Why We Chose to Live Abroad

Like most Gen X Americans, I grew up believing the United States was the best country in the world. In many ways, I still believe it is.

If you want to build a career, start a business, innovate, or make money, there are few places that offer the opportunities the United States does. I still work for a U.S. company, and I hope to continue doing so for many years.

But over time I came to an important realization.

The best place to make your money isn’t always the best place to live your life.

Long before I became a software engineer, I worked as a paramedic in Chicago. One of my mentors gave me a piece of advice that has stayed with me ever since.

“Don’t live near your station. Stations change. Pick where you want to live, not where you work.”

At the time, he was talking about ambulance stations. They moved, coverage areas changed, and people who bought a house because it was close to work often found themselves with an hour-long commute a few years later.

Decades later, I realized that advice applies just as well to remote work.

Today, my office is wherever I happen to open my laptop. As long as I have a reliable internet connection and can work U.S. business hours, I can do my job from almost anywhere.

So instead of asking, “Where should I work?” I started asking a different question.

“Where do I actually want to live?”

That shift completely changed how I looked at the world.

I wasn’t looking for somewhere to escape to. I was looking for somewhere that gave me more life for every dollar I earned.

Less time sitting in traffic.

Less money tied up in everyday expenses.

More opportunities to walk, explore, and experience new cultures.

And, perhaps most importantly, more time.

It’s about buying back your time.

Here’s a simple example.

Every year I need my annual physical and routine lab work. Back in the United States, that usually meant taking time off work, driving across town, sitting in a waiting room, getting blood drawn somewhere else, and burning half a day for what should have been a simple checkup.

Today, I schedule both between meetings.

The doctor comes to my house. A lab technician comes to my house to draw my blood. By the time my next Zoom meeting starts, everything is finished, and I haven’t spent an hour sitting in traffic or waiting in a crowded office.

It’s a small thing, but that’s exactly the point.

When enough small things become easier, life becomes easier.

It’s not about luxury. It’s about spending less time dealing with life’s logistics and more time actually living.

Which, if I’m being honest…

…usually means more travel.

One quote that has always resonated with me comes from Andrew Henderson of Nomad Capitalist:

“Go where you’re treated best.”

Everyone interprets that differently.

For me, it means finding the place where my lifestyle, finances, and priorities all line up. That certainly includes taxes—I’ve become something of a hobbyist when it comes to understanding international tax systems, residency programs, travel rewards, and finding legitimate ways to stretch every dollar. I genuinely enjoy the challenge. But it’s only one piece of the puzzle.

The bigger goal is designing a life that gives me more freedom, more flexibility, and more time to enjoy it.

I’m fortunate enough to have a career that gives me this flexibility, and I don’t take that for granted. Remote work isn’t available to everyone, but it’s becoming possible for more people every year.

Whether you’re a remote employee, consultant, business owner, or retiree, one of the greatest advantages of today’s connected world is that you can separate where you earn your income from where you choose to build your life.

That’s really what this blog is about.

Not leaving the United States.

Not chasing the cheapest country.

Not pretending one place is perfect.

It’s about designing your life intentionally instead of accepting the default.

The older I get, the more I realize that time—not money—is my most valuable asset. If living somewhere else lets me buy back a little more of it every day, that’s a trade I’m happy to make.

If this blog inspires you to ask one question, I hope it’s this:

If your job didn’t determine where you lived… where would you choose to call home?

One small suggestion as your editor: I’d make this one of your “pillar articles.” It establishes your philosophy. Then your future articles—why Ecuador, travel points, one-bag travel, residency, taxes, healthcare abroad, airlines, etc.—all become examples of how you live according to that philosophy, instead of disconnected travel posts. That’s the kind of structure that tends to keep readers coming back.