From confusion to freedom: How I redesigned my life through global living

"Is there a better way to live somewhere else in the world?"

This question, like a seed, was planted in my heart and quietly sprouted.

Five years ago, I was living what seemed like a respectable corporate life in Hangzhou, busy with KPIs every day, working 996. I watched the numbers on my salary card grow, but couldn't suppress the emptiness inside.

One late night after overtime, I dragged my exhausted body back to my rented room. Facing the cold air inside, I asked myself: "If this life continues, will I become the person I want to be in ten years?"

The answer was no.

So I quit without a backup plan and began a journey to find a "better way to live." Unconsciously, five years passed. I've deeply lived in over a dozen countries, and now as a digital nomad settled in Thailand, my identity as a corporate employee is long gone.

"What would it be like to live in a place more suitable for me?"

On the road of global living, I discovered a little-known secret: there's already a group of people around the world living in a completely new way. They roam everywhere, forming vibrant communities in corners around the world.

For example, in the Mexican town of San Cristobal de las Casas where we once lived, there were interesting souls from different countries:

• Free artists who left big city life,
• Digital nomads embracing online work,
• Innovative families traveling the world with children,
• And hippie craftspeople creating beauty with their hands.

Their lives were completely different from what I knew as "normal": not busy working to make money and competing with each other, but living well in the present moment. At the same time, they were trying all sorts of things they'd never experienced in life, bringing cultures, food, and activities from various countries to this small town, making life here as rich as any big city.

"Here, time belongs to you," a friend told me. "Low-cost living means we don't have to worry about survival, giving us more energy to explore life's possibilities. This place is like a huge life laboratory, where everyone can try the biggest changes at the smallest cost."

Living in this more open, free, community-oriented place gradually helped me rediscover my vitality:

• As someone with social anxiety, I actively made friends, and my foreign language skills gradually improved;
• I began pursuing life's meaning, and my missing 'spirituality' was also awakened;
• I tried to become a digital nomad who could make money online, and eventually I succeeded.

"What is the meaning of nomadic life?"

Over these years of living abroad, I've met many inspiring people:

• American grandfather Mofwoofoo left the US after retirement and spent 10 years building his own eco-community in a year-round spring valley in South America, living a self-sufficient, ecologically sustainable life with a group of young people. This kind of retirement life opened my eyes. He said: "I didn't come here to make money, but to create a harmonious and beautiful community, to establish a model of how people can coexist. I'm very happy to have such a life. Although it's full of challenges, we must face challenges, let our hearts grow, to have super creativity."

• Japanese family Kazu and Mimi sold their house, bought an RV, and traveled the world with their 2 children. Along the way, they did volunteer work exchanges through Workaway in various places, letting the children learn while playing. Later, one of the children learned dance and was even invited to perform in New York. He told me: "I highly recommend traveling with children, because travel is the best school."

• Chinese family Leon and Lulu traveled the world with their two children, practicing the life philosophy of "work 7 years, rest 1 year." They've been resting for 2 years now. Although the future is unpredictable, they openly say they don't want to go back to their previous life. He said: "Before, we also had so-called good schools and good jobs around us. It seemed like following the established pattern, these were the only choices in life. But after I stepped out, I discovered that there are actually all kinds of lifestyles in the world. Which one brings more happiness is uncertain, so gradually my worries decreased and my mindset became more open."

They weren't escaping life, but actively seeking soil suitable for their own growth. These people's stories deeply inspired me, but also made me think about a question:

"After seeing all these different life samples, what practical help is there for me, an ordinary person?"

As someone who has practiced nomadic life for 5 years, I can responsibly tell you: unconventional life may seem cool, but there are also many unknown pressures and hardships behind it. We've also met people who traveled the world for a few years, experienced and had it all, but eventually returned to their original life. For them, nomadism was just a fragment of life.

So I began to ask myself:

"What is the real meaning of nomadism?"

Looking back at my original self, why did I leave the workplace? Why did I want to see if there was a better way to live in the world?

Study, work—it seemed like my past was all pushed along. Before I'd even seen the world, I was put on a track, walking busy days with no chance to explore myself. Colleagues around me kept changing, but I never saw in them the person I wanted to become.

It turns out... what I wanted in my heart was a period of "time truly belonging to myself."

To understand this world, to rediscover life's passion, rather than being pushed by life, eventually completing so-called "life tasks" step by step.

When my contact area with the world expanded, these unique life samples began to appear around me in real life. Seeing with my own eyes how a person creates their own unique life—this impact is far deeper than stories seen online.

Among countless samples, I found 1-2 cases whose life states I deeply yearned for, which also pointed the direction for my life.

Continuously tracking several nomads' journeys, I saw their changes: their life states getting better and better, getting closer to their dreams. Including ourselves—we not only became digital nomads who can live freely around the world, but also gained recognition in the content creation industry, were invited to various events, and even appeared on TV shows. This growth made me understand that nomadism is not the goal, but a tool, a way to redesign your life.

The meaning of nomadic life has never been "lying flat" or "escaping reality," but using it to upgrade your life:

• Break cognitive boundaries, see more life possibilities with your own eyes;
• Expand interpersonal circles, meet people who can guide your life direction;
• Focus on self-exploration, try various possibilities at low cost;
• Optimize living environment, make life closer to your dream state.

Maybe I'll never have the chance to become a senior executive in the workplace game, but I have the chance to become a high-level player in the life game.

"The meaning of nomadism is finding your own answer"

Nomadic life is not a standard answer, but a way to find answers.

It took me from confusion to clarity, from hesitation to action, and finally found a path of my own.

Maybe you've also fantasized about such a life: waking up in the morning, sunlight filling a foreign windowsill, opening the window to completely different scenery. Working freely during the day, sharing food and stories with newly met friends at night.

But reality always makes you stop: How much money do I need? What about visas? Will I get scammed renting? What if I get sick? How to control the budget? These questions are like an invisible wall, blocking your dreams from reality.

Based on these common confusions, I've compiled five years of living experience into a practical handbook—"From 0 to 1: Becoming a Global Living Expert". I position this handbook not just as a living guide, but as a key to opening a new life. It will help you cross those seemingly insurmountable gaps, help you go from confusion to clarity, from hesitation to action, and truly embark on your own global living journey.

If you are:

• A beginner interested in starting a living life: want to understand basic issues like visas, finances, and renting;
• A digital nomad with some experience: want to optimize financial management and integrate into like-minded communities;
• Someone wanting to bring their family along: concerned about innovative education, medical insurance, and other issues;

Welcome to join this handbook's reader community. Let's build a future together: where travel and life merge into one, making homes around the world.

I saw a saying the other day: perhaps wandering is the normal state of life. I think, rather than passively accepting wandering, it's better to actively choose nomadism and create your own wonderful life. Start your global living story now!