I grew up believing that having money was an objective to strive for and that life was a ruthless competition. I had believed every word of the American dream — work hard, make money, be happy — but it wasn’t so. I had friends who were working hard to prepare for early retirement, and even though I had no idea what else I could do, there was no way I was waiting that long to enjoy life. My lifestyle abroad felt more natural and focused on enjoying the present moment rather than a constant struggle to achieve “success” at some undetermined time in the future. The U.S. is not the same country today that it was when I left it 20 years ago.

Source: Huffington Post April 27, 2018 12:33 UTC