Hey YouTube, Alex here.
I wanted to do a life update video for you.
I'm back here in America and I have been uh moving forward with some different opportunities that I found and um think things are trending in the right direction for me.
But I wouldn't be lying if um I didn't mention that it's been uh pretty stressful.
If you can't tell, I've definitely been doing a lot of stress eating definitely have some weight to lose.
Um it's just uh you know, it's tough here.
I think a lot of people that are attracted to expat life uh leaving the United States, it tends to be a combination of factors.
Uh, but I found a very common thread among the guys I met over the years I lived in Southeast Asia were that we didn't really feel like we had a lot uh here in the US or in our respective home countries.
Of course, there's guys or gals from Australia, uh, Canada, the UK, other countries as well, like not limited to those, but, um, those seem to be the four that are the most represented, uh, in the places that I've been, Thailand, Philippines, um, but even in Latin America.
And, uh, you know, it just, um, it's not what it used to be.
There's just little things I noticed.
Like when I first got back, it was great.
You know, I was I hadn't seen several people in years.
So, it was great to see those people, catch up with those people.
Uh if you're watching this, you know who you are.
Um I had gotten a little worn out on, you know, certain little things in Southeast Asia.
Like overall I mainly left um to get back to work but like uh you know there's things that I think all of us like no matter uh where our home country is at there's things that we miss about it.
We might not miss everything about it but like even people you know I met people from many different countries and I feel that very few of them are totally negative on their home country.
like they might have some critiques, some criticism, some things that they really uh didn't care for, but you know, they miss like the weather or they miss the culture or they miss um having everybody speaking the language or they miss who knows it could be any number of things.
Um but being back here like there's just uh I don't know, people seem stressed out.
I think the United States is not as prosperous as it once was.
Sure, in GDP in GDP terms.
Um I think it's, you know, if you're just looking at that, but if you look at the actual like um wealth of the people, it just seems like people uh they they definitely have material wealth and it is the most materially wealthy country in the world, but it seems like people are cutting back some.
Um, and it seems like the country's economy, even if they're not coming out and saying it, isn't as good as what it once was.
I've uh finally managed to find my way into a career that I think is um or like, you know, should be getting into career soon that's somewhat futurep proof, but like a lot of jobs are getting automated.
I don't think the tech industry is as lucrative as it once was.
Um, it seems like you know, everything's getting more expensive, but like the job market is is also not very good.
Um, notice like, you know, I'm here in the Denver metro area.
I don't know if you're familiar with Colorado, but if you aren't, uh, Denver's always had some homeless people, but it seems like worse than I've ever seen it.
Um, I I see homeless people like out in the suburbs where I used to not see homeless people or very many homeless people.
I see just like driving around the city more people kind of um hanging out, you know, flying signs, what they call flying signs where you hold up a sign with like u some kind of message basically, please give me money.
And I also see like when I go to different stores, uh like Walmart, I've had to go to Walmart several times throughout the week um just to like pick up different things.
mostly uh little things for my car like I had to replace my windshield wiper blades.
Um replace my car battery.
I got some tires recently.
You see a lot more stuff locked up.
Like I need to get batteries or a battery for my key fob and that was locked up.
So I had to ask an employee to help me unlock the battery case.
Um you see this in different aisles like a lot of stuff is locked up.
And I know like some people would say ah it's you know uh liberal Colorado or whatever but I think this is an issue like around um around the country that people are harder up and I think like if the country is kind of going backwards economically in some ways you know I've overheard people say they need to punish that or they need to punish this.
It's like the jails only have, you know, so much room.
Like the prisons only have so much room.
Um there's only so many so much law enforcement attention.
Like it's um you know, when there's like a few homeless people, like yeah, you can crack down when there's like thousands and thousands of homeless people, it's a lot harder to crack down.
Like you can't just take them out, you know?
You have to they have to go somewhere.
And if uh the shelters are full, they can't there's only so many people that fit in the shelter.
Um it's just uh you know ain't what it used to be.
I think we should all appreciate like peak America.
I grew up or had my earliest years in the 90s and that seemed like a time, you know, I'm watching this channel analyzing finance with Nick.
Shout out to Nick where he argues that like the year 2000 was the most prosperous year in the United States.
And I'd agree with that.
I mean I it was like unheard of when I was a kid for anybody but like the most destitute of the destitute to be homeless.
Certainly not people who are working a job.
Um now you have like a lot of working people living in vehicles because rent is so expensive.
Uh I have been like uh just shocked at the prices now that I'm kind of getting out and about and looking around more.
Like when I first got back it's like ah whatever.
I' I'd saved plenty and still have savings.
Uh you know to last me through started my new career but it's like wow you know I'm I'm back in Denver.
But I'm going to some of the old places I used to frequent and I lived in Denver and a lot of them have doubled the prices on everything.
I mean, I used to go to this Goodwill outlet where you could buy donated goods by the pound like 7 years ago was 99 cents a pound.
Now it's $1.99 a pound.
Um, Quudoba like over here.
I don't know if you'll be able to see this.
There's uh Quudoba right there.
Uh, let's see if Yeah, right there.
Uh, you used to be able to get like a breakfast pretty big breakfast burrito for like gosh I remember it was like six bucks.
It was really Now it's nine bucks.
Um, so I know inflation that topic's probably been beaten uh a lot by a lot of people, but it's really shocking to see.
Um, it's I don't know.
I I wish I'd been more appreciative of those economic boom times when I was younger.
I guess I was too young to really understand economics for the economy.
Um I wish I had had more uh you know financial literacy.
I probably would have made better decisions growing up.
But um it's uh you know I think it's tough for a lot of the younger generations and the older generations alike now because uh we're seeing like I think health outcomes kind of declining in the US and so I think a lot of people they like to blame the boomers and some of my boomer friends are probably watching this but like they're also struggling from a lack of qualified personnel.
Uh I think a lot of health care professionals are like burnt out from the um COVID era and so that that definitely affects people who are more in need of health care um like the older generations where you know their their people are their personnel are stretched thin and like really probably overworked in a lot of areas uh that don't you know where healthcare may not be as heavily regulated.
Like I know Bay Area they have minimum patient to nurse ratios but that's like a Bay Area thing.
Uh certainly not applicable to everywhere in the country.
Um, yeah, I'm just, um, I'll be here for a few more days, I think, uh, in Colorado and then I'm going to head to, uh, California.
So, I'm actually moving back to California.
I managed to find some opportunity in California.
I think it's going to be a good decision overall.
Uh, I'll be able to enjoy that nice weather and lose this new found gut.
Um, I'll be able to earn a decent wage.
Like where I'm from in Tennessee, the cost of living has gone up a lot, but the wages still don't pay very much unless you're in healthcare.
But even if you're in healthcare, you can make more money in other states.
So for me, I feel I felt very blessed to be able to stay with some good friends for several months while I planned out my next steps.
Uh but they understand as well as I do.
They're very very familiar with the economy there.
Uh most people like if you want to be successful by home state, you need to either be a business owner, you need to uh have like a healthc care education or be retired, may have made your money in another state.
So like a lot of the people in Tennessee that have money now, they made their money in California or New York or Chicago, some big city, and now they're coming to Tennessee to enjoy it.
But that doesn't really help the young people in Tennessee who want to make a living.
And so that's why I'm going back to California even though it's very expensive in a lot of ways like it's now it's kind of a wash like as far as um cost of living differences and the wages are a lot higher and especially for the uh field that I'm researched and figured out I'll be able to do a lot better out there and it's uh I think you know this could be my my career until I hit a more standard uh retirement age if I don't have any major health issues come up.
I'm not counting on health issues around my family, but it it's more of a future than focusing on trying to do YouTube full-time.
Like, I enjoy YouTube a lot and it can be a lot of fun to meet new people.
I've met some wonderful people through this channel, but it's not as really sustainable, if that makes any sense, as a career.
And, you know, I plan to keep making more videos.
I know I've taken several months off.
I apologize to you guys for that.
But it's just um YouTube is not a career.
It can be a lot of fun, like I said, but I've just uh I needed to take a break from it.
I was getting too um too much of my focus was being diverted from other opportunities that I need to pursue.
Trying to think of anything else I want to share.
I guess winter is coming, so it's going to be getting cold in a few months and I not looking forward to it.
I really enjoyed being in Southeast Asia in the winter months, having those tr the tropical vibes was really, really wonderful to not have to experience cold weather.
And that's something I'm going to have to be prepared for.
And I know California winter is not the same as like Colorado winter where I am here or even Tennessee weather where I'm from.
But it's uh it's still going to be chilly.
It's not going to be like a tropical uh vacation like being in the Philippines or being in Thailand.
So, that's something I'm going to have to be prepared for.
It's um you know, making sure I I have the proper attire for that.
I guess the new dream is to just like make enough money in your career to eventually move overseas.
I think it'll become more and more common in the coming years and more and more people are figuring out what their plan should look like.
I think that in an early time frame I could maybe pull it off in like 10 years.
But I don't know as I get older like in some ways the US can be nice because if you need something like healthcare quality is very good here if you uh if you want to be in a place that you're somewhat familiar with things.
Of course the US changes so much too.
So that's kind of that might be contradictory.
I guess I just I don't know.
I I've moved around so much.
So, I think that's part of my challenge is like having moved around so much I don't know that anywhere really feels like home anymore.
The US has changed so much it doesn't quite feel like home.
Uh Southeast Asia, I didn't grow up there, right?
So no matter how much I want to be accepted or welcomed, which I am, I'll never be Thai.
I'll never be Filipino.
So there's just been a lot on my mind lately, guys.
I appreciate your patience with me as far as like having not uploaded in several months.
Some of that is my memory cards are full.
Some of that is I've been trying to focus on my getting my job going because in the United States like you've got to work.
Everybody's got to work until you're unless you're like very very fortunate, you made really good decisions, worked really hard and made the right like did everything right to maybe sell a tech company or something like that, you got to work to to be here.
The costs are just too high.
And and also the expectations placed on people here.
People expect for you to have a late model car.
People expect for you to have a nice uh home.
And so yeah, it's um I don't know.
I think maybe some of that will change with the younger generations, but I think we'll be in a kind of a split society in the future where you've got it's there's not really a middle class anymore.
And so that kind of factors into the equation as well is like what does it look like for the people who aren't rich and may never become rich.
I guess the dream is like, hey, I'm going to uh get to a certain point where maybe I make a couple grand a month and investment income, which I know may sound like a lot, but it's reasonably attainable, I think, by most people.
Uh, and then when I hit that point, then I go overseas where I can actually live a decent standard of living again.
Um, I'm not trying to live in a vehicle or have 12 roommates or uh work, you know, 40 hours of overtime every week on top of my standard 40.
It's uh yeah, I I miss, you know, being in Southeast Asia for sure, guys.
Like I I do.
It's not just like being able to chill out, but it's like the social climate.
You know, I had a lot of friends and I do and I have friends throughout Thailand as well.
And just having the time to kind of slow your mind down and like destress.
Um, I think part of me is permanently a little bit lower in terms of stress than than if I hadn't spent so much time in Southeast Asia, but I can just see like the way some people act in public.
Some people are really wound up tight here in the United States.
They're very confrontational.
I don't know if it's that their life isn't working out.
I don't know if it's um entitlement.
I don't know if it's just general like, you know, frustration with the society kind of like declining a bit.
I realize like part of that too is that I don't I actually like the United States, but having like family issues that that could happen in any country, but that was part of my frustration with wanting to go overseas.
It's like, you know, no matter what I do, that's not going to be resolved.
And so I think a lot of people that factors into the frustration of a lot of expats with the United States is they don't have that family to lean on.
So when they times get tough, they have to be totally self-reliant.
And when you develop that strong sense of self-reliance, you're like, well, I can go anywhere in the world if I can trust myself and depend on myself to take care of myself.
That that same trait or characteristic or quality uh that that's a good thing anywhere.
Like there's I can't think of any country where being self-reliant is not going to be helpful for you as as a as a person.
So, I know I'm starting to ramble, guys.
Let me know what you think down in the comments.
If you're glad to see me back, if you want to see me keep making videos.
I don't know exactly how I could pivot the content of the channel.
I know that once my uh new career starts going, I could start putting away money every month.
I can start building out that dividend portfolio.
That's going to be a goal of mine is to build out that dividend portfolio where I get passive income.
I can build that passive income up and eventually return to Southeast Asia in a more sustainable way.
Uh but also with like I don't know later years that that uh I may just want to slow down from work.
Like I think it's good to work really hard when you're young and then build up a lot of investments and savings and then when you get older you can kind of chill out a bit.
But anyway guys, this video could be an hour.
Um, give us a thumbs up if you like this video.
Comment down below your thoughts and subscribe if you haven't already and we'll see you soon.
Bye guys.
