Newsletter 92: the road less traveled
My twenties were a wild rollercoaster of traveling the world. An incredible decade of experiencing unique cultures, exotic destinations, and spicy cuisines. An adventure like in the books I used to read as a kid.
I have written extensively on the topic. Essays on how I became a sovereign individual. The story of my journey from Indonesia to Singapore. The incredible diversity I face daily in my work and what the Himalayas taught me about leadership.
Yet, I never dived deep into the benefits of taking a path less walked. A journey that goes against all conventional wisdom. The relocation from the developed to the less developed world. An adventure that started in Denmark. One of the world’s most developed countries but ended up in Southeast Asia. A promising but still poorer part of the world.
Relocating to developed countries is a no-brainer. After all, such places have a high standard of living, excellent infrastructure, world-class education, stable governance, healthcare, and most probably social support. It’s easy to understand why people make such choices and the benefits that would likely follow.
But we rarely talk about the advantages of the opposite approach. What if you willingly give up on all the fantastic infrastructure and comfortable lifestyle developed countries offer? What could possibly be the benefit of living in less developed parts of the world?
We can all agree on what the downsides of developing markets are. Most likely, you have watched movies on National Geographic or Discovery Channel. Documentaries that somehow describe life in Indonesia, Mexico, or the Philippines. Or perhaps you had a holiday on a beautiful island in a less developed country. So I would assume you have a sense of the “reality” of those places. Everyday life in developing countries feels like an adventure. Traffic is chaotic, loud, and busy, and it seems not to follow any rules whatsoever. Cities are not designed for pedestrians. Hence, it’s hard to walk around. While the food is often delicious, the hygiene of street vendors is definitely questionable. The list goes on and on. I won’t spend time discussing all that. The downsides are obvious. The upsides aren’t. Today, I will take a contrarian position and talk about the benefits of taking the less traveled road.
Growth leads to optimism
The most important benefit of living in a fast-growing but developing country is how you can smell the growth in the air. Growth equals more opportunities. Better wages. Shifting social classes. Access to a better quality of life and an optimistic mindset about the future.
In all countries where I resided, I have witnessed considerable growth. Think of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, China, and India. Roads are getting bigger and better. New highways are popping up frequently. The ever-improving infrastructure goes hand in hand with a thriving construction sector. In fact, I like to joke about the fast-paced construction. How every time I visit my family in Europe, a new skyscraper gets completed in Jakarta or Singapore by the time I am back. The frantic construction leads to yearly changes in cities’ skylines. The quick pace of change is incredible to witness. Naturally, that dynamic makes you feel optimistic about what’s ahead.
On the other hand, while visiting Eastern Europe, I am frequently reminded of how people view the past as “the good times.” The future is regarded with skepticism. Major cities grow at an unhealthily slow pace. Change is not a value most people embrace. All that leads to passive pessimism, which sucks the joy of life out of me.
Perhaps, that’s unique to Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, or maybe my individual circumstances. Who knows?
But spending time in Southeast Asia does offer a striking difference. When an economy grows, it lifts people up. At the same time, a stagnated economy can feel depressing.
Quality of life
The quality of one’s life is an incredibly subjective topic. Some people value access to excellent healthcare, insurance, and education. Others might appreciate the proximity to beautiful nature, activities, clean air, or simply less commute. Everyone has a different definition of what matters.
Having said that, the one thing that works for everyone is growing one’s wealth. The more resources you have, the better your quality of life will be. Whatever a high quality of life means to you.
When speaking of growing one’s wealth, I do not necessarily think of spending on luxury goods. While some people enjoy that, I believe most prioritize different kinds of activities. Education, independence, autonomy, controlling your time, doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, and with whom you want to do it, for as long as you want to do it, are examples of what I consider valuable. Activities that only wealth can unlock.
All that leads to the question, how does your location impact your wealth the quality of your life?
Bloomberg published an interesting study tracking what it takes to be in the top 1% worldwide. At first glance, you would most likely assume that only the super-rich make it to the top 1%. But that’s not true, or at least not valid all over the world.
In affluent states with a high density of wealthy people like Singapore and the U.A.E, it will take you an annual pretax income of +$722,000 to $922,000 to get into the top 1%.
But if you move to places like India (I assume Southeast Asia follows a similar threshold), the amount drops to $77,000!
A great job that pays well in an emerging market can increase the comfort of your living conditions quite a bit. In fact, you may experience better tax incentives in some of those places. After all, most governments are working hard to attract capable people. But, on the other hand, most western, developed countries typically charge high taxes, which decreases your spending power.
The quality of one’s life would likely rise a fair bit with wealth. Every middle-class (or higher) family I know in Southeast Asia has maids, drivers, and workers to support them. Support in taking care of all mundane tasks. Think of laundry, cleaning, watering plants, driving, etc. In Europe, you have to be stupidly rich to afford a helper. That results in a lot of time to focus on whatever is important to you.
Career leaps and giving up comfort
I will make one final argument and rest my case. An idea that would likely appeal to people who come from humble beginnings.
Growing up in a developed part of the world, you compete with many people who are better positioned for success. People who attend private schools study multiple foreign languages and are groomed into becoming the kind of folks who attract opportunities.
On the other hand, if you are not fortunate enough to have such an upbringing, it can feel intimidating to compete with such people. Unfortunately, the labor market is designed to support well-groomed talent. So it was always a challenge to stand out in Europe.
But then something interesting happened. During my final year of studies, I was trying hard to secure an internship abroad. Naturally, I started with applications in developed countries across Europe and North America. A few months later, all I had were rejections. Nothing seemed to work. So I tried a different approach and started applying for the same positions, this time in Asia. A week later, I had an offer for management training in Taiwan. That was the first eye-opening moment of many to come.
A few years later, I moved to Indonesia and was offered a head of marketing role in a travel startup. I was 25 years old and fresh out of uni, managing a team of 13 people. A year later, I took a role as the General Manager of Greenhouse and built a team of 50 people. At the time, I was just 26 years old.
I do not mean to say that it was easy. Looking back, all of my jobs in Indonesia were incredibly demanding. My European friends listened in disbelief whenever I opened up about my experience. But I was given a chance to prove I am competent, and that’s all that mattered to me. I needed to give up on comfort, move countries, start from the bottom, and forget work-life balance to embrace the opportunity.
The lesson I am taking from this experience is that in emerging markets, there is always a shortage of talent. It’s not a perfect meritocracy, but capable people are rewarded. Or at least given a shot. As the growth in the western hemisphere starts to slow down, more capital is directed to emerging economies. In turn, there is plenty of money looking for good people who can solve the numerous problems governments have failed to address for years.
Perhaps that tradeoff is not for everyone, but in my case, giving up on comfort accelerated my career. That was only possible because I chose the road less traveled.
In a nutshell, living across several emerging markets has been a series of tradeoffs. Leaving behind obvious benefits and comfort for a bet on the future and, most importantly myself. If you are keen to experience how growth breeds optimism, an increase in your quality of life, and career leaps in a highly competitive world, consider taking the road less traveled.