Every country has an energy

Every country has an energy. And that energy rewires you whether you notice it or not. People move to Japan and become minimal. People move to Mexico and their entire relationship with time softens. People move to New York and suddenly they can’t sit still. Your personality is far more malleable than you think. We treat it like something fixed, but new surroundings give you new defaults. New pace. New habits. New values absorbed through proximity instead of effort.

You’re not just the average of the 5 people closest to you. You’re the average of the 5 places, the 5 routines, and the 5 inputs you’re exposed to most. Your commute shapes you. The weather shapes you. Every space you occupy is voting on who you become.

That’s why I believe choosing where you live is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. More important than your job title. Maybe more important than your five-year plan. Because the place shapes the plan. The place shapes your energy, your habits, your relationships, your default state. Get the place right and half of the other decisions start making themselves. Get it wrong and you’ll fight yourself every day. – @datzshe_

Singapore’s energy: We’re a little red dot in a dog eat dog world. We’re constantly under threat. Survival at all costs. Hustle, work hard, contribute to the nation. And then shop in malls for leisure.

Chiangmai’s energy: A safe quiet friendly artistic village. Just like how it felt like growing up in the 90s. I don’t love it and I don’t hate it. But it might be just the right place to nurture a child.

Bali’s energy: Chill, baby, chill. The energy of prayer is like solid bedrock there. I feel most relaxed and settled here. And most in tune with Mother Nature.

Japan’s energy: Gracious, polite, orderly. Some say to a fault. But my nervous system recognizes it as home. Their respect for tradition mixed with their craftsmanship inspires my creativity.

That’s why I can no longer stay in Singapore. A place shapes my energy, and dreams, and I can’t dream in a constant state of survival.

That’s why Chiangmai might be next, because we need a small sheltered harbour, a place where we can bring up a child without the bad global influences that we’ve come to recognize.

That’s why Bali feels like a holiday place, and distant now, because this life stage ain’t a holiday, it’s hard work. I can’t push when there.

That’s why Japan is not possible, for now, because that works only for me and me alone. But one day, it will.

Every country has an energy.