it’s like to have a ‘no spend month’. Just pay your bills, buy your groceries, and do your normal things but just don’t buy anything extra you don’t need. Keep it simple for one week. You might just find that you could do it for another week and put that money away towards your goal.
Ok, here’s the fun part. Plan for guilt-free spending. Sometimes we want to revolt against having a budget. Plan for it every month. It may not be a lot at the beginning — maybe $25. Eventually, you can increase it. But take a certain amount of money every single month, spend it on whatever you want, and be unapologetic about it. When you plan for it, you can expect that fun. This helps loosen the reins and take away the thoughts of this being so restricted and tight.
Don’t feel that, even though you live alone, you are alone, because you’re not. There are more people than you think in difficult financial situations right now. Hopefully, these tips will help you navigate the rough times a little easier.
Quote of the Week:
Some of the biggest moves you’ll ever make, are internal. Nika Sole
Picture of the Week:
Calle Reyes Catolicos, Avila, Spain - Summer 2024
Sí, buscamos la libertad porque la vida es corta y hacer la deficit es un error.