Several interesting things happened to me recently. First, I got a chance to travel a bit in Europe and Canada. The coolest thing about traveling is that besides discovering places you discover yourself. Second, I've been volunteering at KW Latinfest to help organize an event for the local community. Imagine a PhD student running around and asking for donations :-) Third, I was interviewed about my expat life. One of the questions was: what is home for you? It took me 10 good minutes to define home! Finally, I just started reading The World Is Flat, a book that Anna recommended me a while ago. All those things made me look at lifestyle from an unorthodox perspective. I've been thinking about designing global lifestyle for a while. The recent events worked as a thought catalyzer! This post is kind of random but has the potential to change your life.
Inspiration
Let's begin with the book as I found it highly inspiring. It's very fortunate that I looked into it right now. The World Is Flat investigates how globalization changed the world. You probably often hear that globalization is a bad, bad thing. But hey, instead of complaining, let's make the most of it! Globalization gives opportunities that have not been available to our ancestors. It can make the whole world your home.
Inspiration
Let's begin with the book as I found it highly inspiring. It's very fortunate that I looked into it right now. The World Is Flat investigates how globalization changed the world. You probably often hear that globalization is a bad, bad thing. But hey, instead of complaining, let's make the most of it! Globalization gives opportunities that have not been available to our ancestors. It can make the whole world your home.
| 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
|---|---|---|
before 1800
|
1800-2000
|
after 2000
|
 |
 |
 |
Where does my country fit in the world?
|
Where does my corporation fit in the world?
|
Where do I fit in the world?
|
The book classifies globalization into 3 versions. In the era of Globalization 1.0 countries focused on conquering other countries, on acquiring more land and resources. Globalization 2.0 was defined by international corporations that struggled to be competitive and tried to find their place in the world. Globalization 3.0 started when new technologies speeded up the flow of information and allowed for global cooperation for each individual. Not only can you travel between two remote locations within hours, but also the physical location is less and less important. So, if the world is so available these days, how do I leverage that? Should I be competitive or take it slow and relax? What kind of lifestyle is available now that wasn't available in the past?
Desired Lifestyle
Picture this. Wouldn't it be cool to travel around the world for years and experience life on different continents? Imagine eating genuine Japanese sushi, or an genuine American hamburger cooked on 100 years old grease :-) How about making money in an expensive country, such as Switzerland, while staying in Thailand where the cost of living is much lower? Just by changing location your money is worth much more! Or maybe money doesn't matter, and all one needs is a tent and a ticket to the next destination?
Recently, I was looking for answers to the above questions. Why? Because I've got some 600 days to finish my PhD and graduate :-) Also, I want to design a sustainable global lifestyle to combine permanent traveling with daily life. Let's break it down:
 |  |
Switzerland: a train ride in the Alps
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Thailand: Phi Phi Islands
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- sustainable - maintainable in the long-run.
- global - living in different locations on the Earth. Experiencing local culture, food, nature.
- lifestyle - a way of living life.
Such a lifestyle looks very attractive to me. I believe that you also find it attractive as long as you're a bit adventurous. Are you? Thanks to the technology, it is also achievable to many of us. It relies on thinking globally, acting locally.
Thinking Globally, Acting Locally
The principle is fairly well known in business and environmental studies. Isn't it reasonable to apply it on a personal level?. Thinking globally means taking advantage of globalization. That includes cheap international flights, ability to work remotely, location independence, and geoarbitrage. Acting locally is about slow traveling, experiencing local culture, building local communities, sharing ideas, and possibly volunteering.
The principle is fairly well known in business and environmental studies. Isn't it reasonable to apply it on a personal level?. Thinking globally means taking advantage of globalization. That includes cheap international flights, ability to work remotely, location independence, and geoarbitrage. Acting locally is about slow traveling, experiencing local culture, building local communities, sharing ideas, and possibly volunteering.
This post is an introduction to designing a sustainable global lifestyle. I'm planning to write a series of blog posts to explore topics on:
- various opportunities for working and traveling,
- living in multiple locations around the planet,
- finding a job to make geoarbitrage work.
Of course there are tons of materials on the web. The thing is that they are either generic or tell a personal story. My goal is to customize the content to a young (pre-)professional. Get ready for some cool posts and refreshing ideas!
