What is it like to come home to Canada?

[giallo]

Originally Posted by niwell

I have a friend living in Bali for what was intended as a year. It's been going on 7 now, including COVID times when he decided to stay (not a great time there!). He mentioned the influx of expats post-COVID and as a result moved to a smaller village where things are much cheaper than increasingly obnoxious tourist spots. He's a freelance photographer/videographer and manages to live a decent lifestyle on that. Problem is he's pretty much priced out of coming home unless his recent film gets the funding he expected (his previous documentary received a ton of funding but that tap is drying up globally) - it's too expensive otherwise.

That's always a concern. Living in a place like Bali can offer you a great QOL, but you're not making close to what you would be back home, so any money you save won't really help you if you're planning to move back at some point.

I've met a number of older people over the years that are essentially "trapped" in countries like Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia. They don't seem to mind, but it's all but impossible for them to move back to the US or Canada, even if they wanted to.